Big Ben word game
July 20, 2023 6:07 AM   Subscribe

Big Ben word game [via mefi projects] "A unique puzzle for each second of the day, with lots of nice touches: the background fades between day and night based on London time, there's a satisfying bonnggg sound that shakes the game when you find a long word, fireworks if you clear the grid, etc. It also features a large dictionary and generously makes sure you don't get a Q without a U next to it."
posted by Paul Slade (31 comments total) 38 users marked this as a favorite
 
Big Ben is eating up my time! That bonnggg noise IS very satisfying. What a lovely puzzle experience!
posted by Baethan at 6:34 AM on July 20, 2023 [3 favorites]


Ha! This is cool and enjoyable.
posted by fruitslinger at 6:46 AM on July 20, 2023


Ooh, this is dangerous. Very nicely done.
posted by EvaDestruction at 6:48 AM on July 20, 2023


This is very nicly made! I took great snortment in spelling FANNY during my first game.
posted by oulipian at 7:09 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]


Anyone bust 200 yet? Best I've done is 199.

(Very proud of "ZYDECO" in my latest game, though.)
posted by Paul Slade at 7:17 AM on July 20, 2023 [3 favorites]


Really enjoyable, devoured a half hour without thinking. So much for a lunch today.
posted by the christopher hundreds at 7:33 AM on July 20, 2023


I got a 181 on my first try - very "Boggle" like experience.
posted by COD at 7:42 AM on July 20, 2023


225, and my longest word was LOITERS
posted by emmling at 7:55 AM on July 20, 2023


"I got a 181 on my first try - very "Boggle" like experience."

One person's already nicknamed it "Bonggle"
posted by malevolent at 8:02 AM on July 20, 2023 [7 favorites]


278, in large part because I lucked into last two words that cleared the board.

This is great fun.
posted by slimepuppy at 8:02 AM on July 20, 2023


I started doing much better once I finally realized diagonal was an option.
posted by JanetLand at 8:50 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]


Anyone bust 200 yet? Best I've done is 199.

202 and cleared the board on my second try.

Neat.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:54 AM on July 20, 2023


Anyone bust 200 yet? Best I've done is 199.

I've never been great at word games, so perhaps my contribution is to point out the scoring is quadratic. Each letter is worth one point for every letter in the word. "so be it" is worth 12 points but "sorbet" is worth 36 -- three times as much! -- even though its the same number of tiles.
posted by pwnguin at 8:59 AM on July 20, 2023


Also, if you clear the board, you get a bonus of 10x your average word length. That bumped my 223 up to 264.
posted by HeroZero at 9:02 AM on July 20, 2023


I like that there is no time limit!
posted by beagle at 9:13 AM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]


I like that there is no time limit!

I also like a game that doesn't make me race a clock.
posted by Well I never at 9:15 AM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]


This is DANGER
posted by janell at 11:24 AM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]


on desktop i keep shorting myself by accidentally letting off the mouse button whilst i'm still dragging to make a longer word. i've never noticed this problem before.
posted by glonous keming at 3:57 PM on July 20, 2023


Gosh, I love that bong.

(This is great!)
posted by mixedmetaphors at 5:01 PM on July 20, 2023


malevolent is hands down the champion of the Projects to FPP pipeline.
posted by Literaryhero at 5:20 PM on July 20, 2023


MetaFilter: Gosh, I love that bong.
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:27 PM on July 20, 2023 [3 favorites]


#BigBenGame for 🕜01:25:41
177 points ⭐️⭐️➖➖➖
Longest word: BONERS
https://vole.wtf/big-ben/
posted by Literaryhero at 5:30 PM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]


#BigBenGame for 🕜01:43:43
318 points ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Longest word: PREENING
posted by Baethan at 6:12 PM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]


Finally bust 200. Thank God for that.
posted by Paul Slade at 4:26 AM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]


#BigBenGame for 🕗19:52:13
268 points ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️➖
Longest word: PRETENSE
https://vole.wtf/big-ben/

Lots of fun... I have to resist playing more...
posted by ecco at 11:59 AM on July 21, 2023


Mod note: [btw, this post has been added to the sidebar]
posted by taz (staff) at 12:40 PM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]


#BigBenGame for 🕘20:51:44
314 points ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Longest word: STRANGLED
https://vole.wtf/big-ben/

Cleared the board and I managed to get EXTINCT in that round, too. This is dangerous and I'm trying not to read too much into malevolent's name. :D

(Man this is good)
posted by thecaddy at 1:04 PM on July 21, 2023


Current high score: 258. Pleased to report it accepts the British spelling of "arse".
posted by Paul Slade at 1:05 AM on July 22, 2023


#BigBenGame for 🕓16:13:13
252 points ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️➖
Longest word: GUTTER
https://vole.wtf/big-ben/

I’m don’t know what controls the stars but I am proud of this one.
posted by janell at 8:17 AM on July 22, 2023


This is great. I like how up-to-date the lexicon is (it took BAE, which is probably a stupid waste of vowels but what I needed at the moment).
posted by dlugoczaj at 9:07 AM on July 25, 2023


After a good 12 to 18 hours...

#BigBenGame for 🕐01:14:39
343 points ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Longest word: DRONIEST
https://vole.wtf/big-ben/

Not sure how official that is in terms of proof, now that I look at it. I got a couple of 320s along the way, but not sure it's worth attempting to recreate the miracle game.
posted by wolfpants at 5:32 PM on July 30, 2023 [2 favorites]


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