Tilewise

How to play Tilewise

Tilewise is a crossword tile game for two. You each have a rack of seven letter tiles, and you take turns building words on one shared 11×11 board.

• The first word must cover the ★ star in the middle.
• After that, place tiles in one row or one column, joined to the tiles already down. Every line of two or more letters you make must be a real word.
• Tap a tile on your rack, then tap a square (or drag it there). Tap a tile you just placed to take it back. The bar under the board checks your words and shows the score before you play.
• The blank tile can be any letter you like, but it scores nothing.
• You score every word you make: the main word and any words that cross it.

Bonus squares

• L2 and L3 double or triple the letter on them.
• W2 and W3 double or triple the whole word.
• Bonuses only count on the turn a tile is first placed on them.
• Use all seven tiles in one turn for a +35 full-rack bonus.

Other turns and the end

Instead of playing you can swap some tiles for new ones (while seven or more are left in the bag) or pass. The game ends when the bag is empty and one player uses their last tile (they also take the points left on their friend’s rack), or after four turns in a row that score nothing. The higher score wins.

A word game you can play by text

No need to be free at the same time. Play your word, tap Send, and your friend gets a link. They open it, see what you played and the score, make their move and send it back. A game can last an evening or a week, and there’s nothing to sign up for. Your friend can’t see your letters; only the board and the scores are shared.

More word games: Edgewise, Word Weave, Hive and all word games. More two-player games: Chess.