How to play Word Decks: a beginner’s guide

If I were sitting next to you while you tried Word Decks for the first time, this is how I’d explain it.

You have 15 letter cards, and you use them to make three words in each of three rounds. Your words earn points. Between rounds, you can spend some of those points to improve your letters.

The aim is to finish all three rounds with as many points left as possible.

That’s the game’s main decision: keep the points you’ve earned, or spend some now in the hope of earning more later.

Start by finding three words

Look at your cards and see what you can spell. Each word needs at least three letters.

You can tap the cards or type your word, then press Play word.

The important thing to remember is that each card can only be used once in that round. If you play CAT, those C, A and T cards are used up until the next round. You’ll need to make your other two words from the cards you have left.

If you have another A card, you can use that one. Think of them as individual cards rather than letters you can use as often as you like.

You don’t have to use all 15 cards, and you can’t play the same word twice in one round.

For your first go, I’d concentrate on finding three words that fit together. Don’t worry about finding something spectacular straight away.

You can change your mind

Playing a word doesn’t immediately commit your whole round.

If you spot a better combination, press the × beside a played word to remove it and get its cards back. Reset Round clears all your played words so you can try again.

Once you have three words you’re happy with, press Submit Round. Their points go into your bank.

That’s when the round becomes final, so have a quick look before submitting.

I often change my first choice because it leaves awkward letters for the other two words. A good round is about the combination of all three, rather than one impressive word on its own.

Your words earn points — and sometimes bonuses

The number on each card tells you how many points that letter is worth. Add those numbers together and you have the word’s starting score.

For example, CAT is worth 4 points: C is worth 2, and A and T are worth 1 each.

Some words earn extra bonuses:

• Longer words: six letters earns +10, seven earns +15, eight earns +20, and nine or more earns +25.
• Three or more vowels: doubles the word’s score. The vowels are A, E, I, O and U.
• A word containing J, Q, X or Z: doubles the score.
• A palindrome: a word that reads the same backwards, such as LEVEL, triples the score.

These bonuses can work together. The length bonus is added first, then the multipliers apply.

You don’t need to memorise all of this before playing. I’d get comfortable making three words first, then start looking for bonus opportunities.

Between rounds, you can improve your letters

After rounds one and two, the market opens. This is where you can swap a card in your deck for one of the letters on offer.

Tap the upgrade letter, then the card you want to replace — or drag the upgrade onto it.

Your first swap in each market is free. Extra swaps cost points, with each additional swap costing more. The prices stay fixed during that market.

Pressing Start Market begins a two-minute timer. You can stage swaps, check the spending and reset your changes before pressing Lock in changes. Resetting your changes doesn’t reset the timer.

If time runs out, your staged swaps lock in automatically.

You don’t have to make any swaps. Keeping your letters and spending nothing is a perfectly valid choice.

My advice is to look for a letter that helps you make words you’ve already thought of. Don’t buy something just because it has a high point value.

Your cards come back for the next round

At the start of the next round, all 15 cards become available again, including any new letters you bought.

You make another three words, submit them and add their points to your bank. You can reuse a word from an earlier round if you have the cards for it.

After round two, there’s one more market. After round three, the game finishes.

The points left in your bank are your final score.

For example, if your words earned 200 points across the game and you spent 12 on upgrades, you finish with 188.

That’s why spending wisely matters. An upgrade can help you earn more, but its cost comes out of your final score.

My advice for your first game

Try the Guided Tutorial first if you’d like to learn by doing. It walks you through a practice game without affecting your Daily Challenge.

Then, for your first proper game, keep it simple: find three words, try a useful swap and see what happens in the next round.

You’ll start spotting more possibilities as you play. That’s the bit I enjoy most — looking at the same letters again and suddenly seeing a combination I missed before.

Play Word Decks and give it a go.