Fans trash EA's new 'sparkly' scrabble app

New Scrabble Go app has come under fire for its glitzy design and displaying too many ads

Scrabble Go, a new game that will replace the existing official Scrabble mobile app made by Electronic Arts (EA) has angered hundreds of users, reports BBC.

The EA game will be discontinued on 5 June because the official franchise is now licensed to mobile game maker Scopely.

The game's popularity spiked in the launch month and it had been downloaded more than 10 million times by the end of April.

At that time, it had 2.5 million daily players, who spent an average of 100 minutes of game time per day, reports Reuters.

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It has a four-star rating on the Google Play store alongside hundreds of negative comments complaining that the design is too distracting.

Angry users have filed a digital petition on the website Change.org calling for EA to keep the original app going has nearly 1,200 signatures.

"I don't want jewels, cartoons, or potential dates. I want to play Scrabble against my friends and family. That's it. Nothing else" wrote one signatory.

"They've turned it into some sparkly Candy Crush abomination," Ian Pym from Fareham, Hampshire, told the BBC.

"I defy any adult to play it for longer than 10 minutes and not feel physically sick."

Ian's mother, Christiane, 78, is an avid Scrabble player and has played 21,000 games on the EA app as she finds it quite relaxing.

"It's not even worth sharing Scrabble Go with my mum - she would be totally confused," he said.

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Users also voiced their anger on Twitter:

I was blocked by #scrabblego for complaining about their infantile garbage app. #bringbackscrabble

— jennifer wyland (@fredopups) May 13, 2020

https://twitter.com/RBaumander/status/1261126218172248064

https://twitter.com/RBaumander/status/1261125455303884802

https://twitter.com/vjc1993/status/1261092614566281223

"Our games have built a passionate community and we want to thank you for playing for so many years," said EA said in a statement explaining its plan to discontinue its version of the game.

"The players' point of view is always important, that's why any suggestion or feedback will be more than welcome," EA customer services team told BBC.

This article originally published on BBC Tech.