Scores a player can add in their head
Longest word scores 3 per letter plus 10 for the longest possible, and trivia 5 per answer, so every letter counts and the three dailies land in the same range.
Context
Every Compete game banks points into one monthly total. Before 3.23.2, Longest word scored your longest word's letters minus 2, plus 50 for finding the longest word possible on the board, so the bonus was nearly all of it: a 6-letter word scored 4, and 9 of 9 scored 57. Trivia, a run since 3.23, banked 10 per answer. The Daily board scored every word: 3 letters 1, 4 letters 2, then letters minus 2.
Options
| Rule set | Longest word | Trivia | 6-letter longest | 9 of 9 | 6 trivia answers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 3.23.2 | letters − 2, +50 for the longest possible | 10 per answer | 4 | 57 | 60 |
| 3.23.2 | 3 per letter, +10 for the longest possible | 5 per answer | 18 | 37 | 30 |
The Daily board is the same under both: every word, about 40–50 on a normal day.
Decision
- Longest word: 3 per letter of your longest word, +10 for the longest word possible. The 3.23.2 notes give the reason for a bigger per-letter value: it's the shortest game.
- Trivia: 5 per answer. Hints cost nothing; skips only break ties; no bonus for the day's leader.
- Daily board: unchanged.
- Rooms and solo: no points. A room of two or more counts toward games played and wins.
- The new rules apply from the day they ship (2026-10-10). Points already banked stay as scored.
In the code: TOPWORD_PTS_PER_LETTER = 3, UNLOCK_BONUS = 10, TRIVIA_PTS = 5.
Evidence
The numbers in the table are worked from the rules. Under the new rules a normal day lands in one range: about 40–50 on the Daily board, 18 for a 6-letter longest word (37 for 9 of 9), 30 for 6 trivia answers. Under the old rules Longest word gave 4 for a 6-letter word and 57 for 9 of 9, 50 of it bonus, and Trivia gave 60 for 6 answers.
Consequences
- Count in fives and threes, so a rule fits on a card and a player can add it in their head. The build recipe asks the same of any new mode.
- October 2026 mixes rule sets. Points banked before 2026-10-10 keep the earlier rules.
- The system got a Scoring section in the same release; see Scoring.