Index

Object

Play

1-Player setup

2-Player setup

Placing tiles on the board

1-Player game

2-Player game

Making a sentence

Sentence length

Start of sentence

Period

Question

Level of difficulty

Oops

Create new word

New set of words

Game is over

Quit

Keyboard Combinations

Register


Object of the game
Object

Word Weaver is a board game where the players place tiles containing words on a playing board to create sentences.  Sentences run horizontally (from left to right) and vertically (from top to bottom).  A word from a horizontal sentence may be a part of a vertical sentence, and vice versa.  Horizontal and vertical sentences may also either start with the same word, or end with the same word.  The object of the game is to score the most points by the time the game is over.  The game is considered to be over if a total of seventy-two tiles have been placed on the board, or if the players indicate that the game is over by selecting the menu item 'GameOver' or the menu item 'Quit'.  The ten highest scores (and the corresponding players' names) are saved and shown after each game is played.


Playing the game
Play

To start a new game choose the '1 Player' or '2 Player' menu option from the Play! menu (or press Alt+1 or Alt+2, respectively).  You will be asked to enter your name(s).


1 player setup
1-Player Setup

A single player plays against his or her own best game, or against a saved list of the highest scores.

For the 1-player game, a list of 13 tile words are generated and printed on the bottom of the screen.  The 14th tile is blank, and may be used when you are stuck and wish to create a new word of your own to be used in play.  (Note: doing this will deduct points from your score, the amount depending on the Level of difficulty.

Also on the bottom left of the screen are the Player's name and the Player's score.


2-Player Setup

Two players play against each other, as well as against a saved list of the highest scores.

For the 2-player game, a list of 13 tile words are generated for each player.  The current player (initially Player1, on the left side of the screen) has his or her words displayed on the bottom of the screen on tiles.  The name and score area of the current player is highlighted (on a background of yellow).  The name and score area of the other player is not highlighted (on a purple background).  The 14th tile is blank, and may be used when you are stuck and wish to create a new word of your own to be used in play.  (Note: doing this will deduct points from your score, the amount depending on the Level of difficulty).


Placing Tiles on the Board

During normal play the cursor is a hand holding a tile.  Use this cursor to place tiles on the playing board.  The first tile may be placed anywhere on the board.  To place a tile, drag it onto the board with the mouse (that is, press down with the left mouse button, and while holding the button down, move the mouse until the cursor is near the position on the board where you would like it to be, and then release the mouse button).

The tile does not have to be placed exactly in the center of a board position.  Anywhere nearby will do.

Ten points will be added to your score every time you add a new tile to the board.

If you have placed the tile in one position, and decide you no longer want it there, simply choose the Oops menu item.  Oops works for the last move only.

After the first tile, any subsequent tiles must be placed next to a tile already on the board.  It can be to the left of it, to the right of it, above it or below it.  There are some restrictions after punctuation has been used (Making a Sentence).

If the tile is placed in an illegal position, say, not adjacent to another tile, the game will beep and the tile will slide back down to its position on the bottom of the screen.

When a tile is placed on the board, a newly created tile is placed in its old position on the bottom of the screen.

If you pick up a tile and then decide you don't want to use it after all, you don't have to put it back into its exact place on the bottom of the screen.  Just place it anywhere off the board, and it will slide back into its place.

If you are stuck, and do not have a word that fits anywhere on the board you have two other options.  You may either create a new word of your own to your set of tiles and place that word on the board, or you may generate a whole new set of tiles.  In either case, you'll lose some points, the amount depending on the Level of difficulty at which you are playing.

In the 2-Player game, you may create a new word, or generate a new set of tiles only if you have not yet placed a tile on the board during your turn.


1-Player Game

A single player continues to place tiles until the game is over.


2-Player Game

Two players must alternate play.  Each player may place only one tile on the board at one time.  Then that player must click on the DONE button at the bottom center of the screen.  At that point, play passes to the other player.  You can tell which player's turn it is by noticing which player's name and score area is highlighted (on a yellow background).  In the 2-player game, you need to tell the game that your turn is over, because there is always the option to 'Oops' the last move and try something different.

You may choose to pass on your turn by clicking on the DONE button at the bottom of the screen.

Even though a player can place only one tile at a time on the board, that player may place as much punctuation as he or she wishes (Making a Sentence).


Making a Sentence

When a player makes a sentence, he or she generates many points, depending on the length of the sentence.  Sentences may be three to twelve words in length.  To make a sentence, you must do two things, in either order.

One necessary step is to select 'Start of Sentence' from the 'Sentence' menu (or press Alt+s).  Clicking the new cursor on a tile will change the word's first letter to uppercase.  It also indicates to the program that this word is the start of a sentence.  Doing this is necessary even if a word is already capitalized.  e.g. 'I', 'Dad' or 'Mom' may appear anywhere in a sentence.  The program must be told if a word is the start of a sentence.

The second necessary step is to select either 'Period' or 'Question' from the 'Sentence' menu (or press Alt-p or Alt-q).  Clicking the cursor on a tile will add a period or a question mark to the word.  It also indicates to the program that this word is to be the end of a sentence.

After you have done the two steps above, the words of your new sentence will jump a bit and click back into place in a yellow tile (rather than the usual green tile) to indicate a complete sentence.

The number of points added to your score for a sentence depends on the sentence length.  A long sentence adds many more points to a score than a short sentence does.

You can start a sentence during one turn, and end it by placing a period or question mark at the end of that sentence during a later turn, or it can even be placed there by the other player.  You can also do the reverse and end a sentence by placing a period or question mark at the end of a sentence during one turn and then start that sentence at a later turn, or it can even be started by the other player.  Or start and/or end any number of sentences during one turn.

You may not select a word as Start of Sentence if there is a word to the left of it or above it.  Correspondingly, you may not select a word to end a sentence if there is a word to the right of it or below it.

If a word on the tile is the beginning of a sentence, a new tile may not be placed to the left of it or above it.  Correspondingly, if a word on the tile is the end of a sentence, a new tile may not be placed to the right of it or below it.

Word Weaver does not check for grammatically correct sentences.


Sentence Length

A long sentence adds many more points to a score than a short sentence does.  For example, a 3-word sentence will add 45 points to your score (3 X 3 X 5), but a 12-word sentence will add 720 points to your score (12 X 12 X 5).

A double sentence is worth even more.  A double sentence can be formed in either of two ways.  The first way is to form two sentences which end with the same last word.  One sentence runs horizontally and the other one runs vertically.  Set 'Start of Sentence' for the two sentences first.  Then select 'Period' or 'Question' and click on the word used to end both sentences.  You will form two new sentences with one move.  If one sentence contains 7 words and the other one contains 6 words, the number of points added to your score is ((7+6) X (7+6) X 5).  (If you use the opposite order to set Start of Sentence and Period or Question, the program will count this as two separate sentences for scoring purposes.)

The other double sentence consists of two sentences with the same first word.  Add the period or question mark to the two sentences first and then mark the word which starts the two sentences with 'Start of Sentence'.


Start of Sentence

To indicate to the game that you  wish a sentence to start with a particular word, you need to choose the menu item 'Start of Sentence' in the 'Sentence' menu bar (or press Alt+s).  The cursor will change to a hand holding an uppercase 'A'.  Use this cursor to click on the word you wish to start your sentence.  The first letter of the word will now be uppercase.

A word may not be considered the start of a sentence if there is a word either to the left of it or above it.

If you have already chosen 'Start of Sentence' and decide to do something else instead, either click on 'Oops' or just click your 'A' cursor anywhere off the main playing board.

Note:  If a word is already capitalized, for example, 'I', 'Mom', or 'Dad', you still must click on it with the 'Start of Sentence' cursor, if you wish it to be considered the start of a sentence by the program, because 'I', 'Mom' and 'Dad' can occur anywhere in a sentence.


Period

To indicate to the program that you wish a sentence to end with a particular word, you need to choose the menu item 'Period' (or press Alt+p) or 'Question' in the 'Sentence' menu.  If you have selected 'Period' the cursor will change to a hand holding a period.  Use this cursor to click on the word you wish to end your sentence.  The word will now have a period appended to it.

A word may not have a period added to it if there is a word either to the right of it or below it.

If you have already chosen 'Period' and decide to do something else instead, either click on 'Oops' or just click your cursor anywhere off the main playing board.


Question

To indicate to the program that you wish a sentence to end with a particular word, you need to choose the menu item 'Period' or 'Question' (or press Alt+q) in the 'Sentence' menu.  If you have selected 'Question' the cursor will change to a hand holding a question mark.  Use this cursor to click on the word you wish to end your sentence.  The word will now have a question mark appended to it.

A word may not have a question mark added to it if there is a word either to the right of it or below it.

If you have already chosen 'Question' and decide to do something else instead, either click on 'Oops' or just click your cursor anywhere off the main playing board.


Level of Difficulty

Word Weaver has three levels of difficulty: easy, average and difficult.  The level of difficulty at the beginning of the program is set to easy.  The level of difficulty determines the number of points deducted when a new set of tiles are generated or when you create a new word.  The number of points deducted are:

               Easy   Average   Difficult

New Tiles   100      1000        5000

New Word     5         50         100

To select a level of difficulty, choose one of the three levels from the 'Level' menu: easy (or press Alt+e), average (Alt+a), or difficult (Alt+d).  The level which is dimmed is the current level, and hence, cannot be selected.

The level of difficulty may be selected before any play starts, or may be changed in the middle of a game.  The level stays the same throughout subsequent games unless it is changed by selecting another level of difficulty from the 'Level' menu.


Oops

The 'Oops' menu item is used when you have made a play and realize you wish to do something else instead.  For example, if you have placed a tile on the board, but you realize you would rather make a different move, just click on the 'Oops' menu (or press Alt+o).  This will undo the last of the 'Oopsable' moves you have made.

What happens when you use 'Oops':

1 - When you have placed a tile on the board, and then selected 'Oops' before you have made any other move, the tile will be placed back on the bottom of the screen.  The ten points which were added to your score when you placed that tile on the playing board will be deducted from your score.

2 - When you have selected 'Start of Sentence', 'Period', or 'Question' from the 'Sentence' menu, and then select 'Oops' the cursor will revert to the hand holding the tile and you may continue with the game.

3 - When you have added a 'Start of Sentence', 'Period', or 'Question' to a word on the board, then select Oops before you have made any other move, the punctuation will be removed, the tiles will revert to green if a new sentence had been made with the last move and the points added to your score for that sentence will be deducted.

4 - When you have generated a new set of tiles, and then choose Oops before you have made any other move, your original set of tiles will be given back to you and the points you had lost when generating the new set of tiles will be given back.

5 - When you have created your own new word (placed in the 14th tile), and you have not yet placed that tile on the playing board, and select Oops before you have made any other move, the tile will revert back to a blank tile and the points you lost by creating that word will be added back to your score.

6 - When you have placed your own newly created word (the one in the 14th tile ) on the board, and select Oops before you have made any other move, the tile will be placed back on the bottom of the screen, and the ten points you had received when you placed that tile on the playing board will be deducted from your score.

Remember, you may 'Oops' only the last move made.


Create New Word

Occasionally you do not have any words that are appropriate to place on the screen to continue a sentence.  In that case, you can either generate a whole new set of words or create a new word of your own choosing.

In a 2-Player game, you may create a new word only if you haven't placed a tile on the playing board yet this turn.

To create your own word, select the 'Create new word' menu item from the 'Tiles' menu (or press Alt+w).  The blank tile at the bottom right of your set of tiles will now become yellow, with an underscore to indicate the program is ready to accept your word.  Type in the word and press the Enter key when you are finished.  The tile will now revert back to green and the word will be centered in the tile.

The new word may contain only upper and lower case letters and the single quote, needed for contractions like "won't".

To correct any errors in typing, press the backspace key or left arrow key to delete the letter to the left of the underscore.  You may continue pressing the backspace or left arrow keys to continue to delete the letters backwards one by one, until you have deleted the incorrect letters.  Then, retype the correct word.

If, however, you press the Enter key before any letters have been entered, or if you press the Esc key, it is assumed that you do not want to create a new word after all.  The tile will now again be a blank green one.

The word you create must fit into the tile.  If the newly created word is too long, it will be erased, so you can try again.

If in the middle of entering a new word, you decide not to create a new word after all, just press the Esc key.

The number of points deducted from your score when you create a new word depend on the 'Level of difficulty' at which you are playing: Easy: -5; Average - 50; Difficult      -100.


New Set of Words

Occasionally you may feel that you are stuck with a set of words you do not find very useful at all.  In that case, you can generate a whole new set of 13 words.  In a 2-Player game, you may generate a new set of words only if you haven't placed a tile on the playing board yet this turn.

Select the 'New Set of Words' menu item from the 'Tiles' menu.   A new set of 13 words is generated for you and placed on the bottom of the screen.

The number of points deducted from your score when you select a new set of words depends on the 'Level of difficulty' at which you are playing: Easy - 100; Average      - 1000; Difficult - 5000.


Game is over

The game is over when any of the following occur:

1 -  A total of seventy-two tiles have been placed on the board

2 -  The 'Quit' menu item has been selected (or Alt+u pressed)

     This will end the game and the program, and present the winner and the high scorers.

3 -  The 'GameOver' menu item has been selected (or Alt+g pressed).  This will end the game, but not the program, and will present the winner and the high scorers.


Quit

Select the 'Quit' menu item when you wish to end the game and to end the program.


Keyboard Combinations

The Alt key plus certain keys pressed in combination with it are used in this program as another way to use the menus.  When you look at the menus, notice that one letter is underlined.  Pressing that letter while pressing the Alt key will give the same result as selecting that menu item with the mouse.  The following are the key combinations for this program:

Play/1-Player	Alt+1

Play/2-Player	Alt+2

Level/Easy	Alt+e

 	Level/Average	Alt+a

Level/Difficult	Alt+d

Oops	Alt+o

Sentence/Start of Sentence	Alt+s

Sentence/Period	Alt+p

Sentence/Question	Alt+q

GameOver	Alt+g

Tiles/New set of tiles	Alt+n

Tiles/Create new word	Alt+w

About	Alt+b

Help/Help            	Alt+h

  	Help/Summary                          Alt+s

Quit	Alt+u


Register

This program is shareware.  You have a limited license to use this program for a period of time to evaluate it.  If, after this evaluation period, you wish to continue to use it you are required to register it.  Or you may wish instead to order More Word Weaver, or the early-reader version: More Word Weaver Jr.  To do so, just click on the 'Register' menu, select 'Register Word Weaver', fill in the dialog box and follow instructions.  Or print the file 'register.wri' using the Windows accessory Write, or print the file 'register.txt' from Dos, fill it in and mail to:

LatticeWork Software

P.O. Box 362

Lafayette Hill, PA 19444

For more information on the benefits of registering your software, or what is included in More Word Weaver, or in More Word Weaver Junior, select the 'Register' menu, or see the file 'readme.wri' using the Windows Accessory Write.