FAQ

Short answers to the questions players ask most. Everything about how to play is in Help, and about your Profile and signing in on Profile and devices.

About the game

What is SlovoBoj?

A word game: you make words from the letters on a wheel and fill the board. You play on your own, level by level, or live against two to five players in a room, where everybody solves the same board at the same time. The game comes in six languages: Croatian, English, German, French, Spanish and Italian.

Is SlovoBoj free?

Yes. The game is free and there is nothing to buy in it: nothing can be paid for or unlocked with money. The phone app shows ads (a banner at the top of the screen and, if you choose so yourself, a short ad for coins).

What can I play it on?

• On a computer, in a browser at slovoboj.com/play, with nothing to install (Windows, macOS and Linux; a recent Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari).
• On an Android phone or tablet (Android 8.0 or later) and on an iPhone (iOS 16 or later), in the app. Both apps are in testing and coming soon; the links will then be on the home page.

You can open the same Profile on all of them (see Profile and devices).

Do I need the internet?

For the first start, yes, because your Profile is registered on the server. After that, single player works offline too, but then there are no hints and the coins from a level aren't saved. Playing against others, the leaderboard and the match statistics need the internet.

What age is the game for?

For people aged 16 and over, because of the chat and the nicknames other players see. Where the app store shares your age, players under 16 play single player only (see Age restrictions).

Words and levels

How many levels are there?

More than 33,000: 5,597 in Croatian, 6,601 in English, 5,693 in German, 5,343 in French, 5,187 in Spanish and 4,978 in Italian. The levels go from easier (five letters on the wheel) to harder (eight letters), and progress is kept separately for each language.

Why wasn't my word accepted?

The game accepts basic dictionary forms of words an average speaker knows: nouns in the singular, verbs in the base form, adjectives in their basic form. It doesn't accept plurals, other forms of verbs, names, abbreviations, slang or words shorter than three letters. Each level has a list of answers, so a word that exists is sometimes still not one of them ("Not in this puzzle"). There is no penalty for that.

Where do the words come from?

We put the word lists together and check them ourselves. Croatian and English come from our own lists, cleaned up by hand. German, French, Spanish and Italian come from Wiktionary (the free dictionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0) and data on how often words are used (wordfreq), also checked by hand. We leave out insults, swear words and words too harsh for a family game. The list of sources is in the app, under "About SlovoBoj → Open-source licenses".

A word doesn't belong in the game, or one is missing. Who do I tell?

Write to us at slovoboj@tvornica-programa.hr with the word and the language (and the level number, if you know it). We fix the lists with new versions.

How are accented letters handled?

Each one is a letter of its own, on its own tile: É and E are two different tiles in French, as are Ñ and N in Spanish or Č and C in Croatian. German ß is written as SS. Croatian LJ, NJ and DŽ are two letters each. English words have no accents.

How are points and stars worked out?

Every word scores points per letter, plus extra for a streak, for speed and for a clean level; in a match also for a word you find before the others. All the numbers are in Help, and how to score more in Tips.

Can I play an old level again?

The levels come in order and the game always offers the next unsolved one. Solved levels aren't offered again, but their records stay in "Statistics".

Playing with others

How do I play with a friend?

1. Open "Multiplayer" and touch "Create a room".
2. Turn on "Private room" if you don't want strangers, choose the number of players and rounds and create the room.
3. In the room, touch "Invite a friend" and send your friend the message with the link (WhatsApp, Viber, e-mail…). In a browser on a computer the message is only copied: paste it into a chat with Ctrl+V (see the question below).
4. Your friend touches the link and is in the room; the link carries a private room's PIN by itself.
5. When you're both "Ready", the host touches "Start the game".

It works without the link too: your friend finds the room by its name on "Multiplayer" ("Find a room…"), touches it and types the PIN. The list shows only rooms in the puzzle language your friend has in the settings, while the link leads into the room whatever the language. Step by step: Help → Inviting a friend.

What does "Invitation copied" mean?

The game in a browser on a computer says it when you click "Invite a friend" (or recommend the game). The invitation hasn't been sent yet: the message with the link is on the clipboard, like text after Ctrl+C. Open a chat with your friend (WhatsApp Web, Messenger, Discord, e-mail…), click in the message box, paste it with Ctrl+V (on a Mac ⌘V) or right-click and "Paste", and send it. You can send the same message to several chats or a group. On a phone or tablet the share window opens instead.

My friend opened the invitation but isn't in the room. Why?

• "The room is full", "The match has already started" or "That room no longer exists": you can join a room only before its match starts and while it has a free seat. When the match is over, send a new invitation or create a new room.
• The game asks for the PIN: the link came without its PIN at the end (cut off when copying, for example). The PIN is in the message.
• "Finish the match, then open the invitation again.": your friend is in the middle of a match. When it ends, they touch the link again.
• "Stop the level and join the room?": your friend is solving a single-player level. "Join the room" stops the level (an unfinished one is not saved), "Keep playing" stays in it.
• Leave “…” and join “…”?: your friend is already in another room. "Join" moves to yours, "Stay" stays in theirs.
• "SlovoBoj is open in another tab": the game is already open in another tab of your friend's browser, and the invitation went there. They switch to that tab or touch "Play here".

Can someone from another country play?

Yes, from anywhere, as long as they have the same puzzle language. The interface language can be different: one player can have the menus in English and another in German, while both make Croatian words.

How many players fit in a room?

Two to five. The host chooses the number of players and the number of rounds (one to five) when creating the room.

What if my connection drops during a match?

The game reconnects by itself ("Reconnecting…") and puts you back in the round with the same points. You have 60 seconds; after that it counts as giving up. On an iPhone or iPad the game mustn't be in the background or behind a locked screen for more than a minute.

Why did I lose 100 League Points?

Leaving the room during a match means giving up: players who give up lose 100 LP and get no place, and the others play on. The same happens when you don't come back within 60 seconds after losing the connection.

How do I report an offensive message or nickname?

Tap the chat message or the player (in a room, on the match results or on the leaderboard), choose "Report message" or "Report player", a reason and "Send report". The server attaches the messages from the room itself. If you no longer have the app, send us an e-mail with the name of the room, the nickname and roughly when it happened. There is more in the terms of use.

How do I block a player?

In the same place, "Block": you then don't see each other's messages and can't be in the same room. The list of blocked players and "Unblock" are in "Settings → Profile → Blocked players".

Why can't I see any rooms?

The list shows only open rooms in your puzzle language that still have a free seat; a room where a match is already on doesn't show. When there are no rooms, create your own and invite a friend.

Coins and ads

What are coins for?

For hints: 100 coins reveal one letter of a word on the board. Coins count in both modes and in every language.

How do I earn coins?

By solving new levels (5 coins, plus extra for bonus words and three stars), by winning a round of a match (one coin per opponent) and, in the app, with a short ad ("Earn coins", 50 coins). You get 200 to start with.

Can I buy coins or remove the ads?

No. There are no purchases in the game, and coins can't be sold or exchanged for money either.

Why is no ad available?

"No ad available right now" means that Google has no ad for you at the moment. It happens more often with ad-blocking apps, a private DNS, or when every option is declined in "Privacy settings". Try again a little later. If an ad stops before the end, there are no coins ("The reward is only for the whole ad").

How do I change my consent for ads?

"Settings → Privacy settings" opens Google's consent form again (in the EU and the EEA). On an iPhone the "Tracking" row opens iOS's settings. There is more in the privacy policy.

Your Profile and your data

Can I move my Profile to another phone?

Yes, if it is linked with a Google or Apple account. How is in "A new phone or tablet".

How do I change my nickname or picture?

"Settings → Profile → Nickname", or the pencil on "Statistics" and on the leaderboard. Enter the new nickname, pick a picture and touch "Save".

Where is my data kept?

Your Profile, coins and results are kept on the SlovoBoj server in Germany (in the European Union). Single-player records and statistics stay on your device. What exactly is kept, and for how long, is in the privacy policy.

How do I delete my Profile?

In the game: "Settings → Profile → Delete profile". Everything about it, including how to ask for deletion by e-mail, is on Deleting your profile.

Settings and problems

How do I turn off the music, sounds or vibration?

In "Settings": menu music, music while playing, game sounds, room notifications and (in the app) vibration each have their own switch.

How do I update the game?

"Settings → App update" tells you whether you have the latest version and takes you to the new one. The game in a browser asks you to "Reload" once there is a new version.

The browser says "SlovoBoj is open in another tab"

The game runs in one browser tab only. Touch "Play here" and the game moves to that tab, and the other one stops.

The game won't start or shows an error. What now?

Check your internet connection and try again. If that doesn't help, write to us at slovoboj@tvornica-programa.hr: say what happened, on which device, and give the version number from "Settings → About SlovoBoj".