Player Guide

The complete rules

Alfa Kraft is a word strategy game. Each turn you choose between scoring now, reshaping your hand, or buying a power that breaks the board open.

Goal

Finish with the highest final score after score, coins, and leftover tiles in your hand are all counted.

At a glance

1–2 players
Bot and Multiplayer modes
7 tiles in hand
Coins buy powers

1. Getting started

Three ways to play: public matchmaking, a private lobby with a friend, or a Bot Match on your device.

Find Match

One button, one match. Alfa Kraft matches you against another player in your currently selected format (Casual or Blitz, chosen on the home screen).

If a matching public lobby is waiting, you join as the second player.
If not, you open a new public lobby and wait for an opponent.

Private Match

A private lobby for playing with a specific friend, using the same standard rules as Find Match.

The host shares a room code.
The guest joins with the room code or a friend invite link.

Bot Match

Start a Bot Match from the Play tab. Four difficulty levels, runs entirely on your device. See Play modes for details.

2. Play modes

Alfa Kraft has two play modes. The core rules — placement, scoring, and powers — work the same in both modes. The differences are about who you play against and where the game runs.

Bot Match

Play against a bot. It draws tiles, places words, buys powers, and scores just like a human player.

Four difficulty levels: Rookie (easiest), Wordsmith (balanced, default), Wordsmith+ (strategic), Alfa (hardest)
Higher difficulty means smarter word choices and longer think time
Follows the same rules as multiplayer (4 consecutive passes to end; when the bag is empty, the last player with tiles keeps playing until they finish or choose End Game)
Runs entirely on your device after the match starts
Available from the Play tab or as a Find Match fallback when no human opponent joins

Multiplayer

Two human players in real time. The server handles all scoring, validation, and game state.

Find Match (public matchmaking) or Private Match (room code)
Two formats — pick on the home screen:
- Casual: play at your own pace. You lose if your move deadline expires.
- Blitz: 120s per turn. You auto-pass if your timer runs out. Limited to one Blitz match at a time.
Rematch proposals after the game
Friend invites

3. Turn flow

A live turn stays with the active player until they place a word, pass, or run out of time. Buying powers can happen at any time, while using powers is part of the active turn.

In bot matches, the bot takes its turn automatically after yours.

Buy powers. Open the Shop button to buy powers. Purchased powers appear in the power bar above your hand. You can buy during either player's turn, up to the slot limit.
Use powers. Drag a power to the board, or tap a filled power slot to activate it. Tapping Swap enters swap mode; tapping Alfa Morf lets you pick a tile to turn into a wildcard; other powers are drag-and-drop on the board.
Swap if needed. Using Swap changes selected tiles without ending your turn. Alfa Morf likewise does not end your turn.
Rearrange your rack. Drag tiles to reorder them, or tap Shuffle to randomize the order. This only rearranges your hand — it never draws tiles, changes your score, or ends your turn.
Place a word or pass. A successful placement ends the turn after scoring. Passing ends it immediately.
Resolve the turn. You draw replacement tiles (if you placed 5 or more tiles, you draw one fewer tile and automatically receive a blank Alfa Power Tile instead). Usually the turn passes to the opponent. If the bag is empty and only one player still has tiles, that player keeps taking turns until they finish or choose End Game.

Action	Ends the turn?	Important note
Buy a power	No	Available on either player's turn. You can keep playing after the purchase.
Use a power	No	Powers are consumed only when used successfully.
Swap	No	You can still place or pass afterward, except during the final forced-finish sequence.
Place a word	Yes	The turn ends after validation, scoring, coin gain, and tile refill.
Pass	Yes	You gain the pass bonus instead of score-based coins. A Pass discards any drafted powers still on the board.
Deadline expires	Yes	If your 7-day move deadline runs out before you place a word or pass, you lose immediately.

4. Placement rules

Every successful placement must follow the board rules below. These rules are the same in all play modes.

Place at least one tile from your hand.
All newly placed tiles must sit in one row or one column with no gaps inside the full word run.
You cannot place on an occupied square.
The first word of the match must cross the center starting square.
Later words must connect to the existing board orthogonally.
Every full word created by the move must be valid in the match dictionary.
Single-tile placements are allowed only when they still create a valid word of at least two letters.
One-letter runs do not count as completed words.
Alfa Power Tiles ignore alignment rules and, by default, adjacency rules too. They can be placed on any empty valid square, but not on occupied squares or other Alfa Power squares. Cell bonuses (2× Letter, 3× Letter, 2× Word, 3× Word) are consumable: the Alfa Power Tile benefits from unused bonuses but not from bonuses already consumed by a previous tile. Normal tiles placed in the same turn as an Alfa Power Tile also skip the adjacency requirement.

Alfa Power Tiles as blanks

Alfa Power Tiles must be assigned a letter when placed. They count as that letter for word creation, but they are still worth 0 points.

If a move is invalid

Invalid placements are rejected. If any created word is not accepted, the move does not score and you must try again before your turn ends. Each player gets 3 free invalid-word attempts per game; after those run out, every subsequent failure costs 1 point and 1 coin. Penalties accumulate, can push score or coins below zero, and are shown in the last play summary when your turn ends.

5. Scoring and coins

Alfa Kraft scores the main word and every cross-word created by a placement, then adds them together into one turn score.

Scoring order

Step	What happens
1. Base value	Each tile starts with its face value. Buff adds its bonus before anything else.
2. Letter bonuses	Double-letter and triple-letter affect only newly placed tiles.
3. Word bonuses	Double-word, triple-word, and the opening center star apply only if a new tile lands there this turn. Their factors add together when more than one applies (2× Word + 3× Word → ×5).
4. Total turn score	All created words are scored separately and then added together.

Coins from scoring

A scored turn gives 1 coin per tile in every word formed (tiles in crosswords count once per word). Unspent coins carry over between turns.

Coins from passing

A voluntary pass gives the default 2-coin pass bonus. It does not give score-based coin income because no word was played.

Alfa Power Tile multiplier

An Alfa Power Tile gives its cell a word multiplier on the turn it is placed — no word multiplier for the 5-tile tier (wildcard placement only), ×2 for 6 tiles, ×3 for 7. The multiplier kicks in starting at the 6-tile tier. If the cell has an unused bonus (2× Letter, 3× Letter, 2× Word, 3× Word), the Alfa Power Tile benefits from it too — their factors are added together. For example, an Alfa Power Tile earned from a 6-tile turn, placed on an empty 3× Word square, gives 3× Word (3) + alfa (2) = ×5 total. If the cell’s bonus was already used by a previous tile, only the Alfa Power multiplier applies.

Alfa Power Tiles in your hand at the finish

Leftover Alfa Power Tiles cost nothing on their own — instead they multiply the penalty from the ordinary letters still in your hand. Their multipliers add together (the 5-tile tier has no multiplier, the 6-tile tier is ×2, the 7-tile tier is ×3), so a ×2 and a ×3 Alfa Tile turn a single 1-point leftover letter into a 1 × (2 + 3) = 5 point penalty. With only Alfa Power Tiles left and no ordinary letters, there is nothing to multiply, so the penalty is 0.

6. Powers

Powers are bought with coins and stored in your inventory until used successfully. Any player can buy powers at any time, but only the active player can use them. Using a power does not end the turn by itself.

Each power is either Tap (activate from the power slot) or Drag (drag from the power slot onto a board cell).

Costs shown below are the base price. Each repeat purchase of the same power costs 1.5× more (rounded up) than the previous one.

Base powers

2c Tap

Swap

Exchange selected tiles from your hand with fresh draws from the bag, then continue your turn.

1c Drag

Buff

Add +1 value to any board tile. Buff stacks up to 5 times on a single tile.

2c Drag

Erase

Strip a cell back to its base form — removes any tile and bonus. The cell is blocked until next turn.

6c Tap

Alfa Morf

Turn a tile in your hand into a wildcard. You choose its letter later, when you place it on the board. A morf tile scores zero base points, like a blank. Cannot target Alfa Power tiles. Does not end your turn.

Bonus-placement powers

These powers permanently add new bonus spaces to empty normal squares.

2c Drag

Place 2× Letter

Turns an empty normal square into a double-letter space.

4c Drag

Place 3× Letter

Turns an empty normal square into a triple-letter space.

6c Drag

Place 2× Word

Turns an empty normal square into a double-word space.

8c Drag

Place 3× Word

Turns an empty normal square into a triple-word space.

Important targeting and duration rules

Bonus-placement powers require an empty normal square.
Erase resets the target square to its base form, clearing any tile, bonus, or buff. The cell is blocked until the next turn — no tiles or bonuses can be placed on it.
Drafted powers commit when you place tiles (powers and tiles commit together). Passing discards any drafted powers without applying them.

Alfa Power Tiles are fully immune to all powers. They cannot be targeted by Buff, Erase, or any bonus-placement power. By default, they can also be placed freely without needing to connect to existing tiles on the board.

7. Turn deadline and rejoining

Casual

Each turn runs on a 7-day deadline. Take hours or days to think — as soon as you place a word or pass, the opponent's 7-day clock starts.

If the deadline expires, you lose immediately.
The timer is hidden when more than 24 hours remain and shown in hours when under 24.
Game lists show a remaining-time label (for example, 3d left or 5h left).

Blitz

Blitz is the fast format. Each turn runs on a 120-second per-turn timer.

If your turn timer runs out, the game auto-passes for you and the turn moves to your opponent.
If you're away when your turn auto-passes (app closed or backgrounded), you get an inactivity strike. Three strikes and you forfeit the match — come back and play a turn to wipe your strikes.
Limited to one active Blitz match at a time.

Leaving and coming back

Bot matches run entirely on your device — if you close the app mid-game, your progress is saved locally and restored when you return.

In a Casual multiplayer match, you can leave and come back as often as you like while your move deadline is still running. The match ends only if the deadline expires or a player resigns. In a Blitz match, the per-turn timer keeps ticking while you're away — if you're absent when your turn ends, you collect an inactivity strike, and three strikes is a loss.

8. Endgame and rematch

The match ends as soon as one of the end conditions below is met.

How a match can end

The tile bag is empty and both players have emptied their hands.
If the bag is empty and only one player still has tiles, that player keeps the turn and may only place tiles or choose End Game until the match is finished.
Consecutive passes: 4 consecutive passes end the game in both bot and multiplayer matches, with the winner decided by final score.
A player resigns. The opponent wins immediately.
A player's 7-day move deadline expires — the opponent wins immediately.

Final score

Start with the score you earned from played words.
Add your endgame coin bonus: each coin becomes 1 extra point.
Subtract the face value of the ordinary letters still in your hand.
Leftover Alfa Power Tiles cost nothing on their own; instead they multiply that leftover-letter penalty. Their multipliers add together (×2 at 6 tiles, ×3 at 7; the 5-tile tier adds none), so a 1-point leftover letter with a ×2 and a ×3 Alfa Tile costs 1 × (2 + 3) = 5. Only Alfa Tiles left and no letters → 0.

If the final totals are tied in a multiplayer or bot match, the first player in the match wins the tiebreak.

Who plays first

In a multiplayer match, the challenged player (the one who accepted the invite or joined an open lobby) plays the first turn — you can act right away when you open a new game. On a rematch, the starting player alternates: whoever didn't start the previous game plays first in the next one. In a bot match, you (the human) always play first.

After the match

In multiplayer, players can propose a rematch from the end screen. A rematch starts only when both players accept. If one player leaves, the rematch option is no longer available for the remaining player.

In bot matches, the end screen shows a game summary with your best word, longest word, total score, words played, and turns played. Rematch is not available — start a new game from the Play tab instead.

9. The Wordsmith Path

Your rank on the Wordsmith Path is a named tier — Apprentice, Scribe, Penman, Linguist, Scholar, Sage, Master, or Grandmaster — that reflects your skill in a given dictionary. Each dictionary (English, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) tracks a separate rank.

The six middle tiers each split into three divisions (I, II, III — with III being the closest to promotion). Apprentice and Grandmaster are flat: there are no divisions at the floor or the ceiling. Most players begin at Linguist I and climb (or fall) from there.

After every standard PvP match, your rank adjusts based on the result. Wins promote you, losses demote you, and bigger upsets move you faster. Bot matches do not affect your rank — bot opponents show their own rank so you can pick a difficulty that matches your level.

10. Common questions

What are the bot difficulty levels?

Rookie makes simpler moves quickly. Wordsmith (default) is balanced. Wordsmith+ plays strategically with stronger word choices and defense. Alfa is the hardest — it looks ahead, defends premium squares, and solves the endgame perfectly when the bag is empty.

Can I play offline?

Bot matches run entirely on your device after starting, so they keep working even if your connection drops. Multiplayer requires a live connection to the server.

Does Find Match ever match me with a bot?

Only if you choose it. If no human joins your Find Match lobby, you can opt to challenge a bot at Rookie, Wordsmith, Wordsmith+, or Alfa difficulty instead of continuing to wait.

Can I swap and still place a word?

Yes. Swap is a hand-management action inside your turn, not your full turn action.

Does swapping count like a pass?

No. Swapping resets the consecutive-pass counter. Only actual passes count toward the consecutive-passes threshold.

Can I buff an opponent tile?

Yes. Buff can target any eligible tile on the board, not only your own tiles.

What happens if my move deadline runs out?

You lose immediately. Buying or dragging powers to the board does not extend the deadline — only placing a word or passing ends the turn and starts the opponent's 7-day clock.

What happens if my word is invalid?

The placement is rejected and you keep your turn. Each player gets 3 free invalid-word attempts per game; after those run out, every subsequent failure deducts 1 point and 1 coin. You can rearrange and try again, or pass.

What if both players keep passing?

4 consecutive passes end the game in both bot and multiplayer matches. Resigning is separate — you can resign at any time.

What is an Alfa Power Tile?

Placing 5 or more tiles from your hand in a single turn automatically grants a blank Alfa Power Tile in your next draw (you draw one fewer regular tile). The blank Alfa Power Tile can be assigned any letter, placed on any empty square (including disconnected from other tiles), and is immune to all powers. The 5-tile tier is wildcard placement only — no word multiplier. The word multiplier kicks in at the higher tiers: ×2 for 6 tiles, ×3 for 7.

Is the Alfa Power Tile automatic?

Yes. When you place 5 or more tiles in one turn, the blank Alfa Power Tile is automatically added to your hand with your replacement draw. No selection or confirmation is needed.