Herd a Word

Herd a Word is a word game, played on a board of 42 balls. The goal of the game is to find as many of the longest words you can given the 3 minutes on the clock.

If the game isn't working for you, note that you'll need to have Flash Player 9 installed to play this game.

To begin, click on the "New Game" tab.
As soon as the clock starts ticking, click on the letter you wish to use to start your word and hold down the mouse button.
Drag the cursor onto any of the adjacent letters to continue your word.
The letters which are close enough to be used will remain active, while the unavailable letters will become grayed out.
Lines will be drawn to show the path of your word.
When you've finished your word, release the mouse button.
If the word is accepted, those letters will disappear and new ones will drop from the top of the screen.
If your word is not contained in the game dictionary, the letters will flash red and you'll have to find a different word.
If you've used the letters before, the word will also be rejected; the letters will flash yellow to signal this.

Hint: To beat your friends's scores in Herd a Word, your best shot is to be patient and look for longer words. Your score for the current word will double for each additional letter you add on! Try extending nouns with "s", verbs with "ing" or "er" or "ed", and adjectives with "ly".

The scoring for words of different lengths is as follows:

3 letters 10 points
4 letters 20 points
5 letters 40 points
6 letters 80 points
7 letters 160 points
8 letters 320 points
9 letters 640 points
10 letters 1280 points
11 letters 2560 points
12 letters 5120 points
...

Please Let Know if you have any questions, comments, or problems with the game. If the game doesn't run or your high scores aren't being recorded, I want to know.

Frequently Asked Questions

Gameplay

I'm not on facebook. Can I still play the game?

Sure, it's available at www.herdaword.com - however it won't keep track of your high score there!

Troubleshooting

The game is running very slowly. Is there anything I can do to speed it up?

The engine used to simulate the movements of the balls causes slowdown on some systems. Try installing the latest flash player update.

The game is acting very strangely - there's a black bar flashing on the right side of the game, or words are appearing 3 times in the list. What's up?

You have an older version of flash installed. Try installing the latest flash player update.

My high scores aren't being reported, or my longest word isn't showing up in my profile. What's up?

You may have an older version of flash installed. Try installing the latest flash player update.

I'm not having much luck with the current letters! Can I restart my game?

If you right click you will be given the option to end your game now.

Hey - How on earth do you get such a high score? What is the secret? Long words? I can never find them!

Long words are the key. Try to starting your word in the center, or immediately working your way towards the center; it leaves you more options - if you end up in a corner, you often end up with only a couple adjacent balls and your options are limited. Try massaging the balls a bit... form smaller words to bring balls closer together and extend your words.

I'm doing pretty well but I want to get into first place. What words should I be looking for?

compartmentalization
compartmentalizations
counterintelligences
counterrevolutionaries
counterrevolutionary
departmentalizations
electrocardiographies
electroencephalogram
electroencephalograms
electroencephalograph
electroencephalographic
electroencephalographies
electroencephalographs
electroencephalography
extemporaneousnesses
extraterritorialities
hypersensitivenesses
incomprehensibilities
institutionalization
institutionalizations
straightforwardnesses
uncharacteristically
unconstitutionalities

Some Credits

Chris Inch for his help brainstorming a name for the game
This game uses the Actionscript Physics Engine to simulate the movements of the balls.