Last Call, 1-point wilds, and a 2-point H
A few rule changes today, all aimed at the same thing: fewer moments where the game punishes you for trying. The end-of-game trade is now Last Call, wilds are worth a point, H is worth two, and the daily gates are lower.
Last Call
The trade after turn 19 used to be a gamble. Once you rolled, both letters had to go on the board, even if one of them broke a word you'd worked hard for. Plenty of players skipped it for exactly that reason.
Now it's Last Call. You choose a roll type and roll two letters as before, then place none, one or both of them, on any slots you like. A letter you don't place is simply thrown away, and undo works until you tap Finish. If nothing helps, tap Keep my board and your score stands. A roll can't cost you anything, so always take it. Daily levels end with a Last Call too; the given tiles on those boards still can't be replaced.
Wilds score 1 point
A wild used to score zero inside a valid word. Now it scores 1, whatever letter it plays as. It's still a completion tool rather than a scoring tool: a wild K in TICKET scores 9 where a real K scores 13.
H is worth 2
H has moved up from 1 point to 2, alongside A, D, I, L and O. HOUSE is now worth 9. The letter tables in How to Play and the scoring guide are up to date.
Friendlier daily gates
The daily challenge's gates are lower: level 1 now needs 8 points (was 10) and level 2 needs 12 (was 15), or every word valid, as before. Together with Last Call, far more runs should make it to level 3.
A cleaner dictionary
Since yesterday, the dictionary no longer accepts slurs and strong profanity.