Coronavirus: Julie Andrews & Words With Friends to share ‘words of hope’ in #PlayApartTogether campaign

Words With Friends has partnered with Dame Julie Andrews to help inform and entertain people during the coronavirus pandemic.

With the coronavirus causing a lot of us to turn to video games for entertainment and comfort, WHO itself has partnered up with numerous developers and publishers to use their games to promote social distancing and spread awareness about the virus, under the hashtag #PlayApartTogether.

Now mobile game developer Zynga has joined the group with its Word With Friends title, which is basically Scrabble except it’s one-versus-one and you play against people online, be they friends or complete strangers.

But as if to go the extra mile, Zynga has brought in none other than Dame Julie Andrews, star of Mary Poppins and The Sound Of Music, to help out as well.

Through the game’s Word of the Day feature and Zynga’s social channels, Andrews will be sharing a ‘word of hope’ every day throughout the week, accompanied by a quote from Andrews herself about what the word means to her.

For example, they’ve started with ‘home,’ which Andrews says was ‘the first comprehensible word [she] uttered as a child.’

The aim is to ‘spotlight the powers of words in finding connection, strength and comfort at this time for everyone,’ says Zynga.

Play Apart Together Zynga — Zynga’s own take on the hashtag’s logo (Pic: Zynga)

The campaign also includes the debut of a new podcast hosted by Andrews and her daughter, children’s author Emma Walton Hamilton, titled Julie’s Library.

It will start on the 29 April will have the two read their favourite children’s books, ‘sharing their passion for the power of storytelling, literacy and the arts.’