Panda Poet 50% off thru' today, 2/13. Newer: Chess, Word Search

CATCHING UP ON RECENTLY RELEASED GAMES
Apologies to non-US readers that Amazon is not offering these outside the US yet.  They say they plan to.  Could be we're the guinea pigs and you'll get the ones that were updated after much feedback.

I've added, on the web blog, some extra links for eBooks if that might help.

Oak Systems Leisure Software released Chess for Kindle this week after some anguished waiting by a few members of the Amazon "kindle active content" forum.

Forum message-thread loading problems (repeated, because it's still very needed).
  NOTE: If your web browser (Firefox, IE, or Chrome) drops you onto the Amazon forum list of topics instead of bringing you to the forum thread, click on Refresh or Reload to get the message thread itself -- or click on the link again.  I don't know why a 'retry' is often needed, but it is, including Comments to Customer Reviews.  Forum threads seem to be prevented from loading at first try by some boxes that are drawn for info or ads.  This continuing problem has been discussed by members of the forum.

Back to Chess:  The authors write: "Choose between 10 levels of difficulty and choose whether you want to play with an optional time limit to increase the challenge. You can also take back a move if you have made a mistake, as well as save your game at any time."

The Customer Reviews are mixed, with some more knowledgeable chess players missing important options normally used while others are very pleased with it.

WORD SEARCH
Word Search, released 9 days ago, has quickly become the most popular puzzle in the Kindle store.  In fact, it is #1 in Kindle eBook paid "Non-Fiction" currently and is #2 Bestseller in the Top 100 Paid "eBooks" as I write this (the rankings change quickly). :-).

  Has anyone else noticed the changed spelling recently, from "e-books" to eBooks, used by many?  It seems more permanent and less apologetic.   No longer non-real books, in a way.

  Oak Systems Leisure Software (Creator of the first Kindle Chess) is the company behind Word Search also.

  In their product description, they write: "Locate and mark off words in the grid using the 5 way controller.  Each word appears in a straight line, horizontally, vertically or diagonally in the grid - but be careful, sometimes the words are backwards!  Play at your own pace or against the clock and see who can get the fastest time for each puzzle.  Pause partway through a puzzle and return to where you left it.  You can reset each puzzle and try it again as many times as you like.  If you get stuck on a more challenging puzzle then you can give up and see the correct solution.

Fun for all ages, with categories from Animals to Best Movie Oscar, there are 50 themed 13x13 puzzles included in Volume 1 covering a wide variety of subjects..."

PANDA POET - 50% OFF THROUGH SUNDAY FEB 13 (Sorry I didn't notice the sale)
Spry Fox, creator of "Triple Town released Panda Poet in November.  It has 24 customer reviews and 4-1/2 out of 5 stars.

Product description: "Discounted 50% off for a limited time (offer ends February 13th)...

With Panda Poet you use the letters on the game board to form words.  Words formed from letters in open spaces create pandas.  Words formed from letters near pandas make existing pandas grow.

The goal is grow the biggest panda possible.  You get the highest scores from either creating the biggest possible panda or from forming the longest possible words.

To add to the challenge, each letter is only available for a fixed number of turns. Each time you enter a word, all the letters on the screen come one step closer to expiring.  When a letter expires, it is replaced by a skull, which prevents you from growing your pandas in that direction.  This makes playing Panda Poet a delicate balancing act: you must consider where a letter is located on the grid and how soon it will expire, not simply spell the longest word you can."


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   DX Graphite

---

Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or highest-rated ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

The two Scrabble-like Kindle games. UPDATED for 8/9 Amazon statement

UPDATE 8/9/2010 - See newly posted Amazon statement (below) on othe question of international distribution of the two "Amazon active content word games.

8/8/2010 - Contractors are still spending day and night at my place where flooding did some real damage so I've been moving around and not spending as much time on things Kindle.  Trying to catch up a bit, I'll be back tomorrow with more news.  Thanks for hanging in there during this.

See the original word-games posting.  This is just a follow up.

WHY ARE THE TWO FREE KINDLE GAMES NOT DOWNLOADABLE OUTSIDE THE U.S.?
This question has been asked often this week because, for some reason, Amazon did not mention on the product-page that the games are accessible only by U.S. residents.  It must be an oversight, since items with free shipping available only to the Continental U.S. always carry a mention of this.  On the other hand, books available only in the U.S. due to publisher restrictions don't have geo-based caveats on them and non-US. Kindle owners find out when they try to order them.  However, Amazon does have full control over what the game product pages say.  What's more unclear is why Amazon "active content" is restricted.  Maybe they want to see if there are bugs before wider distribution, since they handle the unofficial beta-releases that way.

  A Kindle Community forums member, D. Gorman, posted an email response from Amazon Customer Service on this:

" I'm sorry for any inconvenience caused.  I'm unable to provide you more information about the availability of Kindle active content in Australia.  We value our international customers and hope to make Kindle active content available in more locations in the future.

  I'll make sure your feedback is passed on to the Kindle development team." '

UPDATE - 8/9/10 (Original posting was 8/8/10
Amazon Kindle Team posted a statement to the Amazon Kindle Forum about the international distribution question:

' The Amazon Kindle team says:
(AMAZON OFFICIAL)
Thank you for your feedback regarding Every Word and Shuffled Row.

To clear up a couple of points of confusion, Every Word and Shuffled Row, and future active content titles, are designed for Kindle (latest generation), as well as Kindle (2nd Generation) and Kindle DX devices running software version 2.5.

These word games are currently available to US customers, however we look forward to offering all active content titles internationally in the future. '   [Emphasis mine]

THE GAMES, THEMSELVES
  I'm usually not a computer-games type, but I had a chance to try these out, while waiting here and there, and find that I'm not doing much reading in waiting-situations where I used to, because the first game, Every Word, is sort of addictive for me, especially with the "relaxed" mode in which you're not timed, and it's amazing how many words there are that I never encountered, but that's typical of a Scrabble game too.  It can be educational if you take time to look up the meaning of the odder words.

  You get about 7 alpha characters and can move on to the next level of the game after you've put together the longest word that Every Word has in its database for those letters but of course you'd want to stay at the level to get as many of the the other, shorter words also, to build up points for the total game that way.  If you choose the Timed option, strategy is key.  You get just those 7 characters, which are static.

  A MILD TIP - With Scrabble, we can shift our tiles around.  There's a way to do that on the Kindle also.
  If I get the letters 'i'   'n'   'g' and I want to see what words I might be able to make ending in "ing" -- I type those letters in so that they appear on the line below and then I press the 'NextPage' button to shift the remaining 4 letters so that they're together and I can see them in various combinations with each "Next page" press.  Do the same with any letter-combos you have.
   Also, if the game needs a word you probably never heard of, the alpha positioning in the numbered sets of letters (4 characters, 6 characters) will give a clue too.

The other game, Shuffled Row is always timed.  You get 9 letters slowly coming onto the board, and as you look at them, soon the ones on the left scroll off and you can't use them anymore, as they never return, so you have to strategically decide whether to wait to make a long word or instead grab a weighty letter like 'x' or 'z' and find a word with it or decide whether to save good letters for later or watch them scroll off while you're deciding.  It's fun but can feel a bit hectic and isn't recommended if you're to be off to sleep soon.

Both games have fast response times, since all they do is refresh letters after short calculations.  There is more screen-ink shifting than when reading a book and there's a corresponding battery drain with each screen change, but the effect on the battery is small to medium, from what I've seen, although the constant movement used for Shuffled Row will use more of the battery power.

---

Check often:  Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.

Amazon offers 2 free games, for Kindle-2 and DX customers in the U.S. - UPDATE2

Amazon has announced in a few places that they are now offering two word puzzle games for Kindle -- Every Word and Shuffled Row.  Both are free and they encourage you to check them out.

Availability of the two downloadable games
 Unfortunately, the "you" does not include, at this time, Kindle owners outside the U.S., Kindle-1 owners, and those who might want to play these games on the various Kindle apps for other devices.

UPDATES at 3:09 PM and later to the original entry made early morning of Aug 4.
  Though some had been unable to use the Amazon Manage your Kindle page to send to other Non-Kindle-1 devices, tuxgirl, writing in the Comments area, and Kindle owners are reporting they can get copies of the games for their eligible devices (see below) by going to the Archived Items on their Kindles where either or both of the two free games will show up if you've downloaded them already to one of the devices on their account.
  For some reason, the ManageYourKindle page is not letting some move the games from that page.

  Those without Whispernet wireless access in their area can have the games (as with books) downloaded to their computer via the Manage Your Kindle page for one or more of the Kindles on their account and then just move the downloaded word game over to the "documents" folder of the computer.

People are reporting enjoying these very much with a bit of addiction also reported :-)
[End of Updates for 3:05 pm and later]

  A forum posting says that a Kindle customer representative said that the geo restriction is put there by the publishers of the games but that's not an official statement and I suspect it has more to do with Amazon policy for this phase of the apps development/release, which appears to be a sort of a try-out.

  I have no information on why other countries are not getting the games today, and these things can change.  I do wish there were a statement saying these are available only in the U.S. right now.

  It's entirely possible that they'll eventually add other countries since they've not added wording about it being available only in the U.S.

  So there has been disappointment expressed by those who can't access these currently when they follow the links announced.  I'm putting this caveat first, so that Kindle-1 owners, international Kindle owners, and Kindle-app users are aware of the current limitations before reading the invites to try these out.

The word games are listed as 'Kindle Active Content' and here are the descriptions Amazon gives:

Every Word
  If you like word scrambles, then Every Word is the game for you.  Test your vocabulary as you try to find as many words from the scrambled letters in this fun and fast-paced word game.

  Here's how it works. You are given six or seven scrambled letters with the goal of finding as many words as you can.  You score points by filling out the words in each empty spot on the board, using only the letters that appear at the top of the game board.   Keep at it until time runs out or until you fill up the board.  The more words you make, the higher your score.

  Your score is comprised of two components: first make a lot of words, second try to make the longest word possible in each scramble.  The best way to increase your score is to do both, but it's a huge bonus to find the longest word possible.  Why?  Because when you do, you earn the right to play a completely new level with a brand new set of letters.  As long as you keep finding the longest word, you can move on to a new level with a new jumble of letters and push your score higher and higher.

Shuffled Row
  In Shuffled Row, see how many words you can make from 60 lettered tiles.

  The tiles are added to your row one at a time so you'll constantly be working with a new set of letters.  After you submit a word, the letters you used will be removed and new ones will be added.  Increase your score by using less common letters.  Create longer words and increase your score even more.

  If you don't use the letters fast enough, they'll disappear and new ones will take their place, so you'll have to decide if you want to play it safe and use short words or try to wait for more letters to form longer words.

These are both available for downloads in the Kindle Store, at the links given above.   "Kindle Active Content titles include free wireless delivery."

The Games are Available for these Devices:
Kindle (Free 3G + Wi-Fi, 6")  - (Kindle 3 with 3G/WiFi)
Kindle (Wi-Fi, 6") - (Kindle 3 with WiFi Only)
   These are the Latest Generation 6" Kindles not shipping until Aug 27 or so.

 ( I'll do, soon, an updated blog article on how WiFi and 3G wireless access differ. 
   Until then, please read the first half of E-Readers with Web Browsers, and WiFi vs 3G cellular access,
   which should give a basic idea of the situations in which each type of wireless is used and what's involved.)

Kindle (2nd Generation) International  and  Kindle (2nd Generation) U.S.  (These are Kindle-2  6"-screen models and the latest in-hand until Aug 27 or so.

Kindle DX (Free 3G, 9.7", Graphite) - the Kindle DX with higher contrast screen, latest generation,
   released after the next two devices just below, which are able to run the games as well.

Kindle DX (Free 3G, 9.7", White) International  and  Kindle DX (Free 3G, 9.7" White) U.S.


Side note:
Also available are other (mostly low-cost) word games for Kindle.

---

Check often:  Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.