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How scoring works: Word Search Max
Your game score comes from your own puzzle result. Your party rank compares that score with your party's submissions for the same day.
Quick summary
Word Search Max is scored on how fast you find every hidden word in a larger 15×15 grid. Your time falls into one of six score brackets (1.0 down to 0.5), or a 0.2 floor if slower than 15 minutes.
How to score well
- Solve the puzzle as quickly as possible — 2 minutes or less is a perfect score.
- Scan the grid in a consistent pattern to avoid missing words on the first pass.
- Even a slow solve earns at least 0.2 — there is no failure state in Word Search Max.
- There is no tiebreaker, so players who finish at the same time share the same rank.
How ranking works in parties
- Your score is compared to other party members who solved the same day's Word Search Max.
- There is no secondary tiebreaker — players who tie on time share the same rank.
- Ties are broken using competition ranking.
Example
You solve Word Search Max #6 in 9:11 (551 seconds). Your time falls in the 480–600s bracket, so you earn a normalized score of 0.6. A partymate who finished in 4:45 scores 0.8.
How to submit your score
On iOS, tap Share → PuzzleParty after solving. On Android/web, tap Share, copy the result, and paste it into PuzzleParty.
Technical scoring data
{
"ranking": {
"tie_algorithm": {
"key": "competition_ranking",
"display_name": "Competition ranking"
}
},
"examples": [
"Solving Word Search Max in 1:30 (90 seconds) earns a normalized score of 1.0.",
"Solving in 2:30 (150 seconds) earns 0.9 \u2014 very fast for a 15\u00d715 grid.",
"Solving in 9:11 (551 seconds) earns 0.6 \u2014 a typical solve time.",
"Solving in 12:00 (720 seconds) earns 0.5 \u2014 slower but still above floor.",
"Solving in 18:00 (1080 seconds) earns the 0.2 solved floor."
],
"rule_text": "Faster solve times produce better normalized scores. Scoring uses a step-function bracket table: 2 minutes or less earns 1.0, up to 3 minutes earns 0.9, up to 5 minutes earns 0.8, up to 8 minutes earns 0.7, up to 10 minutes earns 0.6, up to 15 minutes earns 0.5. Any solved time slower than 15 minutes earns the minimum solved score of 0.2. Word Search Max has no failure state \u2014 you keep searching until every word is found \u2014 so every shared entry is solved.",
"edge_cases": [
"Word Search Max has no failure state, so there are no unsolved entries; the 0.0 score is unreachable in practice.",
"Solved entries never score below 0.2, regardless of how slow the time is.",
"Times at exactly a bracket threshold (e.g., exactly 120s, 180s) receive that bracket's score (inclusive).",
"words_found and words_total are recorded for display only and never affect the score.",
"There is no tiebreaker \u2014 players who tie on time share the same rank."
],
"measurement": {
"metric_key": "time_seconds",
"metric_label": "Time to solve",
"scoring_type": "time_based"
},
"human_review": {
"checklist": [
"Verify rule_text reflects the time-based scoring behavior and the correct bracket thresholds without ambiguity.",
"Verify examples are readable and match expected outcomes across the bracket range.",
"Verify edge_cases make clear there is no failure state and no tiebreaker."
],
"machine_verifiable_scope": [
"measurement.scoring_type",
"absolute_scoring.method",
"absolute_scoring.solved_floor",
"absolute_scoring.unsolved_score",
"absolute_scoring.brackets",
"ranking.tie_algorithm.key"
]
},
"party_ranking": {
"normalization_summary": "Within a party, players are ranked on Word Search Max by faster completion times first. There is no secondary tiebreaker and no failure state \u2014 every shared entry is solved. Each player earns one point for every party member they beat, plus one."
},
"schema_version": 1,
"absolute_scoring": {
"method": "time_based",
"brackets": {
"120": 1,
"180": 0.9,
"300": 0.8,
"480": 0.7,
"600": 0.6,
"900": 0.5
},
"scoring_type": "time_based",
"solved_floor": 0.2,
"unsolved_score": 0
}
}