WildWords Practice & Internet Version Download for Windows and Macs

My Email: roizen at ix.netcom dot com

Some of the words ending up on the board in this sample game are shown in the Chat box.
This game used an unusually high number of Turn To Wild Squares. There is a knack here
to form and see possible words from pieces of them that takes some games to develop.
If you have memorized Scrabble words from AAL through ZUZ, you can free up those brain
cells for a better purpose. This is a game you get better at by the joyful experience of playing it.

Here's a link to a video of a whole game with the thinking time removed. You may have already seen it on the home page. To The Video! Here is a description of Game Play if you want the full details now.

WildWords.jar (the program itself) is a very small file (75,000 bytes) and can be easily downloaded in a flash. By writing it in java, the programcan be run on a Windows machine, a Mac, and a machine running the Linux operating system. That represents an incredible saving of development time for me and provides a similar look across the different environments. To run on these machines the JAR file requires something called the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) which is different for each of the three situations. You may already have it. You can start by downloading the jar file and firing it up to see if that is the case.

THE DOWNLOAD:

Feedback on any problems with or without solutions would be welcome.

WildWords is NOT a browser plug-in. Enabling java in your browser is not required and actually discouraged for security reasons. WildWords is a desktop application with no abilities beyond communicating with another copy of itself to exchange information on the status of the game and browsing some well-established dictionary pages. The game connection is made directly between you and your opponent. There is no third party involved to spy, pester, advertise, or self-update.

You can practice on your own and play others who use your router without requiring an internet connection at all.

WildWords downloads in a few seconds which makes changing your version easy as well. Just remember to delete the old one first. This is version 3.07 updated on 2/2/2025. It's a good idea to make sure that both players are playing with the latest and the same version.

http://www.wildwords.us/WildWords.jar

Know where you put the file and make a shortcut to it on Windows or the eqivalent, if possible, on a Mac. It will be in your Finder, of course.

The first thing is just try to fire it up. Perhaps you have a suitable version of Java 8 or later (a higher number), and it works a la carte. When this is not the case, you will need to continue reading below.

In one case on an old Mac machine with a new Operating System, a user was told they needed the Java Runtime Environment and installed it with another click. Perhaps yours may too. Sadly, every "perhaps" has an equal and opposite "perhaps not."

On a different Mac machine I have, the System Preferences page had a java (coffee cup) icon. A click on that offered me a chance to update the version of java. A click on the Update option hung endlessly and updated nothing. Your machine might do what mine said it would, but did not. Mine has an 8 year old operating system.

For that Mac and two Windows Machines (7 and 10), I downloaded the correct installer directly from Oracle.

To do the download, you may need an Oracle account. It's free. There is no credit card entry required. The are a few lines of information you need to fill out first. Your account, if needed, is confirmed with a follow-up email. Once you have a java JRE, you won't need to get it again and may use it with other java programs that you trust. Updating the JRE now and then seems to be recommended. Once you have an account with Oracle, you can use it to download and install a JRE on other machines you have or on a friend's machine in a matter of minutes.

I hesitate to say much because instruction pages and instructions at Oracle come and go like the weather. You would prefer to get the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) for desktop applications. You don't need the full Java Development Kit (JDK) unless you are developing java programs yourself. Version 8 appears to be recommended in most cases.

The best starting link I could find today (2/6/25) is:

https://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

There are instructions to follow. Read the "which download do I choose" section for your machine.

If the above link has disappeared you can try a Google search with the phrase below and see if something similar turns up. You could also clarify the machine you have.

When the JRE is installed you should be able to click or double click the WildWords.jar file and run it.

Note: Some problems may arise when going beyond practicing to playing an opponent in Timbuktu or sometimes around the corner. Some explanations are offered within the program--the Make A Connection box in particular. There is also a link in the Web Links menu to a "Technical Issues" page. Don't forget to take that link if necessary.