Bodek Engine
A computer opponent for Scrabble and Kings Court, at five levels
The Bodek Engine is the built-in player on every table. It moves the moment it is its turn, it only ever plays legal moves, and it comes in five strengths from a forgiving Beginner to a Master that is very hard to beat. Seat one, or in Scrabble several, from any lobby.
The five levels
| Level | Scrabble | Kings Court |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Beginner | Short, simple words; misses most of the board. | Plays almost at random, but likes a capture. |
| 2 · Easy | Modest words, rarely more than 6 letters. | Looks one move ahead, with slips. |
| 3 · Medium | Solid plays; will not always find the best one. | Looks two moves ahead. |
| 4 · Hard | Best score every turn, keeps a good rack. | Searches four moves deep. |
| 5 · Master | Score, rack leave, endgame and board defence. | Full search, about 2.5 seconds a move. |
Add an engine in the lobby under Add a Bodek Engine: pick the level and click Add. The seat is named after its level, for example "Bodek Engine · Medium", so everyone at the table knows who they are playing.
How it plays
Scrabble
On its turn the engine lists every legal play from its rack against the table's word list (NWL2023 or Collins CSW21), the same generator that powers the hint button. Master ranks each play by its score, the quality of the tiles it keeps, the endgame (going out, or being stuck with tiles) and the premium squares it opens for the next player, and it exchanges a hopeless rack rather than dumping one tile. Hard uses score and rack quality. The three lower levels see only a random slice of the plays and are limited to shorter words, which is why they miss things a stronger player would find.
Kings Court
The engine searches ahead with alpha-beta pruning, extending capture sequences, and judges positions by discs, control of the court, support between discs and mobility. Master searches for about two and a half seconds, as deep as the position allows. Hard stops at four moves ahead, Medium at two. Easy looks one move ahead and sometimes takes the second-best line; Beginner mostly picks at random, with a fondness for captures.
Fair, light and private
- Always legal
- Every engine move comes from the game's own legal-move generator and then passes the same validation as a human move. It cannot play an invalid word or an illegal jump.
- Nothing stored
- The engine keeps no memory between turns, no database of your games and no profile of you. Each move is computed from the position and discarded.
- No hidden information
- In Scrabble it never sees another player's rack. In the endgame it counts unseen tiles, just as a strong human player would.
Questions about the engine
Is the engine free?
Yes. The Bodek Engine is part of the site. There is no key, account or subscription; add it from any lobby.
Which level should I pick?
Start at Medium (level 3). If it wins comfortably, drop to Easy; if you win comfortably, go up. Master is built to be very hard to beat.
Can I play several engines at once?
In Scrabble, yes: a table has four seats, so you can play against up to three engines at different levels, or watch engines play each other. Kings Court is a two-player game, so one engine sits opposite you.
Does the engine cheat?
No. In Scrabble it sees its own rack, the board and the scores, exactly what you see from your seat. In Kings Court the whole position is open to both players anyway. Every engine move goes through the same rule check as a human move.
How fast does it move?
Almost at once. Master takes about two and a half seconds a move in Kings Court and usually under a second in Scrabble; lower levels are faster.
Does it learn from my games?
No. The engine keeps nothing between turns and stores nothing about you. Each move is computed from the current position and thrown away.