Word Heads Download (1997 Puzzle Game)

Unfortunately for people who enjoyed Math Heads and Strategy Heads, there are fewer games in Word Heads and some of them aren't quite as fun as in the previous games.

Also unfortunately, the layout of the game is beginning to seem a bit hackneyed now. Just like with many series games, after a while it begins to feel like beating a dead horse. It was great the first time, good the second, but by the third, it gets tired and old.

The game starts out, as usual, by having players enter their name and selecting a head, body and hat. The selection of body parts is quite wide, and just about everyone will be able to find a combination that suits them and makes them laugh.

After you make a body for yourself, it's off to surf the channels through the handy channel changer provided on the right side of the screen.

Channel 2 is the preview channel and shows which games you can choose from and provides an overview of how they are played.

Channel 3 is the "Go Figure" show. Hosted by Luna, a performance artist, players are shown a board with nine heads. They must complete a row of heads across, up and down or diagonally (kind of like Tic Tac Toe) to win. Questions can be worth 5, 8 or 10 points each.

When you choose a head, Luna asks them what a certain saying means, such as "A one-horse town". The head will give you their answer, and you must decide if it is right or wrong. If you choose correctly, you get the points. If you choose wrong, you get nothing. After you answer, you can find out why an answer is right or wrong.

Channel 4 is the "Meet Your Match" game. Hosted by Kat, your dream date is waiting behind the curtain to your left. Your figure stands on a platform that will rise as each question is answered correctly. When it reaches the level of the curtain, you win your dream date.

Players must construct words to match a definition on the board. Word parts are displayed and will be used in each of the questions of that round.

The game has three rounds of four questions each. You must answer 8 questions correctly to reach the platform. Questions can be worth 5, 8 or 10 points each. After you reach the platform, you can get a bonus round before you and your dream date meet.

Channel 5 is "U News", hosted by anchors Wit and Zoe. Players must blindly pick parts of speech, which are inserted into a news story and then read back to them, something like "Madlibs". If you like the result, you can save the story. If you dislike it, you can move on, or go back and select new words for the story. You can even have it read again. No points are given in this channel.

Channel 6 is the Shopping Channel, where players can spend the points they have won on new faces, hats and bodies or various games, sayings and other paraphenalia. Included are games you can play at home and expressions for use on the internet.

Graphics: Very good and fluid. Characters may look like paper cutouts, but that's part of the fun.

Sound: Not too loud, not too soft, and easy to hear and understand.

Enjoyment: Not quite as enjoyable as earlier games in the series. Less to do.

Replay Value: With only two real games, players will get tired of it fairly quickly. Perhaps the internet downloads will provide more longevity.

Channel surfing this virtual tube comes across lots of attitude and irreverent shenanigans-exactly what makes some kids lock in on the basic lessons in vocabulary, spelling and other language smarts. Like the 'tude-added "Math Heads" that started the "Get A Head" software series, this wordy sequel lampoons TV shows. One or two kids create their on-screen alter-egos who venture into games shows like "Go Figure," a take-off on "Celebrity Squares" where the celebs try to stump players with their own meanings of figures of speech. More word play in "Meet Your Match" pieces word parts in search of the defined term.

How to run this game on modern Windows PC?

People who downloaded Word Heads have also downloaded:
Strategy Heads, Simple Sudoku, Wheel of Fortune, Word Crazy, Math Heads, Princess Isabella: A Witch's Curse, Moving Puzzle: Sea World