My Word Games Blog is a kind of mini-journal to let you know about...
New additions and changes I've made to my website
Interesting events and anecdotes that don't make it to my website
The latest Word Buff Stuff! newsletter
Miscellaneous things I happen to be thinking about.
I update Word Buff frequently, so rather than come to this page all the time to see if there's anything new, it's much easier to subscribe to the blog (no email necessary). That way my updates will come straight to you!
How To Get My Updates Immediately
If you've never subscribed to a blog before, you'll need a funky gadget called a feed reader. I recommend you start with Google Reader — it's free and really easy to use. Here's a quick tutorial to get you started. It assumes you already have a Google account (also free), so if you haven't, you'll need to sign up for one...
Once you have a reader, just scroll down to the bottom of the navigation bar on your left, and click the button for your reader type: Google, MY YAHOO!, MY MSN, newsgator, or Bloglines. Or, if you know what you're doing, you can right-click on the orange RSS button and then paste the URL directly into your RSS reader.
Here's What's New at Word Buff
Apr 1, 2012
Daily Scrabble Words For March 2012
Here are all of Word Buff's Daily Scrabble Words for March 2012
Ok folks, just a quickie to let you know that the first email Word of the Day is due out tomorrow (for most of you, that's March 7). If you haven't signed up yet, here's the link!
I've wanted to do a word of the day for you all for a long time now, and I'm pleased to announce that the time is finally here!
You see, even though there are loads of daily word services out there, they aren't usually tailored to word gamers and puzzle solvers like us.
As a result, the words are only interesting and useful to us every now and then. But imagine if every single word was useful in word games and puzzles?!
Now that I've got the hang of Twitter -- yes I know, it's not rocket science, but I'm a slow learner! -- I've decided that it's the perfect place to host my daily word.
Each month I'll have a different theme. The words will always be allowed in Scrabble, but the themes won't necessarily relate to Scrabble.
One theme I'll be using, for example, is Crosswordese; those strange little words that turn up in crosswords all the time but never in the real world.
Other themes will be oriented towards anagrams (of course!), spelling and vocabulary. (And yes, if you didn't hear me the first time, all my words will be allowed in Scrabble.)
So, how do you get my daily word?
If you have a Twitter account, the quickest way is to just click the following link...
Alternatively, you can Click Here to visit my Twitter page and then click the big blue Follow button when you get there.
Not a Twitter User?
Now might be as good a time as any to start. It takes just a few seconds to sign up here, and as soon as you start following people you'll start receiving their tweets. If you don't find them interesting or helpful, you can unfollow them with a single click!
My first Word of the Day will be published on March 1. That's just a few days away, so join up now so you don't miss any ;-)
If you're a Word Buff member (i.e. you've subscribed using the free 'Join Word Buff' form on my site) you should have a link to the latest issue of Word Buff Stuff! in your inbox by now!
This issue tells you everything you need to know about all the weird and wonderful new Scrabble words that came in with the latest change to the official Collins Scrabble word list.
I hope you enjoy the read, and join in the discussion at the end of the newsletter.
All the best,
Derek, aka Word Buff
Jan 23, 2012
Do You Remember Crossword Butler?
If you're a crossword buff, you might remember the great little app called Crossword Butler I used to talk about.
You could tell this little servant to run out into the rain, hail, or shine each morning to deliver all your favorite crossword puzzles to your inbox ;-)
Well, that app has been out of commission for a while, so I was pleased to see a post in the word games forums recently by its creator, Alex Boisvert, who has revamped the app and put it online.
Here's his post with all the details...
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Hi all.
I am pleased to announce the launch of Crossword Butler v. 2.0. Those of you who remember the original Crossword Butler will notice some differences from the old version, namely:
1. It is now an online interface, accessible at http://crosswordbutler.com
2. It doesn't blindly get all available crosswords; only the ones from providers who have given their permission.
3. Most importantly for cruciverbs, it gives independent crossword constructors a site to host their puzzles and distribute them easily for free or for profit.
Right now the site is essentially a souped-up puzzle pointers page, that in addition to most of the standard links, also links to puzzles like Matt Gaffney's weekly contest and Andrew Ries's weekly Rows Garden puzzle.
But the fun part will begin when independent constructors start using the site to host their puzzles. Right now there isn't a one-stop shopping destination for independent puzzle-makers, so constructors have to set up Paypal accounts, websites, e-mail lists, etc. to be able to distribute their work.
Crossword Butler will take care of all of that; all a constructor has to do is upload the puzzles to the site (through a simple interface).
If the puzzle is paid, I would take a (small) cut; if the puzzle is free I'll happily host it free of charge.
You might have questions about how this would work, and I hope you do! If you e-mail me...
boisvert42 (at) gmail.com
I'm happy to answer any questions you might have, and I'll answer important questions with another e-mail to everyone in a few days. For now, feel free to become a member of the site and poke around.
If you have suggestions feel free to bring them up to me.
