Wordy Wednesday 49: Words Without Friends

WORDY WEDNESDAY #46
TABLETOP MATH (answer)
It's been three weeks, so time to unveil the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the puzzle, or here for hints. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Adam Weaver **
Bryce Herdt **
Edderiofer He *
Jack Lance **
James McGowan **
John Bulten **
Lewis Chen **
Mark Tilford **
Ryan Faley *
Walker Anderson **
And the third contest winner is Ryan Faley! Congratulations!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #47
BIG HELTER SKELTER (answer)
It's been two weeks, so time to unveil the answer to this puzzle. If you still wish to solve it yourself, please go here for the normal version of the puzzle, or here for the easier version of the puzzle. Here's a list of people who solved it:
Adam Weaver **
Bo Green **
Bryce Herdt **
Christian H.P. **
Edderiofer He **
Giovanni Pagano **
Izak & Penni Bulten **
Jack Lance **
James McGowan **
John Bulten *
Lewis Chen **
Mark Tilford **
Peter Abide **
Ryan Faley **
Sam Levitin **
Tim Harrod **

WORDY WEDNESDAY #48
FRAMELINKS 2 (hint)
14 people have solved last week's puzzle. Haven't solved it yet? Here's an easier version. Send your solutions to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com within the next week to appear on the solvers list and be recognized for your puzzle prowess. Good luck, solvers!

WORDY WEDNESDAY #49
WORDS WITHOUT FRIENDS
This game of word solitaire is inspired by Solicross, and allows me to get out of writing an actual puzzle! Yay!

You have 16 turns to score as many points as possible by building words on the grid. Start by taking the first 7 letters from the LETTER LIST. Form an English word using two or more letters, and place it reading across (from left to right) or down (from top to bottom) in the grid, with one of the letters covering the shaded cell. On each successive turn, cross out the letters you used and replace them with the next letters from the LETTER LIST, and then play a new word using some or all of those letters. As in Scrabble, you can play at right angles to a previous word (either incorporating a letter from it or expanding it) or parallel to a previous word, but must adjoin some previous word; adjoining letters must always form words in crossword fashion, and all letters used in a single turn must be part of a single word.

Every turn, you score for the words you made on that turn. The score for a word is the sum of all the numbers it covers (whether those letters were played on that turn or not); multiple words formed in a single turn are added up together (with shared letters counting twice). If you use all 64 letters within 16 turns, give yourself 50 extra points.

All words will be checked against the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary Fourth Edition, the newest one I have. (Take note: this is the bowdlerized edition!) Nine-letter words will be checked against m-w.com; proper names, abbreviations, and the like are forbidden.

All solvers who score at least 350 points will be entered to win a silly booby prize. (We're probably talking Pokémon cards here.) All solvers who score at least the median number of points will be entered into a second booby prize drawing. Send your finished game (with a score of at least 350 points; a picture of the finished grid and a list of words formed each turn should suffice) to glmathgrant[at]gmail[dot]com. You may submit multiple times during the next two weeks; only your highest score will be counted. Have fun!


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