Wordsteal Rules - Alternate page

Introduction

Wordox is a fast-paced, competitive word game played by 2 - 4 players. The object of the game is to form words from the given letter tiles, positioning them on the board to out-manoeuvre your opponents - or simply steal your opponent's words (and points).

Setting Up a Game

To start a new game, click "Join" on any vacant table
"Set Up" the table for your desired game by selecting "Options
Select a "Winning Score" value, by default this is set to 50 Points for two player games.
Select a "Time Per Turn" value, by default this is set to 1:30 mins for two player games.
Select whether you prefer the game to be observed by others or private, by default this is set to observe. (Note: Observers can read conversations between players as well as watching the game unfold.)
You can join a table that someone has "Set Up" by clicking "Join"

Basic Game Rules

Each player plays from a pool of seven tiles selected randomly from a starting set.
The first player to take a turn must drag tiles to the centre of the board to form a word.
Each tile must touch one another with one tile covering the centre spot. Words can be placed horizontally or vertically in a single row or column.
Once a player has dragged their tiles to the centre of the board they must hit submit to create their word. If a word is considered as illegal then the tiles are removed from the board and play is passed to the next player.
In turn each player must place horizontally or vertically a minimum of two tiles on the board to form a word.
Players submit only one word per turn, although placed words may create more than one word on the board.
Players' turns are indicated by both their name being highlighted and an audible sound to signify their turn of play.
When a player's turn is completed and a word has been placed on the board then random generated tiles will appear in the rack.
The timer will tick down the seconds each player has remaining for each play.

Scoring

Players placing words are awarded one point for each tile played. Players can add to their score by stealing points by adding to existing words in play, which in turn will remove points from their opposition.

Example

Player 1 places the word "help" = 4 points
Player 2 places "less" to create "helpless" = 4+4 points
Player 1 would have zero points while Player 2 would gain 8 points
If Player 1 could add "ness" to create "helplessness" thus scoring 12 points their opposition's score would return to zero.

Points can be also be achieved by adding words parallel to existing words.

Example

           READY
  HELPLESSNESS

Player 2 would lose 3 points while player 1 would gain 8 points. 5 points for the word they placed "ready" and 3 for the additional 2 tile words they created, "re","es" & "as"

Other points can be gained by placing tiles over orange coloured squares. These additional points are indicated with an icon below players' names and can only be won if you place a tile over a pink coloured square, which clears the board. If someone else clears the board then all bonus points you gained by covering orange squares are lost.

Miscellaneous

One situation might cause confusion, so is worth clarifying:

It is legal (and sometimes beneficial) to deliberately skip your turn even if you have a valid move available. Doing this is not considered bad sportsmanship. Rationale: A 'No Skip' rule would not work, because it would be totally unenforcable, and would likely lead to arguments about whether someone skipping was deliberate or not.

Additional Rules

Originally, the game was played without any extra rules, but several variations have developed over time. These additional rules only take effect if the captain of the game selects them in the game Options before the game is started, or for one variation, announces it before the game starts. The captain can choose any combination of one or more of these rules. Players that do not agree with the rules the captain chooses or announces must quit either before the game starts or before they play their first move (ratings are not deducted). If the captain does not choose or mention a rule, it should be assumed it is not in effect.

No S: Also called NS, this is a popular variation of play. No player may extend a word (not even their own word) by adding a single S to the end of the word. Note that it is OK to extend 'CATCH' to 'CATCHES', or 'TOP' to 'STOP', or 'PIN' to 'SPINS', but not OK to extend 'SPIN' to 'SPINS'. Extending 'THESE' to 'THESES' is also disallowed even though the two words are unrelated. However, extending single letters such as 'A' to 'AS' is OK. Any player who breaks this rule automatically loses the turn. Is is enforced by the server.
No Pinks: Also called NP. It is not legal to clear the board. The pink clearing squares have a line in them to indicate they are not valid plays. Any player who plays a tile on a pink square automatically loses the turn. This is enforced by the server.
No S, No Pinks: This combination is very popular. Some players play nothing else.

Two Tile