The author of the game, its rules as well as its name "Literaxx" is Marek Futrega.
The board
The Wordbox board consists of a 15x15 grid of cells, where players place letter tiles. Up to four players can play the game simultaneously. At the game beginning each player is given seven letter tiles which are drawn from the bag. Having completed a move, a player is given the number of letter tiles which replenishes the seven letter tiles given. A player's letter tiles are concealed from the opponents. Initially, the bag contains 100 letter tiles. The letter tiles are of different colors, which determines their point values. The number of the letter tiles which are left in the bag is displayed below the board next to the available letter tile field. There are two blank tiles among a player's tiles, which can replace any letter. A player's move is about placing at least a two-letter word using the letter tiles from the rack. The points are scored by summing up the values of the letters that the words which are placed on the board consist of as a result of the move. If letter tiles are placed on the bonus or special cells, the player scores extra points or influences the game in a way.
Placing a word
In each turn a player can combine a word placing any number of letter tiles on the board, decide to exchange the tiles or pass. The player who starts the game must place a word so that it is placed on the cell in the center of the board.
The next words are placed in the following way:
A new word can be placed at the right angle to the existing one but the word must include one of the letters of the existing word or add at least one new letter to it,
A player can extend a word on the board by placing the letter tiles on its one or both ends,
A player can place a new word which is parallel to the existing one so that the neighboring letters at the right angle also combined correct words..
When one of the players completes a word, the "OK" option is selected (or the F2 key is pressed), and the opponent(s) can accept or check it with a dictionary. It is done by selecting "Accept" or "Check" in the menu. The options are also accessible on the keyboard: Accept - key F2, "Check" - key F3. If all the opponents select the "Accept" option, the placed letter tiles remain on the board. If one of the opponents selects the "Check" option, and the questioned word is not in the dictionary, it is removed from the board and the tiles return to the player who has placed them. If one of the opponents selects the "Check" option, and the questioned word exists in the dictionary, he loses his turn.
Undoing a move
The player who has placed the letter tiles on the board and selected the "OK" option can select the "Undo" option within 10 seconds (the F2 key). Then, each opponent can decide whether to agree for him to undo or not. If all the opponents agree, the letter tiles of the player asking for agreement are removed from the board and the move can be repeated.
Exchanging
When a player decides to exchange the letters, they should move the selected letter tiles to the field on the right of the counter of the letter tiles left in the bag as well as select the "Exchange" option (key F3). The exchange is only possible when there are at least seven letters in the bag. Each player is allowed to exchange letters three times during one game.
Passing
Each player is allowed to resign from performing a move by selecting the "Pass" option (key F4). Nevertheless, if all players pass twice in two successive turns, the game is over. If the move time limit is switched on in the game and a player has failed to combine a word and to select the "OK" option on time, the move is regarded as passed.
Legitimate words
The words which are permitted are included in the relevant language dictionaries, the correct grammar forms inclusive. Proper nouns, abbreviations, prefixes, suffixes and the words with an apostrophe or a hyphen are excluded. The lists of legitimate words are in the word game dictionary included in our service.
Game over
One of the players has put all the letter tiles on the board and the bag is empty. In this case the player scores extra points for the opponents' letter tiles, but the opponents are withdrawn the number of points which their letter tiles left are valued the moment that the game is over,
All the players pass twice in two successive turns. In this case players are withdrawn the number of points which their letter tiles left are valued the moment that the game is over,
All the players exceed the time limit. In this case a player is withdrawn the number of points which their letter tiles left are valued the moment that the game is over.
Calculating score points
The number of points scored by the letter depends on the tile color. There are the following tile colors in the game:
(0 points) -- blank (1 point) -- A, E, I, L, N, O, R, S, T, U (2 points) -- D, G (3 points) -- B, C, F, H, M, P, V, W, Y (5 points) -- K, J, Q, X, Z
The value of a blank tile is 0. If the "Show Letter Values” is on, the letter point value is displayed having pointed it with the mouse. The points for each turn are calculated for every letter tile of a new word placed on the board.
Bonuses
If the word covers the bonus cell(s), the word letter number is multiplied by the bonus value. The following bonuses are allowed:
if a letter is placed on a cell of the same colour as the letter, the letter scoring is multiplied by three,
if a word is placed on a "2X" cell, the whole word scoring is multiplied by two,
if a word is placed on a "3X" cell, the whole word scoring is multiplied by three,
if during one turn a player places all the seven tiles, they receive 50 extra points.
Blank letter selecting
If a player places a blank tile on the board, a letter selection window will be displayed. If a player changes their mind and wishes to change the letter, the blank tile can be double-clicked and a letter selection window will be displayed again. If a player puts the blank tile away, the letter will be removed.
Details
Below we try to solve the most common problems arising while playing the game:
all the letter tiles used during a move must be placed in a horizontal or vertical line,
a word can be developed on both ends simultaneously in one move,
developing a few words on various parts of the board in one move is not allowed,
extra bonus cell points are added in the move during which they are placed only,
if a few words are created in one move, each of them is scored, and the value of shared letters (including the bonus cell values) is calculated separately for each created,
if a blank tile is placed on the word bonus cell, the sum of the word letter values is multiplied by the bonus value regardless the zero value of the blank tile itself; the value of a blank tile placed on a letter bonus cell is zero,
while combining words the use of a dictionary is not allowed; it can be used after the word has been combined only, when one of the players questions the word; each word can be used repeatedly during the game.
The game is licensed under the Creative Commons (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0). The License may copy, distribute, display, perform the work and make derivative works based on it only for noncommercial purposes and if the name of the author is given.
(0 points) -- blank
(1 point) -- A, E, I, L, N, O, R, S, T, U
(2 points) -- D, G
(3 points) -- B, C, F, H, M, P, V, W, Y
(5 points) -- K, J, Q, X, Z