Abstract: The techniques described herein determine a game topic for a phrase game. Players of the phrase game may take turns submitting a phrase to a game board to earn a turn score (e.g., points or other form of value) which is added to a total, running game score. A submitted phrase played may be determined to be associated with the game topic determined for the phrase game. For instance, the game topic may include a topic phrase list that lists a plurality of phrases individually assigned a value based on an association between a phrase and the game topic. The assigned value provides an adjustment for a player turn score. For instance, the value may comprise bonus points added to regular turn points that result from the player turn score. Or, the value may be a bonus multiplier that multiplies (e.g., doubles, triples, etc.) the regular turn points.