Gubbins Strategy Guide: Tips, Cheats, and More

Gubbins is a word puzzle game featuring the funky Gubbins, a colorful cast of characters that can help or hinder your puzzles. If you’re looking to make some new high scores, we’ve got some tips for you in our Gubbins strategy guide.

Tip #1: Maximizing Combos for the most Points

When you’re sliding your finger over a potential word in Gubbins, a little counter pops up telling you how many points the word is worth. Longer words are worth more points, so you’ll always want to be as wordy as possible.

On top of that, every time you complete a word, you’ll start a combo multiplier bonus. 2 words in a row gets you a 1.5x multiplier, while 3 gets you a 2.0x multiplier. Your combo resets after you place more letters down, so be sure to get in all your completed words beforehand.

To maximize the combo bonus, complete short words first to get your combo multiplier up to 2.0x, then start completing your longer words. This ensures that your longest words don’t get wasted on the 1.5x multiplier, netting you the most points in the process.

A big part of Gubbins is being able to see potential words out of the mess of letters you get from your draw pile, just like any other mobile word game.

Tip #2: Use your Board Space Efficiently

In addition to making good usage of the combo system, scoring high in Gubbins also requires you to be efficient with your board space, maximizing as much space as you can. Dropping letters all over the board willy-nilly is a fast way to cut off some potential words for yourself, so slow down and take your time.

A system we like to use when playing Gubbins is to start at the very bottom of the board if we have a long word ready to go in the draw pile. After you put the word down, start building your words upward. Since you probably already used all the letters in the draw pile, the words going up are probably shorter, which results in a sort of pyramid design.

Not only does the pyramid design look kind of cool, but it also makes it easier for combo building. Your shortest words are usually at the top of the pile, so you start there and work your way down to get all the points from the 2.0x combo multiplier.

Remember to keep in mind that you can rotate letter sets by dragging them to the bottom of the screen. They only rotate one way, but it might help you fit the letters into your board more efficiently.

Tip #3: Dealing with the Gubbins

There are good and bad Gubbins that are lurking in your draw pile. Whenever you uncover them, you are given two Gubbins to choose from. The good Gubbins make it easier for you to create big words, while the bad ones hinder your progress in some fashion.

Since each Gubbin has its own effects, there are no right or wrong picks when it comes to choosing them. The good ones are usually situational, so pick the one that helps your current situation. For example, the Trumpet Gubbin, which adds ING tiles to a spot of your choosing, can help you if have lots of verbs on the board.

On the flipside, the bad Gubbins are pretty annoying no matter you go with. The bad Gubbins usually hinder you by flooding the board with unusable tiles or letters, and you don’t get to pick where they go. If you draw a bad Gubbin and you’re about to make a great word, it’s best to complete it as soon as you can before it becomes completely unusable.

Tip #4: Unlocking more Gubbins and Features

When you first start Gubbins, you won’t have all the Gubbins unlocked, so early on, you’ll see lots of repeats. Don’t worry though, as the more you play and progress, the more Gubbins unlock. Unfortunately, this also means you’ll unlock more bad Gubbins in the process.

If you want to see the exact conditions for unlocking new stuff, tap on the book icon on the main menu to get to the achievements section. Here you’ll see all the in-game achievements, with each one marked with a present icon. Fulfilling achievements gets you the associated rewards, which are usually new Gubbins and postcard customization options.

Each achievement is also marked with its exact fulfillment conditions, so if you want to unlock more features, be sure to knock out as many achievements as you can.

That’s it for our Gubbins tips and tricks strategy guide. If you’ve got any more helpful hints for getting high scores, let us know your favorite strategies in the comments below!