Outspell
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Outspell
Our free daily · new every day Findish A word search with a new theme every day Play now Outspell gives you seven letter tiles, a board covered in bonus squares, and a computer opponent that will take them if you do not.
If you have played Scrabble the rules will feel familiar inside one turn. The scoring is where the game is actually won, and it is not always the longest word that wins it.
How to play Outspell
Turns alternate with the computer until the tile bag is empty, and the higher score takes the game.
- Pick a difficulty. The opponent plays a genuinely different game at each level, so start low if you are new to it.
- Place your opening word across the centre square.
- Keep the tiles you place in one unbroken line, all along the same row or the same column. Letters already on the board can form part of that line, but you cannot leave an empty square in the middle of it. That is what the game means when it tells you that you cannot have any gaps.
- Build every later word onto letters already on the board.
- Watch the coloured squares. One kind multiplies the letter you place on it, the other multiplies the whole word, and the value sticks to that square for the rest of the game.
- Check anything you are unsure of with the built in dictionary before you commit.
- Swap awkward tiles back into the bag when the rack is unplayable. It costs you the turn.
- Play on until the bag is empty. The score at that moment decides it.
Tips and strategy
Bonus squares are the whole game. They pay once, and whoever reaches them first keeps the value.
- A short word on a word multiplier beats a long word on plain squares more often than it looks.
- Hold the S and the blank. Both are worth far more attached to something the computer has just played.
- Do not open a lane to a triple. If your word leaves the opponent one move away from it, find another spot.
- Park J, Q, X and Z on a letter multiplier or keep them until you can.
- Swapping is not a lost turn when the alternative is four points and the same bad rack next time.
Near the end the bag empties and the board tightens, so count what is left. A five point word that blocks the last open multiplier is usually worth more than a twelve point word that opens it.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Outspell the same as Scrabble?
The rules are close enough to feel familiar, with tiles, a board and words built onto words, but the layout and the bonus squares are its own and you play the computer rather than another person.
Outspell says I cannot have any gaps. What does that mean?
The tiles you add in one turn have to sit in a single unbroken line, all along the same row or the same column. Letters already on the board can form part of that line, but there cannot be an empty square left in the middle of it. Either move your tiles together, or place them so an existing letter bridges the space.
Why will the game not let me place my word?
There are two separate rules it checks. Your tiles have to form one unbroken line with no empty square inside it, and the word has to touch at least one letter already on the board, apart from the opening word, which goes through the centre square.
The computer played a word I have never seen. Is it cheating?
No. It draws from the same dictionary you can search, which holds over 279,000 words, and short archaic ones are part of it. YE is the usual example: Merriam-Webster lists it both as an old plural form of you and as the article in Ye Olde Gifte Shoppe. Two letter words like this are standard in word games and are worth learning, because they are what lets you reach a bonus square a longer word cannot fit. If a word looks wrong, the dictionary button in the game will settle it.
Which dictionary does Outspell use?
Arkadium give the figure as more than 279,000 words, which puts it alongside Collins Scrabble Words, the list used outside North America, rather than the NASPA Word List used in American tournament play. The two are far apart: Collins holds 280,887 words against 196,601 in the NASPA list. That gap of roughly 84,000 is where the unfamiliar words come from, a lot of them short, regional, or drawn from other varieties of English. They are real entries on that list rather than anything the opponent invented, and the dictionary button in the game will confirm any of them.
What do the coloured squares do in Outspell?
One kind multiplies the value of the single letter placed on it, the other multiplies the whole word. Once a tile sits on one, that value stays with it for the rest of the game.
Can I swap letters I cannot use?
Yes. Tiles can be exchanged for new ones from the bag. It uses up your turn, which is usually worth it when the rack has nothing playable in it.
Does Outspell tell me if a word is real?
Yes. A dictionary is built into the game, so you can check a word before you commit to it rather than losing a turn to a guess.