Wordwick

A desk at night, one candle, and words to find before it burns down. Drag across letters to spell a word, or play the whole thing from the keyboard. The clock is not a countdown — it is a resource. A long word pays seconds back onto the wick, so a good find is worth time as well as points, and a hint costs six seconds, which is the only thing the clock can be spent on. Some tiles are worth more. One or two tiles on the board carry a gold corner: a word that crosses one is worth double, a word that crosses both is worth treble, and a gold corner moves the moment it is spent, so there is always somewhere new to aim. Keep a rhythm and the board pays more. Land a word before the window closes and your chain climbs, up to three times. The window tightens as the chain gets hotter, so a long hunt will cost you a chain a run of quick finds would have kept. Bank it or gamble it: a six at three times over beats an eight at one. One board a day, for everybody. The Daily board is the same 5×5 for every player in the world, so a score is a claim about you rather than about the letters you were dealt. It is your one ranked run; replays are welcome and the game says so before you start rather than after you finish. Three practice sizes are there whenever you want them, and none of them submit. Boards are measured, not just rolled: every one is checked for what a strong round could take out of it before you are ever shown it. When the candle goes out the game shows you the best word you missed, and traces it across the board so you learn where to look next time. 40,650 words, one thumb or one keyboard, a minute and a half a round.