Wordspionage is a word game with two to four players who take turns to score points by forming words with lettered tiles on a 15x15 grid game board.
Basic Gameplay
Words are placed across and down on the game board like a crossword. The first word of the game must be placed on the center of the game board, with one letter placed on the crosshair 
. All subsequent words must be placed adjacent to a word that has already been placed on the game board. The score for a word is calculated based on the face value of the letters used and any multipliers on the game board that the letters were placed on. Players can pass their turn or swap tiles if they do not wish to play a word during their turn.
Players can select opponents from their friends list or a list of random players.
Players can choose the time limit per turn: 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, or no time limit. If a player does not make a turn within the time limit per turn set for the game, he/she automatically loses the game. The default time limit per turn is 72 hours. The game starts and the clock starts ticking when all players join the game.
Players can choose the word guess limit per turn: 1, 3, 5, or unlimited. If a player exceeds the word guess limit per turn set for the game, he/she automatically loses the turn. The default word guess limit per turn is unlimited.
Multipliers
= Double Letter = doubles the face value of the letter
= Double Word = doubles the face value of the word
= Triple Letter = triples the face value of the letter
= Triple Word = triples the face value of the word
= Quadruple Letter = quadruples the face value of the letter
= Quadruple Word = quadruples the face value of the word
If a word is placed on a letter multiplier and a word multiplier in a single turn, the letter multiplier is applied first before the word multiplier is applied.
Players can choose standard placement of multipliers or random placement of multipliers. The default multipliers placement is random.
Spec Ops
Spec Ops (Special Operations) help players strategize and gain advantages over opponents. For each game, tiles are randomly chosen by the game as Spec Ops Activation Tiles (black tiles). When you use a Spec Ops Activation Tile to play a word on the game board, the Spec Ops Wheel is activated, and you spin the wheel to obtain a Spec Op. Spec Ops are implemented when it is your turn to play, before you play a word on the game board.
In order to implement most Spec Ops, you need Wordspionage Dollars (WS$). Each new player is given WS$1,000 to start, and there are ways to earn WS$. Although implementing Spec Ops is not required to play Wordspionage, it makes Wordspionage more fun and unique than other word games, and it may help you win.
There are seven different types of Spec Ops:
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Cover ID - A blank tile to use as any letter you want. Has no face value. No WS$ needed to play. Two Cover IDs in each game. (Playing a Cover ID/blank tile is not required when finishing a game by using all of your tiles in your Tile Tray.) |
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Surveillance - Spy on your opponent’s Tile Tray for 10 seconds. WS$75 needed to play. Two Surveillances in each game. |
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Misdirection - Shuffle the remaining multipliers on the game board. WS$125 needed to play. One Misdirection in each game. |
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Switch - Switch one of your tiles of your choosing with your opponent’s highest face value tile. If your opponent has more than one tile with the same highest face value, one is chosen randomly by the game. WS$125 needed to play. One Switch in each game. |
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Flash Bomb - Make the remaining multipliers on the game board invisible and unavailable for your opponent(s) for one turn. WS$175 needed to play. One Flash Bomb in each game. |
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Sabotage - Take away half of the score of your opponent’s last turn (excluding any extra points earned through the Bonus Wheel). WS$175 needed to play. One Sabotage in each game. |
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Double Agent - Take away half of the score of your opponent’s last turn (excluding any extra points earned through the Bonus Wheel) and add it to your total score. WS$250 needed to play. One Double Agent in each game. |
Earn Wordspionage Dollars (WS$) and Extra Game Points
Each game has three Mission Words (4-letters, 5-letters, 6-letters). Mission Words are randomly chosen by the game from our dictionary. If you play a Mission Word, you get to spin the Bonus Wheel for a chance to earn WS$ or extra game points.
If you play a word using all seven tiles in your Tile Tray, you get to spin the Bonus Wheel for a chance to earn WS$ or extra game points. Cover ID (blank tile) does not count toward the seven tiles that make up a bingo word.
When you win a game, you get to spin the Bonus Wheel to earn WS$. A game must have been played at least halfway through for the winner to spin the Bonus Wheel.
If you run out of WS$ and do not want to wait until you earn more, you can purchase them at the Wordspionage Store.
Game End
There are four different ways a Wordspionage game can end and a winner declared:
- When a player uses all the tiles in his/her Tile Tray and there are no more tiles left in the Tile Storage, the opponent(s) loses points equal to the sum of the face value of his/her remaining tiles, and those points are awarded to the player who used all of his/her tiles first. The player who has the highest score after final scores are calculated wins the game. Cover ID (blank tile) does not need to be played to finish the game.
- If a player does not make a turn within the time limit per turn set for the game, he/she automatically loses the game. If there are two players in the game, the game ends, and the remaining player wins the game. If there are three or four players in the game, the remaining players continue to play until the game ends.
- In a two-player game, if there are four consecutive passes or tile swaps, the game ends, and whoever has the higher score wins the game. In a three-player game, if there are six consecutive passes or tile swaps, the game ends, and whoever has the highest score wins the game. In a four-player game, if there are eight consecutive passes or tile swaps, the game ends, and whoever has the highest score wins the game.
- A player has the option to forfeit the game at any time, even if it is not his/her turn to play. If there are two players in the game, the remaining player wins the game. If there are three or four players in the game, the remaining players continue to play until the game ends.
Player Levels and Skill Points
All players start at the Recruit level. When a player wins a game, he/she gains Skill Points, which is determined by the Player Level of the opponent. If there are more than two players in a game, the Skill Points for the winner is determined by the opponent at the highest Player Level. A game must have been played at least halfway through for the winner to gain Skill Points. If a game is tied, no one gains Skill Points. Skill Points are not deducted from a player for losing a game.
| Player Levels | Skill Points |
|---|---|
| Recruit | 0 - 499 |
| Level 1 Operative | 500 - 1,899 |
| Level 2 Operative | 1,900 - 4,899 |
| Level 3 Operative | 4,900 - 10,499 |
| Level 4 Operative | 10,500 - 19,999 |
| Level 5 Operative | 20,000 - 34,999 |
| Level 6 Operative | 35,000 - 57,399 |
| Level 7 Operative | 57,400 - 89,399 |
| Level 8 Operative | 89,400 - 133,499 |
| Level 9 Operative | 133,500 - 192,499 |
| Level 10 Operative | 192,500 - 269,499 |
| Special Agent | 269,500 and up |
Player Profile
A Player Profile contains the following information and can be viewed by everyone.
- Player Code Name
- Player Level
- Player Skill Points
- Number of Games Won
- Number of Games Lost
- Number of Games Tied
- Highest Game Score
- Highest Word Score
- Highest Move Score
- Number of Mission Words Played
Dictionary
Wordspionage uses the Enhanced North American Benchmark Lexicon (ENABLE) dictionary. Several two-letter words that are commonly used in word games have been added to the Wordspionage dictionary. If you would like to suggest words to be added to the Wordspionage dictionary, or vote on words that other players have already suggested, go here.
Tiles
| Letters | Points | Counts |
|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | 10 |
| B | 4 | 2 |
| C | 4 | 2 |
| D | 2 | 5 |
| E | 1 | 12 |
| F | 4 | 2 |
| G | 3 | 3 |
| H | 4 | 3 |
| I | 1 | 9 |
| J | 10 | 1 |
| K | 5 | 1 |
| L | 1 | 4 |
| M | 3 | 2 |
| N | 1 | 6 |
| O | 1 | 7 |
| P | 4 | 2 |
| Q | 10 | 1 |
| R | 1 | 6 |
| S | 1 | 5 |
| T | 1 | 7 |
| U | 2 | 4 |
| V | 4 | 2 |
| W | 4 | 2 |
| X | 8 | 1 |
| Y | 4 | 2 |
| Z | 10 | 1 |
Total Number of Tiles = 102