Crosswords (2020)

Crosswords is a word game in the spirit of Scrabble, on a unique grid and with some options that make it a different (and more interesting) game. The board is an octagon-diamond grid, where the octagons hold the letters, and randomly selected intermediate diamonds indicate letter or word bonuses. Bonuses not always in the same places, and score for each letter placed adjacent to them. Octagons instead of squares, allow diagonal words to be visualized.. Words can be restricted to the traditional horizontal and vertical directions, or diagonal words can be allowed. Other options include playing "backwards" words, and playing multiple connected words at once. All combined, Crosswords is a lot more varied and strategic than Scrabble. The variable number and position of the bonuses, and the multiple use of bonuses, makes play a lot more variable. Likewise, allowing backwards and diagonal words unclogs the grid, which can expand in any direction.