Welcome!

Welcome to RS Games Scrabble, an accessible, online, multiplayer version of the board game Scrabble. RS Games Scrabble utilizes the RS Games client, which allows players to play against each other from around the world via the centralized RS Games server.

To get started, you will need the RS Games client installed. TO get the RS Games client if you don't have it already, go to http://www.rsgames.org. connecting and logging into the server are covered in the RS Games client documentation. Alternatively, you can use the web client, from which you can play by using your web browser. a link to the web client can be found on the RS Games home page.

This document assumes you have read the RS Games client documentation first, for general concepts and instructions on using the client. If you have not read this document, please read it before continuing.

If you are using the web client, options referred to as keyboard commands in this document will appear as buttons on the web page.

The Main Menu

Once you are connected, choose Scrabble from the list of games, and you will be presented with the main menu. From there, you can create a new game, join a game, or see a list of existing games. Choose an option using the up and down arrow keys and the enter key, or by clicking on the option if you are using the web client.

Creating a New Game

If you choose to create a new game, you will be asked if you want to make the game private. If you choose yes, you can set a password, and only those who know the password will be able to join.

After you have made your choices, you will be placed in your game. Here, players will be able to join your game.

Starting The Game

Once you are ready to start the game, press the Enter key.

Joining a Game

To join a game, choose the Join Game option from the main menu. You will be presented with a list of games that are open for players, along with the people playing in each game. Choose a game from the list, and press enter. If the game is private, you will then be asked to enter the password. Once you are in the game, you must wait for the game master to start the game.

Playing Scrabble

The goal of Scrabble is to form words either vertically or horizontally on the board, which is a 15 by 15 grid. Words are scored based on the point value of the letters, with certain spaces on the board allowing for letters, or the entire word, to be multiplied. At all times, all rows (horizontally from left to right and vertically from top to bottom) must form words.

Navigation and Keyboard Commands

The Scrabble board is laid out as a grid, which you can navigate by using the up, down, left, and right arrow keys. Each square may be blank or contain a tile placed by a player, and may have a modifier that results in additional point multipliers for letters or words that use that square. To navigate through your letters and other options, use the "A" and "D" keys to move left and right respectively. As long as there are enough letters in the bag, you will have seven letters from which to choose. After selecting the letter you would like to play, navigate to the desired square on the grid and press Enter to place it on the board.

If you navigate right past your list of letters, the follwing other options are available:

End turn: Ends your turn, validates that the letters on the board form words, and calculates your score
Recall: Removes any letters you have placed on the board during your turn and returns them to you
Exchange Letters: Allows you to exchange one or more letters with new letters randomly chosen from the bag. This will also immediately end your turn.
Pass: Forfeits your turn without atking any action
End Game: Ends the game. This can be done after 6 more more consecutive forfeited turns.

As an alternative to using the A and D keys for navigation, you can use the number row on your keyboard to quickly select your desired option, as follows:

1 through 7: Select one of your letters to play
8: End turn
9: Recall turn
0: Exchange letters
- (dash): Pass/forfeit turn

Game Play

At the start of the game, each player draws seven letters from the bag, and a player is randomly selected to go first. This player pmust place two or more letters on the board to form a word, starting at the "Start" square located at the center of the board.

After ending your turn, the word is scored by adding up the point values of each letter and applying any modifiers (see the below for a more detailed description), and letters are drawn from the bag to replace those that were played.

Each subsequent turn, the player must add to existing words on the board by placing one or more tiles in a straight line, vertically or horizontally, with one or more tiles touching an existing tile on the board. New words may be formed by:

Adding one or more letters to a word or letters already on the board.
Placing a word at right angles to a word already on the board. The new word must use one of the letters already on the board or must add a letter to it. (See Turns 2, 3 and 4 below.)
Placing a complete word parallel to a word already played so that adjacent letters also form

Blank Tiles

The bag contains two blank tiles, which are worth 0 points but can represent whichever letter the player chooses. When playing a blank tile, you will be asked to enter the letter you would like it to represent, after which it represents that letter for the remainder of the game. IF, however, you recall your turn and the blank tile is returned to you, you will have the opportunity to choose a different letter when placing the tile at a later point.

Modifiers

Certain squares on the board have modifiers, which consist of the following:

Double/Triple letter: doubles or triples the point value of the letter on that square
Double/Triple Word: Doubles or triples the point value of the entire word. This is applied after all letter modifiers are applied.

Scoring

Each turn, a player's score is calculated at the sum of the values of all letters in all newly formed words, with any modifiers applied. Modifiers are only applied to squares on which the letter was placed during the current turn. In other words, each modifier square is only applied once per game.

Winning

The game ends when one of the following conditions are met:

All letters have been drawn from the bag and one player uses their last letter, or
A player ends the game after their have been at least six consecutive forfeited turns

at the end of the game, each player's score is decreased by the total value of the their remaining unplayed letters. after this, the player with the highest score wins. In the event of a tie, the player with the highest score before points were deducted is the winner.

In Game Keyboard Commands

There are several keyboard commands that can be used to get information about your current game. You can always press Ctrl+H to get a quick reminder of these keystrokes.

A, D: Move left or right through the letters and other options
1 through 7: Select one of your letters to play
8: End turn
9: Recall turn
0: Exchange letters
- (dash): Pass/forfeit turn
C: Moves focus to the start square, at the center of the board
P: Toggle phonetic mode. When enabled, all letters will be read using the phonetic alphabet ( for example, "D" would be read as "Delta")
S: Announces each player's current score
L: Announce the number of letters left in the bag
T: Find out who's turn it is.
Q: Leave the game.
F1: To get help from admins or moderators.
F2: Send a chat message to players in the game. If you are in the main menu, this will send a chat message to all players waiting for a game.
F3: Lower the volume of the background music.
F4: Raise the volume of the background music.
F5: Lower the volume of all sounds.
F6: Raise the volume of all sounds.
W: Who's online.
TAB: Get game information such as who's in the current game, who is the game master, and who is the bot.

Chatting

You can chat with other players at any point during game play by pressing the F2 key, typing your message into the input box and pressing enter. You can also chat at the main menu to other players who are not currently in a game, also by pressing F2.

Background music

To change the volume of the background music during the game, use F3 to lower the volume and F4 to raise the volume. You can also adjust the volume of the sound effects with F5 and F6 to lower or raise the volume, respectively.

Transcripts

You can opt to receive a transcript of your game, that is, an email containing the entire text of your game. When you leave a game, you will be asked if you would like to receive a transcript. If you would, choose Yes, and the transcript will be sent to the email address you used when creating your RS Games account. You can also press F11 during the game, rather than wait until you leave the game to decide.

Credits

Thanks to the following people for helping to create Scrabble:

Developers: Michael Forzano
Music: Andre Louis
Sound contributors/Designers: Ryan SMith
All of the beta testers

support and Contact Information

If you have any problems using any of the games released by RS Games, or have a question, bug report, suggestion, feature request, or anything else, feel free to contact RS Games by sending an email to rsgames@gmail.com.

Back to games page