Dark mages are always causing trouble and planning destruction and unhappiness. Playfirst’s “Spellagories,” is no exception. Dark mages lurk near each of the kingdom’s castles turning all the villagers into hideous beasts and only you and your excellent spelling skills can save them. And to help you hone those skills, I’ve got a simple, tasty and letter-filled Alphabet Soup recipe.

Your delightful game:

They’re at it again. Those dark mages just love raising rabble and casting spells, but it’s time to fight back. Five dark mages have turned all the villagers into animals and you must cure them before sundown or else the spell becomes permanent.

You’re given a very, and I stress, very, general category and six scrambled letters. Only four or five of the letters are part of the magic word, so not only do you have to unscramble the letters, but you have to figure out which letters don’t belong. This can be a bit tricky, but luckily the game gives you a lot of opportunities to receive hints. By pressing the space bar or the “mix” button on the screen you can move the letters around in an attempt to expose the word. You can click on the helpful raven who will reveal the first letter of the word or you can type any words the given letters can make, even if they aren’t the magic word, to get extra points and learn the placement of another letter.

The game has three different game modes (story, untimed and arcade) and three difficulty settings (normal, hard and insane). In story mode, you cure villagers by day, and craft a spell to defeat each dark mage by night. After you get 20 correct magic words over the course of a few evenings, you will have created a spell that can turn the mage’s magic back on him, turning him into a beast. There’s also a bonus stage where you are given a jumbled word and three categories, and before the word is unscrambled you have to select which category the word falls under. In arcade mode, which you unlock after defeating the first dark mage, you can simply play through the game against the mage of your choice, without playing through the evening sections.

The game is fun, but definitely challenging. The categories are pretty broad, which can make it hard to come up with the answer. One category, for example, was “container,” and the answer was “cage.” Another was “cooking,” and the answer was “slice.” Using the raven’s hints, rearranging the letters, and typing in other words, is a helpful way to solve the puzzles, especially the ones you’re stuck on. The words aren’t that tricky, and I often kicked myself after I failed to figure out a simple word, but the excess letters and the general categories often threw me off.

The graphics have the right look and feel. They transport you to a magician’s lair with a huge bubbly cauldron, candles and ancient texts. The music is mystical and helps set the scene. All in all a pretty fun game for you wordy folks.

Your tasty dinner:

Mixing up letters in a big cauldron really reminded me of stirring a big pot of Alphabet Soup. The recipe I have is super simple and tasty, and will allow you to keep practicing your word-spotting skills. If you felt defeated after failing to best a dark mage or suddenly began to question your language skills, go make a pot of this soup, and start training!

Alphabet Soup

You’ll need:

- 2 quarts chicken broth
- 3 cups frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, corn)
- 1 ½ cups onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- Salt (if desired, although the chicken broth is probably pretty salty)
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon water
- 1 cup alphabet soup pasta

1. Heat the oil in large pot over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and cook until translucent.
3. Add frozen veggies and water and cook until soft.
4. Add garlic and cook until starts to brown.
5. Add chicken broth, pepper, and salt (if desired).
6. Stir ingredients and bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 25 minutes.
8. Add pasta and cook until done.
9. Grab yourself a bowl, practice your spelling and challenge that mage to a rematch!