Sometimes I begin by entering words as I think of them, but occasionally I'll try to find words beginning with a particular letter. However, the latter method tends to quickly transition into the former, especially if I have a word that is an exact anagram of other words. Some of my favourites:
- emit / item / mite / time
- diet / edit / tide / tied
- saint / satin / stain
- alert / alter / later
- trail / trial
- amen / mane / mean / name
I'd rather get the exact anagrams entered than risk
thinking I've entered them without doing so. (I'm curious if others mentally connect anagrams as I do and if they have favourite anagrams besides the ones I've listed?)
I look for constructing words using common prefixes and suffixes, -ing may be the most common in Chi. I don't use the mouse. I type the letters (I have to make sure I have the right keyboard selected!) and press the Enter key to submit a word. I use the zero on the 10-key pad (the other zero will also work) to shuffle the letters. (The left-pointing arrow between the 10-key pad and the main keyboard clears letters.) I don't find it common to have the letters arrange themselves into a word, but often the arrangement will be close enough to a word to make me think of it. I find the shuffle an invaluable tool and use it with every puzzle.
If I'm really struggling with a puzzle, I will systematically arrange three letters and examine them for possible words. For example, in the puzzle which will close in about an hour as I write this:
- dee-
- dei-
- dem-
- den-
- deo-
- des-
- det-
- ede-
- edi-
- edm-
- edn-
- edo-
- eds-
- ets-
etc.
Of course, some combinations can be quickly ignored (e.g. 'tdn'). I generally limit it to the first three letters simply because more would be too tedious and time-consuming for me. (I spend too much time on Chi as it is.)
Like Birdy, I often find it helpful to take breaks from a puzzle and come back to it. It is amazing what a fresh look can do.
Scramble? Is that the "shuffle" button bottom left? I've been meaning to ask what that is!! So I won't lose the words I have if I press that?
If you have a word ready to be submitted and press the zero instead of the Enter key, it will shuffle your letters rather than submit the word. I've done that more than a few times. I mentally kick myself, hit the left-pointing arrow to clear the letters, retype the word, and press the Enter key. I've also accidentally hit the Enter key when I meant to press the zero and received a message about the word not being known (and taken a hit on my percentage)!
