Update!! A new version of Word Connection is now available, called Word Foundry. See “Release 2.0 News” for all the new features! Word Foundry is available from Nordic Software, Inc., P.O. Box 6007, Lincoln NE 68506-0007, 402-488-5086. See Nordic’s World Wide Web page at http://www.nordicsoftware.com for more information and ordering options!
Word Connection is a new word search game that will challenge the minds of adults and children with a variety of puzzle configurations and a wide range of difficulty levels.
Word Connection’s puzzle boards are made of hexagon, square, or triangular shaped cells, each containing a letter. Players form words from letters in connecting cells. Points are awarded based on the number and size of the words found.
Word Connection includes hints, puzzle solutions and definitions of words in the puzzles. As you search for words, the game offers hints to help you. At the end of a round of play Word Connection will show you the words you missed and the definitions of any unfamiliar words.
The full version of Word Connection offers a different puzzle every time a round is played. In the demo version only one puzzle is available for the small and medium size boards and the large size puzzles are not available.
The minimum system required is a Mac Plus, system 6.0.7, and a hard disk. Word Connection is recommended for ages seven to adult.
Click the start button to begin a round of play.
Click on the puzzle board cells to enter words, or type words from the keyboard. Form words from letters in connecting cells. Two cells connect if they share a common point, either along a side or at a corner. (Click on a cell and hold down the option key to see the available connecting cells.)
Separate your words with a space, either using the keyboard space bar or by clicking in the background area around the board.
The timer bell signals the end of the round.
Your entries are checked for validity. (A valid word must be both in the Word Connection Dictionary and in the board.)
You are awarded one point for each letter used in each word you find. Words containing more than four letters earn five bonus points for each letter over four. Your score is doubled (including bonus points) if you find all the words in the board. The top ten high scores for each board shape and size are recorded in the High Scores window.
Hints become available as the computer finds words in the puzzle board. Hints tell how many words in the board begin with a particular letter and how many letters are in each word.
Click on a letter in the Hints Panel (located at the lower right in the Board window) to see a hint. The hint appears just above the Hints Panel.
Each tile in the Hints Panel represents a letter in the board. If a hint for a letter is not yet available, the tile is gray. The tile changes to white when the hint is available. (If a tile changes from gray to white but has no letter in it, there are no words in the board starting with the letter it represents.)
When all the gray tiles have changed to white the computer has finished finding words in the board.
Click on the word “Hints” to preview the number of words the computer is finding as it solves the puzzle.
All hints may be viewed simultaneously in the Hints Summary Window.
At the end of a round of play you can choose to see the words you missed. They are shown in the list titled “More Words.”
To see the definition of a word, select the word with a single mouse click. The definition will appear below the word list in the Board window.
To see the location of a word listed in the More Words list, click on the word once to select it and then click the Show button. The word will highlight in the puzzle board. Double click on the word to show both the location of the word and its definition.
You can choose from the three cell shapes and three board sizes for a total of nine puzzle board options. Each shape and size offers a different challenge.
In addition to changing the cell shapes and board sizes, you can change the difficulty level of the game by changing the minimum length of the words to be found and the time limit for each round.
