# "Scrabble crossed with Tetris" **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 6, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble-crossed-with-tetris/492185 "2009-04-06T23:02:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble-crossed-with-tetris/492185/41 "2009-04-11T16:24:24Z")
And got? GOT isn’t a word?! And caw? ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble-crossed-with-tetris/492185/42 "2009-04-11T17:16:55Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > And got? GOT isn’t a word?! And caw? I think you might be playing the 4 letter minimum option. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble-crossed-with-tetris/492185/43 "2009-04-11T23:02:57Z")
It’s worth mentioning that the “Multiplier” starts at 1 and increases by 0.1 each time you enter a valid word, maxing out at 2.5. It resets if you enter an invalid word or let a tile “burn up.” And the word length factor is 1x for 2 or 3 letters, 1.5x for four, 2x for five, 2.5x for six, etc. Seven letters is the longest word I’ve played (I think), and it was 3x for that. Don’t know if that maxes out somewhere. So it seems like the strategic thing to do would be to play shorter words, say four letters, toward the beginning of hte game when the mutiplier is lower. Also, if a J or Z or X comes up early, save it until the Multiplier is up higher. Fun game! ---
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble-crossed-with-tetris/492185/44 "2009-04-11T23:37:44Z")
Gah! I freeze on anything that’s timed. Pass. ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble-crossed-with-tetris/492185/45 "2009-04-12T03:03:05Z")
Argh! WTF happened? I played this a few times, and then suddenly the next time I refresh it’s using all lowercase letters. That makes it a lot harder to scan for words, and to make matters worse, some of the letters now obscure the score on the tile. The whole experience is suddenly much more confusing and frustrating. Why’d they change it? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble-crossed-with-tetris/492185/46 "2009-04-12T03:24:12Z")
On mine (Firefox on a Linux-based Eee PC), the scores now obscure part of the letters, which seems worse; I’m trying to play “squad” and it won’t go, and I’m clicking and clicking, and finally I figure out that’s a g, not a q. I changed it to “guards.” ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble-crossed-with-tetris/492185/47 "2009-04-12T03:53:03Z")
Okay, looks like it’s more or less fixed now. Letters are still lowercase, which is annoying, but they don’t obscure the scores anymore. Anyway, I just managed to get a 980 score, but it could have been much higher. I missed a “clean slate” bonus on the word “jam” by a few lousy milliseconds. That would have bumped me up to 1143. Also it lied to me! In the text on the side it says you get a bonus for having no tiles left at the end. Well, I used up all the remaining tiles to spell “loose,” and what did I get? Nothing! I was robbed, I tells ya. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble-crossed-with-tetris/492185/48 "2009-04-12T12:21:53Z")
> [@jackelope](#): > > It’s worth mentioning that the “Multiplier” starts at 1 and increases by 0.1 each time you enter a valid word, maxing out at 2.5. It resets if you enter an invalid word or let a tile “burn up.” Not “each time” – it was with every legit move to 2.0, then 2.1 twice, 2.2 twice, 2.3 three times, 2.4 twice, 2.5 twice. I do like seeing the points, though. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble-crossed-with-tetris/492185/49 "2009-04-12T15:30:04Z")
It works on my home computer–neat! (though I’m not going to brag about my really low score) :o ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble-crossed-with-tetris/492185/50 "2009-04-12T22:53:01Z")
> [@MadTheSwine](#): > > I think you might be playing the 4 letter minimum option. No, I’m not. It accepts a lot of other 3 letter words, just not those ones. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble-crossed-with-tetris/492185/51 "2009-04-12T23:12:17Z")
> [@](#): > > -13: aryan. Word not in dictionary. Balls to that. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble-crossed-with-tetris/492185/52 "2009-04-12T23:14:29Z")
> [@Dead\_Badger](#): > > Balls to that. Proper noun? ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble-crossed-with-tetris/492185/53 "2009-04-13T01:55:04Z")
I wonder if the maker is following this thread? Because I could have sworn I played, and got credit for, got, zit, and Aryan (although I agree it’s a proper noun). It does seem to have a slightly wonky dictionary, and it really sucks to lose the letters and the multiplier when something turns out not to be a word or I mistype a letter. Also, the scores seem very sensitive to whether or not you get some high-value letters. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble-crossed-with-tetris/492185/54 "2009-04-13T13:05:28Z")
Maybe he is (I think I saw his name, and it’s a he) – now that we’re googlable and all. Yo, maker of Deepleap – could you throw in something so that it gives you no more than, say, five vowels without a consonant? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![busterbloodvessel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@busterbloodvessel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/busterbloodvessel)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble-crossed-with-tetris/492185/55 "2009-04-14T07:43:44Z")
This game has taught me a few new two-letter words. Ai - a three toed sloth. Aa - a kind of lava. Al - an Indian Mulberry tree. The game also accepts es, ae, rs, re, ne, ii, iii, and vi. Not sure what all of those mean, except for the roman numerals. In any case, they’re handy if you want to get rid of some vowels… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble-crossed-with-tetris/492185.md?page=2)