How a turn is scored
The grid is 15 by 15. The center star doubles the word, same as a double-word square. Triple-word squares sit in the corners and at the middle of each edge. Double-word squares step in on the diagonals. Double-letter and triple-letter squares fill the bands between them. A premium scores on the turn a tile is placed there. A later crossing uses the letter at face value.
Tiles in a turn sit in one straight line, across or down, with no gap. A word is two to fifteen letters. The first word covers the center star. After that, a new tile has to touch a locked tile. Every crossword made by that contact is scored, and each word has to be on the list.
A letter premium hits the new tile before any word premium. A blank scores zero, so a letter premium under it adds nothing. Word premiums stack when one play lands on more than one of them. All seven tiles add 50 after the words are summed, once per turn. Place tiles on the mini board and press Submit Word. A rejected word leaves the turn with you. Recall takes every pending tile. Tapping one pending square takes that tile only.
What a good turn looks like
The opening covers the star and can also cover one double-letter square, four steps out on the middle row or column. Edge triple-word squares on that cross are eight cells from the star, so seven tiles cannot reach them on the first turn. Five letters cover the star and one double-letter square. Seven letters do that and take the 50. Seven one-point tiles through the star score 14, then 64 with the bonus. Put one on the double-letter square and the word is 16 before the bonus, 66 after. The 50 stays outside the word premium.
A tile beside an existing word makes another word, and a tile that extends a word scores the whole line. Both count. A new tile on a triple-word square multiplies every letter in that word, including tiles already down. In English, Q and Z are 10 and J and X are 8. In Swedish, Z is 10, C and X are 8, and J and Y are 7. Two triple-word squares on one line are eight cells apart. One rack reaches both when tiles already fill the gap, and new tiles on both multiply the word by nine.
Use a blank when the word fails without it, or to empty the rack. It adds no points. Swedish has no Q or W tiles, so a blank is those letters. Å, Ä, and Ö are real tiles, two each, worth 4, 3, and 4. The Swedish blank dialog offers Å, Ä, and Ö too. The server accepts A through Z, so those three leave the blank on the rack.
Your last tiles end the game when the bag is already empty. If the TV still shows tiles in the bag, you draw back toward seven. Going out on an empty bag subtracts the other racks and adds that total to you. After six passes, each remaining player only loses their own rack.
Mistakes that stall the table
Six passes in a row end the game. The count is shared. Two players reach it in three passes each. A word or a swap resets it. There is no turn clock. The TV shows how long the game has been running, and the server waits. Agree a limit before the first word.
Swap Tiles returns what you mark, draws replacements, and ends the turn. It is there while the bag and your rack both have tiles. Swap more tiles than the bag holds and the rack comes back short. Keep the swap inside the bag count.
One bad hook rejects the whole play: a two-letter word, a gap, a word that misses the locked tiles, or an opening that misses the star. QI is English Hard only. Easy and Normal reject it. One-letter plays are rejected on every list. Shuffle reorders the phone rack and leaves the bag alone. Seats are shuffled at the start.
English and Swedish are different lists
Only the host sets Word language and Difficulty, and only in the lobby. English and Normal are the defaults. Language picks the bag and the points. Difficulty picks the list. Easy is the shortest, Hard is the longest, and each harder list includes the easier words. Points, the 50, and the board stay put.
English Easy has 63,128 words, Normal 169,918, and Hard 247,637. Cat, house, the, color, and colour are on Easy. AA starts at Normal. The bag is 100 tiles: twelve E, nine A, nine I, eight O, one each of J, K, Q, X, and Z, and two blanks.
Swedish Easy has 209,665 words, with inflections: katt, katten, äpple, öl, år, and måndag. Normal has 321,874. Skrivbord and bläckfisk begin there, so Easy rejects them. Hard has 670,055 words, up to 15 letters. A compound the list lacks is rejected on every tier. The Swedish bag is 100 tiles, with eight R, eight S, eight T, and Å, Ä, and Ö. U is 4. C is 8. The credits page names both lists.
Easy is for familiar words. Normal is the mixed room. Hard accepts the obscure word.
Two players and four players
WordGrid seats two, three, or four. A fifth person can join as a screen and watch, with no rack. Best Free Party Games for Groups is the pick when the couch is larger, and DoodleDash is the loud one.
Two players see more of the bag. Three passes each is the whole six-pass ending, and going out moves the other rack onto your score. With three or four, hooks come faster, the bag thins sooner, and a resignation drops that seat while the others play on. With two, the other person wins. Leaving the room resigns you. Matching top scores are a draw when the ending is an empty bag or six passes.
TV and phones, or a screen of your own
Put Main screen on the TV. It shows the grid, the scores, whose turn it is, the bag count, and recent words with their points. A play flashes its total on the board. Racks stay on the phones. How to Host a TV Game Night is the room checklist. QR Code Join Troubleshooting is the failed scan. A slow TV browser means a laptop on HDMI, phones still joining.
The WordGrid page has no Quick play, and the lobby has no computer player. Two people can start. Player with own screen puts the grid and your rack on one phone, tablet, or computer. Play Online with Player with Own Screen is the room-code setup for someone off the couch. At home, leave the grid on the TV.
Share this phone, on the player phone, puts more than one name on that handset. The rack stays hidden until the person whose turn it is taps Ready. Submit or Recall before the phone changes hands.
Open the board
The WordGrid page is the short rules for the premiums. Paired phones take a free seat in the next lobby. DoodleDash resets the room between word games, and two people can switch to Chess.
WordGrid
A 15×15 tile crossword for 2–4. The grid is shared. Each rack stays on that player’s phone.
2–4 players
DoodleDash
Draw on a phone, guess out loud. Two to eight players, English or Swedish words, 75 seconds a turn.
2–8 players
Chess
Two players and a shared board. Standard chess rules, colors shuffled when the game starts.
2 players
Cast Dash
A 30-tile party race for 2–6, with power-up cards, trivia, and a five-second tap contest.
2–6 players
FAQ
Does WordGrid have a turn timer?
No. Turns wait until that player submits, passes, swaps, or resigns. The TV shows how long the game has been running. Six passes in a row end it.
What is the 50-point bonus?
Playing all seven tiles in one turn adds 50 points after the word and any crosswords are scored. The bonus is not multiplied by a word premium.
Can we play WordGrid alone or against a computer?
No. WordGrid needs two to four people. There is no Quick play and no computer player in the lobby.
When does a WordGrid game end?
When someone plays out their rack and the bag is already empty, when six passes in a row have been played, or when resignations leave a winner. Leftover rack points are subtracted. They are awarded to the player who went out only in the empty-bag case. Equal top scores are a draw.
What is the difference between Easy, Normal, and Hard?
The board and the points stay the same. Easy is the shortest word list, Hard is the longest, and each harder list includes the easier words. The host picks the list in the lobby. It cannot be changed after the game starts.
Can two people share one phone?
Yes. Use Share this phone, one name per seat. The rack stays hidden until the person whose turn it is taps Ready.
More guides
Browse the guides library, or jump to hosting a TV game night, QR join troubleshooting, or Player with own screen.