GUBBINS — It's a word game Reviews

by Shamalamb

I paid for this game awhile ago and then recently paid AGAIN to get a few new Gubbins. These new ones are glitchy where every so often it will have an error message saying sorry that meteor got messed up- and then it takes away the Gubbin but does not fix the tiles that had been moved. So then your board is wrecked. I’m like 8 tiles into the Daily today and it has happened again and I’m not going to finish the game.

Sometimes it will place a Gubbin over a letter tile that’s already been played on the board. Even if that Gubbin disappears, the letter tile become unplayable. Have a 9 letter word? No, you now have a 3 letter word, a 5 letter word, and a dead tile that can’t be fixed.

It’s just wildly expensive for a cute little game to have such game-breaking (derogatory) issues.

by Aaronforaudio

I really adore the art and gameplay, but at the end of the day I feel like the player has matches happen to them as opposed to because of them. The balance between luck and skill is way off in my opinion, and my highest scores are really let-downs, because I don’t feel like I earned them in any way. Similarly, usually when a match is going poorly, I know it’s because the letters and Gubbins that I happen to be getting, through no input from myself, are just unworkable.

Because there isn’t much you can do to influence things, gameplay gets stale quickly.

The method of releasing new Gubbins and charging for them, but not being able to select/deselect packs of Gubbins, makes it seem like the creators are working with an old tired and broken model.

It’d be great if they introduced streaks or moves that lengthen the game, or play modes that rewarded certain actions by extending the board up from nine characters (or starting with an even smaller board and building out.)

Instead, they throw interesting gubbins in with infuriating ones that ruin the short matches, with very little for the user to do to turn things around.

Really wanted this game to be more engaging. Hopefully it can be some day. For now, it’s not for me.

by Melanie1606

I love this game and think it’s so much fun, but one of the recent updates removed that I’d purchased the full game add-ons. I’ve tried to restore my purchase and it says it’s successful every time, but things still remain locked. I even tried deleting GUBBINSItsawordgame and redownloading it to try and fix it but now I just lost my scores AND i can’t access the full game anymore. Kind of a bummer.

by Nixk Horniak

Game was fun from what I was able to play, but I just wish they were more up front about the gubbins being stuck behind a pay wall, as well as unlimited plays also being stuck behind a pay wall. This game would definitely be great as a daily game like wordle but unfortunately the “daily challenge” mode is also stuck behind that pay wall.

by Dhdhsnsksidhdv

It’s baffling to me that there are only two directions to make words in. You can swipe backwards or diagonally to make words which in my opinion is a huge miss. I travel a lot so I paid the six bucks to have infinite play when waiting for flights or the train and I feel like for the animations and novelty it’s sort 6 bucks one time. The RNG in the game is awful however. Your score is completely dependent on what random letters and gubbins you get, and many times two bad gubbins in a row has completely derailed a game. There’s also no reason to have undoing letter placements be limited to three per game when gubbin animations regularly cause me to misplace a letter and destroy a word. It’s a cute aesthetic game but it could be a great game with so tweaks.

by Shadowdraconian

I really really wanted to be a fan of this game. (For context, I’m a Hank Green fan and came through his proselytising.) But there are so many words missing from the gubbins dictionary!! There is nothing more frustrating than setting up a big word only to not have it be accepted. Especially when it’s nine letters! I have been thwarted when trying to play petrichor, prisms, rarified, and many other words that are absolutely real words in the English language and yet for some reason not in the gubbins dictionary. I don’t know if this is a glitch or what, but it has made gameplay immensely frustrating and not as fun as it could be.

by Quero Ir

I have been enjoying playing Gubbins, despite bot really understanding how it works. It has great graphics. It gets buggy sometimes - which can be annoying.
For example, some Gubbins don’t work properly or it has intermittent problems with word clearing. Also, don’t get attached to words that are real but don’t work and nonsense words that are usable. Just laugh and go with it!
Unfortunately it stopped working recently and it won’t open. I am guessing it has to do with iOs updates but— it’s disappointing to pay for something and it’s unusable.

by Bheyd

The game itself is fun, but the animations are too busy and often happen just as I’m moving a letter-so it drops in the wrong place or just doesn’t drop at all. The screen where tons of small things float all over for an entire round should be killed. Getting multiples of GUBBINS can be a pain-who can use 16 extra s? Often using the pencil gives a non-word, but you do get the points. The distribution of letters often leads to way too many consonants to actually build any words.
Try it anyway-you might like the stuff I find annoying.

by Jess P.

The game is beautifully designed. The haptics are wonderfully satisfying and the animations are charming. Just a couple of kinks I noticed while playing: the animation sometimes covers the part of the board I want to swipe (this is especially annoying during a combo). Also, there are definitely some words missing—for example, it didn’t recognize “crabbiest” or “stye”, which are not uncommon. It would be great to have a feature where you can challenge a word like you can in the game SpellTower. But all in all, I like it a lot.

by Mortal-Ish

I’ve been watching the game on TikTok for quite some time and have been really looking forward to it. I really enjoyed the tutorial levels and could see that it is an enjoyable game with great art. However when I was looking around at the three available levels I mistakenly clicked to play classic level. I wasn’t able to play at the time so I clicked to exit the level. Without realizing it, I had used up my only play for the day and felt a bit confused. I understand that this will likely only be a one time problem but I would have liked a confirmation prompt that said something along the lines of, “leaving this game will count as your daily game, confirm?” Again, the game seems really fun and I look forward to playing it tomorrow I just feel a bit frustrated over the fact that I cannot play today.

by Aaronisnothappy

Overall this game is enjoyable and would be 5 stars if it didn’t get in its own way. The devs allow you to turn off most of the superfluous animations with one very annoying exception. Certain words trigger a speech bubble that blocks a portion of the board. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve messed up the submitting of a word because it was partially blocked by the little comments the game makes. Additionally, it slows down game play which is frustrating.

Devs if you read this add another accessibility option to turn off the speech bubbles.

by Actually A Cat

Great game, I look forward to my daily free play & don't mind that it's only 1 a day; like NYT word games, I think that keeps it interesting & fun instead of something you can have on demand all the time. The artwork is amazing, and the different puzzles keep it fresh as well. I have had problems with the game, like others, where going to a different app in the middle of the game (such as to respond to a text message, check a bus schedule, etc) kicked me out of the game and wouldn't let me finish, which is disappointing. I also wish there was a quick video tutorial for each gubbin to have an example of what they do. I find that the descriptions sometimes lead me to believe 1 thing, but when I play a gubbin either nothing happens, or it does something different than I expected. All in all I'd recommend this to anyone who likes word games but it could use some improvements!

by Poopylooloo

Hello, I really enjoy the game. My friend and I share our postcards for the daily games everyday. Recently, there have been 2 days where the daily game has a bug that makes it display the same game board as the previous day. I have not been able to access the daily game for those days. It happened today actually, and that’s why I chose to reach out and leave a review. I closed GUBBINSItsawordgame and restarted it, and I updated my app, but nothing fixed the issue. Everything else about the game is great, I love the art style and the gameplay. I see that a streak counter has been added which I enjoy! One thing that would take it to another level would also be to see your stats, such as previous scores. And also to access the post card maker for games you’ve already completed. My friend has occasionally exited the game before finishing the post card and hasn’t found a way to access it again, which is important to us because we share them with each other everyday.

Keep up the good work, thanks for considering my feedback.

by JPrice077538

I want to give this 5 stars so badly because it’s a fantastic game with wonderful art that’s so unique and fun. I play every day and paid for the full version. But it’s so frustrating how many bugs there are! Some examples: Sometimes when I play a good Gubbins, like the one that’s supposed to take single tiles on the board and turn them into a word, it only takes 2-3 single tiles and leaves the rest. More often though, when there are pencil Gubbins on the board in the daily challenges, they disappear randomly at any point in the game - very unpredictable. Just now, I placed an O tile on the daily challenge and suddenly all the tiles in that column changed, ruining every single word I’ve made (I even undid it, it reverted back, I played a few different tiles, and when I put my O back there it wrecked the board again). There’s no error report form so I have to leave this review, but it’s so frustrating when I spend 30-60 minutes on a game and then the bugs wreck it before I can finish. Makes me not want to play or recommend it. PLEASE FIX THE BUGS 😭 because otherwise it’s amazing

by Would You Mind?

Fun game! One thing I especially liked when I first started playing was that it appears that the dictionary allows more casual/slang words than games like words with friends/Wordle. But with a unique dictionary has come a unique problem.

I enjoy planning towards a grand finally in pencil mode, as I’m sure many people do. Unfortunately, many of my recent attempts to build nine letter words have ended in frustration as words that are valid in other game dictionaries, such as “Provisory” are not recognized as valid in this one.

I don’t mind the disallowance, but I wish there was a way to check the validity of planned words without needing to painstakingly build it (especially given the limited “undos”- a mechanic I also enjoy and do not wish to disable).

TLDR: A hypothetical word validity checker would make my enjoyment of the game much higher. Is this a possibility?

by Toadsworth :)

it's no wonder that the worst part of such a beautifully cute little game is the fact that it simply can't be entirely free. that's okay though, in my opinion, it's wonderful and although i'm terrible at it, very fun.

only one game a day though does feel bad when i want to learn how to play better, but the six dollar asking price for unlimited playing is not that much in the grand scheme of things—especially compared to games on steam that have a similar high amount of effort put into them. maybe i'll buy it, but only time shall tell—or something.

tl;dr, incredible funky & cutesy artstyle with a nice lil' word game inside too. only downside is the one-game-a-day aspect of it, but that's no different from other word games like wordle. tell hank i say hi, you dang studio folly developer that reads the appstore reviews you.

by NikkeoLife

I love word games and I am totally hooked! The retro theme is charming and I love that you can make little postcards after finishing a game. I immediately bought the unlimited version.

Some notes for the game developers: the timing at which Gubbins appear as soon as you start a game is a bit too immediate and it feels a bit frantic! Otherwise I really enjoy this game and I hope the team feels really proud of this project because I am having a blast playing Gubbins and making silly postcards as memes.

by DelusionalKye

This game is great. The gameplay is entertaining and engaging. The biggest issue in my opinion is the ability to play one game a day. I would rather have an ad before every game than only being able to play every 24 hours. An adjustment would be having the premium remove ads. Over than those issues this is a great game.

by Athdemar37Pro

Is an amazing hame but the art is what is make it stand out among hundreds of games. Plus the one time purchase is an amazing feature. I already purchased the launch pack offer and is worth each penny. Please never stop updating this game and adding to it new game modes, features, bug fixes and specifically new art, new animations, new characters, cartoons. It is amazing, if you keep doing all these things, this game will be the most purchased and played in the entire app store.

by KurgBurger

The art style is charming, the sound is amazing, and the gameplay is just as good. I’ve always liked how games like Wordle brought people together with their daily games and this game has that too, but unfortunately you have to pick between playing that mode or the normal mode if you’re playing for free. While I understand the daily concept for monetization, it would be great if we were able a try at the daily and the normal mode before the countdown starts. It would let people have fun with normal gubbins and also share with others their daily mode experience. Anyways, if you’re a person wondering to get this game or not, please do. It’s free and 100% worth it

by PurpPenguin

I love GUBBINS, I’ve played every daily since the start of the game and was so excited this week to see a new gub pack! This game is easy to learn, but really puts you in a pickle sometimes.

Only request! Can we have the option to see the board again after we finish? I like seeing how few letters I have left before I put the “FIN” on the board and I always snag a screenshot, but sometimes the gub guy is too fast and then he blocks my awesome clean board lol.

Anyway, love this game!

by Ivoy12for

I’d really love it if displaying (or even keeping track of) the current streak was configurable. I understand that’s a big deal for a lot of people, but it makes playing a game feel less joyful and more like a job for me. I’d like to be able to opt out. Please keep up the good work; I love what you’re doing and it’s a joy to play. Don’t forget to be awesome.

a bug: if i open GUBBINSItsawordgame and select the daily puzzle, its often labeled correctly as todays puzzle but actually reloads yesterday’s. there’s no way to abandon the solve, so i redo the puzzle (sometimes just throwing stuff down to get to the FIN tile). afterwards, the current days puzzle is marked completed in the main screen even though i haven’t seen it. i can go to the archive screen and select it from there, and play it that way, though. this doesn’t always happen and i haven’t noticed a pattern yet.

by Rachw98

Looked at my screen time, and it’s normally over an hour on Instagram, with every other app being 10-15 minutes. Not today. I have played Gubbins for an hour and only spent 20 or so minutes on Instagram!

I went ahead and spent money on the unlimited version, and it’s great! My suggestions:

1) Have a list of allowed words somewhere/have a way for you to check if something is a word before putting it on the board. Gubbins’ dictionary is a lot more inclusive than NYT!
2) More explanation for the daily puzzles. I’ve also noticed my letters changing a few times with the dailies, and I’m pretty sure that’s not the work of a bad Gubbin? A tutorial or description of each category of daily puzzle would be great.
3) Leaderboard of some kind, either nationwide or with friends! My sister and I love to play and it would be fun to compare scores.

by Cdemi12

It’s hard to make a good mobile game, and the developers make it look easy! Gubbins is so unique and fun - it feels like a word game but it's more complex than that simple description. It’s funny, witty, and full of creativity. I love the postcards! Sharing them, along with my daily game, is a fun way to build community around the game. I found out about this game from Hank Green, and I’m grateful he helped fund it so we could all play this joyous game!

by Peplop

So refreshing to play a game that isn’t full of ads… we forget what that’s like. The lack of ads actually made me want to pay for the game just for that alone. Such a rarity now, shut up and take my money - Other developers please take note. The game is thoughtfully designed, artwork is great and the concept is simple. Beautiful game overall and really enjoyable to play so far. Yes, it’s another word game based on other word game mechanics but it’s really well done and feels unique with the gubbins and it’s actually quite strategic mixed with the hope of the draw giving you what you want before you run out of space on the grid. The daily puzzles are great, free and the lack of nudge /micro payments in the game makes it terrific - yes there is a shop but it doesn’t block/restrict/cap gameplay with stupid stuff like in game currencies and scam economies. Nope, instead it’s just about fun gameplay that’s open to all. Fantastic.

by TheReaderOf Books (and Ebooks)

I love this game!! It’s so peaceful to play between doing my homework.
Just a small bug and I wasn’t sure how to submit a bug report, but I had the mushroom bad gubbin block some tiles, then I used the sock gubbin to copy the row above. They both had a counter of 2. When the counter went down, the mushrooms disappeared and the sock copied the row above, but those tiles were not interactable for the rest of the game and I wasn’t able to swipe tiles placed there.

by Mslexitaylor

So much fun and the perfect mix of challenging and relaxing. It’s easy to pick up and put down, and there’s no obnoxious “freemium” element.

The design is clean and is almost as big of a selling point as the game itself. Which is saying something, because the game is classic, yet innovative and one of my new favorites.

Only bit of feedback is I wish the letters would magnify when you pick them up so you can see them better! They can sometimes get lost as I have long nails. That’s genuinely the ONLY critique, which is so impressive for a game that just launched.

by Captiancookiecat

I’m enjoying Gubbins a lot, it just gets a little repetitive at times, and there are some balance issues with some of the gubbins. Here’s a couple of suggestions to improve the game:

- Nerf the sock gubbin. It seems completely impossible to get a high score without it.
- A new game mode. Maybe something that’s really different like some sort of little puzzle rush? Not sure, but the gameplay could use more variety, and it would be nice for some games to be a little more bite-sized.
- Differing daily boards. Maybe in the dailies, or a different game mode, the board could change size/shape, or add walls in the middle. This would vary them a lot and change the way you have to think.
- Obviously more gubbins, which I’m sure will come at some point in more packs.
Another idea for them though is to have seasonal gubbins: packs that rotates in/out based on the time of year. This way the game changes a bit throughout the year and it would be exciting when the season comes for one of your favorite seasonal gubbins!
For example, fall gubbins and Christmas gubbins! :)

by Splashy Jay

I love this game! I didn't really hesitate to buy the full pack so I can play for as long as I want, and I don't regret it. I made a postcard saying 'best ten dollars ever spent'. Making postcards is really fun and allows you to connect with other players if you share them online. Overall this game is super fun, creative, cute, and great. The team is very responsive and friendly as well!

by Govhunker

I saw the promotion for this game on tiktok and stuff and thought it looked really fun, have since recommended it to my mom and several friends who have all had a good time with it so far. Only feature I would like to see is a friends system in GUBBINSItsawordgame , so we could compare high scores or something like that, but otherwise really cool quirky and fun!!!!

by Doug Gorbin

Worth every bit of the cost for unlimited play! Especially when considering the level of care that clearly went into its creation. Hats off to the developers. The Gubbins, good and bad ones, make gameplay so dynamic for a simple word game. I wish every game of scrabble could have little boons and blights to spice things up like Gubbins does.

by Eli4414

It’s been very enjoyable so far! I love that some of the proceeds go to charity. I wish the tutorial was a little more clear, but I understand it might feel hand-hold-y if so (maybe you could add a link to a help guide for people like me who always want to read the instructions).

by There's An App For That.

I love word games, and Gubbins is a new favorite. The art style, animation, and sound design are all clean, charming, and high quality with a lot of character and style you won’t see in other games of this genre. Hats off to the devs. :) Would highly recommend trying Gubbins.

I’ve seen some reviews mentioning the “paywall.” $6 is a great price for the game, and you can still do the daily challenge each day without paying a cent! I’d like to see a little more open mindedness about charging a fair price for a product that obviously had a lot of love and effort put in. $6 well spent. 👏🏼

by Trickyrickey123

My buddy Hank sent me over here to try this game out, and WOW was he not lying when he said it’s a real time stealer. GUBBINSItsawordgame is great! It’s the next Wordle, but better! I can literally feel the grooves in my brain sharpen, whilst simultaneously feel the dopamine receptors fire. Truly an immaculate experience

by _emadaae

Hank Green backed and approved, so you know it’s good. I’ve been following this game for a while and am so excited to finally be able to play it! Having the paid or free option is nice, I kind of like that you have to wait to play again. It keeps it enjoyable and from getting old really fast like some other games that try to keep you playing for hours at a time. I can tell my partner and I are going to get very competitive with this one! Excited to see where the game goes from here!

by Songs Are Awesomeness.

I love word games, but most are just different styles of the same game. Gubbins is unique in its game play and I really find the little Gubbins creatures delightful. Not to mention the HUGE appeal of the fact there aren’t annoying intrusive ads!!

If you like scrabble, crosswords, pina coladas, etc. you’ll love Gubbins.

by Kodiak832

Perfect for anyone who loves Scrabble, Wordle, Bananagrams, and other word games - the whimsical design and endearing Gubbin characters elevate this from another word search game into a visually compelling experience that also exercises the brain. I was happy to pay a nominal, one-time fee for unlimited gameplay.

What a delightful discovery!

by TopGamer2️⃣0️⃣1️⃣2️⃣

I first heard of this game from my brother, who heard about it from a science YouTuber (I cannot remember the channel name smh). I absolutely recommend this game for the gameplay, concept and art style. The gameplay is amazing because you actually have to drag the word parts. I have seen games that you click the word part, then click where you want to put it. This is the complete opposite. Moving on, the art style is just so awesome. Gubbins are really cool creatures, and the creative things you came up with for this game are just crazy. The concept is also really good. I love making words, and I have actually found words in this game that otherwise i would not have even known about! No ads, which is nice. Developers have to make money somehow if they make the game free, but the developers of this game came up with a different idea. All that being said, love the game.

My suggestion(s):
• 2 free plays a day instead of 1
• Lower price for unlimited plays

Amazing game.

by Isishwnsnks

The game doesn’t just look amazing, it feels nice to play. I’m not one to spend too long on a word game so I don’t see myself spending the 6 bucks for that unlimited play, perfectly fine for me. There isn’t much to say really, it’s just a great word game. If you like puzzles or like word games, it’s a must play. Otherwise give it a shot, you might like it.

by Wtrmelonsmilez

This is SUCH a fun game. My sibling and I both play it and send our scores to eachother every day to compare (and compete). My only note is the same thing other people have mentioned here. On the home page of the game, there are three options for what type of game you can play: classic, daily, and pencil. I wish that the daily puzzle was the first option in the cycle instead of classic, just so that I stop picking classic on accident.

by ItsBaileyCW

I’ve always enjoyed word games and this one adds a twist, with powers for you but also against. It’s definitely tricky at times but pushes you to try different combinations of letters you didn’t see before. Hoping a multiplayer version comes out soon, would love to invite my sister to play on the same board back and forth or race through “just pencils” for the higher scores.

by Awsome Seas

This is a great game! It is very fun to play and the art style is amazing. This is easily addicting. The one thing this game needs is variety as there are only three game modes. One game mode could be like scrabble. There could also be more variety in the GUBBINS.

by Ratesratesrates

A wonderfully whimsical way to master the art of wacky words! Take all the shenanigans of your most beloved word games and blend it together with a vibe of school house rock and the energy of scratch and sniff stickers!! A fun, fast, and fantastical way to explore the wonderful world of words! GUBBINS gets it!

by TheTal0n

I have been waiting for this game for about a year following the development. It has lived up to the hype! If you like the idea of a word game but don’t like the stuffiness of crosswords, this is the game for you! Fantastic art and music, fun and unique mechanics, this is a true gem of a game!

by Robinson360

It’s a simple idea that’s well executed, which I love. It takes well known games like scrabble or word bites and adds a fun twist. You can only play once a day, which doesn’t bother me too much. It reminds me of wordle!

by Kiki The Flower Messenger

I love this game, the sound, the characters, the aesthetics, etc!!! I just wish we could play more often for the free version (like watching ads etc) but still very much in love!!

by Slimtrimkid

Thanks for fixing the UI issues so quickly. I’ll be buying the Starter pack in a few days. This is the most unique word game I’ve ever played. And don’t even get me started on the buttery jazz music. The game is perfect!!

by Travelinmaddy

Love this game however I find it’s dictionary incredibly frustrating. Multiple times i will have made a 9 letter word that is in the dictionary but won’t count on gubbins. For example today: sauceboat and biomasses. It would be nice to either have the dictionary flushed out or a feature where i can see if a word is valid before i start attempting to build it.

by Elainakay

I’ve been playing this game for a couple of days now, and I am in LOVE! I hope to see an integrated word suggestion/pop up suggestion one day, as well as a leaderboard. I am loving competing with my friends, and seeing where I stand on a larger scale would be awesome! The art is amazing. Oh I’d also love to see a sort of freeplay mode where we can toggle on and off gubbins to use. I’m so happy to have a new favorite game! Keep up the good work guys.

by SuspiciousSherbert

Hank Green brought me here. He invested 10% into the game so that amount goes to charity. That being said the game is actually very fun. The only thing I would say would be I know how there is a "pencil mode", "classic" and "daily" however I would love a mode of just positive gubbins where it's got the pencils but also the chilies, sock puppet man, horn ect with none of the 'frustrating' gubbins like the lemon, the mushroom, or the xyz guitar.