AbraWORDabrA has a flaw - from the outset it feels and plays almost exactly like every 'edutainment' game crammed down your craw during your formative years. The problems are simple, but you can't move on until you get past the rudimentary game slapped on top of it. However, initial pacing issues aside, AbraWORDabrA by Total Arkade Software soon shows its teeth and you'll almost be wishing for the simple game you were complaining about.

The game is split up in to two main modes, with the first sporting three variations, while the latter acts as more of a mini-game to break things up. Gameplay for most levels involves shepherding 'letters' to the bottom of the screen and in to a book, from which they can then be used to complete words at the top of the screen.

'Mizz Spell' tasks you with completing incorrectly spelled words; 'U Genius' plays as more of a Scrabble-like mode where your score depends on your ability to generate words from random letters; and 'Fill the Gap' provides an incomplete word to be solved.

At first this is easy enough, but later levels provide you with less time, higher scores to attain and larger levels, adding just enough pressure to keep you occupied all the time. This is further compounded by letters that run out of breath, though they can be carried by other letters and regularly tapped to keep them moving, earning a bonus for doing so. Distractions such as needing to open gates to drop the letters down to successive levels and bonuses that float past also ensure that you're never given a moment to relax.

As such the regular addition of the tilt-based 'Float On' mode after each stage would be a welcome change of pace, but it's not mindless or fast-enough to alleviate the pressure of later levels.

Although AbraWORDabrA wears the guise of an educational game, it's a far cry from the monotonous time-sinks that bloat school-computers and as such it's a perfect pick up for fans of puzzlers and those after a real educational challenge for their kids.