Endgame analysis

When Endgame Mode appears

TileTactician shows Endgame Mode when the total number of unseen tiles—everything not on the board and not in your rack—is 7 or fewer. This threshold does not prove that the physical bag is empty: the unseen tiles may still be in the bag or on the opponent's rack. The app explicitly assumes they are all on the opponent's rack because they fit there, so treat that rack as a heuristic estimate, not a certain inference.

If the bag is independently known to be empty, the remaining tiles are the opponent's rack with certainty. If more than seven unseen tiles remain, the app cannot make that rack estimate and the Endgame panel stays hidden.

What the panel shows

When the threshold is reached, the manual editor renders Endgame Mode with:

• Your rack — your current tiles, including blanks;
• Opp. rack — the assumed opponent tiles for this heuristic, with blanks displayed as ?;
• Endgame Analysis — a button that runs the endgame solver; and
• a progress state while the solver is working, including an option to cancel.

The panel does not start a solve merely because the threshold is reached. Tap Endgame Analysis to calculate the move list.

Reading the results

Results are ordered by the solver's netScore (yourScore − opponentBestScore). The panel lists up to 15 moves. Each row includes:

• the word, with blank assignments rendered in lowercase;
• its starting coordinate and direction;
• net — your score minus the opponent's best reply score; and
• the detail values yourScore − opponentBestScore.

The results header also reports the solver's elapsed time in milliseconds. A positive net score is styled as an advantage; a negative net score is styled as a disadvantage. If the solver finds no valid move for the current rack and board, the panel says so instead of showing an empty ranking.

Tap a move row to apply that endgame placement to the manual board. You can tap Re-analyse after changing the position.

How the rack estimate is derived

The tile tracker starts with the standard 100-tile distribution and subtracts tiles seen on the board and in your rack. Once seven or fewer tiles remain in the unseen total, the implementation assumes all of them are the opponent's rack for the heuristic. If the total is zero, the estimated opponent rack is empty.

This assumption is certain only when the bag is known to be empty. Otherwise, the remaining tiles could still be in the bag, even though they fit on a rack. This heuristic is separate from a full-game score projection: the panel reports candidate moves, their best replies, net scores, and elapsed solve time rather than a win-probability forecast.

For the probability that individual letters remain available before this threshold, see Tile bag & tracking.