It generally takes a few trays to a game or two for
players to stop playing Scrabble on the board and start
playing WildWords. WildWords is much more about the
struggle to use all seven tiles as often as possible and
achieve the 40 point bonus. The more you play, the more
you realize there are opportunities to do that if you can
find them.
Practicing is fun and you can
do it without any of the configuration headaches that are
sometimes required to connect to a friend. But it is not
the same as playing someone where the bluff/challenge
mechanism brings some serious tension into a game.
GETTING GOING
Played by two players though you may practice against
yourself by pulling down the Play Menu and click on Start
Practice.
DOWNLOAD GAME -- but
before downloading, please check that your computer has
the right stuff, namely:
Most any Windows PC
A screen resolution of at least 800 by 600
(preferably 1024 by 768).
A screen color setting of HIGHER THAN 256.
To check or change your
screen settings:
1. Select Settings / Control
Panel from the Start Menu
2. Double click the Display Icon.
3. Click the Settings Tab.
(Note: Use the
"Test" facility provided BEFORE
committing to any changes.)
 1024 by 768
GREAT!  800 by 600
TO RUN THE GAME -- Use your
Windows Run Command.
Players operate under an overall Time
Limit set by pulling down the Options Menu and
typing the desired time limit.
Both players must be connected to
the Internet. One player is designated the Host
and the other is the Guest..
TO LAUNCH A GAME AGAINST AN
OPPONENT:
Both players run the game
Decide together who will be the Host
and who the Guest (Read
Red Text Below Too!)
If you are the Host:
(A) Pull down the Connection
Menu,
(B) Select Connect,
(C) Write in your first name,
(D) Make a note of your IP
Address (it's in the "Your IP Address"
space) and port (Version 2.1 or later),
(E) Press the Be Host button,
(F) Send an e-mail to your Guest,
telling him/her your IP Address and port.
(You're done! After
sending that email, go back to the game and wait
for word in the chat box that your Guest
has made contact with you.)
If you are the Guest:
(A) Pull down the Connection
Menu,
(B) Select Connect,
(C) Write in your first name,
(D) Paste or type the Host's
IP Address into the "Host's IP Address"
space and the port into the "Hosting
Port" space (Version 2.1 or later),
(E) Press the Connect to Host
button.
(You're done! Almost
instantaneously, "Connected!" will
appear in both players' chat areas.)
If you cannot connect, try
reversing who is the host and who is the guest. Also
try hosting on port 80 or port 21 instead of the
default port of 13040.
| Being
the Host: This
has gotten a lot more complicated since the
instructions above were written.
To
be the host, you need to
be sure your firewall does not block port
13040 for WildWords.exe. If you go to your
firewall configuration, you can tell it to
let WildWords.exe use any port or
specifically 13040. This represents no
security threat. Security threats exist
because programmers put in holes for their
own purposes, and those holes get exploited
by others. WildWords does not know how to do
anything except to send and accept game
commands. There is no general built-in
functionality to exploit. Below is a screen
shot of the configuration I made. I also used
the Protocols and Ports tab to set the port
to 13040 and the protocol to TCP.
If
you want to be the host and use a router,
the IP address given by WildWords as your IP
is actually an IP provided by the router. To
find the actual IP used by the router on the
Internet, go to www.whatismyip.com
. There you will find the IP you should send
to your guest.
Since
the router uses one IP but may provide a
number of IP's on your network, you typically
have to configure your router to accept
incomming requests on port 13040 and tell it
to which IP on your network such requests
should be directed. The IP's assigned by the
router to your various machines may change as
may the IP assigned by your service provider
to the router. You should really get the
habit of checking that your router is
properly configured to forward port 13040
request to the machine you want to host on
and that the IP you are asking your guest to
use is still the one shown by www.whatismyip.com.
Below
is a screen shot of the configuration I made.
Look at the line that has "Enable"
checked. "WildWords.exe" would not
fit, so I shortened it. The router does not
know the programs anyway. Sometimes the
machine I want to use has the IP address
ending in 100. Sometimes it's the machine
with the IP address ending in 101. I need to
reset which is enabled when the machine in
question changes.
Optional
Reading:
There
is a site, www.no-ip.com,
at which you can obtain a free host name for
your computer and the ability to have the
associated IP address change whenever your IP
changes. Then you can tell all your guests to
forget about your IP and simply write in
something like
"PlayPeter.zapto.org" in the IP
Host Address area. (This will not solve your
problem of making sure the router always
routes the incoming request from your guest
to the right machine on your network. It will
solve the problem of having to email your
guest a new IP when it changes.)
1.
Register with www.no-ip.com
2. Take them up on their free option to
"Add a Host"
3. Enter a rememberable name like
"PlayPeter" (forget the options)
4. You will get a full name for your computer
like "PlayPeter.zapto.org" or
something.
5. Have your guest enter
that name instead of an
IP address from www.whatismyip.com
when s/he connects to you.
As
I recall, I had to download some client
program as well that keeps no-ip.com up to
date on my current IP address. I also log
into my account at no-ip.com after restarting
my computer (if I want to host a game) so it
can see what my new dynamic IP is. That's in
case the automatic update isn't working.
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When Host & Guest have
successfully connected, the Host pulls down the Play
Menu and selects Start Game vs. Connected Opponent.
The computer gives you your first set of letter tiles
and flips a virtual coin to determine who plays
first.
BTW, since this is a direct connect between you and
your friend, there is no advertising, no spying, no
gathering data, or anything other than the game going
on.
GOOD LUCK TO BOTH OF YOU!
(Note: When two persons have
connected, a few others may connect to the Host as
guests to watch the game and use the chat feature.
This is not perfectly implemented, but it is fun all
the same.)
.
PLAYING THE GAME
The
Scoreboard indicates whose turn it is.
Asterisk Tiles:
The asterisk tile plays like a
wildcard, It can stand for one letter or a string
of continuous letters. The board also has 20 Turn
To Wild squares. Any tile played on such a square is
flipped (blank side up) and may be played just like
an asterisk tile to represent one or more letters..
An asterisk tile or flipped tile
at the intersection of vertical and horizontal
words can stand for one letter or string
in the horizontal word and a completely different
letter or string in the vertical word.
An asterisk tile or flipped tile
can represent different letters on different plays.
In short, the asterisk tile does not represent one or
more specific letters except in relation to a single
play.
Asterisk tiles and flipped tiles
have a point value of zero.
Trading Letters:
A player can trade all letters
every turn, but a player can trade only when it actually
becomes his/her turn and only one trade per
turn is allowed. (Caution: when letters are
traded the computer first puts all your letters back
into the pot and then draws your new letters, so you
may get one or more of your old letters back again.)
The Play:
When it is a player's turn, the
player may play (by making a word on the board) or
pass (press Pass button)...
To play (i.e., to make a word):
Click-and-hold on a letter
in your tray, drag the letter to a square on
the board, and release the mouse button.
Repeat the process for all letters in your word.
Press the Play button to install
the word on the board. The computer now asks you
whether you wish to complete the play and displays
the score this play will make.
If you press Yes, the computer
will install your word on the board and give your
opponent the opportunity to challenge your play.
If you press No, you can continue
to look for the best play to make.
40 addition points are
awarded to a player who uses all 7 tiles in a
single play.
Challenges:
When a word is played, the
computer asks the opponent if he/she would like to
challenge.
If opponent presses No, the
computer adds the word's score to the total score of
the player who played it, and it becomes the
opponent's turn to play.
If opponent presses Yes, the
computer informs the player who played the word that
a challenge has been made.
If the challenged words (there
may be more than one) contain one or more asterisks
or flipped tiles, the player who played the word must
at this point reveal what letter or letter strings
those tiles represent in the words by spelling out
his words completely. The player need not reveal the
content of asterisks or flipped tiles before a
challenge has been made.
Use the chat utility to convey
the complete spelling of words. BTW, write chat
messages in the field at the bottom of the chat board
and then press the Send button. Messages will appear
on the chat board.
Once the merit of the challenge
has been determined, the player who challenged will
click on whether the challenge succeeded or failed.
If the challenge succeeded,
letters are removed from the board, and it becomes
the challenger's turn. The word's player loses a
turn.
If the challenge failed, the play
remains on board, the score is awarded to the player,
and it remains the player's turn. The challenger
loses a turn.
Game End:
The game is over when one player
uses the last of his/her tiles and none remain in the
pot.
The total point value of the
tiles held by the opponent is tripled and added to
the score of the player who went out.
If both players repeatedly pass,
the total point value of each player's remaining
tiles is added to the other player's score.
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