Word Hunt: short words first, longer paths second
Read adjacent letter pairs and collect reliable three- and four-letter words before trying a long route.
Follow adjacency
Horizontal, vertical and diagonal neighbours count. A tile cannot appear twice in one word. Typing a word does not bypass that rule; the engine checks for a valid path.
Save time on repeated prefixes
When a prefix makes one word, look for a nearby extension or plural. A repeated word earns no extra points.
Know the scoring
Each accepted word earns ten times its length squared. A long word is valuable, but a failed long search can cost several short finds during the 90-second round.