FAQ / User Guide

Start a Game

In My Games, use Start a New Game to find a WordRails player or enter a friend’s email address. Choose Play RailBot for a game against the computer.

When you invite an existing player, you can play first while waiting for them to accept. A friend who has not joined WordRails must accept before the game starts. Received invitations appear under My Games. Sent invitations are in the expandable Pending Invitations section. Choose Cancel to withdraw an invitation before it is accepted; any waiting board for that invitation is removed.

You can have up to 12 active games, including games waiting for an invited player to join. Finish a game or cancel a pending invitation with a board to free a spot. Invitations without a board do not count.

Play Your First Word

1. Drag letters from your rack onto the board. On a phone, the dragged tile floats above your finger. You can also tap a letter, then tap an empty square.
2. Place at least 2 letters in a horizontal or vertical line through the center star. Later moves must connect to the words already on the board.
3. Check the score badge near your word. GO becomes available when the placement is valid and it is your turn.
4. Press GO and confirm the move. Once played, those letters stay on the board.

Every word formed by the move, including crossing words, must be accepted. Invalid words and placements change the tile colors; connection or system errors appear as a dismissible flash.

Rack and Board Controls

• Shuffle changes your rack’s letter order without using a turn.
• Recall brings your unplayed letters back to the rack.
• Swap trades selected rack tiles and uses your turn. At least 7 tiles must remain in the bag.
• Pass skips your turn.
• Sound On / Sound Off beneath the board toggles tile and word sounds. Your choice is remembered in this browser.
• Resign ends your participation in the game after confirmation.

To use the keyboard, select a rack tile, move between board squares with the arrow keys, and press Enter or Space to place it. Delete or Backspace returns a tentative tile to the rack.

How Scoring Works

Each letter has a point value. DL and TL multiply the value of a newly placed letter by two or three. DW and TW multiply the word’s score. Premium squares apply when a tile is first placed on them.

All words made by your move contribute to the move score. Using all 7 rack tiles in one move adds a 35-point bonus. A blank can stand for any letter, but is always worth zero points.

WordRails uses the ENABLE word list. A familiar name, abbreviation, or word from another game may not be accepted here.

Chat and Notifications

Use Chat beside the other game controls to open the conversation. Press Enter to send, Shift+Enter for a new line, and the X to close. The badge shows unread messages. Chat is available once both human players have joined and is deleted from the active database when the game ends.

When it is your human opponent’s turn, Nudge beside their turn button in My Games sends them a reminder. You can nudge once per opponent turn. Nudge becomes available again the next time it is their turn. The reminder appears in their notifications; email and browser alerts follow their existing turn-notification settings.

The bell opens notifications. Email game alerts start on for new accounts. You can turn them off and manage browser alerts in Settings. You do not have to keep the game open while waiting for another player.

Finished Games and Rematches

A game ends when a player uses their last tiles with the bag empty, after 6 consecutive scoreless turns, or when someone resigns. Remaining rack tiles can affect final scores. Resigning loses the game even if you were ahead on points.

Expand Finished Games in My Games to see your results. View Board opens the completed board without allowing further moves. The winning side is highlighted green. The number beside Finished Games counts unseen results from games ended by the other player; opening Finished Games clears the count.

Your latest 20 completed boards are available. Older game data is deleted once it falls outside both players’ latest 20. Lifetime and head-to-head statistics remain.

Choose Rematch to invite the same opponent to a fresh game. You can play your first word while waiting for acceptance. A RailBot rematch starts another computer game.

Your Stats

Open My Stats from the account menu for your win/loss record, average final score, average points per word, highest-scoring word, and highest final game score. Word statistics count each formed word separately; a move making several words is not treated as one word.

Sign-In and Help

Use your email address to request a sign-in link; there is no password. Sign-in links work once and expire after 20 minutes. Game invitations last seven days. If a link expires, request a new sign-in link or ask your friend to resend the invitation.

If the game loses its connection, your draft stays on screen. Follow any error flash before retrying. For help or an account/data removal request, email apps@adam-goodman.com.