A Few Words With Cheaters

Corey, David and Jessika.

The Palmers
David and Trish Palmer
The happy couple on their wedding day.
"Zynga's mission is to connect the world through games so we try to focus on the social and the fun
more than the win. Of course many players take their games seriously -- they like to keep track of
their win-loss records, their longest words or their highest-scoring words and so on. Sometimes the
temptation to win, to show your friends and family how good you are, just becomes too great but we
consistently recommend that players play fairly."
Courtesy of Patricia Palmer
And of course cheating begets more cheating. From Colleen on April 30, 2013: "my opponent (who
usually goes with words like "bit") just played "taverna"...a stretch for sure. You gave me "flexion"
for over 100! ty tyty"
Some user surveys say that 83 percent of players feel more connected to their friends and family
because of the game -- a good thing, and certainly something that describes what happened to me.
One out of 10 players have hooked up with someone through the game and 38 percent say that they
would be more willing to "hook up" with someone if he or she was a strong player. So are people
cheating hoping to get laid? What a great start to a relationship: I cheated to woo you and it worked.
Courtesy of Patricia Palmer
I admit that the discovery of cheat sites has left me disheartened. This is what humanity has
devolved into? This is the best we can do? Playing games with friends is no longer fun enough unless
we are always victorious? Ugh, I say, a word that should score me some points (U=2; G=3; H=3).
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I Do
Courtesy of Patricia Palmer
Courtesy of Patricia Palmer
Courtesy of Patricia Palmer
About two months ago, I discovered the popular Words With Friends app. Yes, this probably makes
me the last person on the planet to do so, but I quickly made up for my delayed discovery by playing
the game constantly in those small time gaps of my day. It became my go-to time-filler app while

waiting in the supermarket line, soccer practices, doctors' offices and, yes, even while I'm waiting
for the beets to roast in the oven. Beets roast slowly and my family has noticed that we've been
eating them a lot lately. It's because of Words With Friends; I can't stop playing and beets buy me 45
minutes of play time.
David and Trisha Palmer
Trisha shared the story behind her dress:
"I actually bought the dress I wore for the wedding at a little boutique in New York. I took my
youngest there on vacation last June. My daughter looked in the window and said, 'I really like that
dress.' It was one of the colors I was considering.
I was sure the store was closed because it was 8 p.m. on a Sunday. There was a woman sitting inside
so I decided, what the heck I'll see if they are open. When my daughter and I went in, there were
actually 2 people inside. They both jumped up to assist us. I explained that I was looking for a
wedding dress and liked the one in the window. In no time it was off the mannequin and in my
possession! Another meant to be, karma kind of thing in our relationship!"
Words With Friends' Couple Wedding Day
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From left to right, Jessika, 19, Corey, 22, their father David, 52, Trish, 41, and her daughters Kailie,
17, and Emily, 12.
The bottom line is that cheating proves just one thing: That you are a cheater. And since holding a
dharna on your doorstep isn't an option, I'm just going to have to trust that this post puts you all on
notice: Play fair or play with someone else.
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Wedding Day Kiss
I turned to Abhinav Agrawal, the general manager of Words With Friends for Zynga, hoping he could
provide some answers. Here's the company's official response:
And then a few days ago I discovered a horrible truth: People cheat when they play Words With
Friends. I'm not talking about spending some time with a dictionary and studying up on your Z
words -- the stuff of serious Scrabble-playing. I'm talking outright dishonest cheating here, taking
credit for victories you don't earn. There are multiple free websites that players use to help them
make words with their letters. You type in your letters and voila! it gives you words -- dozens,
sometimes hundreds of words -- that maximize the player's scoring.
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Courtesy of Patricia Palmer

Kailie, Trish and Emily.

Trish Palmer With Her Daughters

David on the couple's first kiss: "We had a terribly awkward first kiss. I think I missed half of her
mouth and got her nose."
For the record, I don't know if any of the people I have played with cheated. I play with some very
smart people, most of whom have been immersed in the game for awhile now. Just by playing for a
few weeks, I've added to my vocabulary a number of words -- especially two-letter words for Qs and
words that end in J (both 10 point letters). Maybe that's the case among my game mates.
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Courtesy of Patricia Palmer
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I played so much that I justified upgrading to the advertisement-free version of the app. A worthy
investment, I thought, although at $14.99, it's the most expensive app I've ever bought. But it was
cheaper than the online shopping I am prone to do when I'm bored, and playing Words With Friends
has kept me from boredom. In short, I love this game.
Also on Huff/Post50:
On The Beach
Matt Adams (Jessika Palmer's boyfriend), David Garrison (David's best friend), Corey, David, Trish,
Kailie, Emily, and Jessika.
"We were all there sitting on the beach because that's exactly what I wanted," Trish said about their
11/11/11 wedding.
Courtesy of Patricia Palmer
Courtesy of Patricia Palmer

David and Trish Palmer say "I do" on a beach in Hilton Head, South Carolina. One of Trish's coworkers, Mike Hinkes, married the pair.

Courtesy of Patricia Palmer

Not only are there cheaters getting help finding impressive high-scoring words, there are strategies
designed to hide their cheating. BlogMyBrain.com feeds you words that allow you to choose to play
as a middle schooler, high schooler, college grad, English professor or "World Champion." I'm
guessing this is because your lifelong friends won't find it believable that you know what a dharna is,
so the cheat site feeds you words at your own level and your cheating can go undetected.
The Palmer Family
I Do
Best of all, through playing Words With Friends, I've been able to connect and play with a cousin
who I don't see nearly enough; a high school friend who I last saw in 1968; and an old family friend
in Philadelphia who has married, divorced and sent a daughter I've never met off to college since we
last spent this much time together. I also play with journalists I know from my many pit stops along
the career highway and several people I've written about -- a dog rescuer, a real estate agent, a
fellow mom with children adopted from China. I also play with some randomly assigned players,
some of whom are excellent; one beat me by 200 points.
The fun of playing Words With Friends comes from the challenge. The longer I stare at the board
and concentrate, the more words and score possibilities I see. I once got a 102 score off my son -granted he's just 12 -- and strutted around for a day. How does it feel if you beat someone who
doesn't know you had the help of a computer to find your words -- words you don't even know the
meaning of? How does that possibly feel good? Do you high-five yourself in the mirror after? Just you
and your nasty little secret?
"If you believe in fate, karma, or whatever, everybody has a soulmate out there. I just had to play a
random game of Words With Friends to find my soul mate," said Trish Palmer.
According to BlogMyBrain.com, there are more than 3.5 million words played every hour in this
game and 4.8 million games finished each day. How many of them involved cheaters?
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I totally love the game and play it every night for at
least an hour before bed. I've chastised East Coast
players for starting games with me and then going
to sleep before we finish. Rude, I told them. You
should stay awake.
But the cheat sites are obviously flourishing and I can't for the life of me understand why. Not that
cheating in any form is OK, but why cheat in a game like this? There are no prizes, no winning ticket
at the races to cash in. There is no prize for having the highest score and claiming your undeserved
victory.
Like this comment by Dogmom on BlogMyBrain on May 10, 2013: "Great help.......Thank you!!!!! I go

from College to high school and even middle school... Doesn't look like I'm using words that people
know that I don't know...... Thanks again!!!" Her pups must be so proud.
Call me an innocent, call me naive; I simply had no idea. I admit that when two different players
used the word dharna, I began to wonder a bit. I had to look dharna up. It's a fast in India usually
conducted at the door of a debtor. It's a call for justice, and apparently it's a word that can rack up a
big score when properly placed on the Words With Friends board. What it isn't however, is a word
that anyone I know uses. Ever.
I'm not sure what LivelyIvy is referring to exactly here, but he or she posted on May 2, 2013: "That
one put me over her total score. I now have a chance. Thanks!!!!"
David and Trish Palmer say "I do" on a beach in Hilton Head, South Carolina. One of Trish's coworkers, Mike Hinkes, married the pair.
David Palmer With His Kids
I love how the game challenges my brain. Just when I thought I was burning out the last of my brain
cells, into my life comes this game that has sharpened my focus, tests my strategic thinking skills
and, of course, challenges my vocabulary.