Crossword Grid

Each game opens on a 13×13 board with a crossword already in place. You hold seven tiles and five minutes. Every word you play must connect to the existing crossword, and the clock does not start until you submit your first word, so you have unlimited time to study the seed position before committing.

Premium squares multiply newly placed tiles; existing letters are never re-scored. Triple Word and Double Word squares apply to the entire word; Triple Letter and Double Letter squares apply to the single tile that lands on them. Playing all seven tiles in a single turn adds a 50-point bonus on top of the word score, regardless of any premium multipliers.

Every cross word you form is scored at the same time as the main word. When a tile on a premium square also creates a cross word, the multiplier applies to both. That compounding is where premium-path plays generate most of their upside.

Finishing the game before the clock expires converts each remaining second into one point. In a strong game, that bonus reaches several dozen points and can separate scores that are otherwise identical on word quality. Fast play depends on specific habits that transfer directly: memorizing short high-frequency words, recognizing bingo racks, and reading premium paths at a glance.

Crossword Grid runs the same scoring engine used to build the strategy guide. Replay seeded tile draws, review your decisions, and build the pattern recognition that raises your practice scores.