Wordness allows you to sign up through multiple routes, be it Email, Facebook, or Google Plus, and through these networks you can challenge your friends to a game. You also have the ability to select a random game, which will pair you up with the next player looking for a random game.
The game itself is a mix of word-searching and tactics - you claim letters by using them and you can defend individual letters by using the letters around them and claiming them as your own. Of course your opponent is doing that at the same time, so there is an ebb and flow until all the letters have been claimed at least once. At this point the game is over and whoever has the highest score (determined by the value of the letter tiles) will be the winner.
If you've seen Letterpress on the iPhone or iPad, then you'll recognise the game that's been 'cloned' here. Unfortunately the grace and small touches in Letterpress have not been ported over - so it's impossible to rearrange letters once they have been selected, and the dictionary used is smaller than other titles.
Data Arc have made some interesting changes that directly affect the gameplay - tiles are now worth a different value depending on the letter they have (in the original every tile is worth a single point). They have also added a freemium model to purchase new themes, magic tiles, and to unlock the 'full' game. I know that they mention in the directory listing that "Wordness is uniquely different for its gameplay and design and is exclusively available for both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8" but it feels far too close to Letterpress for my liking.
If you've not experienced Letterpress, you may well enjoy Wordness, but the UI is going to drive you crazy given time. Anyone who's spent time with Loren Brichter's original is going to be very disappointed at what Data Arc have published.