Word Wars: A “Mini Scrabble”
To summarize, Word Wars is a simplified version of Scrabble. It uses the same grid-based style of game board with letter tiles. Your goal is to create more valuable words than your opponent, earning the highest score possible. Studying a Scrabble dictionary would help here. A game ends when there are no more tiles left to distribute and neither player can find words to play with their available letter tiles. Whoever has the highest score at that point is the winner.
Where to Find Word Wars
Word Wars is a free-to-play app. Like nearly any worthwhile game today, it’s available on both Android and iOS devices. No matter what kind of phone or tablet you own, Word Wars is only one download away.
Changes From Scrabble to Word Wars
In terms of the basic gameplay, there are only a few technical distinctions between Word Wars and Scrabble. Scrabble focuses on a slower, more methodical style of play. Word Wars, by comparison, modifies certain aspects of the design to speed up the game.
Board size: Traditionally, Scrabble uses a 15 x 15 grid for its game boards. Word Wars has a smaller board at 9 x 9 squares.
Bonus square placement: To accommodate the smaller board, Word Wars uses fewer bonus score squares and places them in different locations.
Letter values: Many of Word Wars’ letter tiles have different values than Scrabble’s. For example, rarer letters like Z are worth 11 points rather than the usual 10. Keep this in mind as you unscramble letters and find playable words.
Tile quantity: Word Wars uses far fewer letter tiles than Scrabble. While Scrabble typically uses 100 tiles, Word Wars only uses 43.
Automatic score calculator: Since Word Wars is exclusively an app, the developers followed Words With Friends and other similar word games. The game checks the validity of words and calculates their values automatically.
Word Wars Updates the Formula
Word Wars brings a handful of changes to Scrabble’s core mechanics. There are also other additions that are arguably more important. Extra tools and game modes further cement Word Wars as its own game.
Handy Power-Ups
Word Wars is already a fast game, but it ramps up that speed even further by including power-ups. These optional assets, like in Scrabble GO, help you find the perfect letter or word you need.
Word Reveal: The game automatically places a word on the board for you. Keep in mind that you will not be able to edit the word it picks.
Word Radar: Highlight the places on the board where you can spell a word. This won’t give you any hints for what those words are, but it will help narrow your selections.
Super Swap: Swap your letter tiles for new ones. Unlike the normal swap function, which you can use at any time, Super Swap will not cost you your turn.
NOTE: The game gives you a few of each power-up to start, but you can run out of them quickly. When that happens, you can purchase more with coins, the in-game currency.
Daily Goals
Daily Goals are shorter challenges that you can complete in one day. These include tasks like watching a certain number of ads or playing letters from the Word of the Day.
The Word of the Day is a random word the game reveals each day. When you play a word with a letter from the word of the day in a match, the game’s Quests page will take note. When you’ve used every letter, you earn 10 free coins.
Weekly Quests
Weekly Quests are challenges that last for a seven-day period. You complete them in three phases. Each phase requires you to clear a specific win condition. Once you complete every phase, you win the prize. This is typically a coin bonus.
The challenges are specific, but you can fulfill them by playing regular games. One quest requirement might be to earn 800 points in a week. These points are the same points you earn for the words you spell in a game. Playing multiple matches will help you clear this requirement more easily.
General Quests
These quests don’t have time limits. Complete them at your leisure to earn extra coins. Examples of general quests include accepting a match from someone, starting three new games in a day, and using one of the power-ups five times.
More Places to Play Scrabble Online
Word Wars is a great app to connect with friends and play a Scrabble-like game together. What if you want to play more seriously? And what if you don’t have the option to play competitive Scrabble in person? If that’s the case, you need to visit Woogles. Woogles is a word game site built for and by Scrabble lovers. If you’re looking for other players who enjoy the game as much as you do, Woogles can help you find them.
Zac Pricener has been a content creator for the past eight years. He’s a bit of an all-around nerd, and he has a bad habit of working movie and TV show references into conversations whenever possible.
