What to name this word game app?
June 28, 2013 9:33 PM Subscribe
My husband built an android app that is one of those word games where you are given a rack of seven letters and have to find as many words using those letters as you can. It's basically a Scrabble trainer, but he wants/needs to avoid using the word Scrabble in the name so as not to piss off Hasbro. What should he name it instead?
In case it helps, here are some of the features of the app that distinguish it from others out there:
-unlike most similar games, this one allows you to choose which of the various official Scrabble and other tournament dictionaries you want to use (e.g. SOWPODS, TWL, etc).
-you can select settings such as to always get a rack with a J, Q, X, or Z in it; to have a blank; to always have a 7-letter word being possible
In other words, he is aiming at a target audience of people who are pretty serious scrabble players and want to use this app to practice, not so much people who just want a new fun game.
-the colour theme is green and grey
- his "company name" is Mollusk Ink, so a name that contains a pun on some sort of mollusc or other sealife and words would be pretty cool.
In case it helps, here are some of the features of the app that distinguish it from others out there:
-unlike most similar games, this one allows you to choose which of the various official Scrabble and other tournament dictionaries you want to use (e.g. SOWPODS, TWL, etc).
-you can select settings such as to always get a rack with a J, Q, X, or Z in it; to have a blank; to always have a 7-letter word being possible
In other words, he is aiming at a target audience of people who are pretty serious scrabble players and want to use this app to practice, not so much people who just want a new fun game.
-the colour theme is green and grey
- his "company name" is Mollusk Ink, so a name that contains a pun on some sort of mollusc or other sealife and words would be pretty cool.
Crab Slab uses the same letters as Scrabble, except for swapping the e for another a. If the rack and letters have even slightly a slab-like appearance, it might be justified, although I admit I'm pushing it. Sadly, something like Crabbles or CrabAbble or CraBabble is probably too close to Scrabble. Anyhoo, that's where my mind is bouncing around right now. I'll let you know if anything useful pops out.
posted by davejay at 9:43 PM on June 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by davejay at 9:43 PM on June 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
Scramble, if he thinks he can get away with it, or perhaps an anagram of that, Clambers, if he can't.
posted by jamjam at 9:57 PM on June 28, 2013
posted by jamjam at 9:57 PM on June 28, 2013
This may be totally lame but I'd call it Stems and Hooks. (Or Stems and Dumps). Someone who is really serious about scrabble will know this is a scrabble related game. A bingo stem is a set of 6 letters to which you can add one more letter to make a bingo; the more important stems to get used to recognizing are the ones which can take on many different letters as the 7th letter which makes the bingo. For a hook, for example, you start with at two-letter word, and the hooks are all the different letters you could add to that in order to make a three-letter word.
posted by cairdeas at 10:07 PM on June 28, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by cairdeas at 10:07 PM on June 28, 2013 [3 favorites]
Scramboes
posted by oceanjesse at 10:22 PM on June 28, 2013
posted by oceanjesse at 10:22 PM on June 28, 2013
I don't have a great name to suggest, but I am compelled to point out that crabs are not mollusks.
posted by aubilenon at 10:24 PM on June 28, 2013 [21 favorites]
posted by aubilenon at 10:24 PM on June 28, 2013 [21 favorites]
Bingo Hunter
posted by hydrophonic at 10:35 PM on June 28, 2013
posted by hydrophonic at 10:35 PM on June 28, 2013
He might want to avoid calling the 7 letters "tiles". Just a thought.
I'd be much more likely to spend $.99 on a game called "7-letter scramble" than "crab slab". I know what the first one is. The second one is mysterious.
posted by amtho at 10:37 PM on June 28, 2013 [3 favorites]
I'd be much more likely to spend $.99 on a game called "7-letter scramble" than "crab slab". I know what the first one is. The second one is mysterious.
posted by amtho at 10:37 PM on June 28, 2013 [3 favorites]
Combining the ideas of davejay and hydrophonic - what about Scrab Lab? (Or is that too close to Scrabble?)
posted by Cheese Monster at 10:56 PM on June 28, 2013
posted by Cheese Monster at 10:56 PM on June 28, 2013
I think you should pluralize hydrophonic's suggestion and make it Crab Labs, but use an inverted lower-case 'e' for the 'a' in "labs" in the logo so that it looks like something that could be constructed out of the letter tiles that spell "scrabble". This would be a fun play on the Scrabble theme suggesting bending the rules to win, and fits beautifully under the Mollusk Ink brand (although I feel my own compulsion to reiterate that a crab is not a mollusk, they are not even similar beyond being marine invertebrates but that's probably close enough for a software naming scheme. Maybe the next one can be Cnidarian something.)
posted by contraption at 12:19 AM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by contraption at 12:19 AM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
you are given a rack of seven letters and have to find as many words using those letters as you can
Babble.
posted by flabdablet at 12:23 AM on June 29, 2013
Babble.
posted by flabdablet at 12:23 AM on June 29, 2013
I would avoid clever, meaningless words and go with something dumb but easy to find and understand like "Board Game Word Finder-Trainer"
posted by HuronBob at 3:18 AM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by HuronBob at 3:18 AM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
Rack 'em up!
posted by carmicha at 3:51 AM on June 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by carmicha at 3:51 AM on June 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
Unless the letters are being played on a board, à la Scrabble, the idea of finding as many words as you can using the same bunch of letters sounds more like Boggle to me. So, Gobble?
posted by emelenjr at 5:25 AM on June 29, 2013
posted by emelenjr at 5:25 AM on June 29, 2013
I came here to say Word Pearls, and see that googly had the same idea so obvs there's memetic potential for something Pearl something.
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:47 AM on June 29, 2013
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:47 AM on June 29, 2013
Just a piece of app marketing advice Use a clever name for the in app branding but make sure the title it is submitted to the store as is verbose -- like "Crab Lab: A word game scrambler"
posted by thirdletter at 6:37 AM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by thirdletter at 6:37 AM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
Anagrame, Anagramble?
(just discovered that when you put 'anagram' in Google it says 'did you mean 'nag a ram'?')
posted by Segundus at 7:14 AM on June 29, 2013
(just discovered that when you put 'anagram' in Google it says 'did you mean 'nag a ram'?')
posted by Segundus at 7:14 AM on June 29, 2013
Well you could go for boring and use something like Tile Trainer. Or play off of one of the dictionaries used and call it SOWBUG. Or risk ticking off another potentially litigious corporation and call it Kwyjibo.
posted by caution live frogs at 7:51 AM on June 29, 2013
posted by caution live frogs at 7:51 AM on June 29, 2013
Yes I know sow beetles are not mollusks. They are crustaceans. I was just riffing off the dictionary name, not the mollusk thing.
posted by caution live frogs at 7:53 AM on June 29, 2013
posted by caution live frogs at 7:53 AM on June 29, 2013
Building off the Stems and Dumps idea, one of the options should be that you can specify an eighth letter to simulate the scenario where your seven letters will add to it to make an eight letter word.
I like Scrab Labs as a name.
I didn't read the link about marketing apps, but I can tell you that the most frustrating thing for me is to know that I own an app that does X but I can't find it because I can't remember the cutesy name and it starts with a completely different letter and I have a lot of apps so the one I want is too far away from where I start looking. So Scrab Labs would be sorted right next to Scrabble in the app list and would be easy to find.
posted by CathyG at 8:19 AM on June 29, 2013
I like Scrab Labs as a name.
I didn't read the link about marketing apps, but I can tell you that the most frustrating thing for me is to know that I own an app that does X but I can't find it because I can't remember the cutesy name and it starts with a completely different letter and I have a lot of apps so the one I want is too far away from where I start looking. So Scrab Labs would be sorted right next to Scrabble in the app list and would be easy to find.
posted by CathyG at 8:19 AM on June 29, 2013
TileTrainer
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:34 AM on June 29, 2013
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:34 AM on June 29, 2013
So Scrab Labs would be sorted right next to Scrabble in the app list and would be easy to find.
Scarab
posted by jamjam at 10:44 AM on June 29, 2013
Scarab
posted by jamjam at 10:44 AM on June 29, 2013
Maybe the alliteration route, like some variation of "7-Scramble Sim"?
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 2:14 PM on June 29, 2013
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 2:14 PM on June 29, 2013
Scrablet
posted by seanmpuckett at 2:16 PM on June 29, 2013
posted by seanmpuckett at 2:16 PM on June 29, 2013
I don't have a great name to suggest, but I am compelled to point out that crabs are not mollusks
Dammit Internet, you have mislead me again. Mea culpa.
posted by davejay at 6:09 PM on June 29, 2013
Dammit Internet, you have mislead me again. Mea culpa.
posted by davejay at 6:09 PM on June 29, 2013
Response by poster: These are so great! You guys are amazing.
Personally I like:
- sCRABapple
- sCRABlet
- Bingo Hunter
- Tile Trainer
- Squiddle
He likes Tile Trainer and sCRABlet best. I'm not sure which one he's going to choose.
posted by lollusc at 9:09 PM on June 29, 2013
Personally I like:
- sCRABapple
- sCRABlet
- Bingo Hunter
- Tile Trainer
- Squiddle
He likes Tile Trainer and sCRABlet best. I'm not sure which one he's going to choose.
posted by lollusc at 9:09 PM on June 29, 2013
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posted by davejay at 9:34 PM on June 28, 2013 [3 favorites]