Words with Friends has been bumped to version 1.2, both the general and Lumia-only free versions. According to the store listings, this latest release addresses numerous bugs and issues to help improve the experience for players. Unfortunately, the update doesn't seem to have solved everything, if latest reviews are anything to go by.
Those who own Nokia Windows Phones are reporting improvements in stability, but those who have purchased the app on a non-Lumia device are still complaining about issues that were already present. This is a shame as it's a popular and well-loved game. Here's hoping Zynga get the problems sorted quickly in yet another update.
You can download Words with Friends for $2.99 from the Windows Phone Store (both Windows Phone 7 and 8). There's a free version in the Nokia Collection should you own a Lumia Windows Phone. Thanks, Sahil, for the tip!
Reader comments
Words with Friends updated with bug fixes, still slow and broken for players
Worst optimised app on WP. Infuriating that I have paid for it. Zynga need to get their act together!
Its still slow and buggy on my Lumia 920. Definitely playable, though.
I will say it hasn't frozen my phone requiring a soft reset since the update. That is a positive!
I really enjoy the game. Alphajax is a much better app, but most opponents seem to go days or weeks without taking a turn.
Stil slow takes to long to load. Unable to delete old games. Lazy work from the developers
I've always found wwf slow and frustrating. The Android version is ugly, but was at least more stable. But this update has fixed my problems. It just crashes when it loads so I've given up playing it, so all my problems with the game are forgotten. Zynga, wtf with wwf, fix this.
How do you get direct links to the phone Store? I need this for a video.
I think I'll just stick with Alphajax thank you very much
Did they pull the update? It still just says share for me. No update(free Nokia version).
The iPad version is pretty crappy and buggy as well. Word Feud and Words by Post are much more polished and stable.
After the update the app does not run at all. Re installed it & it's still fucked! What a load of shit!
Words by post is far better than words with friends and alphajax! Its fast and simple.. Words by post should have gotten the Xbox tag.
Words with friends is such a half attempt.
Ill give it a shot
Yep, Words by Post is 10x better without annoying video ads. Zynga can suck it!
My whole group moved to "Words by Post"... It works a lot better.
This app is so slow. I almost fell asleep wait for game to load.
AlphaJax! Achivements!
-1 for toast notifications WP 7.8. But great game otherwise
Glad toasts work on wp8. :-)
AlphaJax > WWF
Well I have a free one from T-Mobile and have no problems.
Would not let me log in
I had to uninstall then re-install the first time.
Its amazing how alot of these popular games don't take advantage of the Xbox live servers and certifications. If some of these developers porting over there apps would take the time to re-code and design in true WP design metrostyle and language these games would be top sellers. I give the Ruzzle developers big props for doing a solid job porting the game over. Its missing some notifications but the game runs smooth. I wish every game took advantage of the "Games" hub for notifications.
I do like the game but damn it's slow as piss when starting up and I get frequent locks/freezes. I wish they'd give WP8 some love and fix this app properly.
I haven't yet gotten this update on my Lumia 810. I haven't had a problem with Words with Friends freezing my phone in awhile, but it's still annoyingly slow and laggy. Haha, I too sometimes pick up my old iPhone 4 to play a turn in the game.
Its been loads better for me since its release. Haven't had any crashing or anything like that. I find the speed on par with Android and iPhone versions....as slow as everl, lol
Screw zynga. They completely screwed an awesome game up when they put it on the WP market. I couldn't even us the freaking letter Z. Lol
No Xbox Live + Zynga = Turd.
If only Words By Post was Xbox Live. (Do not mention AlphaJax with its annoying matchmaking system.)
Haha yay! I got credit for the tip!!
Of course not... It's Zynga. If they fixed the bugs in their games they'd be considered competent, and that goes against everything they believe in...
This new update sucks ass. The app keeps closing while refreshing
About time bur still it is absurd. It has crashed for me 10 times today.
Give it up...this game is last years news and they waited way to long to fix this lemon. Nighty-night, Alice.
It may be last year but people still like it. I personally don't but my mom & her husband and all her friends play it. This game not working properly is the only reason they stay on iOS. I welcome anyone to WP to help it grow in market share even if they only do one thing with the phone.
I still find a lot of folks playing WWF. So I guess it depends on who you know.
And further, I don't think you can judge the popularity of a game on whether or not the initial craze has died downed. Look at Pokemon. The hype is nowhere where it was back in '98-00. But the main console games continue to be the top selling games on their respective systems.
Still locks up my Lumia 920 at times. When I reported it last year via twitter to WP support, they told me to contact each developer of a locking app. Was blown away that they thought an app could do that... If it is possible, shows major flaws in OS
That's none of the OS fault, its the lazy devs at Zynga who willingly release halfassed ports of the iOS version. I bet they just released it as soon as it compiled without errors on WP....
I agree that Zynga should step up to the plate, but as a developer myself, I'm confused on how an app with any combination of code can bring an OS to its knees.
Yeah, this is the only app that requires me to do a soft reset on my 920 too. What's funny is it hadn't locked up my phone in weeks. I update it yesterday and boom first launch locks up the phone.
Ouch, that's no good. It's been a long time, didn't Windows Phone 7 have a popup saying an app has crashed/become unresponsive? I don't remember Windows Phone 8 having that.
Zynga needs to redevelop this for WP from scratch, the port from the iOS version is just disgustingly buggy, not to mention it blends in with NOTHING associated with WP's platform.
And let's not forget, this is something a lot of people paid for, and is a prime example as to why they should constitute a 'refund policy' for apps...because if I could, I would demand a full refund.
All $2.99 of it!!!!
For not being a fancy RPG or first person shooter, that's a hefty price for a phone game that's a ported piece of garbage. Also, I could've bought something else with that $2.99, like a loaf of freakin' bread, lol.
When you put that way, you make a very valid point, lol. I'll be honest, I haven't played the game in months, and even after updating it today, I didn't even bother to try it out. I just knew it would still suck . . . and then I saw this article, hahaha! The irony.
It looks like we both lost out on that loaf of bread, lolol. No worries bro.
How does a scrabble game like wwf run like such arse?
Porting can be a shitty thing when done wrong
Will the free Tmobile version get updated?
I also have the free tmobile version that I don't believe has ever gotten updated yet. Not to mention that the game has been searching for a random opponent for 6 months or so, meanwhile I've played 40 or so games of alphajax.
I hope they get this working like iOS. The only app keeping my mom from moving over. Her husband has and said this game is so bad on his 920 he keeps his old iPhone around just to play this game.
Same reason I keep my old iPod touch around. That and instagram...
I have the free version, and haven't had any problems. I mean, yeah, it's slow and it can be kinda jerky, but it still plays just fine.