How to play Vanlexis in 2 minutes

The essentials for your first match, right now. When you want the detail of every rule, go to the full rules.

The screen, on desktop

• At the top, in the center: the round, the theme and the clock for your turn.
• In the top-left corner: the players at the table and everyone’s score.
• In the middle: the board, with its colored bonus squares.
• At the bottom: your tile rack, with the Cartas (Cards) button beside it and Jogar (Play) at the end.
• In the bottom-right corner: the Trocar (Swap) and Passar (Pass) buttons.

The game itself is in Portuguese for now, so the buttons use the Portuguese names.

1. Look at the theme

Every match draws a theme, like CARNAVAL. It shows up from the first turn and counts for everyone at the table. It is what drives the score.

2. Build a word

Drag tiles from your rack onto the board. Two simple rules:

• The first word of the match must go through the center square.
• Every new tile must connect to what is already on the board. No loose tiles.

There are no tiles with accents or cedillas: build ACAO, and the game understands AÇÃO.

3. Check the affinity band

Before you confirm, the game shows how well your word fits the theme, in four bands:

Band	What it means
Frio (cold)	The word is not on the theme’s list.
Morno (warm)	On the list, with a distant relation.
Quente (hot)	On the list, with a close relation.
Escaldante (scorching)	The heart of the theme.

Plurals, feminine forms and diminutives count as the base word: BOLAS and BOLINHA count as BOLA. And the game shows the band before you play, so you can change your mind at no cost.

4. See what it scores

The score adds up the value of the letters, multiplied by the bonus squares you covered, and then affinity multiplies on top. Long words also earn a bonus. At the end of the move the screen shows the whole calculation, point by point.

5. Your turn: play, swap or pass

Each turn you pick one action:

• Play a word.
• Swap up to 3 tiles from your rack.
• Pass your turn, and get a consolation coin.

If the turn clock runs out, you pass on your own. At the end of the turn your rack is refilled for free.

6. Coins and power cards

You earn coins during the match. With them you buy power cards: wildcards that become any letter, word multipliers, a peek at an opponent’s rack and more. Stronger cards cost more. Coins and cards vanish when the match ends, so nobody starts ahead for having played more.

7. How the match ends

The match ends when someone reaches the point target or when the round limit is hit, whichever comes first. If everyone passes twice in a row, it also ends. Whoever has the most points wins.

For your first match

• Look at the theme before you look at your rack. Hunt for words it reminds you of.
• Do not chase only the longest word: the theme weighs on the score.
• Use the Word ×2 and Word ×3 squares: they multiply the whole word.
• When in doubt, Swap tiles instead of forcing a cold word.

That is it. If a doubt is left, the rules page answers it. To play with people you know, see playing with friends.