Word Scramble++ — User Guide
Quick Start
- Open /puzzles/wordscramble.
- Choose a Category (or stick with the default: Animals).
- Set your Timer by clicking the button (30s / 60s / 90s / 120s).
- Click Start Game.
- Unscramble the letters and type your answer, then press Enter or click Submit.
- Score points for each correct word — streak bonuses for consecutive correct answers!
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Category | Dropdown to choose a word theme. Random pulls from a 130K-word dictionary pool. |
| Timer | Click to cycle through 30s, 60s, 90s, 120s. |
| Start Game | Begins a new game with the current category and timer. |
| Submit | Checks your typed answer against the current word. |
| Hint | Corrects one letter tile (highlighted in blue) — points for that word are halved. |
| Skip | Skips the current word — streak resets and you lose 10 points. |
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Enter | Submit answer |
| Tab | Skip word |
| Space | Use hint |
Scoring
Points are calculated as:
word.length × 10 × streak_multiplier
- Streak multiplier: 1× for the first correct answer, increasing up to 5× for 5+ consecutive correct answers. A wrong answer or skip resets your streak.
- Hint penalty: if you use a hint, the points for that word are halved (rounded down).
- Skip penalty: each skipped word costs 10 points (score cannot go below 0).
The feedback after each correct answer shows the full breakdown — for example:
Correct! DOG = 30 (base) × 3 (streak) = 90 ptsCorrect! PYTHON = 60 (base) ÷ 2 (hint) = 30 pts
High Scores
When the timer runs out, if your score ranks in the top 10, a modal appears asking for your name. You have 10 seconds to submit. The leaderboard in the sidebar always shows the current top scores.
Tips
- Build your streak — consecutive correct answers give a multiplier up to 5×. A single wrong answer resets it, so skip instead if you're unsure.
- Use hints wisely — hints halve your points, but can save your streak if you're stuck.
- Skip strategically — skipping costs 10 points but resets your streak, which can be worse than a wrong answer at high multipliers.
- Try different categories — Animals and Food have shorter words (easier), while Programming and Geography have longer ones (more points per word).
- Random mode gives you fresh words from a 130K-word dictionary — great for variety and practice.
- Keyboard shortcuts make the game much faster: Enter to submit, Tab to skip, Space for hint. No need to click buttons!
What's new in Word Scramble++
- Themed word categories with curated lists (10 categories + Random)
- Timed gameplay (30s / 60s / 90s / 120s)
- Streak multiplier system (up to 5×)
- Hint system with score penalty
- High score leaderboard (top 10, shared with other games)
- Keyboard shortcuts for fast play
- Theme-aware colours matching your Bootswatch selection