CHI

[yelnats]

Alan W,

"When I play, I don't use lists or computerised aids, but I play with a partner, which some people might consider is a form of cheating - two against one!"

I am  wondering how the words are drawn then. I thought you must pick them and then code them so they appear at the appropriate time, but if you still play, wouldn't you know the words coming up? I am still in awe of Chi, and I look after 5 websites myself.

[rogue_mother]

Sometimes only two topics are shown in the Forum Latest box for these puzzles.

I've never seen this happen, I must say. As far as I can tell, there are always 5 topics displayed in the 'Forum Latest' box, unless I open 'Chinwag', in which case there are only 3.

Odd.

MK

MK, I always have Chinwag open, so I always see a shortened Forum Latest box. If the topic subject lines are long, then only two topics will appear in the box unless I scroll down. Then the third topic can be seen. I really enjoy the Chinwag feature.

[pat]

On the odd occasion that I've opened chinwag, you're the only person using it, r_m. What do you use it for?

[rogue_mother]

On the odd occasion that I've opened chinwag, you're the only person using it, r_m. What do you use it for?

Roberts and I have had a running competition for years as to who can get the most words in 10 minutes. We use Chinwag to show our start and stop times and the final word count when the 10 minutes are up. I also use Chinwag to chat with other Chi players, some of whom I know (or 'know"), some I don't. I occasionally respond to other players' questions when they show up in Chinwag.

By the bye, anyone is welcome to join our little competition. It's not meant to be an exclusive club.

[TRex]

(When I play, I don't use lists or computerised aids, but I play with a partner, which some people might consider is a form of cheating - two against one!)

My wife and I play separately ... and then compare, adding what the other found which we missed.

[Alan W]

I am  wondering how the words are drawn then. I thought you must pick them and then code them so they appear at the appropriate time, but if you still play, wouldn't you know the words coming up? I am still in awe of Chi, and I look after 5 websites myself.

Yelnats, the short answer is that the puzzles are created by a random process, that uses data I have compiled over the years.

When I started Chihuahua I created a list of nine-letter words that I thought were common enough to be the basis for puzzles. I ran a program to count up how many common words could be found from each of these sets of nine letters, with each different mandatory letter. Now, whenever a puzzle is to be generated, one of these letter combinations is selected at random, but within a range of sizes. For example, the Standard puzzle has between 24 and 62 common words. There are also some restrictions on how much time has to pass before the same letters can be used as in a previous puzzle.

Concerning the number of forum posts visible, it is actually possible, on a computer, to adjust the amount of space occupied by Chinwag. Move the mouse pointer to the top of the "Forum Latest" header and it should change to a two-headed arrow. Press and hold the mouse button and drag the top of the forum panel up and down. You can set it up so you see zero forum posts! This doesn't work on touch screen devices.