Words With Friends
Thread Rating:
Anyway, I dowloaded the app recently and started playing, different games with different people all at once, and after a few games I've really caught on to how fun it is. I used to think there was nothing to it, that you just form words and get whatever points come along with it, but now in every move I am strategizing to set up each word (or words if I'm able to figure out how to place the letters to where they form other words with the neighboring tiles) to optimize my points. I never knew there could be a strategic way to play, but now a game I thought would be bland and boring ended up being competitive and super fun!
Have any of you also caught the Words With Friends bug?
Quote: HotBlondeOMG (and yes, I know that's an abbreviation and not a full word, lol) I think I am absolutely ADDICTED to this app! I play it on my iPhone 5 and can't get enough of it. I know the app came out years ago and seems to be basically identical to Scrabble (I haven't really played Scrabble too many times in my life so I'm not sure how identical the two games are)
In Scrabble each letter has a point value and there's a certian determined number of each letter. Some spots on the baord are worth double or, i think, triple points for letters palced on them.
Other than that I've heard about WWF on the Big Bang Theory :)
This is how it is in Words With Friends. And in regards to the squares ome squares are double letter, triple letter, double word and triple word.Quote: NareedIn Scrabble each letter has a point value and there's a certian determined number of each letter. Some spots on the baord are worth double or, i think, triple points for letters palced on them.
A few years back, there was another Scrabble-clone that was playing via app on cell phones, although I can't recall the name of it at this time. I started off playing on that, and quickly encountered an older lady who would kick my butt, and by MANY points. I kept playing her, and learning. I saw what she did, how she did it, how she utilized strategy. Although I don't know her actual name, I credit her with any success I've had since then.
The two friends I play with now are able to put up with me. One only tries to come within 100 points of me. He considers that a moral victory. The other gives me a good run for the money. She beats me about once every 10 games or so. When we first started playing, she was a lot worse, but has been watching and learning strategies from me as well. The rest of my friends, although I've played them once or twice, they no longer like to play against me, and for the sake of our friendship, I don't try to play them anymore. Ha!
An important thing, strategy wise, and it may be something that the gentleman in the above video mentioned, or I heard it elsewhere, is that many people make the mistake of trying to make words, or even trying to score as many points as possible. The true objective of the game is to score more points than your opponent. It's not always advisable to put down a large scoring word if it opens up too many avenues for your opponent to score an equally, or sometimes larger, scoring word.
Also the start player doesn't get a double word on their first play.
Quote: thecesspitWords with friends has a different board lay out to scrabble (there's some very powerful spots on the board where you can easily get a Triple word and Tripple letter together) and a different score for each tile.
There's also a different quantity of the various letters from Scrabble as well.
Further strategy helps if you know what tiles are remaining out there. It allows you to place words without fear that your opponent can capitalize on your placements.
Quote: thecesspitAlso the start player doesn't get a double word on their first play.
The starting player getting a double word score does kind of irk me. However, as one of the videos demonstrates, people usually go for this five letter word without regard to what they are actually playing. And you can usually capitalize on someone's double word start, with a much higher scoring word that doesn't even utilize a DW space. Further, the second player can usually get the DW going perpendicular to the first player's word anyway, so I think it somewhat nullifies things.
There is zero fun in that; it's like playing against idiot monkeys. No, it is playing against idiot monkeys =p
Quote: FaceBah, I hate that game. It was fun for a second, and would be fun if there were a limit on tries or something. But the asshats I play with will just repeatedly throw letters around for half an hour until something sticks, and make a word they had no idea existed and have no idea what it means or how it's used.
There is zero fun in that; it's like playing against idiot monkeys. No, it is playing against idiot monkeys =p
As my father used to say to me as a kid, when I went along with something one of my moron friends did. "Sounds like you need new friends". :)
Quote: FaceThere is zero fun in that; it's like playing against idiot monkeys. No, it is playing against idiot monkeys =p
Online games are chancy. I had reasonably good times playing X-Wing vs Tie Fighter in the 90s (on a dial-up connection, too!), but just playing something simple like Hearts could be an excercise in frustration. Like when some guy with the Queen of Spades refuses to play it when he finally cannot avoid it any longer, so he stalls the game, or leaves.
Quote: FaceBah, I hate that game. It was fun for a second, and would be fun if there were a limit on tries or something. But the asshats I play with will just repeatedly throw letters around for half an hour until something sticks, and make a word they had no idea existed and have no idea what it means or how it's used.
There is zero fun in that; it's like playing against idiot monkeys. No, it is playing against idiot monkeys =p
Not to mention that anyone can google Scrabble Cheat or Scrabble Word Finder.
I do that. I don't see anything wrong with it, it's not cheating or anything. It's a great way to find out what works and what doesn't and helps me optimize my points.Quote: FaceBah, I hate that game. It was fun for a second, and would be fun if there were a limit on tries or something. But the asshats I play with will just repeatedly throw letters around for half an hour until something sticks, and make a word they had no idea existed and have no idea what it means or how it's used.
I was worried about this when I first started playing, however, unless I'm wrong, I've come to assume that the cheating "word generators" can only use letters that you have in your possession and possibly an extra letter or two that you want to play off of that is already played on the board. I'm guessing it can't come up with really cool multiple word combinations like instances where i can create four words off of a word that was already placed. I love when I get one of those. What a rush, especially when I get the bonus tiles to multiply my points.Quote: 1BBNot to mention that anyone can google Scrabble Cheat or Scrabble Word Finder.
Anyway, sometimes with the clock running out I'd just stick letters together at random and they'd form a word the game accepted. In fairness, I later checked them in the dictionary.
Most often, though, I'd misss glaringly obvious words. Say among the letters I had "O P N A E C" I'd come up with "cane," "can," "cop," "nope" and completely miss "open"
BTW, one of those disks had a really tough puzzle-labyrinth game called Chip's Challenge. I remember one early use fo the internet was to look up cheats for that game.
Oh, and somehow I've kept those games moving from machine to machine from Win95 til today. Most of them still run.
Quote: HotBlondeI do that. I don't see anything wrong with it, it's not cheating or anything. It's a great way to find out what works and what doesn't and helps me optimize my points.
Then I apologize for preemptively calling you an idiot monkey lol
But I feel Scrabble and its ilk are strategy based battles of vocabulary. WWF removes any semblance of vocabulary. It devolves into a simple time sink – who has the patience to try as many combinations of arbitrary letters as possible.
It could be in Seneca, Mandarin, Dovahkin or Klingon and it’d make no difference whatsoever for this type of play. That takes all the fun I could find out of the game. I suppose that could be a sort of game in itself, but I group the “friends” that I used to play with and who did that in the same category as Wizard’s Stop Sign Lady. Not a cheat, but surely against the spirit of the thing.
i use a website that has a word checker in it that will tell you which words you can and can't use. I use this after I have just taken my turn and am waiting for the other person to take theirs. But whether it's my turn or not I don't see the difference between the two.Quote: FaceThen I apologize for preemptively calling you an idiot monkey lol
But I feel Scrabble and its ilk are strategy based battles of vocabulary. WWF removes any semblance of vocabulary. It devolves into a simple time sink – who has the patience to try as many combinations of arbitrary letters as possible.
It could be in Seneca, Mandarin, Dovahkin or Klingon and it’d make no difference whatsoever for this type of play. That takes all the fun I could find out of the game. I suppose that could be a sort of game in itself, but I group the “friends” that I used to play with and who did that in the same category as Wizard’s Stop Sign Lady. Not a cheat, but surely against the spirit of the thing.
I used to like playing WWF until I found out that people I was playing against were all using these types of things prior to making a move. That's cheating in my book. Its like someone using a dictionary during a scrabble game. Some people like a challenge when they play games using a word finder during play is not a big challenge. Playing vs a person using a word finder is not fun.Quote: HotBlondeI do that. I don't see anything wrong with it, it's not cheating or anything. It's a great way to find out what works and what doesn't and helps me optimize my points.
Its not cheating though. And you're right, it is like using a dictionary when using Scrabble, but that's allowed as well. If I want to know if "AE" will work as a word, for example, then I place it with my word and try and see if it goes through. (And "AE" is considered a word). I'm big on being honest and not cheating and I don't do anything that is considered wrong.Quote: AxelWolfI used to like playing WWF until I found out that people I was playing against were all using these types of things prior to making a move. That's cheating in my book. Its like someone using a dictionary during a scrabble game. Some people like a challenge when they play games using a word finder during play is not a big challenge. Playing vs a person using a word finder is not fun.
The gains you get from experience only come with repeated play so I found it useless.
Scrabble and wwf are about the same.
Quote: AxelWolfI was under the impression you could only use a dictionary in scrabble when challenging a word to see if it's a real word. I dont know the official rules but I don't think you can look at it to find spelling or words to play. Once again it would be like playing chess vs a guy using a computer program to make his moves VS you.
Scrabble won't let you place words which are not words, unless there is a rule setting option. There are no challenges otherwise. I played some lady who had a 4-20 record play Omnicron and some other nonsense bingo. Luckily, I pissed her off so bad pointing this out, she forfeited as requested. Scrabble is some bad news and the women you meet are screwed up in the head. One lady from Malaysia was contacting my friends saying she was going to have my baby and it was a funny kind of hell for about 3 weeks.
I'm lost, explain more. Can you use a dictionary TO FIND playable words under normal scrabble rules?Quote: onenickelmiracleScrabble won't let you place words which are not words, unless there is a rule setting option. There are no challenges otherwise. I played some lady who had a 4-20 record play Omnicron and some other nonsense bingo. Luckily, I pissed her off so bad pointing this out, she forfeited as requested. .
Quote: HotBlondeI was worried about this when I first started playing, however, unless I'm wrong, I've come to assume that the cheating "word generators" can only use letters that you have in your possession and possibly an extra letter or two that you want to play off of that is already played on the board. I'm guessing it can't come up with really cool multiple word combinations like instances where i can create four words off of a word that was already placed. I love when I get one of those. What a rush, especially when I get the bonus tiles to multiply my points.
There are various apps you can find which will indeed show you multiple combinations. In fact, some of them will allow you to take a screenshot of your game, and then will show you the highest scoring move you can make. It can't show you strategy, ie, the highest scoring move is actually bad becomes it opens up your opponent to use a TW.
On the subject of cheating, I think it's fairly simple. I don't play with people who cheat. Ultimately, I'm interested in bettering my strategy at the game, and in the process, sometimes learning new words. I've played against people using cheat programs, and sometimes even beat them, again because it offers no strategy consultation. I don't consider it a challenge. Much like playing any other kind of game against a computer. It can only offer so much of a challenge before beating a computer is supremely easy. Playing a human opponent is much more difficult. I can't remember where I heard or read it, but the concept of "computers don't understand sacrifice" comes to mind.
One thing I do wonder about, however, is whether or not other events should or should not count as cheating. For example, let's say you are playing a game of Words With Friends with someone. That person has made their move. You look at your screen, noticing what letters you have, layout of the board, etc. You are pondering what move to make. Sometime outside the game happens, and you are forced to go deal with the real word instead of making your move. You go to lunch with a friend of yours, who uses a word you had never heard of before. When you go back to your game, you notice you have the letters for that word.
In that example, we're talking about a word you didn't know existed. In a sit-down face-to-face game of Scrabble, the lunch event would not have happened, and thus you would never have been able to play that word.
Other forms of non-cheating, such as placing down letters in the hopes that something gets made, can be combatted. There could be an option that prevents people from doing such. In that mode, once the 'play' button is hit, if your word is not valid, you receive back your letters and lose your turn. I think this should be an option, or a hardcore setting, so that those people who like the more casual game can enjoy it that way. Part of the hardcore setting could also be a timer. Once you look at your board, you only have 15 seconds or 30 seconds or whatever in order to make a move. Failing to make a move in that time results in losing your turn. Again, this only starts once you look at the board.
Anyhow, it's really simple to just play against people you know, who are playing for the challenge and for the enjoyment and fun.
What "Friends" see it? Is it simply sent to "the web" somewhere or to your phone's contact list or what?
Do other players see only the Board or do they also see who the players are or have been?
Quote: FleaStiffYeah, I hear it can be played on a telephone or on facebook.... but my question is:
What "Friends" see it? Is it simply sent to "the web" somewhere or to your phone's contact list or what?
Do other players see only the Board or do they also see who the players are or have been?
I may not be completely understanding your questions.
The game is played one on one. Thus, it is only you versus an opponent that see the board or anything going on with it. The game does like to use Facebook as it's preferred method of signing into the game, although it isn't necessary. Further, the Facebook API allows it to post things on your Facebook page, including who you may be playing against, or the fact that you scored a large scoring word. Options are available to stop the app from doing any of that.
When you start a game, you can select on of your Facebook Friends as an opponent. You can select a non-Facebook person if you know their username. Similarly, if you are not a Facebook user, you will have to know people's usernames to play against them. In addition, you can have the game select a random opponent for you.
We used to play with the two letter word list face up for all of us to share, as this meant we all had the same tactical advantage on word play, as remembering the two letter word list is a huge advantage, and I had pretty done so after reading it a few times.
Everything else would be a challenge, though we'd let everyone have a mulligan or two.
Then the fights were about spelling. Is it "putz," "potz," "pots" or "puts"? For Spanish speakers the second and third make sense, the others don't.
Quote: HotBlondeIts not cheating though. And you're right, it is like using a dictionary when using Scrabble, but that's allowed as well. If I want to know if "AE" will work as a word, for example, then I place it with my word and try and see if it goes through. (And "AE" is considered a word). I'm big on being honest and not cheating and I don't do anything that is considered wrong.
As a few other people have pointed out, in the official Scrabble rules you CAN'T use the dictionary to check words. That's why the word cheating is being thrown around. So... you are 'cheating' if you are trying to play official Scrabble rules through WWF. But WWF gives you the option to do unlimited tries, so clearly its not cheating anymore.
I stopped playing WWF pretty quickly too when I realized it was much lamer than Scrabble.
P.S.: LAMER [7 pts]
comparative of lame
Quote: thecesspitIn Scrabble a challenge results in a loss of a turn. For the loser of the challenge. It is not per the rules to look up a word you -think- might be valid. Play it, see if it gets challenged.
In an online Scrabble clone that I used to play, there was a challenge option. Instead of the game checking to see if your word was valid, you could play any word, and the other player had the option of whether or not to challenge the existence of the word. They had 15 seconds to do so. If they challenged, and were correct, then you lost your turn. If they challenged, and were incorrect, then they lost their turn. I liked this option and would use it when I could. Play some obscure words at the beginning of the match, and after my opponent would challenge and lose a few times, they would stop challenging. Then I could play almost anything I wanted as they would be too scared to challenge.
I like the challenge option, but I don't see it working on Words With Friends. Since the opponent has an infinite amount of time to make their turn, they could always look up the word before challenging.
Quote: thecesspitWe used to play with the two letter word list face up for all of us to share, as this meant we all had the same tactical advantage on word play, as remembering the two letter word list is a huge advantage, and I had pretty done so after reading it a few times.
I know I would hate this, as I've made a habit of memorizing all the two letter words and using that as a singular advantage in real life Scrabble games. :)
I just made index cards to try and memorize the two letter words. Like I said I'm not into cheating!Quote: konceptumI know I would hate this, as I've made a habit of memorizing all the two letter words and using that as a singular advantage in real life Scrabble games. :)
Another good thing to memorize is a short list of short words that utilize the more expensive letters. Like QI, QIS, QAT, SUQ, etc.Quote: HotBlondeI just made index cards to try and memorize the two letter words. Like I said I'm not into cheating!
do you know someone who may have posted a list like this online?Quote: konceptumAnother good thing to memorize is a short list of short words that utilize the more expensive letters. Like QI, QIS, QAT, SUQ, etc.
Quote: HotBlondedo you know someone who may have posted a list like this online?
Scrabble Word Finder.
Just remember that Words With Friends doesn't necessarily utilize the official Scrabble word list. There are some words it doesn't allow, and some it does that Scrabble doesn't allow. Unfortunately, I haven't found a way other than trial and error to figure out what is what.
Maybe there's a list out there that does show the WWF words.Quote: konceptumGood place to start.
Just remember that Words With Friends doesn't necessarily utilize the official Scrabble word list. There are some words it doesn't allow, and some it does that Scrabble doesn't allow. Unfortunately, I haven't found a way other than trial and error to figure out what is what.
According to this:
Quote:Saying that Words with Friends follows a different dictionary than Scrabble is tricky because Words with Friends doesn't really release a list of all the acceptable words in the lexicon. The Words with Friends site refers to the Enhanced North American Benchmark Lexicon (ENABLE), a public domain list, as its source, but it also admits to adding words like "texting" or "Zen" as it sees fit. Much like in Scrabble, proper nouns, abbreviations, prefixes, suffixes and words that need a hyphen or an apostrophe are no-nos. Unlike Scrabble, derogatory words or slurs are not allowed.
If you use any of the cheat or helper programs that utilizes a standardized dictionary, like TWL06, you will find the above to be true. It will recommend words to you that are not acceptable to Words With Friends. It will also not recommend words that ARE acceptable to Words With Friends.
Furthering Googling found this link, which claims to contain the full word list for Words With Friends. However, I noticed that the word 'Nazi' is on the list, and I happen to know that Words With Friends does NOT accept this word in game play. Thus, I would not accept the word list as being completely valid.
This website, which I believe may be a cheater/helper program site, also states that the Words With Friends acceptable word list is being updated fairly frequently.
Quote:All these modifications are carried out from time to time. Word-grabber.com is trying to be up to date providing you the latest Words With Friends word list if possible.
Further, for anybody interested in all the differences between Scrabble and Words With Friends, I think this is a comprehensive list.
wow, very informative.Quote: konceptumI think the problem is that the Words With Friends word list is.... well, not entirely stable?
According to this:
If you use any of the cheat or helper programs that utilizes a standardized dictionary, like TWL06, you will find the above to be true. It will recommend words to you that are not acceptable to Words With Friends. It will also not recommend words that ARE acceptable to Words With Friends.
Furthering Googling found this link, which claims to contain the full word list for Words With Friends. However, I noticed that the word 'Nazi' is on the list, and I happen to know that Words With Friends does NOT accept this word in game play. Thus, I would not accept the word list as being completely valid.
This website, which I believe may be a cheater/helper program site, also states that the Words With Friends acceptable word list is being updated fairly frequently.
Further, for anybody interested in all the differences between Scrabble and Words With Friends, I think this is a comprehensive list.
"The rules of the game are mostly the same as those of two-player Scrabble, with a few differences such as the arrangement of bonus tiles and some of the letters' point values."
And that's why I hate WWF. Scrabble is a contest of intelligence and command of the English language. WWF is "who's better at reading lists and using search engines". I prefer the former.
Quote: FaceScrabble is a contest of intelligence and command of the English language. WWF is "who's better at reading lists and using search engines".
It really depends on who you're playing with. The people I play Words With Friends with don't utilize search engines or cheat programs. On the other hand, I had a nice game of (face-to-face) Scrabble with a 9 year old who I allowed to use a dictionary. It's no different than making a bet with someone in person or a bet with someone online. Whether or not the person welches on the bet isn't directly indicative of the medium in which the bet was made, but rather of the person with whom the bet was made.
That being said, if you're experience with Words With Friends is that everyone you've played against has cheated, then you definitely should not be playing Words With Friends. This is similar to people's arguments on this forum regarding Indian casinos. If you believe you are being cheated by a particular medium, then definitely avoid that medium.
For the same reason, I avoid playing Words With Friends with random people that I don't know. I play against people that I know.
At first I thought that I would be upset if I were playing against someone who is cheating. But then I realized that it kind of didn't matter because even if I didn't win I still did my best in strategizing and stretching my brain in the process. Plus I get to feel good knowing that I did it on my own, and the person using the cheat system has to live with themselves.Quote: konceptumIt really depends on who you're playing with. The people I play Words With Friends with don't utilize search engines or cheat programs. On the other hand, I had a nice game of (face-to-face) Scrabble with a 9 year old who I allowed to use a dictionary. It's no different than making a bet with someone in person or a bet with someone online. Whether or not the person welches on the bet isn't directly indicative of the medium in which the bet was made, but rather of the person with whom the bet was made.
That being said, if you're experience with Words With Friends is that everyone you've played against has cheated, then you definitely should not be playing Words With Friends. This is similar to people's arguments on this forum regarding Indian casinos. If you believe you are being cheated by a particular medium, then definitely avoid that medium.
For the same reason, I avoid playing Words With Friends with random people that I don't know. I play against people that I know.
Quote: 1BBQuote: FaceBah, I hate that game. It was fun for a second, and would be fun if there were a limit on tries or something. But the asshats I play with will just repeatedly throw letters around for half an hour until something sticks, and make a word they had no idea existed and have no idea what it means or how it's used.
There is zero fun in that; it's like playing against idiot monkeys. No, it is playing against idiot monkeys =p
Not to mention that anyone can google Scrabble Cheat or Scrabble Word Finder.
Hello,
I can't find a good scrabble word finder, I found this topic...
The vast majority of cheaters you’ll encounter though just choose the top-scoring word from a cheat site. The problem with this type of “pure cheater” though is that they have forgotten that Scrabble is a game of skill and that there are multiple paths to victory. The goal is not necessarily to play the highest-scoring word every time. Different tiles have more utility than others. That's why the more advanced cheats such as Scrabble Word Finder go beyond your everyday dictionary website and allow you to theorycraft plays well into the future.
