Slurbage Manual / Guide
The Slurbage HUD is the power that drives your game play, and you need it to play the game.
Rearrange Tiles:
When it is your turn, you can click a letter tile, and click another spot to move it.
Building Words:
1. When it's your turn, click BUILD WORD on the HUD.
2. Click a letter to highlight it.
3. Click a spot where you want it on the game surface.
4. If you made a mistake, click UNDO, and start at Step 2, above.
5. If you didn't make a mistake, click another letter to highlight it, and place it on the game as you did in Step 3.
6. Continue to place letters on the game, until you are done, then click FINISHED.
When you click FINISHED, your letters are set, and challenge mode begins. There is a 30 second delay to give all other players the opportunity to challenge your formed words.
All the other players will see CHALLENGE / ACCEPT and be able to click them. You will not see these. If all other players click ACCEPT, your formed words are scored and permanently recorded as played. The 30 second delay is bypassed, and the next player is chosen (moving counter-clockwise). If, however, any other player clicks CHALLENGE, the game immediately checks the words placed.
When words are checked, one of two possibilities will happen: 1) if any word checked is not valid, the player who formed the word loses their turn and their letters are given back to them. Or, 2) if all words were valid, they are scored, and the next player is chosen. The player who challenged will lose their next turn.
The game continues, starting at Step 1, above, until the game ends due to any of the following:
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All players leave the game (by QUITTING, removing the HUD, logging off, or crashing)
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All players click PASS
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Any player uses all their letters when there are none left to give out
When the game ends, the final scores are announced, there is a splash of sparkly celebration stars, and the game pauses for 5 minutes, to give folks a chance to talk about the game. If you wish to start a new game before the 5 minutes is up, click MENU on the game and choose RESET. If you let the 5 minutes pass, the game will clear itself and reset automatically.
For detailed help on the other features, continue below.
Match the numbers on the image with the text below to learn how to use the Slurbage HUD.
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BUILD WORD: When it is your turn, you must click this to begin building a word on the board.
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UNDO: If you make a mistake while placing your word on the board, click UNDO.
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SWAP: When you need to swap letters, click SWAP. Then, choose each letter you want to put back into the letter bag. When you are done, click FINISHED.
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PASS: There are times when swapping is not desirable, but you can't make a word. Click to PASS your turn. Caution: If you and everyone else passes their turn, the game will end, as it will assume nobody can make a valid word. Pay attention!
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FINISHED: Click this when you are finished building a word, or when you are finished selecting letters to SWAP.
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SHUFFLE: Click this to shuffle your letter tiles around randomly. This can sometimes help to show you word patterns you otherwise might not be seeing.
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SIZE: Click this to get a menu that lets you resize the HUD so it's bigger. It ships at the smallest possible size and cannot be made smaller. Resizing doesn't affect your current game, so it can be done anytime.
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HELP: Get a link from the HUD to this online guide to get you going and give you tips.
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QUIT: This is instant, so be careful! When you want to QUIT the game, click this. You will be prompted with an "Are you sure" box, and clicking YES will remove you from the game. After a few moments, the HUD will auto detach from your screen. Warning: If you do this, you cannot rejoin the game.
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ACCEPT: This appears only when someone places a word on the board. Click it to ACCEPT the player's word (tiles). If everyone clicks it, the word is accepted immediately, and the 30 second challenge wait time is avoided. This can speed up your game.
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CHALLENGE: This appears only when someone places a word on the board. If you believe one or more words placed were invalid, click CHALLENGE; this will place the game in challenge mode. All words are checked, and if all words are valid, you lose your next turn. If any word was not valid, that player who placed the word(s) loses their turn.
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SCORE and TILES: Your score is shown for the current game, and the total remaining tiles appear here.
How To - Using the HUD
❶ Getting Started
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Click the arrow "CLICK TO PLAY" on the game board where you want your name to appear
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This will allow the game board to give you a HUD - if you already have one worn, "decline" the additional HUD offer
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Wear the HUD you are given - or keep yours attached that you have worn
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Wait for all players to wear their HUD
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One player clicks the START button on the game board
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The HUD fills will letters, a random player is chosen, and that player is announced to go first
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Pay attention to local chat, and the HUD text
New in v5.x - Rearrange Tiles
In the 2021 update, you can reorganize your letter tiles! Click a tile, then click another spot to drop it there. Existing tiles will move out of the way. If you have empty spots (near the end of the game), you can drop them there. This must be done prior to clicking on Build Word (below) - once you do, you can no longer "rearrange" tiles. However, SHUFFLE (below) still works fine.
❷ How to Make a Word - BUILD WORD
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When it's your turn, click BUILD WORD on the HUD
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Click a letter on the HUD (it will turn green)
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Then click a spot on the board to place that letter
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When your word is complete, click FINISHED on the HUD
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Letters will turn YELLOW when on the board and stay yellow until your letters are accepted (note: the color will depend on the block the letter occupies - yellow for non-scoring, other colors for their respective blocks)
NOTE: Blanks were removed in version 5.x
Rules:
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The first word must intersect the center square
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The first word must be 2 or more letters
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All consecutive words must intersect another word
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Consecutive words can be 1 letter
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Maximum word length is 15 letters
❸ Fixing a Mistake - UNDO
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If you place a letter in the wrong spot, click UNDO
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Only the letters placed in the current turn will be returned to your HUD
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You will need to start over, as all letters placed are returned, not just the last one placed
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If you click FINISHED, you can't undo. So be careful :)
❹ Swapping Letters - SWAP
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If you're not happy with some or all of your letters, you can swap!
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When it's your turn, click SWAP
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Then click 1 or more letters you don't want (they will turn dark)
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Click FINISHED, and they will be replaced
Swap is done like this:
1. Your letters are replaced from the remaining letters
2. Your discarded letters are then added back into the game
TIP: If you change your mind after clicking on SWAP or even after clicking a letter or more to swap, you can simply click BUILD WORD again to start building your word. Any letters turned 'GREY' will be put back to normal for you.
Rules:
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It must be your turn
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You can't swap if there aren't enough letters left in the bag
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Swapping ends your turn immediately
NOTE: The game is very smart. If you try to swap letters but there aren't enough letters remaining, you won't be able to swap. Example: If you try to swap 5 letters and only 4 remain, you will be asked to DE-SELECT one or more letters.
❺ Passing Your Turn - PASS
If you are saving your letters, hoping for someone to open up a spot for your word, you can pass. You immediately forfeit your turn to the next player.
WARNING: The game is very smart. If ALL players pass their turn, the game assumes nobody can make a word, and the game is OVER! So be very careful! Instead of passing (if the other player(s) have passed), try swapping letters. Each game allows single player mode. If you pass, the game ends immediately.
❻ Shuffle Your Letters - SHUFFLE
Need to see your letters in a different order? Sometimes this is needed so you can get ideas for words to make. Click SHUFFLE - your letters will be randomly shuffled for you. As of January 2021, tiles can be reorganized manually if you do it before clicking on BUILD WORD. See notes above!
❼ Challenge Mode - CHALLENGE & ACCEPT
When a player makes a word, all other players are notified, and have 30 seconds to challenge. The CHALLENGE button will become visible. If you think one or more word combinations made by a player form a word that is not valid, you can click the CHALLENGE button. Each word formed by that player's letters will be checked. If all words formed are valid, that player gets the score and play continues. If any of the words formed were not valid, that player's letters are returned, and they lose that turn with no score.
WARNING: If you challenge someone, and their words are accepted as valid, YOU LOSE YOUR NEXT TURN.
The ACCEPT button also becomes visible when a word is placed by other players. If all other players click the ACCEPT button, the word(s) placed will then be scored immediately, avoiding the standard 30 second challenge delay. This can greatly speed up a game!
Once Challenge or Accept are clicked, they will become invisible on the HUD.
❽ Quitting the Game - QUIT
If you decide you don't want to keep playing, click the QUIT button. Or, for simplicity, just detach the HUD. The game will then skip you on subsequent turns.
Some important notes on QUIT:
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You cannot rejoin the game that's in progress
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Wearing the HUD again will have no effect
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You will lose your points earned in that game
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Any letters from your current word are removed (if you had letters place but didn't click FINISHED)
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Any words completed by you remain on the board
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If there are enough players, the game will continue
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If there aren't enough players, the game ends (the game will continue with at least ONE player)
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Removing the HUD, logging off, or crashing will cause you to be skipped on your turn(s). However, if you leave the region and leave the HUD attached, you will be able to rejoin the game in progress when you return. Any words placed while you were away cannot be challenged by you. Remember, it's OK to go do something and come back, but you MUST KEEP THE HUD ATTACHED.
Other Features & Notes
❶ RESIZE
There is a resize option on the HUD to allow you to make it bigger. When you click it, you get a menu with size options. Simply choose the options you wish to make it bigger. It ships at the smallest size possible, so you cannot make it smaller unless you've first made it bigger. Also, there is an option to set it back to it's original size when it was shipped. Using this feature during game play is totally fine.
❷ How to Get Help - HELP
The HELP button can be clicked any time to allow you to get a link to this website.
❸ SOUNDS in the HUD
The new 4.0 Upgrade includes sounds in the HUD. There is a speaker icon to the right of the Tiles and Score area. It acts like a toggle and can be turned on or off any time. The sounds are for tile selections, button clicks, and end of game. These sounds are not dependent on the game itself, and turning them off in the HUD doesn't turn them off on the game. There is a separate set of sounds in the game itself and there is a similar sound button on the game. Nobody else can hear the sounds in your HUD.
❹ CHAIR POSES
Version 5.x for any game with chairs, seats, cushions, etc., has AVSitter 2.2 installed. Click your seat to bring up a menu where you can change your pose and adjust your position. You can also save your settings for poses. This is an SL standard that is being used across the grid for furniture by many creators. I am very pleased to bring you this.