Word Forge
One set of letters, sixty seconds, one word. Longer words multiply your score, highlighted letters are worth double or triple, and poisoned letters turn up near the end. Submit the same word as someone else and you both get zero.
Rules
The idea
Everyone gets the same set of letters, sixty seconds and one word to make. Since the letters are shared, luck doesn't come into it: it's about spotting more in the set than anyone else. The longer the word, the faster your score climbs, but you still have to finish it in time.
How to play
- A set of letters appears on screen, the same for everyone. There are 16 by default (12 in the Hardcore preset).
- Build a word from them on your phone. You can use each letter as many times as it appears in the set, and no more.
- Submit your word before time runs out. Other players' words stay hidden until the round ends, so no peeking.
- When the round ends, all the words are revealed and scored.
- Next round, new letters.
A word needs at least two letters and has to be in the dictionary, so made-up words score zero. A Classic game is 10 rounds.
Scoring
Each letter is worth points based on how rare it is: an "e" is worth very little, a "q" or "z" a lot more. Add up the letter values, then multiply by the word's length multiplier:
| Word length | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| up to 3 letters | ×1 |
| 4–5 | ×1.5 |
| 6–7 | ×2 |
| 8–9 | ×3 |
| 10 or more | ×5 |
That's why a seven-letter word almost always beats two four-letter ones, even with cheaper letters.
If two players submit the same word, both get zero. The obvious word everyone thought of is worth nothing.
Special letters
The set is never neutral, so check the keyboard every round.
- Multiplier letters (×2 or ×3) double or triple that letter's value. A word without one can lose to a word that has it.
- A bonus letter gives you a secret edge in a later round: swap a letter, count a letter twice, or ignore the same-word rule once.
- A poisoned letter, marked with a skull, subtracts double its value instead of adding it. Poison shows up in the last three rounds, right when the game is being decided.
Tips
- Don't grab the first word you see. Someone else probably saw it too, and a match zeroes you both.
- A long word made of cheap letters usually beats a short word made of expensive ones, because the length multiplier grows faster.
- Sometimes it pays to use the poisoned letter: if leaving it out makes your word two letters shorter, the length multiplier outweighs the penalty.
You will need
Also try
