Zynga is celebrating the fifth anniversary of Words with Friends, the popular Scrabble-like app, with its biggest update ever.
The new app version includes a dictionary, a user profile page with detailed score statistics and a "community" option that matches you up with nearby players. The stats information holds your average word score, high score and number of completed games.
"Our users really love stats," Vaibhav Sahgal, Zynga's general manager for the game, told Mashable. "They love competing with others but they also like competing with themselves. They like seeing how they're progressing in the game and how they're getting better."
Similar to Tinder, the new feature Community Match lets players look through other Words with Friends users and swipe right or left to be matched with competitors.
Zynga wanted a "player-centric approach" for the revamped game, Jonathan Knight, vice president of games, told USA TODAY. Available for iOS and Android, the new Words with Friends is launching as an entirely new app rather than an update to the old one.
Longtime players can rest easy since games, stats and other information for individual accounts will be available on both apps, allowing users to switch back and forth. The company wants to make sure that fans aren't alienated by a new version of the game, according to Sahgal.
"We're not forcing new Words with Friends down your throat," Sahgal told Mashable. "If you just like your world as it is, you can continue doing that."
Solo Play, which pits users against a computer, was the most-requested new feature. Automatically shifting its skill level based on a player's performance, the mode is accessible even without Internet connection.
Other features for the refreshed Words with Friends include an in-app diction from a partnership with Dictionary.com and the Word Strength option--formerly an in-app purchase--provided for free to let users measure the strength of their word choices.
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