KNOW YOUR 2 LETTER WORDS
There are a 120 2 letter words. If you are willing to learn anything specifically for playing Scrabble then these are the most important words to learn. They are useful to create parallel plays or for squeezing in a good play on a blocked board.
In fact you won't need to learn all of them, as 27 are everyday words like IT, IN etc., which leaves 93. Then there are interjections, contracted forms, tonic sol-fa and letter sounds which you will know but might not think are acceptable plays in Scrabble. These include:
AD, AH, AR, AW, BI, ED, EF, EH, EL, EM, EN, ER, ES, EX, FA, HA, HM, HO, LA, LO, MA, MI, MM, MO, OH, OO, OP, OW, PA, PO, RE, SH, ST, TA, TI, UG, UH, UM, UN, UR, YO.
That's another 41, only 52 to go now! You might even know some of these, for example OM (an intoned Hindu sacred symbol) or PI (mathematical symbol) but you'll probably just have to learn the rest. When you play with them regularly they will soon become second nature. They are:
AA, AB, AE, AG, AI, AL, AX, AY, BA, BO, CH, DA, DE, DI, EA, EE, ET FY, GI, GU, ID, IO, JO, KA, KO, KY, LI, MU, NA, NE, NU, NY, OB, OD, OE, OI, OM, OS, OU, OY, PE, PH, PI, QI, SI, TE, UT, WO, XI, XU, YA, YU, ZO.
DON'T ALWAYS GO FOR THE HIGHEST SCORE
A good starting point to decide where to play, is to ask yourself; what is the highest score I can get? However, it's not the only consideration. You need to think whether you are getting value for the tiles you play and consider what letters you are leaving on your rack.
The best tile is a blank. It vastly increases your chance of getting a 7 letter word and collecting a 50 point bonus. As a rule of thumb a blank should be held unless it increases your best play by upwards of 25 points. Think about setting target scores for the other letters such as S, J, Q, X, and Z.
Try to keep a balanced rack i.e. a rack that has similar number of vowels and consonants. Try to play duplicate letters (if you have 3 N's you may take a few points less in score in order to be able to play one of them.) Try to keep the letters from the word RETAINS on your rack as these are the letters most conducive to making 7 letter words and getting those elusive 50 point bonuses.
TRIPLE WORD SCORES
Triple word squares are crucial. So don't make them easily available to your opponent.
However don't be so concerned about these squares that you ignore good plays that open up the triples. Try to weigh up how many you score against what your opponent is likely to get. A play which covers the double letter square which is to be found 4 or 5 spaces from each triple will considerably depress the scores available on a triple and make the likely score from your opponent much lower.
HOOKS - LATERAL THINKING
Always look at the board to see whether there are any opportunities to ''hook'' onto existing plays. A ''hook'' is a letter that can be placed on the front or rear of a word to make a new word. There are ''front hooks'' like P onto LATE to make PLATE or ''rear hooks'' like R onto LATE to make LATER. Some everyday ones which may not immediately come to mind are U onto PEND to make UPEND or Y onto GRAVEL to make GRAVELY. There are 100's more.
Some unusual ones include K on the end of NAB to make NABK (a prickly shrub) and E on the front of TEN to make ETEN (an archaic word for a giant). Also, it follows that it's useful to know which words do not take any 'hooks'. Most words will take at least an S, but examples of common words that don't have any hooks include FRY and SUCH, these sorts of words can be used to block in a tight, defensive game.
FISHING
Generally it's a bad idea to play 1 or 2 letters in the hope of picking up a specific letter to make a great play. The most common letter in Scrabble is E; there are 12 E's in the set out of a total of 100. This means on average that you only have a 1 in 8 chance of picking an E and that the chances of picking any other specific letters are lower.
Near the end of the game, however, fishing becomes more viable. Obviously you won't know precisely what letters your opponent holds. But you can see what letters have been played and take an educated guess at what's left in the bag.
CHANGING
The occasional player never changes letters, arguing that it is a waste of a turn. However if you are continually scoring 10 points or lower because you have poor tiles then a change would probably be the best option.
There may be various reasons for a change:
You rack is not balanced. You have too many vowels or consonants and cannot score well because of this.
You are in danger of getting stuck with the Q at the end of the game.
The scores are close, the board is blocked and there are many useful letters left in the bag, which may, if you get them, win you the game.
ANAGRAMMING
One of the real skills in Scrabble is spotting the 7 letter word from an unlikely looking rack of letters. It's difficult to do this when you are shuffling all 7 letters so try to see whether you have any common suffixes or prefixes. If you have UN, IN, RE etc. move these the left of the rack and then shuffle the remaining five letters. Likewise, if you have -S, -ED, -ER, or -ING move these to the right and play with the other tiles. You'll find it easier to find possible 7 letter words this way.
Some other good prefixes are OUT, OVER, FORE, UNDER. Other useful suffixes include -AGE, -EST, -FUL, -IEST, -URE, -ABLE.
WINNING FROM BEHIND
In a game, don't get dispirited when you fall behind. It's possible to recover large deficits if you remain cool, keep the board reasonably open and don't try to recover all of the points in just one move.
Look at the state of the game; perhaps there is only one S left and you have it on your rack. In this case you can play a word close to a triple word spot and then pluralise it and take the spot on the next move without worrying that your opponent can play there.
AT THE END OF THE GAME TRY TO PLAY OUT FIRST
In a game where the scores are close, it is often vital to play out first, catching your opponent with tiles on his rack and thus garnering extra points. To achieve this you need to plan ahead when there are just a few tiles in the bag, thinking out how you can finish before your opponent.
Towards the end of the game make sure you know how many tiles are left. More often than not, particularly when you are ahead, it is a good idea to leave at least one tile in the bag. This means that: -
If you cannot go out in 1 move but can complete in 2, you will have 2 moves to your opponent's 1, giving you a much better chance of completing the game first. If your opponent plays a bonus word on his/her next play and takes the last tile you at least have 1 go to get rid of as many tiles as possible rather than giving your opponent the value of the 7 tiles on your rack as well as their bonus score.
TILE TRACKING
Try to keep a mental track of which of the most useful letters (J, Q, X, Z, S and blank) have been played. In tournament Scrabble, it is permissible to write down the letters as they are played. It is then possible in a tight endgame to work out what your opponent has on his/her rack and to make your play taking this into account, perhaps blocking an opportunity for them or setting yourself up with a scoring place which you know they cannot block.
If you do track tiles during the game it will help you make decisions about which tiles to play and which to keep. For example, you can play CLEAN or CLEAR for the same score, so you consult your tracking sheet and discover there are 3 R's left to come and only 1N. Therefore, you are more likely to pick up another R than an N and the better move is to play CLEAR, lessening the chances of creating duplicate letters and unbalancing your rack.
TILE TURNOVER
The more tiles that pass through your hands the more chance you have of getting one of those really useful ones -S, blank, J, Q, X, Z. You will need to evaluate your rack; sometimes a particularly good combination of five or six letters is worth keeping, but generally, where you can, try to play four or more tiles on each move.
Evaluating your rack is a real skill that you pick up if you play regularly. Try to judge which consonants fit together. An obvious example might be to retain C and H, or S, H and R. Another example - N, L, and R are all good letters but if all are kept they need a hard consonant like a D, T or G to make them more usable.
THE Q
The Q is the most difficult letter to play. 2 tips for dealing with it are:
The word QI (Chinese life force) will come in useful in many games. Other unusual useful words include QAT (a tea-like drug) and QADI (Muslim magistrate). If you cannot play the Q consider changing it, particularly at the end of the game when opportunities tend to be more restricted.
When they draw a U some players put it aside in case they then draw the Q at a later stage. This is a bad idea. Firstly you only have a 50-50 chance of drawing the Q anyway, secondly if you're trying to score with 6 letters rather than 7 you are greatly lessening your chances of getting good scores each move.
PREMIUM SQUARES
The double letter, triple letter, double word and triple word squares are referred to as the premium squares. Concentrate on using these squares to maximise your scores. With the letter premium squares a good tip is to find the highest scoring letter on your rack and try to land it on a double or triple letter square. Utilising the 2 letter words you can often play that high scoring letter in 2 words simultaneously scoring 4 times its worth on a double or 6 times on a triple.
Also try to combine the double and triple letter squares with the double and triple word squares in one move; this is where the really high non-bonus scores are made. If you can put the Q on a triple letter square, for example, and then play a 5 letter word down to a double word, you are looking at a 60 points + play. You can get the same sort of score by combining a high scoring letter on a double letter square at the edges of the board and playing a 4/5 letter word stretching onto a triple word.
CONSIDERING THE OPPONENT
If you have a regular opponent, try to work out his/her strengths and weaknesses. If they like a nice open board where they can make clever plays then try to keep the board tight. Conversely if your opponent likes a tight, defensive board then open the game up. Generally, if you are playing someone who has a superior word knowledge to you then try to keep the board confined and they will have less chance of utilising that knowledge.
When you're making a move consider how it might help your opponent. For instance: you have a choice of playing DEBUT or using the same letters as TUBED. If you play DEBUT, your opponent might have an S whereas TUBED cannot be extended and where the scores are close this may be the better move.
J, Q, X, Z
These are the highest scoring letters in the bag but they are not the only way of scoring. Don't waste them but try to play them as soon as you can. These letters have a high value because they are awkward; having them on your rack will cut down the variety of plays you make.
The X is the most flexible of the 4; you should aim to score around 30 with the X other than at the very end of the game where opportunities will be scarcer. Remember there are five 2 letter words containing the X - AX, EX, OX, XI and XU.
If you are looking to learn a few useful unusual words, the J, Q, X, Z words are good ones to concentrate on. A good way to remember them is in pairs e.g. OJIME (a carved bead used as a clasp) and OXIME (chemical compound) or TOAZE (alternative for tease) and TOUZE (to haul).
Did you know you have something in common with Mel Gibson, Sting, Keanu Reeves, Joan Collins And Queen Elizabeth II ?
You all play a game that's sold in 121 countries round the world.
Now in its 49th year, over 100 million sets of the game have been sold in 29 different languages making it easily the world's best selling word game.
No prizes for guessing we're talking about Scrabble. After all, this is the Scrabble Website!
To long-term devotees of the game and new fans alike, a very warm welcome.
We're going to be telling you about Scrabble's incredible history - a case of truth being stranger than fiction.
In 1931, Poughkeepsie in New York State was in a similar predicament to the rest of the USA ....deep in the depths of the depression.
There was no job security. Living on your wits was the order of the day.
And so it was that when the local architect, Alfred Mosher Butts, lost his job he decided to explore his passion for games and words.
Mild-mannered, bespectacled Butts disliked dice games. They were all down to luck. On the other hand, he felt that all-skill games, like chess, were too highbrow for the general public.
So he set out to devise a game that was half luck, half skill. And by the end of 1931 he had developed the initial idea for the game, which he called Lexico.
Lexico was played without a board and players scored on the basis of the lengths of the words formed. There were additional scores for words employing 'minor honours' (B, F, H, M, P, V, W, Y) and a higher additional score for major honours (J, K, Q, X, Z).
Butts calculated the letter frequency and value of each letter of the alphabet by meticulously combing the front page of the New York Times.
He reasoned that too many S's made the game too easy. So he reduced them to 4.
In 1933, Butts' application for a patent for Lexico was turned down.
Similarly, when he submitted the game to two games manufacturers, Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley, all he received were polite refusals.
Undeterred, over the next 5 years Butts made nearly 200 games himself which he gave or sold to friends. But that was as far as Lexico went. It wasn't a commercial success.
1938 saw Butts make a big breakthrough in developing the game.
The popularity of crosswords gave Butts the idea of combining the letters with a playing board, on which words could be joined in the manner of a crossword.
Lexico became New Anagrams, Alph, Criss-Cross then Criss-Crosswords.
The boards for the first Criss-Crosswords games were drawn with his architectural drafting equipment, reproduced by blue printing and pasted on folding chessboards.
The tiles were similarly hand lettered, then glued to quarter inch plywood and cut to match the squares on the board.
Through the years that followed, the game changed in its development. For example, at one time the opening word was placed near the upper left-hand corner of the board.
However, several of Butts original features have remained. The 15 by 15 square board and the 7-tile rack were original features. Also the distribution and the values of the letters remain unchanged from 1938 to this day.
But Criss-Crosswords met the same flat refusals as Lexico. The patent board turned him down again. And so did more games manufacturers. A decision they were collectively going to regret !
Butts thought briefly about becoming a manufacturer. But he cheerily acknowledged that he was no entrepreneur and returned to being an architect. And with the intervention of the Second World War, Butts didn't consider further development until 1948.
Then came the big breakthrough in the shape of James Brunot, an owner of one of the first Criss-Crosswords games.
The Brunots were intrigued by the game and believed it should be marketed. What's more, James Brunot had the time and inclination to make a commercial venture of it.
They shook hands on a deal. In return for allowing Brunot to manufacture the game, Butts would receive a royalty on every game sold.
The Brunots decided that the game needed a few finishing touches.
They rearranged the premium squares and simplified the rules, which were overly long and reconsidered the name of the game. Then they lodged a Copyright application, which was granted on 1 December, 1948.
Soon after, came the all important name change ! After much searching, they decided upon the name Scrabble for the game and managed to register the trademark on 16 December, 1948.
The modern game of Scrabble was born at last !
The Brunots initially set up shop in the living room of their home in Newtown, Connecticut.
Brunot bought the parts of his finished product from various manufacturers and assembled them there with the help of his wife. At first, they turned out just 18 games a day, painstakingly stamping letters on wooden tiles one at a time.
During 1949, their first year of production, they assembled and sold 2251 games in this way, losing $450 in the process. They continued to struggle in the years that followed.
By 1952, they were still losing money and ready to abandon the project. Brunot took a holiday to think things over.
He returned to find that word-of-mouth recommendation had brought in a deluge of orders. It was time to move to bigger premises, so they found an abandoned schoolhouse near their home in Connecticut and moved in.
In the fourth quarter, sales reached 37,000 units.
1952 was also the year that Jack Strauss, the Chairman of Macy's, New York, the biggest department store in the world, played Scrabble whilst on holiday.
He enjoyed playing it so much that on his return to New York, he asked the Games Department to send him up a few sets. The precise exchange can only be guessed at. But the Games Department had to own up to not stocking Scrabble. They very soon did!
What's more, Macy's supported a promotional campaign with the result that the game quickly captured the imagination of thousands.
By 1953, although by now making 6,000 sets a week, it became clear to Brunot that he couldn't match the demand for Scrabble. So he licensed the manufacture to Selchow and Righter, a leading American games manufacturer, who had previously rejected it.
For three years, orders had to be rationed. Demand just went up and up.
Meanwhile, the Scrabble craze spread to Australia in 1953. In the same year, it was launched in the UK by J.W. Spear & Sons, where the game was an instant success.
Brunot eventually sold off the rights to Scrabble in 1968 and Spear's acquired the rights to the world, outside of the USA, Canada and Australia. (However, they managed to pick up the Australian rights at a later date.) The rights to the game remain split in this way to this day.
In 1986, Selchow and Righter sold out to Coleco who promptly went bankrupt in 1987. So it was that 53 years after turning the game down, the rights for Scrabble in the USA and Canada were purchased by Milton Bradley.
1991 saw the first world championship take place in London. The second was held in New York City in 1993.
Regrettably, James Brunot died in October 1984. So he didn't live to see the first championship. But Alfred Butts did. He lived to be 93, passing away in April 1993.
He took pleasure in playing his game with family and friends to the end of his life. And this modest, unassuming man lived to see his brainchild become a worldwide phenomenon.
In 1994, J.W. Spear and Sons were acquired by Mattel Inc., the largest toy and game company in the world.
You can't win if you don't know the rules. Choose from the list below to get started.
There are three areas of rules and regulations that you need to be familiar with: Setup, Game Play, and How to Score with Scoring Examples to illustrate. We start with the Set Up instructions below. Follow the links at the bottom of the page or click on the link below to view the rest of the rules.
Setup
You should have a game board, 100 letter tiles, a letter bag, and four racks.
Before the game begins, all players should agree upon the dictionary that they will use, in case of a challenge. All words labeled as a part of speech (including those listed of foreign origin, and as archaic, obsolete, colloquial, slang, etc.) are permitted with the exception of the following: words always capitalized, abbreviations, prefixes and suffixes standing alone, words requiring a hyphen or an apostrophe.
Place all letters in the pouch, or facedown beside the board, and mix them up. Draw for first play. The player with the letter closest to "A" plays first. A blank tile beats any letter. Return the letters to the pool and remix. All players draw seven new letters and each place them on their racks.
Game Play
The first player combines two or more of his or her letters to form a word and places it on the board to read either across or down with one letter on the center square. Diagonal words are not allowed.
Complete your turn by counting and announcing your score for that turn. Then draw as many new letters as you played; always keep seven letters on your rack, as long as there are enough tiles left in the bag.
Play passes to the left. The second player, and then each in turn, adds one or more letters to those already played to form new words. All letters played on a turn must be placed in one row across or down the board, to form at least one complete word. If, at the same time, they touch others letters in adjacent rows, those must also form complete words, crossword fashion, with all such letters. The player gets full credit for all words formed or modified on his or her turn.
New words may be formed by:
Adding one or more letters to a word or letters already on the board.
Placing a word at right angles to a word already on the board. The new word must use one of the letters already on the board or must add a letter to it. (See Turns 2, 3 and 4 in the Scoring Examples section.)
Placing a complete word parallel to a word already played so that adjacent letters also form complete words. (See Turn 5 in the Scoring Examples section.)
No tile may be shifted or replaced after it has been played and scored.
Blanks: The two blank tiles may be used as any letters. When playing a blank, you must state which letter it represents. It remains that letter for the rest of the game.
You may use a turn to exchange all, some, or none of the letters. To do this, place your discarded letter(s) facedown. Draw the same number of letters from the pool, then mix your discarded letter(s) into the pool. This ends your turn.
Any play may be challenged before the next player starts a turn. If the play challenged is unacceptable, the challenged player takes back his or her tiles and loses that turn. If the play challenged is acceptable, the challenger loses his or her next turn. Consult the dictionary for challenges only. All words made in one play are challenged simultaneously. If any word is unacceptable, then the entire play is unacceptable. Only one turn is lost on any challenge.
The game ends when all letters have been drawn and one player uses his or her last letter; or when all possible plays have been made.
Scoring
Use a score pad or piece of paper to keep a tally of each player's score, entering it after each turn. The score value of each letter is indicated by a number at the bottom of the tile. The score value of a blank is zero.
The score for each turn is the sum of the letter values in each word(s) formed or modified on that turn, plus the additional points obtained from placing letters on Premium Squares.
Premium Letter Squares: A light blue square doubles the score of a letter placed on it; a dark blue square triples the letter score.
Premium Word Squares: The score for an entire word is doubled when one of its letters is placed on a pink square: it is tripled when one of its letters is placed on a red square. Include premiums for double or triple letter values, if any, before doubling or tripling the word score.
If a word is formed that covers two premium word squares, the score is doubled and then re-doubled (4 times the letter count), or tripled and then re-tripled (9 times the letter count). NOTE: the center square is a pink square, which doubles the score for the first word.
Letter and word premiums count only on the turn in which they are played. On later turns, letters already played on premium squares count at face value.
When a blank tile is played on a pink or red square, the value of the word is doubled or tripled, even though the blank itself has no score value.
When two or more words are formed in the same play, each is scored. The common letter is counted (with full premium value, if any) for each word. (See Turns 3, 4 and 5 in the Scoring Examples section.)
BINGO! If you play seven tiles on a turn, it's a Bingo. You score a premium of 50 points after totaling your score for the turn.
Unplayed Letters: When the game ends, each player's score is reduced by the sum of his/her unplayed letters. In addition, if a player has used all of his or her letters, the sum of the other players' unplayed letters is added to that player's score.
The player with the highest final score wins the game. In case of a tie, the player with the highest score before adding or deducting unplayed letters wins.
Scoring Examples
In the following, the words added on five successive turns are shown in bold type. The scores shown are the correct scores if the letter R is placed on the center square. In Turn 1, count HORN: in Turn 2, FARM; in Turn 3, PASTE and FARMS; in Turn 4, MOB, NOT and BE; in Turn 5, BIT, PI and AT.
All tournament players make it a high priority to learn these 16 Q-words that don't use a U:
FAQIR - Variation of FAKIR, a Hindu ascetic.
FAQIRS - Plural of FAQIR.
QAID - A variation of CAID, a Muslim leader.
QAIDS - Plural of QAID.
QANAT - A system of underground tunnels and wells in the Middle East.
QANATS - Plural of QANAT.
QAT - Variation of KAT, an evergreen shrub.
QATS - Plural of QAT.
QINDAR - Variation of QINTAR, a monetary unit of Albania.
QINDARS - Plural of QINDAR.
QINDARKA - Albanian currency.
QINDARKAS - The plural of QINDARKA.
QINTAR - See above.
QINTARS - Plural of QINTAR.
QOPH - A letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
QOPHS - Plural of QOPH.
QWERTY - A standard typewriter keyboard.
QWERTYS - The plural of QWERTY, see above.
SHEQEL - An ancient unit of weight and money.
SHEQALIM - The plural of SHEQEL, see above
TRANQ - A variation of TRANK (i.e. tranquilizer).
TRANQS - Plural of TRANQ.
Impress your friends and family with SCRABBLE terminology. Our glossary will have you sounding like a SCRABBLE pro in no time. Just click on a letter to jump to that section of the glossary.
Abbreviations: DLS: Double Letter Score; DWS: Double Word Score; TLS: Triple Letter Score; TWS: Triple Word Score; ?: Blank; PTS.: Points.
top
Alphagram: The alphabetic arrangement of a group of letters. Example: BEGNU is the alphagram of the word BEGUN.
top
Anagram: A word that is spelled with the exact same letters as another word. Example: KITCHEN is an anagram of THICKEN, and vice versa. GAPE is an anagram of PAGE.
top
Back Extension: See Extension Play.
top
Back Hook: See Hook.
top
Balancing Your Rack: Making a play that leaves the letters on your rack which will most likely help you to score well next turn. This often means leaving a favorable ratio of vowels and consonants. Also known as Rack Balance.
top
Bingo: Any word played that uses all seven letters of the rack, earning a bonus of 50 points. British players use the term "bonus" instead of bingo.
top
Bingo-Prone Tiles: A group of tiles that are likely to produce a bingo. Often used to describe a player's set of three to six tiles just before drawing his or her replacement tiles. Example: ERS?, AL?, or AERST.
top
Blank: One of the two tiles that have no letter printed on them. The blank is worth zero points, but is widely regarded as the most valuable tile due to its chameleon-like ability of being able to represent any letter. Having one increases the odds of playing a bingo.
top
Blank Bingo: A bingo that includes a blank tile.
top
Blocking: The act of playing a word on the board that stops the opponent from making a potentially large score.
top
Braille: To feel the surface of a tile while your hand is in the bag in order to draw a blank or other specific letter. This is strictly forbidden.
top
"Challenge!": An opponent calls "Challenge!" when s/he thinks a word is not acceptable (i.e., not in the OSPD3). The opponent records the challenged words on a "challenge slip" and a word judge is called to verify the acceptability of all the words formed on a play. If any of the words challenged are unacceptable, the whole play is unacceptable. The player must then remove his or her play from the board and lose that turn. If all the words are acceptable, then the challenger loses his or her turn. Only one turn is lost on any challenge.
top
Challenge Slip: The slip of paper upon which the words being challenged are printed by one of the players (and double-checked by the opponent). These slips are generally preferred to a player's simply pointing to the challenged word on the board. That's because mistakes are much more likely to be made unless the words are recorded.
top
Chess Clock: See Tournament Clock.
top
Closed Board: The opposite of an open board: when there are few or no places on the board to put down either bingos or other high-scoring plays.
top
Coffeehousing: To make small talk, crack knuckles, or do any of a number of things meant to distract or mislead your opponent. This is unethical and strictly forbidden in clubs and tournaments. It is generally considered impolite to talk during a tournament game unless it is pertinent to the score or the play.
top
Contestant Score Card: On this card each player keeps a record of each game's results: opponent's name and signature, who plays first, final score, total number of wins, and his or her own total point spread.
top
Courtesy Rule: If an opponent takes more than a minute to "Hold!" a play, the player may draw new tiles but must keep them separate from the others until the hold is resolved. Often, a third rack is used to hold these new tiles.
top
Credits: A seldom-used but effective method of deciding tournament results. One "credit" system has each player beginning each game with 30 credits. The winner automatically earns 10 credits, plus 1 credit for each 10 points of point spread (rounded off). The loser subtracts 1 credit from his or her original 30 for each 10 points of spread. Arbitrarily, no more than 60 credits nor fewer than 10 credits can be earned. For example, if Player #1 beats Player #2 400-350, Player #1 earns 30 + 10 (for winning) + 5 (for winning by 5 x 10 points) = 45 credits. Player #2 earns 30 - 5 (for losing by 5 x 10 points) = 25 credits. For ties, both players receive 35 credits.
top
Double-Double (DWS-DWS): When a player makes a play with letters that cover two Double Word Score squares, it is known as playing a "Double-Double." The bonus for covering two DWSs on one play is four times the sum of the value of the letters of the Double-Double word. The sum should include the extra values earned from any DLS covered that turn.
top
Dumping: Making a play that scores few points but rids the rack of a poor combination of letters.
top
Endgame: That portion of a SCRABBLE game when there are fewer than seven tiles left to draw from the bag.
top
Exchanging Tiles (or Trading Tiles): Instead of playing a word on the board, the player may use his or her turn to exchange from one to seven tiles for new tiles drawn from the bag. There must be at least seven tiles in the bag in order to exchange. To exchange, place the unwanted tiles facedown in front of you, announce the number of tiles you are exchanging, draw an equal number of tiles from the bag and place them on your rack. Finally, return the unwanted tiles to the bag.
top
Extension Play: The extension of one word by adding two or more letters. Example: With QUEST on the board, adding CON to the front creates the extension CONQUEST. Also called Front Extension or Back Extension.
top
Fishing: To play for only a few points or exchange only one or two tiles, keeping five or six really good tiles, with the hope of making a high-scoring play next turn.
top
Frequency List: See Preprinted Tracking Sheet.
top
Front Extension: See Extension Play.
top
Front Hook: See Hook.
top
"Hold!": An opponent calls "Hold!" when a player plays a word that the opponent considers challenging. Calling "Hold!" signals to the player not to draw new tiles until either the challenge is officially resolved or the hold is cancelled. To cancel a "Hold!" the opponent simply tells the player "I accept the play." Using chess clocks, an opponent may hold as long as s/he desires; with sand timers, a hold may last as long as three minutes. After one minute of holding, the player may draw tiles, but must keep them separate from the others. See Courtesy Rule.
top
Hook Letter (or Hook): A letter that will spell a new word when it is played either at the front or end of a word already on the board. Example: With HARD on the board, the Y is a hook letter, since HARDY is acceptable. "Hook" is also used as a verb. Example: The letter C can "hook" on to HARD, since CHARD is acceptable. Also called Front Hook or Back Hook.
top
Hot Spots: These are either specific squares or areas on the board that have excellent bonus-scoring opportunities. Players will do well to look for these areas before looking for words on their rack. Examples: Triple Letter Score squares or Double Word Score squares adjacent to vowels; a single letter placed between two open Triple Word Score squares; words that take a variety of hook letters (ARE, ON, CARE).
top
Leave: The group of tiles on a player's rack after s/he makes a play and before s/he draws new tiles.
top
Natural: A bingo that does not use a blank tile. Also called a Natural Bingo.
top
Nongo: A bingo that won't play on the board.
top
Neutralizing the Timer: : Stopping the game clock. Neither player's time continues during challenges, rule disputes, or score verifications.
top
Official SCRABBLE® Players Dictionary, 3rd Edition: The Bible for all National SCRABBLE® Association Clubs and Tournaments. The official source for all of the two- to eight-letter words. For words over eight letters, the NSA uses Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition.
top
Open Board: During play, the board is considered "open" when there are many places to play either bingos or other high-scoring words.
top
Overdrawing Tiles: When one player draws more tiles from the bag than is appropriate.
top
Parallel Play: A word played parallel to another word. Example:
M A R
L A T E
With MAR on the board, LATE is a parallel play that simultaneously forms MA, AT, and RE, all of which earn points for the player.
top
Passing: A player may pass his or her turn by not exchanging tiles and not making a play on the board. The player says "Pass!," scores zero, and starts the opponent's timer. It is now the opponent's turn. In club or tournament play, when there are six consecutive scores of zero in a game, the game is over. A player scores zero when s/he either exchanges, passes, or loses a challenge.
top
Phoney: Any unacceptable word. An unacceptable word is one that is not found in The Official SCRABBLE® Players Dictionary, or, if the root word has more than eight letters, it is not found in the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition. However, if a phoney is not challenged, it will stay on the board for the remainder of the game.
top
Point Spread: The algebraic difference between the winner's and loser's score of a game. Example: If Player #1 wins over Player #2 by 400 to 300, Player #1's point spread is + 100; Player #2's is - 100. See Total Spread.
top
Power Tiles: There are ten power tiles. They are the two blanks, the four Ss, and the J, Q, X, and Z.
top
Preprinted Tracking Sheet: : Also called Frequency List or simply Tracking Sheet. This sheet of paper has printed on it either the alphabet or a partial or complete list of the one hundred lettered tiles used in a SCRABBLE game.
top
Rack Balance: See Balancing Your Rack.
top
Rack Management: How a player develops his series of racks toward the goal of putting down a bingo and other high-scoring plays.
top
Rating: For each sanctioned National SCRABBLE Association tournament, a new rating is computed for each of the contestants. The rating represents how well a player is doing in relation to other rated players. The higher the rating, the more skillful the player. Ratings currently range from 200 to 2,100.
top
Rounds: In club or tournament play, one game is one round. Typically, there are five or six rounds (games) per day at most tournaments.
top
Sand Timer: In some tournaments and clubs, where chess clocks are not available, three-minute sand timers are used to time each player's turns.
top
Second Opinion: If a player believes the word judge has made a mistake, s/he may ask for a second person to research the challenge. That second judgment is known as the second opinion. If the second opinion contradicts the original one, a third opinion may be called for.
top
Stems: Certain five- and six-letter combinations of letters are so useful for forming bingos that lists of bingos have been printed that include these stems. Some of the more useful ones are: STARE, STANE, RETINA, SATINE, and SATIRE. By learning these lists and saving these letters, players will learn to play bingos more often.
top
Team (or Partnership) Game: Two or more players may pool their knowledge and play as one team against another.
top
Total (Cumulative) Spread: Over the course of many games the + (plus) or -(minus) spread for each game is added together. At the end of a tournament each player has a total spread for the event.
top
Tournament Clock: Often called a Chess Clock, it is actually two clocks housed in one plastic or wooden case. Sanctioned tournament games are timed using these clocks. Each player has twenty-five minutes to play the entire game. After making a move, the player presses the button on his or her side of the clock, which starts the opponent's time. The clock is used in this fashion until the game is over. Players are penalized 10 points per minute for every minute, or fraction thereof, used over the allotted twenty-five.
top
Tracking (or Tile Tracking): The process of keeping track of the letters played on the board. This can give the astute player an advantage as the game progresses. Careful trackers can deduce an opponent's rack after there are no letters left to draw. By knowing the opponent's rack, the player can often make moves to block the opponent's best plays or set up high-scoring plays that the opponent can't block. Players are allowed to play with their own Preprinted Tracking Sheet alongside their score sheet.
top
Tracking Sheet: See Preprinted Tracking Sheet.
top
Triple-Triple: When a player makes a play with letters that cover two Triple Word Score squares, it is known as playing a "Triple-Triple." The bonus for covering two TWSs on one play is nine times the sum of the value of the letters of the Triple-Triple word. The sum should include the extra values earned from any DLS covered that turn.
top
Turnover: Players are playing for "turnover" when they play as many tiles as they can in order to draw as many new tiles as possible. By playing for turnover, a player maximizes his or her chances for drawing the better tiles.
top
Two-to-Make-Threes: Two-letter words that will take a third letter placed either in front or back to form a three-letter word. Example: AN is a two-to-make-three because BAN, CAN, etc., as well as AND, ANT, and ANY, are words. The three-letter words BAN, CAN, and ANT, and ANY, are also known as two-to-make threes.
Most people agree that a lifelong curiosity about words is one of the greatest gifts you can give to a child. Playing SCRABBLE with children not only fosters a love for words, it also builds other important skills. Figuring out where to place their words builds spatial relations and strategic thinking skills. And playing with other children and adults strengthens social skills. Tallying word scores requires a familiarity with addition and multiplication.
Here are some hints and tips for playing SCRABBLE with children:
Kids as young as four and five can start playing SCRABBLE Junior.
At eight, they're ready for regular SCRABBLE.
Don't spend a lot of time talking about rules and strategy. Jump right in!
Let children use a dictionary. It's a terrific safety net, and a great learning skill.
Play for fun, spelling your names - or a favorite word - with SCRABBLE tiles. Then practice adding up the score.
Explain anagrams. Have children see how many words they can make out of the letters in their names. Then show how the letters in the word TEA can also spell EAT and ETA or how CAROB can become COBRA.
Introduce rules and strategy once children understand the basics.
Results for arisai
AA
aa aas \ n pl. -S rough, cindery lava
AI
ai ais \ n pl. -S a three-toed sloth
AIR
air airest airer \ adv AIRER, AIREST early
AIR
air airs airing aired \ v -ED, -ING, -S to expose to the air (the mixture of gases that surrounds the earth)
AR
ar ars \ n pl. -S the letter R
ARIA
aria arias \ n pl. -S an elaborate melody for a single voice
AS
as \ adv to the same degree
IRIS
iris irising irised \ v -ED, -ING, -ES to give the form of a rainbow to
IRIS
iris irises \ n pl. IRISES or IRIDES a part of the eye
IS
is \ present 3d person sing. of be
RAIA
raia raias \ n pl. -S rayah
RAS
ras rases \ n pl. -ES an Ethiopian prince
RIA
ria rias \ n pl. -S a long, narrow inlet
SARI
sari saris \ n pl. -S an outer garment worn by Hindu women
SI
si sis \ n pl. -S ti
SIR
sir sirs \ n pl. -S a respectful form of address used to a man
SRI
sri sris \ n pl. -S mister; sir -- used as a Hindu title of respect
17 words found.
