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Smartichoke Tip #2: Target Words

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Target words are basically extra goals you can use to earn bonus points, or just something to work towards if you're stuck!

The words are generated at the start of each game of Smartichoke. When a target word is submitted, a new one is chosen to replace it. You can view your target list at any time by clicking the bullseye () in the top-right corner of the screen.

The longer the word, the more bonus points you earn!

Example #1

Let's start with a completely new game. Glancing over the list, the 12-letter target word can be found immediately!

In just the first submission, we've gone from zero points to 86,907 points, and to Level 4, and have three swaps! Scanning the remaining petals, it looks like we have quite a few of the letters of BRACHIATIONS, the new 12 letter target word that was just generated. Refilling the Smartichoke just happened to provide the rest of the letters we need:

The points are a bit lower since the word included a few penalty petals, but we've still shot up another 54K points, two more levels, and earned two more swaps!

Scanning the target words again, we're pretty close to having EARWIGS. And once again, a refill delivered!

As you can see, one of the risks with target words is not having as much flexibility in the petals we're choosing. So, we really loaded that F petal up on penalties!

At this point, though, we can get the DRAWEE target word without even needing a refill:

Example #2

Sometimes you'll have to clear some words and refill the Smartichoke a few times to try to get the extra letters you need. Take the following example, where we have all but one letter of MASQUERADES:

We can try clearing around the letters we do have and see if a refill gives us that final S:

No luck, so we can keep clearing words and refilling. Or, we could also use a swap to try and get it.

Since we're trying to complete a word, we'll want to tap the asterisk to select all of the petals, then deselect the petals we want to keep:

Not only did that gives us the S we need, but it let us now select the word using all connected letters (which means we're not adding any new penalties)!

Have questions? Would you like to see tips on a particular component of Smartichoke? Leave a comment, send me a note, or send me an e-mail!

If you don't already have Smartichoke, download it, play it, love it, and then please don't forget to leave it a glowing review!

Smartichoke Tip #1: Bonuses and Penalties

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Smartichoke's manual has information on how bonus and penalty petals work, but let's expand on it with some examples!

To recap, petals start at a normal shade and are worth 100 points. Petals also earn bonuses (green) and penalties (red), which also affect their point values:

Bonuses and penalties are all about connected letters! You can select letters from any petal, but connected letters help you earn bonuses and disconnected letters lead to penalties.

If a petal is adjacent to three or more connected letters, then it earns bonuses. If a petal is adjacent to one or more disconnected letters, then it earns penalties.

Now, let's take a look at some examples!

Example #1

We'll highlight the word BRACE, with B and R disconnected and A-C-E connected:

Now, let's highlight the petals that are adjacent to the connected letters. You can tap the image to turn on/off highlights that show how each petal is connected:

Now, let's highlight the petals that are adjacent to the disconnected letters. Again, tap to toggle the highlights:

One of those petals overlaps. It's adjacent to two connected letters and one disconnected letter. So, one of each cancels out and you're left with a petal that's adjacent to one connected letter:

After you submit the word, notice that the petal with a negative ends up with a penalty. Tap to flip back to the highlighted word:

Example #2

What's happening with all of those connected letters? Why aren't there any bonus petals? Remember that petals earn bonuses when they're adjacent to three or more connected letters. So, let's take a look at an example that does.

In this case, all of the letters in DOUSES are connected. (There's a break in the middle of the word, but each letter is still connected to another letter.)

Let's highlight all of the adjacent petals and their counts. Tap to toggle the highlights:

In this example, we have two petals that are going to receive a bonus. One petal (+3) will receive a single bonus and move one level up. The other, though, has +5, which means it's going to go up three bonus levels (the bonus from being adjacent to three petals, plus two more)!

Again, tap to flip back to the highlighted word:

Have questions? Would you like to see tips on a particular component of Smartichoke? Leave a comment, send me a note, or send me an e-mail!

If you don't already have Smartichoke, download it, play it, love it, and then please don't forget to leave it a glowing review!

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