Switched Keys

Update (7/20/21): When this was first posted Hoot was only available as a PC desktop program. Since 2019 Hoot has been available as an Android app. See my post for links or search Google Play. A description has been added at the bottom.  I just posted… more »

Since the release of Version 2 of Hoot, I have been making only minor changes to the program. Instead, I've been focusing on two other projects; the development of a new lexicon (NAWL), and organizing notes for a study guide for Hoot. I am attempting to… more »

What is a high five? While we usually start and end every round of disc golf with a high five, the high five I'm talking about here is a word that begins or ends with a high value tile in Scrabble. That is where the definition ends for now. I heard… more »

I've played Scrabble and similar word games on many occasions. The strategy is similar in each of them, but there are variants to be aware of when studying for them. Following are some of the techniques I use to play the game. Finding Words The most… more »

With the release of Hoot 2.0, a maturing word study program, I’m starting to feel pulled in another direction. I'd like to do a lot more with Hoot but one frustrating thing about developing Hoot was that the most used lexicons are “copyrighted” and it’s… more »

One indicator of how playable a word is would involve how many different places can you play a word and how does that compare with other words. Except for first move, play must connect with a previous play, so I need to determine how many words our word can connect with. While that is a time-consuming project, with computers, I can do that. It's not an easy task, but with computers, it's not impossible… more »

The latest version of Hoot has some cool search options. Hoot is one of many study tools you can use to study words for Scrabble™ and other word games. It's a free PC tool with a lot of standard search options that can help you increase your word… more »