Well this could have gone better. Your Lost Desert expedition did not go as planned. Trapped inside one of the ancient pyramids, you were forced to rearrange stone tiles to find a way out of the building as the hot sand was slowly flooding the chamber around, just waiting to bury you alive. After labourous hours of hard work and puzzle solving, you finally make it out alive. Your friends and loved ones, are so enrapt with your tale of adventure, you decide to recreate the same torture that you went through, for them!

Word Pyramid is a triangular treat designed for those with an eye for pattern recognition and those very adept with words. No two games will ever exactly be the same. So pull up a chair (and a water bottle) and get ready for your challenge.

For every 2.50 points you earn in Word Pyramid, you will earn 1 neopoints.

Word Pyramid Basic Instructions

In Word Pyramid the game starts off by showing you a carefully constructed pyramid of triangle shaped tiles, each labeled with a letter of the alphabet. Your job is to click a tile and connect it to another tile until you are able to form a word. Over time new blocks will begin to fall, whether or not you using tiles quickly or slowly. If you combine a word in the middle of the pyramid, or any other part that is dependent on structure, the tiles will collapse inwards to fill the gap in (see “Phases of the Pyramid” below). The tiles you use in order to make the words MUST be touching each other in order to be added to the word. Since it can be confusing what Word Pyramid considers “touching”, I’ve included multiple examples of acceptable patterns located below in the table titled “Letters ‘Touching’ to Make Words.

The word you enter will be spelt on the right hand side of the screen, once complete click the “Go” button. If it is an acceptable word, Amarna (the explorer who was trapped in the pyramid) will rub his hands together and the tiles you selected will disappear and the pyramid will correct itself. If the word is not acceptable, Amarna will wag his finger at you and the tiles will be deselected. Using consonants will earn you more points than vowels and the longer the word the more points you will earn!

Almost have that perfect word, but you’re missing just one vowel? Well don’t worry, you can have that vowel…for a price. At the beginning of the game you can buy each vowel for 10 points each, simply click on the vowel you want and it will be added in the first immediate spot open. (You can start the word with vowel, just make sure you have no other letters selected yet.) Be sure you can spell the word correctly before you purchase the vowel, if you mess up and have to clear, your vowel will disappear and you will have to buy it again. Each time you buy a vowel, the cost will be increased for the next purchase. Every once and awhile you might be lucky enough to discover a “blank” tile. You can click on this tile and then select which vowel you want it to be, once this is done, it cannot be undone so pick wisely.

Just to add to the level of fun, you have to play against the clock! In the top-right corner there will be a clock gradually counting down your remaining time. For every word you complete, you will earn extra time. Shorter words such as “at” will earn you less time than you would for the word”attic”. Once you run out of time, the game ends.

Keep in mind that each word can only be 8 letters each and has to be words recognized by the neopian dictionary; no abbreviations, no proper nouns, and no foreign words!

Phases of the Pyramid

Beginning of the Game	When Tiles Fall	After Clearing a Few Words

Letters “Touching” to Make Words

Below are screen captures of each game (sorry for the off center pictures) along with each word that is spelled out.

“Dead“	“Nod“	“Pay“	“Pin“	“Sad“
“Say“	“Set“	“Shiver“	“Sum“	Buy an e to spell “Eye“

Word Pyramid Controls

In Word Pyramid you use your mouse to select the different tiles in order to make words. You can tell when a tile is selected when it lights up golden. You can deselect a tile by clicking on it again and the golden light will disappear.

Word Pyramid Cheats

• New tiles have to be touching one of the previous letters in the word in order for it to count (see pictures above for examples)
• No words longer than 8 letters
• Words must be in the Neopian Dictionary
• Awards bonus points for spelling certain Neopets words (such as “Negg” or “Pound”). Some words that appear perfectly correct will be rejected (simply because the game was written before they existed!) For instance “Ruki” is not an accepted word. Try to keep a list of words that seem okay, but were rejected.
• You can buy vowels, but they will become more expensive with each buy
• “Blank” tiles will award you a “free” vowel