Word Game Helper

Guides

These pages explain the rules the board solver is using when it ranks a move. They are written from the scoring tables, the board layouts, and the word list in this site, not from a separate rulebook.

Start with a turn if the board is new. Read the scoring page when a total looks wrong. Use the comparison when you switch games and the points change underneath you. Use the two-letter list when a one-tile hook is rejected.

• How a Crossplay turn worksThe rack, the center star, hooks, and what has to be true before a play is legal.
• How a score is calculatedLetter bonus, then word bonus, then the 40-point sweep. The QUIXOTE opening this solver lists first is 110.
• Crossplay, Scrabble, and Words with FriendsLetter values side by side, the bingo, the blanks, and the bonus squares on each board.
• Two-letter wordsThe 107 hooks this solver allows, including DA, GI, PO, TE, EW, and OK.

Reference charts

The guides send you to two charts when you want the full grid instead of an explanation. Crossplay tile values lists every letter's points and how many copies are in the 100-tile bag. The board layout is the 15 by 15 bonus map, including the center star that does not multiply the score.

What the solver is for

Open the Crossplay board, upload a screenshot or type the letters already played, and enter the seven tiles on your rack. Show Me Best Move lists legal plays by score. Click a result to see the breakdown: each new letter, the bonus on that square, any cross-word, and the sweep.

The same board opens as a Scrabble word finder or a Words with Friends word finder. Change the game before you read the number. A play that scores 67 in Crossplay can score 96 in Scrabble and 61 in Words with Friends, for the same letters on the same squares. That example is QUIXOTE through the center.

The word list is shared by all three games here. It is the older TWL plus six two-letter words, 178,697 words in all. NYT Crossplay's list is newer. The about page says what that does and does not cover.