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
Jan 30, 2012
21st Century Crossword Puzzle Dictionary
Here's my review of the best crossword puzzle dictionary on the market today.
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.
Below are the details for a new Crossword Games Scoresheet app for iPhone/iPad. The app keeps track of scoring in crossword games such as Scrabble.
You enter the word played and location on the board, and the app will take care of the rest. No more keeping track of score manually! At the end of the game, you can send the completed scoresheet to Facebook, Twitter or email.
Adds up scores automatically for each turn -- just enter the word and touch the location on the board
Calculates tile premiums such double and triple letters and words, and calculates adjacent words created
Keeps track of tiles played with NSA standard frequency list
Counts tiles remaining in bag
Send final scores (includes both scoresheet and board view) to Facebook, Twitter or email
Zyzzyva is a program for studying words, practicing anagramming, and adjudicating challenges. It runs on Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, NT, 2000, 98, and Me; Linux 32-bit and 64-bit systems; and Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later.
This is a bug-fix update. The main change in this version is to fix the Limit By Playability search condition, which was very messed up for the CSW12 lexicon. Many word definitions have also been improved thanks to feedback from several users. I hope for this to be the last update for several months as I will be working on Zyzzyva 3, which will include many significant improvements.
I also recently submitted the initial version of the Zyzzyva iPhone app to the App Store. If all goes well, it should be available within 1-2 weeks. I will send more details when it is available.
Please give me feedback about how you think Zyzzyva could be improved! I'm always trying to make it the best word study program it can be.
If you would like more information about Zyzzyva, please join the Zyzzyva Users list here.
I hope you enjoy using Zyzzyva, and have fun with it!
-- Michael W. Thelen
mthelen@gmail.com
Jan 6, 2012
Promising New Scrabble Website
Check out a new website called Scrabble Matters from Mark Nyman, which intends to give a quirky view of the Scrabble world.
Any light-hearted short (300 words) articles on anything Scrabble will be included - please get in touch with Mark at nnymans@aol.com if you are interested in contributing.
Just a note with a few pieces of Zyzzyva news, sneaking in under thewire in December because one of the pieces is an ad. :-)
1. I've submitted the initial release of the Zyzzyva iPhone app toApple. If all goes well, it will be available in the App Store in 2-3weeks. It will run on all iPhones, iPads, and iPods touch that arerunning iOS 3.1.3 or later. I know there will be a lot of questionsabout the app, so I'm currently building a Frequently Asked Questionspage that will (hopefully) answer most of your questions.
2. I'll be creating a bug-fix version of Zyzzyva in the next day ortwo, called Zyzzyva 2.1.6. Playability numbers for CSW12 arecompletely messed up in Zyzzyva 2.1.5, and the 2.1.6 release will fixthem.
3. I still have some Zyzzyva T-shirts ($15), Scrabble tile sets withZyzzyva blanks ($10), and Zyzzyva lapel pins ($2) available for saleon my web site. Supplies have become very limited, and it's first comefirst served. If you're interested, please visit here.
Thanks and have a very happy New Year!
-- Michael W. Thelenmthelen@gmail.com
Dec 17, 2011
Unique Gifts for Serious Word Buffs
Classy and original gift ideas for lovers of word puzzles and games.
I can't wait to show this informative interview with Merl to my passionate cruciverbalist husband, David Blackwell. This dear brilliant man while unemployed
This selection comes from an impressive vocabulary program I started playing around with a year or so ago. It's based on a huge dictionary of 150,000 words taken from all the 'big name' vocabulary courses and exams.
Go on. Tickle my whiskers ;-)
