Improve Your Scrabble Score
Ever played Scrabble? Getting a high score can show to other people that you have a good vocabulary. With a few quick steps, it's possible to significantly increase your Scrabble score!
Steps
- Learn the two-letter words. They're the "glue" of Scrabble. Some two-letter words are obvious and worth a lot of points (HE, AX), but there are others, which, when played properly, can add up to a lot of points (JO, XI, XU, QI) especially if you're able to use the high scoring letter in two different words in the same turn. Lists of the two letter words can be found in many places throughout the internet.
- Example: Building off the word LABEL, one could play the word AX under the LA and get double points off the X.
- Know common prefixes and suffixes, such as -ED, -ING, -UN, -RE and so on. If there's a word already on the board with a lot of points, you can leverage these points by adding a suffix or a prefix to the word.
- Use blanks and S's effectively. An S should only be used when it adds at least 8 points to your turn (unless you have two of them). A blank should not be used unless you can get an extra 25 points for using it. Blanks and Ss can be very helpful in playing a bingo, (when you play all seven letters at once).
- Try to arrange your letters for a Bingo. Playing all seven letters in one turn will give you an additional 50 points, which can ultimately win the game for you. Common prefixes and suffixes, the blank and the S will all be very helpful in winning the game. For example, if you have an ED, it is possible you can rearrange the other five letters into a word using the ED suffix.
- Learn the words with a Q in them, but no U, such as QI, QAID, QAT, etc.
- Don't hesitate to swap some tiles if you're in a tough situation. For example, if you have all consonants, it's possible you might only be able to play one letter and there's a good chance the next letter you draw will also be a consonant. Instead of setting yourself up for two low-scoring plays, swap out some lower value letters and increase your chances for one higher scoring play.
- Practice makes perfect. Play often! There are ways to play online if you can't always find an opponent. You will learn new words or even strategies this way.
Tips
- Try to make multiple words by playing across the ends of existing words or along the sides of existing words, forming additional words at right angles to the direction in which you are playing. If you can cover a double or triple word bonus square in a way that makes two different words, you would get the bonus (double or triple word) for both words, not just the word that you have made directly.
- Avoid keeping vowels and duplicate letters. Many players keep too many vowels and get stuck with a rack full of vowels they can't use, or a rack of three or even four of a kind. These racks inhibit your ability to score.
- Observe Scrabble games online and learn from watching the games of high rated players.
- Pick up a copy of the Scrabble dictionary. Browse the Scrabble dictionary and you'll find useful tips and learn that not all words in the English language are valid Scrabble words.
- Try to use all seven letters on your rack for a "bingo" bonus of 50 points.
- There are also full-board search programs. These require that you enter all of the letters on your game board, as well as those on your rack, but they can provide a good way to check after you have played on a difficult board and failed to find a good move, to see if you might have missed something.
- Memorize unusual lists of words, like words that have a Q but no U, or words that have only vowels, or that have no vowels, so that if you draw difficult-to-play letter combinations of that kind, you will not be at a "loss for words."
- Try to place high-valued letters on bonus word/letter board squares. They can significantly boost your score.
- Scrabble.com offers an online dictionary for checking the definitions of words. This dictionary is focused on definitions, and so contains only singular versions of nouns, even though their plural versions are perfectly acceptable as Scrabble words; for example, if you type the word "WORDPLAY," it will be found, but the word "WORDPLAYS" will not be found, even though it is in the official North American Scrabble list, called TWL. By contrast, sites like http://www.lexulous.com/resources/ offer checks against the entire official Scrabble TWL and SOWPODS lists, but they do not offer definitions, and so these sites are best used for resolving word challenges (determining if a word is allowed to be played), while the official Scrabble site is best used for finding definitions.
- Use the squares with high point letters and try to use them in both directions. For example, adding onto the word 'bone' that has the 'e' above a triple letter score, you place 'x' under the 'e' and then add a 'u' after the 'x'. This way the 'x' alone is worth 48 points.
Warnings
- Make sure you get rid of your high point value letters before the game is over. Their value will be deducted from your total at the end of the game. Play the high point value tiles at the right time, but don't hang onto them too long.
Things You'll Need
- Scrabble set
Related Articles
- Make a Word Search
- Solve a Sudoku
- Challenge a Word in Scrabble
