my @board;
foreach my $row(0..14){
	foreach my $col( 0..14 ){
		$board[$row][$col] = { letter => '.', lett_mod => 1, word_mod => 1};	
	}
}

__DATA__
# will result in (first row)
(
  [
    { lett_mod => 1, letter => ".", word_mod => 1 },
    { lett_mod => 1, letter => ".", word_mod => 1 },
    { lett_mod => 1, letter => ".", word_mod => 1 },
    { lett_mod => 1, letter => ".", word_mod => 1 },
    { lett_mod => 1, letter => ".", word_mod => 1 },
    { lett_mod => 1, letter => ".", word_mod => 1 },
    { lett_mod => 1, letter => ".", word_mod => 1 },
    { lett_mod => 1, letter => ".", word_mod => 1 },
    { lett_mod => 1, letter => ".", word_mod => 1 },
    { lett_mod => 1, letter => ".", word_mod => 1 },
    { lett_mod => 1, letter => ".", word_mod => 1 },
    { lett_mod => 1, letter => ".", word_mod => 1 },
    { lett_mod => 1, letter => ".", word_mod => 1 },
    { lett_mod => 1, letter => ".", word_mod => 1 },
    { lett_mod => 1, letter => ".", word_mod => 1 },
  ],
...