a word-building roguelike for the mac

Build words.Build a dynasty.

Spell words from a bench of magnetic letters, hire a staff of eccentric coaches, and take a small club through six seasons on the road to the Word Series.

Download for Mac macOS 14 or later · Apple silicon

The play screen, rebuilt in HTML from the app’s SwiftUI views. Scores shown are the game’s own arithmetic.

send it

No preview. No projection. You find out on the board.

Letterman never tells you whether a word is valid or what it’s worth until you play it. Then every letter kicks, every coach chimes in, and the total slams onto the scoreboard while your lineup is still standing.

  • Letter values+7
  • 7-letter word+44
  • Vowel Scout · 1 different vowel+8
  • Mora · one adjacent double+1.5 Mult
  • Big League · seven or more×2.5
POINTS59
×
MULT2.5
×
XMULT2.5
=
SCORE368

All Points resolve first, then every +Mult, then every ×Mult, with one floor at the very end. Invalid words cost nothing; they just shake and wait for another try.

the staff

Thirty coaches. Most of them a little odd.

Recruit them in the Dugout between matches. Some add Points, some add Mult, some multiply everything. The good teams use all three.

MoraDOUBLE TROUBLE

+1.5 Mult per adjacent double, up to +3.

+MULT
PatchRALLY BUILDER

Doubles in a row: ×2, then ×3, then ×4 Mult.

×MULT
ShortstopSMALL BALL

+24 Points for three- and four-letter words.

+POINTS
Rare BirdWILD TALENT

×2.5 Mult with a J, Q, X or Z in the word.

×MULT
The ProfessorLIFETIME LEARNER

+4 Points forever after each word of five letters or more.

+POINTS
Big LeagueGO LONG

×2.5 Mult for words of seven letters or more.

×MULT
The NaturalONE OF A KIND

+1 Mult for five or more letters, none repeated.

+MULT
+23

more on the books, from Rewind (palindromes, ×4) to The Legend, who only shows up from season two.

the road

Six seasons. Eighteen matches. One Word Series.

Each season is two regular matches and a rival. Four plays and two swaps a match; reach the target and you win on the spot. Every new career shuffles the letters, the schedule and the shop.

SEASON 1200rival target
SEASON 2320rival target
SEASON 3560rival target
SEASON 4840rival target
SEASON 51,240rival target
SEASON 62,200the Word Series, over five plays
Pinecrest Pinesunder five letters ×0.6
Easton Owlsrepeated letters ×0.65
Marshfield Frogs−3 points per vowel
Copperhill Foxesreused first letter ×0.55
Northstar Bearsan eight-letter bench
Gale Harbor Gullsalternate short and long
Silverlake Lynxsame length again ×0.5
Redwood Ringsmatching ends ×1.5, else ×0.7
Golden State Cometsa rotating defense, in the final
the roster

Every letter has a jersey number. Some have more.

Your bag starts with 69 classic tiles. The Dugout sells specialists for $2 to $5, and each one keeps its identity through every draw, swap and save.

96,681English words, three to ten letters, checked offline. US and British spellings.
30coaches, with Foil, Holo, Polychrome and Negative editions.
12tile types, from Classic to Comet.
0recordings. Every knock, chime and crowd swell is synthesized.
Letterman app icon

Take the field.

Download for Mac

Native SwiftUI for macOS 14 or later. Careers save locally after every play. An iPad version is in the works.