Play

A game begins when the Play dialog appears:

The goal is to score as many points as possible before time runs out. Points are earned by finding and entering words of four or more letters in the grid, with valid words scoring one point each. Valid entries also add time to the clock.

Entry

A word is selected by left-clicking grid elements so as to spell the word within the grid. Selecting an element places a marker on it and adds its text to the label above the grid. In the example above, the word silently has been selected.

These rules apply to element selection:

• Grid elements can be used only once in a given entry. If the same letter appears more than once in the word, it must be represented by multiple grid elements. In the example above, l is represented twice by different elements.

  Left-clicking an already-selected element unselects it and all the elements that follow it. The entire selection can be cleared by left-clicking the first selected element, or by middle-clicking anywhere in the grid.

• Each selected element must be horizontally, vertically, or diagonally adjacent to the one preceding it. In the example above, s and i are vertically adjacent, i and l are diagonally adjacent, and l and e are horizontally adjacent.

Word entries must contain at least four letters. Some elements, like Qu, contain more than one letter, so valid words like quit can be entered with as few as three elements. When four or more letters have been selected, the word can be stored by right-clicking anywhere in the grid.

Verification

After a word is entered, it is validated. If the word is recognized by Ogle, it is immediately scored; if not, the Word verification dialog appears. If the player chooses to add the word, it is then scored; otherwise, it is discarded.

Scoring

Unique, valid words that are not followed score one point each. They also add one time bonus to the clock for each letter over three they possess. Duplicated or followed words score no points, and add no time.

Pause

Clicking the Pause button to the right of the grid hides all letters in the grid and pauses the game. The game pauses automatically when the Word verification dialog is displayed, and any other time the Play dialog loses focus.

To resume play, left-click the Pause button or anywhere inside the grid.

Quit

To abandon the game before time expires, click the Windows Close button in the upper-right corner, and select End Round or Quit Ogle, as appropriate.