Word Zap Help

The object of this game is to score as high as possible by making words and progressing through levels. Each word scores points based on the letter and length of the word (see scoring). When you make a word, those letters disappear and the ones above them in each column slide down.

There are 8 levels and in each level the goal is to clear that many rows in the time allowed per level, eg in level 3 you need to clear 3 rows of letters. If you achieve the goal before the time is up, you may end the level by pressing the "End" button else you can continue making words to score higher and also earn a Power Up.

How To Play

• Words are made from any letters that are adjacent, either horizontally, vertically or diagonally (like Word Ferret). The same letter tile cannot be used more than once per word.
• To record the words, hold the mouse down on the start letter and then drag over the letters to make the word. Release the mouse on the last letter.
• If you prefer, you can click each letter of the word (instead of drag mode) and then click the last letter again (or Enter key) to submit it.
• Words may be 3 - 10 letters in length except Tough difficulty where the minimum word length is 4.
  The official Collins Scrabble dictionary (2019) is used to verify words.
• If the tile contains an asterisk (*), it is 'wild', that is can be used as any letter.
• Plurals are allowed. Watch for the letter "S" as these help make many more words.
• Word Zap rewards you greatly for finding longer words. See "Scoring" below.

Difficulty Levels

The main difference between the difficulty levels is the time limit you have per level.

• Beginner: There is no time limit - take as long as you like for each level.
• Easy: 3 minutes per level.
• Medium: 2 and a half minutes per level.
• Hard: 2 minutes per level.
• Tough: 3 minutes per level but the minimum word length is 4 instead of 3.

Earning of Power Ups is also affected by the difficulty level (see Power Ups).
In Beginner and Easy difficulty, there are never any "Q" letters in the grid.

Scoring

Each letter has a value ranging from 1 (A,E,L,N,O,R,S,T,U) to 7 (Q). The value of each letter is summed to give a word score. Then if the word length is 4, the word score is multiplied by 2, for length 5, multiplied by 3 and so on. Asterisks used in a word count for length but letter value is 0.

In the Daily Challenge there is only one level (level 8) and a three minute time limit. If you finish with two or less tiles you earn a bonus of 50 points. Plus, if no tiles left you also score 4x seconds left and if one or two tiles you score 2x seconds left. Also, if you finish with Power Ups left, you score a bonus of 20 for each cracker, 40 for asterisks and 80 for bombs.

Power Ups

There are currently 3 types of "power ups" - cracker, asterisk and bomb.
If you complete a level and remove every tile, you earn a bomb. If the number of tiles left is one or two, you earn an asterisk. Alternatively, if you only leave one row (except for final level), you earn a cracker.

In addition you earn power ups for long words as follows:
Beginner and Easy Difficulty: Word length of 6 earns cracker, length 7 earns asterisk and 8+ a bomb.
Medium Difficulty: Word length of 7 earns asterisk and 8+ a bomb.
Hard and Tough Difficulty: Word length of 7 earns cracker, 8 an asterisk and 9+ a bomb.

To use a power up, drag it over the target tile. If cracker, it will remove that tile, if asterisk, it will change that tile letter to an asterisk and for a bomb, it will remove that tile and the ones to the left and right and above and below it.