Beta Test program
 Scrabble for Excalibur

Beta Test Program

see also

Hint!

Tangent Thought Software to expressly thank the following SysOps and all their respective callers/Scrabble players who participated in our beta test program for Scrabble for Excalibur at personal cost, phone bills to report anomolies, and the constant risk of crashing their respective ongoing BBSs and terminal programs through bugs that escaped bench-testing.

Even without this section, your efforts will be unknowingly appreciated by all future users of this program.

Participants of the Scrabble for Excalibur Beta Test Program

A B Computers

Primary line:  64 4 3851486

Arizona Online

Primary line:  (602) 547-2995

Blue Sky Coven BBS

Primary line:  (210) 945-0302

Bowser BBS

Primary line:  (602) 967-3427

The Camelion Tree

Primary line:  (619) 460-8879

Cascade Connection

Primary line:  (503) 282-3477

The Castle Noir BBS

Primary line:  (813) 265-8841

Holy Grail

Primary line:  (703) 788-9557

New Orleans Online Services

Primary line:  (504) 368-0332

Pheonix Express Windows BBS

Primary line:  (604) 939-9311

Saltys Dog House

Primary line:  (813) 996-3574

Sojourners BBS

Primary line:  (604) 823-6859

Tri-Cities *WIRED*

Primary line:  (509) 967-5590

The Wizard's Keep

Primary line:  (206) 351-9225

Our thanks to one and all!


Copyright Acknowledgements
 Scrabble for Excalibur

Copyright Acknowledgements

see also

Hint!

Excalibur, Arthur, Merlin are copyrighted and trademarked by Excalibur Communications Inc.

The board game Scrabble was originally copyrighted and the name Scrabble was trademarked by Selchow & Righter Co in 1948.  All marketing rights are currently held by Hasbro Co.


Be sure to check out these related topics...

 Copyright Acknowledgements


Be sure to check out these related topics...

 Beta Test Program


Main Contents (short)
 Scrabble for Excalibur

Contents

Expand Topics

Hint!

 Introduction to Excalibur Scrabble

 Playing the Game

 Game Components

 Copyright and Registration

 Player Configuration

 Error Messages

 History of Scrabble for Excalibur

 Acknowledgements


 Scrabble for Excalibur

Contents

Expand Topics   Collapse Topics

Hint!

 Introduction to Excalibur Scrabble

 Introduction

 Features

 Playing the Game

 Game Components

 Copyright and Registration

 Player Configuration

 Error Messages

 History of Scrabble for Excalibur

 Acknowledgements


 Scrabble for Excalibur

Contents

Expand Topics   Collapse Topics

Hint!

 Introduction to Excalibur Scrabble

 Playing the Game

 Getting Started

 Creating or Joining a Game

 Playing your Turn in a Game

 Live Play

 Game Components

 Copyright and Registration

 Player Configuration

 Error Messages

 History of Scrabble for Excalibur

 Acknowledgements


 Scrabble for Excalibur

Contents

Expand Topics   Collapse Topics

Hint!

 Introduction to Excalibur Scrabble

 Playing the Game

 Game Components

 The Dictionary File

 The Letter Tiles

 Copyright and Registration

 Player Configuration

 Error Messages

 History of Scrabble for Excalibur

 Acknowledgements


 Scrabble for Excalibur

Contents

Expand Topics   Collapse Topics

Hint!

 Introduction to Excalibur Scrabble

 Playing the Game

 Game Components

 Copyright and Registration

 Support

 Adopt a Door Program

 Player Configuration

 Error Messages

 History of Scrabble for Excalibur

 Acknowledgements


 Scrabble for Excalibur

Contents

Expand Topics   Collapse Topics

Hint!

 Introduction to Excalibur Scrabble

 Playing the Game

 Game Components

 Copyright and Registration

 Player Configuration

 Error Messages

 History of Scrabble for Excalibur

 Acknowledgements

 Beta Test Program

 Copyright Acknowledgements


Main Contents (long)
 Scrabble for Excalibur

Full Contents

Collapse Topics

Hint!

 Introduction to Excalibur Scrabble

 Introduction

 Features

 Playing the Game

 Getting Started

 Creating or Joining a Game

 Playing your Turn in a Game

 Live Play

 Game Components

 The Dictionary File

 The Letter Tiles

 Copyright and Registration

 Support

 Adopt a Door Program

 Player Configuration

 Error Messages

 History of Scrabble for Excalibur

 Acknowledgements

 Beta Test Program

 Copyright Acknowledgements


 Scrabble for Excalibur

History

Back to Contents

Hint!

Scrabble was originally manufactured by Selchow & Righter Co. in Bay Shore New York in 1948.

Tangent Thought Software initiated an open beta test program and released the first beta version available to the public on Christmas Day, 1994.

Over the next two months, innumerable updates and rewrites were compiled in order to provide a Live Play option for the game.  Most of these releases passed alpha bench testing and were evaluated by the members of the open Beta Test program.

First public version 1.0 released Friday, Mar 10, 1995.


Product Support
 Scrabble for Excalibur

Product Support

see also

Hint!

At Tangent Thought Software, we offer product support to the registered and unregistered users of our software alike.  If you are having a problem with the Scrabble for Excalibur program or wish to report an anomoly you have found, support may be found by calling:

Tangent Thought Software BBS

Excalibur BBS line 1:  (604) 323-9756

The author of Scrabble for Excalibur, Dennis Pugh, may also be reached on the InterNet at:

dpugh@direct.ca

Identify yourself, the name of the software, the version number and a good description of the trouble you have been having, and we will do our best to help you out.  We will often take problems we have worked on and post messages in the public message support areas on our own BBS.  If for any reason, you do not wish to be involved in this process of information sharing, please state so and any communication exchanged will remain strictly private.


The Adopt-a-Door Program
 Scrabble for Excalibur

The Adopt-a-Door Program

see also

Hint!

This Help! file is to be considered a Freeware accessory for the Scrabble for Excalibur game and may not be charged for in any way.  If you have paid a fee for this file please report the incident to this author, and I will take whatever steps I can to immediatley halt this practice, (for contact information see Support).

If you enjoy playing Scrabble for Excalibur regularly on your local BBS and are contemplating sending a donation or membership fee to that BBS, we ask that you consider sending in your monies with the expressed wish that the funds go towards the registration of this software.

Registration of this software may be purchased on-line at:

In North America,

Advantage Online Systems

Excalibur BBS:  810-784-9114

In Europe,

Pauls Café

Excalibur BBS:  31-20-6894364

or

Amsterdam Utility BBS

Excalibur BBS:  31-20-6165851


Be sure to check out these related topics...

 The Adopt-a-Door Program


Be sure to check out these related topics...

 Support


Error Messages
 Scrabble for Excalibur

Error Messages

Back to Contents

Hint!

There are a number of error messages that may arrise when attempting to play your turn in Scrabble for Excalibur.  Due to limitations of space, the explanations offered with the error notices is sparce.  For that reason, the author offers some expanded explanations below.

ERROR 000  Error reading BBS name.

The name of the BBS could not be read upon start up.  Please report this to the SysOp immediately.

ERROR 001  The first word in the game must cover the centre square.

When playing the very first word upon the board, one tile must cover the centre square, i.e. the double word score square noted with a large star.

ERROR 002  Word placement exceeds board limits.

You have attempted to play a word whose length would carry it off the board either over the right hand side or the lower edge.  Shorten your word if possible, or chose a different location.

ERROR 003  Some or all of those letters are not available from either your hand or the board.

You have typed a word for play that contains letters not found in either your rack of tiles or previously played on the board in a location that would intersect with your word.

ERROR 004  The word placement is orphaned from the existing tiles.

You have selected a location and direction for your played word that does not either use an existing tile on the board or extend an existing word with your played tiles.  Select a more appropriate location.

ERROR 005  There are non-compliant tiles in the way of word placement.

You have attempted to play a word that would bump into existing tiles that are not included in your attempted word.

ERROR 006  No word to place!

The length of your requested word was zero letters.

ERROR 007  You have not declared the entire word.

You have attempted to place your word in such a way that existing tiles would continue it.  All tiles must be declared when playing a word.

ERROR 008  You need to play at least one tile from your hand

You have only typed the tiles that exist on the board.  You must play a minimum of one tile from your rack.

ERROR 009  There are non-alphabetic characters in your requested word.

You have mistakenly typed either a numeric character or a puncuation character in your attempted word.

ERROR 020  You have requested more tiles than are currently available. Try again.

You are attempting to discard more tiles than are currently available from the pool.  The tiles you discard are held back from the pool to avoid you retrieving them during the discard, so you may only discard a maximum of the number of tiles left available. The board will be reset and you may attempt another discard.

ERROR 021  You have requested more tiles than are in your hand. Try again.

You have attempted to discard more than the number of tiles in your rack (usually seven).  The board will be reset and you may attempt another discard.


Jump Spot Hint!

You can quickly display all of the hotspots and cross reference jump points by pressing the keyboard combination Ctrl+Tab !


Hard Copy Hint!

You can quickly print the current topic by accessing File..Print Topic.  (Handy for getting a hard copy of the order form to fill out and mail in!)


Copy & Paste Hint!

You can quickly copy portions (or all) of the current topic into your own document by using the Edit..Copy command.


On Top Hint!

Click the On Top button to keep Garlon Help available as you work in the parent application.


Introduction
 Scrabble for Excalibur

Introduction

see also

Hint!

This game represents a new breed of interactive BBS game for the Excalibur BBS System.  It allows for two, three, or four player games, retains configuration and statistics for both players and games, and provides dynamic updating on a variety of information and command options for the player.

Games may be played over time, with respective callers accessing and playing their turns on a daily or even weekly basis, or Live Play may be instituted with any number of spectators stopping by to watch.

While it may not be immediately feasible for you to completely read this Help file from start to end, it is highly reccommended that you browse the following subjects before attempting play:

 Player Configuration

 Creating or Joining a Game

 Playing your Turn in a Game

 Live Play

With that said, the author of this software would like to wish you many hours of playing enjoyment.  If you have any reason to direct a concern or comment to the author, please refer to Support for contact information.


Features
 Scrabble for Excalibur

Features

see also

Hint!

Scrabble for Excalibur currently comes bundled with the following features and attributes:

  Live play between callers or local log-on

  65,000+ word dictionary for cross referencing player turns

  200 available game 'slots' each possible of playing two, three, or four players (player configurable)

  Viewing of existing games possible whether or not the player is involved in the game

  Automatic tile randomization and game initialization

  Automatic primary and multiple secondary word calculation

  Automatic end game calculation and reset

  Top Scorers' List for top sixteen game scores and top sixteen 'number of games won'

  Request file for attempted word plays not found in the dictionary.

  Wordsmith Sysop utility for game configuration, game and dictionary maintenance

  Player statistics for 10,000 players

  Player configuration file for board format, live play notification, and BBS chat paging


Be sure to check out these related topics...

 Features


Be sure to check out these related topics...

 Introduction


The Dictionary File
 Scrabble for Excalibur

The Dictionary File

see also

Hint!

If you have attempted to play a word that does not currently exist in the supplied dictionary file, you will be asked if you wish to place the rejected word into a request queue that your SysOp will review on a regular basis, and either add to the dictionary file or completely reject and delete from future consideration.

In order that you do not burden your SysOp with an abundance of irregular entry requests, the authors of this software offer the following guidelines.

A word is NOT a valid request if:

It is only the proper name of something, i.e always capitalized.

It is only an abbreviation.

Words that always require an apostrophe or a hyphen.

The request is only either a prefix or suffix standing alone.

Please note that the conditions listed above have the stipends ALWAYS or ONLY attached to them.  This is to provide for words that may be used in two or more cases, i.e if a word can be used as a legitimate meaning as well as an illegal one, it qualifies; example: RAM is an accronym for Random Access Memory, and as such would not apply.  However it may also be used to refer to a male sheep, so it is a legitimate word.


The Letter Tiles
 Scrabble for Excalibur

The Letter Tiles

see also

Hint!

Click each letter in the display to receive more information on the available tiles from the Tile Pool .


A

There are a total of nine As available for play.  Each A is worth one point.


B

There are a total of two Bs available for play.  Each B is worth two points.


C

There are a total of two Cs available for play.  Each C is worth three points.


D

There are a total of four Ds available for play.  Each D is worth two points.


E

There are a total of twelve Es available for play.  Each E is worth one point.


F

There are a total of two Fs available for play.  Each F is worth four points.


G

There are a total of three Gs available for play.  Each G is worth two points.


H

There are a total of two Hs available for play.  Each H is worth four points.


I

There are a total of nine Is available for play.  Each I is worth one point.


J

There is one J available for play.  The J is worth eight points.


K

There is one K available for play.  The K is worth five points.


L

There are a total of four Ls available for play.  Each L is worth one point.


M

There are a total of two Ms available for play.  Each M is worth three points.


N

There are a total of six Ns available for play.  Each N is worth one point.


O

There are a total of eight Os available for play.  Each O is worth one point.


P

There are a total of two Ps available for play.  Each P is worth three points.


Q

There is one Q available for play.  The Q is worth ten points.


R

There are a total of six Rs available for play.  Each R is worth one point.


S

There are a total of four Ss available for play.  Each S is worth one point.


T

There are a total of six Ts available for play.  Each T is worth one point.


U

There are a total of four Us available for play.  Each U is worth one point.


V

There are a total of two Vs available for play.  Each V is worth four points.


W

There are a total of two Ws available for play.  Each W is worth four points.


X

There is one X available for play.  The X is worth eight points.


Y

There are a total of two Ys available for play.  Each Y is worth four points.


Z

There is one Z available for play.  The Z is worth ten points.


<blank>

There are a total of two blanks available for play.  Although each blank can be used as a substitute for any letter, the tile scores no points.  When a blank is played upon the board, its status is noted as appearing in red to infrom other players that no score will be accrued through its use.


The Tile Pool

The Tile Pool is a finite set of available tiles which are distributed at random.  There are always exactly 100 tiles consisting of 98 alphabetic tiles and two blank wildcard tiles.  The number of tiles representing each letter is always the same.  (see individual letters for details)


Be sure to check out these related topics...

 The Letter Tiles


Be sure to check out these related topics...

 The Dictionary File


Player Configuration
 Scrabble for Excalibur

Player Configuration

Hint!

Accessing the Player Configuration and Help from the main Game Menu will present the prospective player with a number of options.  As you are obviously reading this Help file, it is very likely that you have already been exposed to them, but a more thorough explanation is provided here to avoid any miscommunication.

General Player Options:

Display Hints on Board Screen -  Clicking here will turn on and off the Hint! text normally displayed dynamically through various stages of the game.

Display Board Square Values -  If you are an experienced Scrabble player, and find that the display of board text such as Triple Letter Score  or Double Word Score is more distractive than informative, you may opt here to turn this text display off.  Note that deciding against the display of the Board Square Value will signifigantly raise the speed of both the initial and refresh displays of the board on your computer monitor.

Allow Outside Chat Pages While Playing -  If you are playing Scrabble for Excalibur on a BBS with more than one phone line attached, and do not wish to be disturbed while you play, toggling this option off (unchecked), will place you in a Privacy mode where caller to caller pages will be ignored.  Privacy is always turned OFF when exiting from the Scrabble for Excalibur game.

Activate Live Play Checks and Waits -  While participating in a Live Play game can be very exciting, it is inherently more task intensive.  Checks and Waits are performed on a continuous basis, and while providing an automated update to all board screens involved as soon as a Player completes his/her turn, Exiting from a Live Play situation before a game is completed requires many resets of your computers environment.  For this reason, the authors have chosen to make live play an option that any player may turn on or off as desired.  We reccommend that you leave this option ON only while playing games where the other player are currently On-Line to the same BBS and playing in the same game as you or while you are watching a group of players playing a game in real time.  For more information on using Live Play to participate and spectate in Live Play action, see the section Live Play.

These options are also known as toggles and may be turned on and off independantly of each other as per a standard Windows dialogue box check box.

Live Play Notification Options:

Alert on Live Play (message box) -  When play has been completed by another player, a message box will appear notifying you of the change in order.  The board will update automatically behind the message box to reflect the new word(s), round of play, number of tiles left, and player scores.

Alert on Live Play (sound) -  When play has been completed by another player, a .WAV file will sound, notifying you of the rotation in play.  The sounds used are the standard Windows Ta-Da! .WAV file for rotation that amounts in your turn being active, and Chimes to note a rotation in a three or four player game where you have not reached the point where it is your turn to play as yet.  The board will update automatically behind the message box to reflect the new word(s), round of play, number of tiles left, and player scores.

No Alert on Live Games -  This option is provided largely for spectators to a Live Play game.  No extra notification of a players completion of turn will be given other than an update of the playing board to reflect the new word(s), round of play, number of tiles left, and player scores.

We have provided these three options to notify you of a rotation in play when you are actively linked to a Live Play game.  Please refer to the section Live Play for more detailed information on participating in and spectating at a Live Play game.

Only one of these option may be active at a time as per a standard Windows dialogue box radio button.

Played Word Placement Icon:

Hollow Arrow to Start Word -  A thick white outline of an arrow will be used to indicate the starting position of a new word to be played.  Advantages:  you may see through the arrow to more accurately indicate the value of the tile or square underneath.

Filled Arrow to Start Word -  A solid red arrow with a thick white border will be used to indicate the position of a new word to be played.  Advantages:  positive and very visible identification of the starting point of the new word.

The decision to provide this last two options was based largely on the immense number of varying configurations for computer Video Cards and Monitors.  When designing a graphical game, you simply cannot please all of the people all of the time.  If one setting does not appear to accurately indicate the starting position of your word, please try the other.

Only one of these options may be active at a time as per a standard Windows dialogue box radio button.

Accessing this Help File:

Download the Player Help File -  At the risk of stating the obvious, you are reading these words and may already have discovered the use of the button to activate the download of the Player Help file.  But if you have received this Help! file from a friend, the button marked with a yellow question mark just right of Download the Player Help File will initiate the file transfer of this file into whichever directory you have stated in Excaliburs System. .Settings. .Preferences. .Directories. .Download: dialogue box.

Save your new settings and exit the Player Configuration screen by clicking in the area occupied by Done!


Getting Started
 Scrabble for Excalibur

Getting Started

see also

Hint!

Scrabble for Excalbur has been designed to play as closely as possible to the original game designed and marketed by Selcho & Righter Co. back in 1948.  The host computer you call will track all games through a common game file, randomize letter tiles for distribution to players, calculate scores, and check requested word plays against a dictionary file.  This leaves you the freedom to pursue your word plays with the greatest amount of effort.

Once you have started the Scrabble for Excalibur game you will be presented with an opening logo screen.  Use the mouse to click anywhere within this window or press any key to continue to the main Game Menu.

The main Game Menu presents you with a number of options to select from.  If this is your first time playing Scrabble for Excalibur, we suggest that you first enter the Player Configuration area to see the options available there.  The current settings are best left for novice players.

Next, take a minute to View a few games already in progress.  This will introduce you to the playing board and its available information.

Once you have familiarized yourself with the various areas of Scrabble for Excalibur, you will want to join in the fun.  See Creating or Joining a Game for more information on getting involved in a game.


Creating or Joining a Game
 Scrabble for Excalibur

Creating or Joining a Game

see also

Hint!

A game must be created before any play may start.  At the Game Menu, you have the option to create either a two, three, or four player game.  As other callers join in the fun, they will use the Join an Existing Game option to fill in the player slots that you have set for any particular game.

If game slots have already been created, you may wish to Join an Existing Game yourself.  Depending upon the number of players for which the game has been created and the number of slots that have already been filled, play may be able to start immediately.  If you wish to be a trifle discerning in whom you are playing against, use the View an Existing Game option to access the incomplete games and see who has previously created and/or joined before adding yourself to the list of players in any particular game.

Once all player slots have been filled in a game, the host computer will randomize the finite set of tiles available, and allot one to each player.  This procedure will determine the order upon which the players involved will take their turns.  Once this order has been determined, the assigned tiles will be cast back into the pool, the pool will be randomly sorted, and seven tiles will be assigned to each player.  Please remember that while the particular order that the tiles will be distributed is totally at random, the number and frequency of the letter tiles is a set, or finite distribution set.

When you have joined a game, the number of the game slot will appear in a sequenced list below the Game Menu options after the heading you are playing in game(s):.  If it is your turn to play in a game, the game number will again appear in the space reserved for it your turn to play in game(s):.  These areas are provided for information only are clicking them with the mouse will accomplish anything.  To play your turn in a game see Playing Your Turn in a Game.


Playing Your Turn in a Game
 Scrabble for Excalibur

Playing Your Turn in a Game

see also

Hint!

Access a game to play your turn by clicking the button next to Play Your Turn in a Game.  This will produce a graphical list of the games you are playing in where it is your turn to play.  Click on the desired board icon to switch to that games board screen.  If for any reason you decide not to play at this time, you may return to the Game Menu by clicking in the area occupied by no thanks! take me back.

Once at the board screen, you will be presented with a number of options for both play and additional infomation.  It is prudent to keep an eye on the hint! area located in the right-most area of the screen about halfway down.  The instructions offerred here will change as you progress through the various stages of play.  If you are unsure of how to proceed at any time, check here first for a nudge in the right direction.

Before you start the play of your word, you may use the right button of your mouse to click on the various area of the screen for short explanations of their purpose.  You may find the tile frequency and point values of special interest throughout the game, as they offer interpretations for the number of tiles for each letter of the alphabet found within the finite distribution set, and the point score for the play of each letter (see The Letter Tiles for more information).

While deciding upon a word to play, you may wish to Shuffle the tiles found in your hand.  This procedure approximates the manual moving about and reordering of a players tiles that a board game player often performs to help make better sense of available letter combinations.  There is no limit to the number of times you may shuffle the tiles in your rack, so reorder them freely to assist you in selecting a word to play.

To play a word as your turn is a short three step process.  First decide upon your word, and note the position of the first letter and the direction it will flow (i.e. left to right or top to bottom).  The starting position of your proposed word may be a letter that already exists upon the board if you have chosen to extend your word from a previously played tile.  A hollow arrow (or filled arrow, see Player Configuration for details on changing the appearance of the icon), will appear in that square pointing left to right.  If you wish your word to read from top to bottom, click the same square again, and the arrow will change direction.  You may toggle the direction back and forth and even changing the location of the start of your word as you see fit.

Once the arrow is situated in the location and direction that you want, you are on to the second step in playing your word.  Leave the mouse and type your word at the keyboard, pressing Enter to complete it.  If you are planning to use any existing tiles from the board to complete your word, remember to type those in as well.  At any time you may cancel play and reset the board to its original state by clicking the Undo button with your mouse.

Once you have pressed the Enter key, the computer will take over for a brief period and complete many tasks.  This will take marginally longer if you have constructed multiple words during your play so just relax for a second or two.  The word you have played (and any other words constructed by the placement of your letters), will be examined for their spelling, board placement, and availability of tiles (from either your rack or previously existing upon the board).  For further discussion of resulting messages, see Error Messages.

Once your played word has passed all tests and checks, the score will be calculated for your word (and any subsequently constructed words), and posted in the upper right portion of the screen.  The tiles needed to construct your addition to the played word will be removed from your rack, but not yet replaced.  You are now at an interim screen.

Once at this interim screen, you may wish to double check the placement and scoring of your proposed turn.  If you decide that you can achieve a higher score or better word placement for a future turn by playing an alternate word, click the Undo button with your mouse and the board will revert to its original state.  If you wish to cancel your play and proceed directly back to the game menu, select Cancel.

If you feel that this is indeed the best play of your available tiles at this time, select Accept.  This is the final stage of playing your turn.  Your new score will be registered, the word you played will be entered permanently into the game file, and play will rotate through the predetermined order setting you at the end.  Additionally, you will receive your new tiles now up to the extent of those left available from the finite distribution set.

The other two options available in place of completing a new word are Discard and Pass.

Discard allows a player to forfeit his/her turn in exchange for trading one or more of the tiles within their rack for tiles from the finite distribution set.  The procedure to accomplish this closely follows that of playing your word.  First click the Discard button with the mouse.  Now type the letters (up to a maximum of the seven in your rack), that you wish to discard.  Press enter to complete your selection.  After some error checking has been processed to ensure that there are enough tiles remaining in the finite distribution set to complete your request, and that the requested discards do in fact exist within your current rack, the requested discards will be removed from consideration, and replacements randomized from the finite distribution set.  Once you have received your new tiles, your discards will be returned to the finite distribution set, the set will be re-randomized, and play will be passed to the next player.  Please note that there are no confirmations here.  Once you have had a look at your new tiles, play will be passed.  If while typing the letters you wish to discard you change your mind, you may select Undo to restore the board to its original state.

If a player is content with the letters available within his/her rack, but wishes to forego play in hope of achieving a large score upon the next round, or if they can not make any word and there are no tiles available for Discard, they may opt to Pass their turn.  This simply passes the turn of play to the next in the playing order.  Please note, if no player can play a word at the end of the game, each player must pass twice in succession to finish the game and activate the end of game procedure that will calculate their scores and post their results within the Top Scorers List.  Any play of a word within this passing sequence will reset the sequence and it must be passed through twice around again.

No matter which avenue of play you chose to perform your turn, you will be presented with an Exit button once play has been passed to the next player in the game queue.  Click the Exit button to return to the main Game Menu.

For information and special instructions on playing in and spectating at Live Play games, see Live Play.


Live Play
 Scrabble for Excalibur

Live Play

see also

Hint!

One of the advanced features of Scrabble for Excalbur is the games ability to allow real time play between opponents while spectators watch.  Once Live Play has been activated (see Player Configuration for more information on activating this feature), the game will actively process timed checks on the game file and automatically update the playing board once any player has played their turn.

Three options are available to the player or spectator to announce a change in play.  For more detailed discussion of these options see Player Configuration.

Once you have activated Live Play, you may enter any game through the conventional means, i.e. through Play Your Turn in a Game if it is currently your turn to play, or View an Existing Game if it is not your turn to play.  Spectators to a game should enter the playing board through View an Existing game.

There is one drawback to live play, and this will occur if a player decides to Exit a game before it has completely run its course.  When waiting for play of the game to rotate to your turn, pressing the Exit button will require the computer to initiate a safe shut down of the timed routines.  This may take a short period and the length of the shut down depends upon many factors, one of which is the integrity of your phone connection to the host computer.

If you wish to exit from a live play situation, please be patient.  Shut down and Exit to the main Game Menu will normally occur in three to five seconds but any number of factors may raise this time delay.  Your Exit will occur as soon as it can be safely accomplished.


Be sure to check out these related topics...

 Creating or Joining a Game

 Playing Your Turn in a Game

 Live Play


Be sure to check out these related topics...

 Getting Started

 Playing Your Turn in a Game

 Live Play


Be sure to check out these related topics...

 Getting Started

 Creating or Joining a Game

 Live Play


Be sure to check out these related topics...

 Getting Started

 Creating or Joining a Game

 Playing Your Turn in a Game