Game Settings & Options

All languages contain many rare and odd-looking words. This option forces the computer to stick to the more common words, both when taking its own turn and when suggesting hints.

'Flexible vocabulary'

Not everyone agrees which words should be allowed, so this option lets you override the default vocabulary.

If you try to play an unknown word, the computer will ask if you want to allow it anyway. You can also disallow words played by the computer (but not those played by another human). Banned and added words are cleared at the end of each game.

Don't use this if you can't resist deliberately cheating.

'Instant spelling check'

If this option is enabled, the pop-up score bubble will turn red to indicate any misspellings.

'Tile stacking'

Select 'NEW GAME' / 'tile stacking' for an alternative game mode which lets you drop new tiles over old ones (e.g. change SCRAMBLE to SCRABBLE). The new letters must differ from the old ones.

'Board style' vs 'Board layout'

A board's 'style' refers to its visual design (its look). A board's 'layout' determines the size of the board and the arrangement of its bonus squares.

Both features can be changed by selecting 'NEW GAME' / 'board layout'. Use the 'layout' button to cycle through the layouts. Tap the board itself to change the style.

To change the style mid-game, select 'OPTIONS' / 'edit board style', then tap the arrow buttons (or the left/right side of the board) to cycle through the different styles (the 'edit' button on this screen allows you to customize the background and dashboard colours of the currently selected style).

Want to keep things fresh? On the 'OPTIONS' menu, select 'random board style' or 'random board layout' and a different style or layout will be chosen for you each time you start a game.

'Hints'

Allow yourself as many hints per game as you like. When you tap the 'hint' button, the computer will suggest a word you could play. How it displays depends on the type of hint you've selected on the Options menu:

'Position Only' - you are shown where to place tiles, but not which letters to use.
'Full Word' - you are shown the full word and your tiles are placed on the board.
'Position + Word' - you are shown where to place tiles (but not the actual letters), and then if you still need more help, given the option of viewing the full word (choosing both costs two hints).

Note: the computer won't always recommend the highest scoring word. Sometimes, it will suggest another word that is strategically better instead. Disable the 'avoid rare words' option for the very best suggestions.

'Teacher mode'

Teacher mode temporarily rewinds the game to show the best word that you could have played. If you've already used a hint to see the best word, the teacher won't activate.

As with hints, you may need to disable the 'avoid rare words' option for the very best suggestions.

'Tile allocation'

This setting determines which tiles are drawn from the bank when a player's rack is re-filled:

'Random' (best for hardcore players) - tiles will be allocated entirely at random. This can be challenging as you will sometimes get lots of vowels or lots of consonants.
'Balanced' (recommended for average players) - the computer will try to issue a good mix of both vowels and consonants. However, it doesn't take your existing tiles into account, so you must still choose your words carefully to avoid accumulating too many letters of the same type.
'Helpful' (best for newbies) - the computer will help your luck by choosing a mix of letters that complement the tiles you already have. Your rack will have fewer duplicates, and a more consistent mix of vowels and consonants. When swapping, you will also be less likely to re-draw tiles with the same letters.

Whichever setting you choose, it will apply to both the human and the computer player.

'Timer'

For a little extra pressure, select 'NEW GAME' / 'Timer' and set its length. When the timer expires, you are penalized 10 points and the timer restarts. To pause the timer, exit the board screen (e.g. by tapping the player scores).

'Penalize errors'

If this option is selected and you attempt to play an invalid word, a penalty will be deducted from your score. You can choose between a relatively mild 10 point penalty, or having the word's value deducted instead. You then re-take your turn.

Note: there's no point in selecting both this and the 'instant spelling check' option.

'Rack sorting'

This option determines the order in which tiles are arranged on your rack at the start of each turn. Many players find it helpful see identical letters grouped together alphabetically. It can also be helpful to see your tiles separated into vowels and consonants.

'Show opponent's tiles'

Turn this option off to hide the tiles on your opponent's rack. If two humans are competing, each player will be asked to confirm they are ready before their rack is revealed.

'Auto-zoom'

This option determines whether or not the board will expand for a close-up view when tiles are placed. If this option is disabled, you can still manually zoom the board in and out by double-tapping it (or on a touch screen, pinching it).

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I shuffle my tiles?

Double-tap anywhere on your tile rack.

Why isn't my word recognised?

A common mistake is trying to play names, such as for months, days of the week, countries, cities and brands. Almost any combination of letters could be the name for something or someone, so names are not allowed. If a word can only be spelled using a capital letter, you can't play it (German nouns excepted).

That said, if you want to be able to override the game's default word list and play whatever words you believe are valid, just select the 'flexible vocabulary' option.

Why does the computer make up words?

It doesn't. All languages contain many rare and unlikely-looking words. If you don't recognise a word, try swiping along its length to see a definition. If you want the computer to stick to the more common words, select the 'avoid rare words' option.

Why does the computer miss words?

If you're wondering why the computer sometimes passes when there is a word it could have played, it's probably because you have the 'avoid rare words' option selected.

Why does the computer get better tiles?

It doesn't. Tiles are allocated in exactly the same way for both human and computer players. The aim was to produce a fun game, not an unbeatable opponent, so giving the computer any unfair advantage would have been entirely counter-productive.

The computer can find every possible word on the board in a split second, and can easily use up awkward letters. That alone makes it stronger than almost any human player, so it has no need for any unfair trickery.

Part of the game's challenge is to 'manage your rack' by choosing words that use up the difficult and duplicate letters, and which leave you with a healthy mix of vowels and consonants. The computer is quite skilled at this, but you can improve your own strategy by following our Top Tips. Alternatively, just select the 'helpful' tile allocation option and your luck will magically improve.

How do I resign?

Press the Android 'back' button or the Windows 'Esc' key. You'll be returned to the main menu where you can either start a new game, or resume the one you just left.

How can I skip my turn?

Press the 'swap' button, then 'pass' without selecting any tiles.

How can I make the game harder?

First, select a tougher opponent: from the main menu choose 'NEW GAME', then tap the 'Player 2' button until it shows the opponent you want.

If the game is still too easy, turn off the 'avoid rare words' option. This makes a big difference to the strength of the top computer players.

How can I see word defintions?

Just swipe along any word on the board to view its dictionary definition. See here for more details.

How many tiles are there?

It depends on the language and board size. The total number of remaining tiles is shown at the bottom of the screen. Tap this to see the totals for individual letters.

How can I view game and player statistics?

If you're in the middle of a game, press the scores area in the bottom-left of the screen.

You can also view and reset statistics by selecting 'PLAYERS' from the main menu.

What does this bonus square do?

The bonus squares may change appearance depending on which board style you've selected. If you press and hold on any bonus square, its purpose will be displayed at the top of the screen. You can also long press on any tile on the board to see if it is covering a bonus square.

How can I change the language?

To change the language used for the menus, buttons and prompts, tap the small round button to the bottom-right of the main menu.

To change the language used when playing the actual game, tap 'NEW GAME', then scroll down to the 'Language' button.

Game Rules

	Start Square / Double Word Bonus
	Double Letter Bonus
	Triple Letter Bonus
	Double Word Bonus
	Triple Word Bonus

At the start, all tiles are held in the 'Tile Bank'. Each tile is marked with a letter and its value, except for two blank tiles, which can represent any letter. Each player is randomly allocated 7 tiles from the Bank. One player is chosen at random to start the game.
Players take turns to place their tiles on empty board squares to form new words. The tiles must be in a straight line without any empty squares between them. At least one of the new tiles must be on a start square or next to an existing tile.
If 'Tile Stacking' is allowed, new tiles can also be placed on top of existing ones so long as they represent different letters.
Words must be at least two letters long and can be formed either horizontally (left to right) or vertically (top to bottom), but not diagonally or backwards.
Most words found in a standard dictionary are allowed (including inflections), except those requiring a capital letter, hyphen, apostrophe or full stop. See the Vocabulary section for details.
If you attempt to play a word that turns out to be invalid, and you've enabled 'penalties', the word's value will be subtracted from your score. You then re-take your turn.
Moves are scored by adding up the tile values for all the new words formed. If a tile is placed on an empty Double or Triple Letter Square then that tile's value is multiplied accordingly. Similarly, the scores for all words covering a Double or Triple Word Square are also multiplied.
Players earn a 40 point 'bingo' bonus if they play 7 new tiles at once.
After each turn, the player is allocated new tiles from the Bank.
Instead of placing a word, a player can pass or swap tiles on their rack with random tiles from the Bank.
The game ends when a player has used all their tiles and the Bank is also empty, or when both players have passed twice. Any tiles remaining on a player's rack are deducted from that player's score.
The winner is the player with the highest score.

Vocabulary

As there is no single authoritive guide to any language, it's inevitable that there will sometimes be disagreements over which words should be allowed. If you want to be able to override the game's default vocabulary and make your own decisions, select the 'flexible vocabulary' option.

All languages contain many obscure, archaic and unlikely looking words, which strong players love to exploit (e.g. 'aa' is a type of lava). If you don't think they should be allowed, don't play them. If you don't want the computer to play them either, select the 'avoid rare words' option.

Generally, words which can only be spelled with capital letters or punctuation marks are not allowed. This rules out names, acronyms and other words such as 'TV', 'Thursday', 'July', 'London', 'Pepsi', 'Sarah', 'ex-wife', and 'etc.'. Abbreviations are only allowed if they can be spelled without punctuation (e.g. 'phone').

That said, in some non-English languages, there is a growing trend to allow certain words that require capital letters, so long as they appear in the dictionary. As not everyone approves of this leniency, we've tried to keep such words to a minimum and have marked them as either 'rare' or to be played only by humans.

Special cases

GERMAN: Nouns are allowed even though they require a capital letter. Also, you must use the special Ä, Ö and Ü tiles, rather than AE, OE or UE.
SPANISH: You must use the special CH, LL and RR tiles, rather than combining two separate tiles.
SWEDISH: You can choose whether or not to allow inflections.
NORWEGIAN: This language has an exceptionally large number of words. The game's vocabulary can be considered complete for all words of up to eight letters, but some longer words may be missing. Selecting the 'flexible vocabulary' option will allow you to play these unrecognised words.

Top Tips

The more tiles that pass through your rack, the more likely you are to get the really useful and higher scoring tiles. Play longer words!
Try to play words that leave you with a good mix of vowels (A,E,I,O,U) and consonants. Three vowels and four consonants is the ideal balance. If you have multiple copies of the same letter, use them up quickly. This may mean playing a lower-scoring word, but it will give you more opportunities in your next turn. ✽
Don't give your blank tiles away too cheaply. Save them for high-scoring words. Likewise, in English, the S is particularly valuable as it can often be added to the end of one word, while forming a second word in the other direction.
Don't just look for words on your rack. Instead, work backwards from any easy-to-reach bonus squares. Try to match the high value tiles on your rack with the double and triple letter squares. Forming two words off a bonus square (horizontally and vertically) lets you use the bonus twice.
You should only swap as a last resort, when you have almost no usable tiles. Exchanging just a few tiles is risky because you may end up no better off. If you must swap, then exchange all, or most, of your tiles. If you do keep any tiles, hold on to an equal number of vowels and consonants. ✽
Don't pass your turn if you can swap your tiles instead.
At the end of the game, the value of any tiles left on your rack will be deducted from your score. Use up as many of your tiles as possible, but especially the higher-value ones.

✽ Less applicable if you're using the 'helpful' tile allocation option.

Technical Support

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