I'm so glad the Playdate is getting more word games. It has an easy ruleset with a cute road tripping theme thrown behind it. Your goal is simply to make a path from the top word to the bottom word by creating words along the way that use exactly 3 letters from the top word and 1 letter from the bottom. The rounds are timed (by default 30 seconds), but fortunately there are multiple difficulty levels to pick from, including a free play mode that removes the timer completely. The timer is an interesting mechanic that gives the game more of an action-y feel, but I don't know if that's enough to convert people who aren't normally into word games.

The gameplay is simple enough to get into a satisfying groove. With only four-letter words, it seems like it would be an easy task to create a new word using letters from the others, but occasionally there is a random word pair that just gives me insane writer's block. Fortunately, strategic use of the pit stop system helps in this regard.

Word games don't need to have art, but I love the minimalist contour map drawn in the background as you go on your road trip. The launch card transition is so smooth that it deserves its own shout-out as well. On the downside, the game has a good online leaderboard implementation, but I would have liked to see more personal stats about each run, or even a streak system that incorporates the daily challenge. In general I wish there was more transparency into how the scoring system worked. Despite these nitpicks, the game is a no-brainer if you like word games.