WORDSMITE

How it works

1. Each boss has a nature. Read its story — the weakness is always in there.
2. Spell any real word from your 12 letters. The game knows what ~1,000 words mean: fire words burn, water words soak, blades cut, medicine heals, walls block.
3. Match the meaning to the weakness for double damage. Miss it and you'll scratch. Some bosses punish the obvious answer.
4. Words the game has no meaning for still land a small plain hit, as long as they're real words.
5. The boss swings back every turn. Its next blow is always shown. Ward words block it.
6. Run ends when your vitality hits zero. Twelve bosses, then the deep ladder begins.

The grimoire

Every element the tome understands, with a few words that carry it. Hundreds more are in there — if a word truly means the thing, it almost certainly counts.