We all love a good game of Scrabble and nothing quite gets your brain ticking. But if you consider yourself to be particularly competitive, our tips and tricks could help give you a high chance of winning the game.
Think small
Memorising a strong bank of two or three letter words can easily put you at an advantage over your opponents. In fact, there are more than 100 two letter words that can be played in Scrabble. Take the time to swat up on the more unusual ones. Play Qat and Qi early and you’re onto a winning streak!
Magic letters
The letters A, E, I, L, R, S and T are the most commonly used words in the alphabet. Make these your Scrabble go-tos and you’ll greatly increase your word options. Likewise, get to know the prefixes and suffixes on your rack and you’ll be able to use some of your opponent’s words to your advantage. Look out for word beginnings such as RE, UN and OUT, or endings including ING, ER, ED and EST.
Go low to win high
As unlikely as it sounds, having a good combination of one-point letters could help you take the lead. The letters in the words ‘RETAINS’ are the holy grail, because each of the letters will go with almost every word in the alphabet (except Q and Y) and will give you more chances of playing a bingo for 50 bonus points. The letters B, W and J are less helpful, so use them up quickly.
Go for bonus squares
Where possible play the board’s hot spots as much as you can. Ideally, you’ll be placing high scoring double and triple letters over them, but, if not, using them for lower scoring words will at least stop your opponents doing the same! Be careful not to place words that other players can use to their advantage on their turn.
Be savvy with S
The letter S is one of the best squares you can hold. It allows you to not only pluralise words, but also to make completely new words. There are only four in the game altogether though, so use them wisely. The other star square is the blank tile, which can be played as any letter. Reserve both for high-scoring plays only, the experts recommend eight-point plays or more.
Did you know...
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The highest possible scoring 15-letter word would be OXYPHENBUTAZONE, but it has never been played (and may never be) as it requires a very specific set of word combinations to achieve it.
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OK was added to the Scrabble dictionary in 2020 and many diehard players were not ‘okay’ with the decision as acronyms are not allowed.