Questions tagged [scrabble]
A classic word-game where players try to use their tiles to create long and exotic words to earn the most points.
89
questions
31
votes
1answer
10k views
Is adding a parallel word that only intersects the end letter of an existing word allowed in Scrabble?
I won a game by getting lots of points doing it ;)
but was contested and I could see their point.
Here are two examples:
PLACES
OTHER
or
BRILLIANT
SCORE
I can see from the official ...
30
votes
2answers
7k views
Does Scrabble allow playing words which contain diacritics in their original spelling?
I know the fact that the words which are always capitalized aren't permitted in Scrabble. But there are some French loanwords incorporated into English, which aren't capitalized and aren't proper ...
29
votes
2answers
4k views
Was it ever the case that Scrabble tiles had to be placed contiguously?
I learnt to play Scrabble with my grandma in the 80s, and for years she was the only person I played against (I didn't have a board). She played the rules she was taught when she first learnt the game ...
22
votes
3answers
94k views
Which of these rules for a Scrabble first turn play are official?
I've played scrabble with different groups of people and their rules on first turns vary a lot. The rules I've seen used are:
Double score for first turn (Scrabble rules confirms this and is the ...
21
votes
5answers
15k views
Do great Scrabble players ever turn in their tiles?
Presumably you would trade in tiles if you thought you would get in one turn, after trading, more than what you'll get in the next two turns without trading.
But then, maybe you should make defensive ...
21
votes
6answers
13k views
How is the board game version of Words With Friends different from Scrabble?
I like to play a game called Words With Friends, which is a freenium version of Scrabble. I thought it was however functionally the same. However, I've just seen that Zynga, the creators of the game, ...
20
votes
1answer
3k views
How common are offensive words in tournament Scrabble play?
There are a number of different 'official' Scrabble dictionaries, but at least for this question I'm primarily interested in North American play, and so I'm interested in two word lists particularly: ...
17
votes
7answers
5k views
Dictionary for Scrabble that doesn't contain ridiculous words
In playing Scrabble with friends, where can I find a dictionary that doesn't contain the ridiculous two-letter words that turn the game into a contest to see who has spent the most time reading the ...
17
votes
2answers
161k views
Are tile bonuses counted twice if 2 new words are formed?
An example:
O
O?
There is a triple letter tile to the right of the bottom O, indicated with a ?.
If I place an X on it, making the words OX (vertical) and OX (horizontal), do I score 50 points (...
16
votes
2answers
19k views
Latest Collins Scrabble Words list in text file
Where can I find the latest Collins Scrabble Words list in a text file? Googling this seems surprisingly difficult to find. I can only find some sites where I can check if the word is in the list.
15
votes
5answers
14k views
Are slang words allowed in Scrabble?
In Words with Friends, a Scrabble clone for the iPhone, slang words - such as the following - are permitted:
za, slang for "pizza,"
lez, slang for "lesbian,"
And so on...
Are slang words allowed in ...
13
votes
1answer
4k views
In Scrabble, how to determine the main word if the player has just played one single tile but formed two different words?
Suppose that a Scrabble player has just made his/her turn. He/she played just a single tile but made two different words. One of the newly formed words is horizontal and another one is vertical.
I am ...
13
votes
4answers
516 views
What are the odds in Scrabble of not being able to make a legal move on opening turn
I've been playing the game for 50 years and this happened to me recently:
I had the following rack
PBQZJDH
And so I could not play a legal move.
I've been trying to work out the odds of this (no ...
12
votes
2answers
6k views
Impossible Scrabble Words
Are there any words that are impossible on Scrabble even if the blank tiles are used?
I mean that the words can't be played because there are not enough tiles to play it.
12
votes
2answers
2k views
What's the etymology for the term “Bingo” in Scrabble?
Using all 7 tiles nets a Scrabble player a 50-point bonus and is sometimes referred to as a "Bingo". I'm curious: how did that term come into use and why does it have such meaning?
12
votes
3answers
2k views
Learning new Scrabble words?
I downloaded the zyzzyva program and have been using it to sharpen my anagram solving skills, but it isn't great to learn new words with. I'm probably not using it right, but it seems like there are ...
11
votes
1answer
62k views
double movement in Scrabble
Can you resolve a dispute between myself and my girlfriend? She recently won a game with what I think is a double movement (although there's no mention of this in the rule book).
She put one two ...
11
votes
2answers
1k views
Strategy for two blank Scrabble tiles
I had two blank tiles at the beginning of the game. The other letters were not high scoring letters, but I was able to use all seven, for a total of 59 points. Would it be a better strategy to use the ...
11
votes
4answers
993 views
Would changing the value of Scrabble tiles have a negative effect on the game?
This morning my Facebook friends are up in arms about a proposed re-valuation of Scrabble tiles in line with letter frequency in modern language usage:
Scrabble: Should letter values change?
All of ...
10
votes
1answer
2k views
Scrabble - Parallel Words joined at one letter [duplicate]
Parallel words joined at a single letter forming a second word.
I cannot seem to find a clear answer to this scrabble question.
Say player one plays, "scrabble" as their first word.
Is it ...
10
votes
1answer
813 views
1953 version of Scrabble includes 4 wooden dice - why?
I have acquired a 1953 version of Scrabble. Included with the usual 100 wooden tiles are 4 wooden dice. Each face of the dice has the dots imprinted using one of these 3 colors; red, green or black....
10
votes
2answers
5k views
How are Scrabble Bingo's calculated with regard to word multipliers?
Are bingos added to the basic score of the word and then modified by multipliers or are they added on after the play is scored?
10
votes
2answers
1k views
Origin of scores for letters in Scrabble (in relation to their frequency in a langauge)
In Scrabble, each letter is worth a number of points. Typically, the rarer the letter, the more score it has, see Scrabble letter distribution and score.
Does anyone know how these scores are being ...
9
votes
3answers
939 views
In Scrabble, What is the big deal with playing with etched in tiles?
Some people raise the issue of "brailling" tiles and refuse to play with etched in tiles, such as those that which commonly come with a store bought version of Scrabble. Is this a big deal? Have ...
8
votes
3answers
477 views
For Scrabble, Is there a most common phonies list anywhere?
There are all kinds of lists out there to improve one's Scrabble play. For instance, I have a book called Bob's Bible which helps with all kinds of anagrams and other unique groupings. Google search ...
8
votes
2answers
611 views
Computer Scrabble UI & communication protocol?
I've recently gotten into playing Scrabble and I was wondering, what's the deal with Scrabble programs? I come from the world of computer chess where chess engines are distributed independently from ...
8
votes
1answer
648 views
What is the highest game score theoretically possible in Scrabble using 1 player and the International Scrabble Dictionary?
This is one for simulation and some guesses on the strategy to used e.g. is it best to always get the bonus every turn or do the most combinations even if it doesn't use up all the letters every turn.
...
7
votes
1answer
9k views
Scrabble Triple Word Score Question
In Scrabble, If on the board there is:
PICKLE
If you start at the E tile, go down one tile, then right one tile there is a triple word score.
If you put SO vertically at the end of pickles (So the ...
7
votes
6answers
78k views
Scrabble variation: use double and triple word scores (but not double/triple letter scores) twice?
Is there a popular Scrabble variation that:
lets you play double/triple word scores twice, once vertically and
once horizontally?
does NOT let you play double/triple letter scores twice?
This is ...
7
votes
2answers
4k views
Am I allowed to use archaic words in Quiddler/Scrabble?
While playing Quiddler tonight, I played both words "SIC" and "QUO". Both got challenged and both were in the dictionary that we agreed upon (dictionary.com).
But the question of whether I can use "...
7
votes
1answer
417 views
Which Electronic Scrabble Games / Platforms Offer The Hardest Computer Opponents?
One can do a google search to find which websites and which smart devices have Scrabble applications, but I find that computer players vary widely and are often misclassified. For example, Lexulous ...
6
votes
6answers
2k views
How can I best assess the quality of a game of Scrabble?
As a child, I played Scrabble with my grandmother. At the end of each game, she would tally the total score (i.e. both players' combined), and consider the game a good one if the total was high, a ...
6
votes
3answers
2k views
Minimum score for 7 letters and what beats it
My girlfriend and I got into a discussion about scrabble the other day and we were wondering what the smallest score you could get for a 7 letter word is, presuming the board is empty. The word can be ...
6
votes
6answers
2k views
What is a fair Scrabble handicap
If it's with someone who is ESL with limited vocabulary and never played Scrabble before with you being a native speaker who played Scrabble lots.
6
votes
1answer
2k views
If British and American spellings of a word differ, which one should I prefer when playing Scrabble?
I have looked for some words in Scrabblewordfinder and Collins Dictionary. I found that in every pair like metre–meter, colour–color, defence–defense and so on, both words in each pair are usually ...
5
votes
1answer
1k views
In Scrabble, can a normal play be scoreless?
Scrabble rules say thay after at least six consecutive scoreless turns the game ends.
Under North American tournament rules, the game ends when... at
least six successive scoreless turns have ...
5
votes
1answer
359 views
Scoring first word with all 7 letters
What scoring conditions apply if all 7 letters are used for the first word in Scrabble? Does the player get double points for the word AND 50 points for using all their tiles?
5
votes
3answers
409 views
Is there a normalized scoring format for Scrabble?
While mostly skill, Scrabble does of course have that chance element. You could lose to an inferior play or beat a more skilled player based upon tile distribution in the game. Is there any system ...
5
votes
1answer
4k views
Is there an official Spanish Scrabble Dictionary?
Last time I checked, there were some issues of contention with how the Spanish alphabet should be represented such as c+h vs ch, l vs ll, r vs rr and borrow letters such as k and w not used for ...
4
votes
1answer
1k views
4
votes
2answers
151 views
In Scrabble, what happens if a player has to leave the game early?
Earlier today, a group of us were playing Scrabble. One of us had to leave early due to something external. What happens to that player's tiles?
4
votes
1answer
28k views
Can I use plurals in scrabble?
Can plural form of words be used in the scrabble? For example, table, obviously can. But can I extend it to the "tables" for example?
4
votes
3answers
615 views
What does playability of a Scrabble word mean?
While studying Scrabble word lists through Zyzzyva, I came across the term playability order. I understand the term probability order, which lists the most probable tile combinations on a rack of 7 ...
4
votes
2answers
37k views
What is considered a good score in Scrabble?
In Scrabble, what is considered a good score for:
A two player game
A three player game
A four player game
In a two player game with my sister, we once got a 236/249 scoring game.
When we played ...
4
votes
2answers
9k views
Scoring when two triple word squares are covered in one play
The word QUAGMIRE is on the board vertically, with the Q on the top row, second column. The next player creates SQUEEZED horizontally, landing the S on the triple word square in the top row, first ...
4
votes
1answer
150 views
How does this Example Endgame work in Scrabble? Playing Out Scenario
In Wikibook's Scrabble guide, they have a Scrabble/Endgame section.
In the Example Endgame Subsection, they show how a person could play out his letters, knowing through tile-tracking that the ...
4
votes
2answers
557 views
Scrabble - What if any “House Rules” work to even the playing field with more and less experienced players?
Related:What is a fair Scrabble handicap
Scrabble is a great game for competitive type A types and the learning curve is STEEP at first. Great game. Like most games, house rules vary and are fine as ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
Do you score for all smaller words within the long one in the same move in scrabble?
If the word you play in scrabble contains several smaller words, do you score all of them, or just the longest? E.g. TRAIN as TRAIN+RAIN+IN, or just TRAIN? Cannot find it clarified in any rules...
3
votes
1answer
216 views
Does my Scrabble play have to be all adjacent tiles?
Do all tiles played in one move need to be adjacent to each other? Example - there is a Y on the board, can a player place the letter E on both sides to make the word EYE ?
3
votes
2answers
2k views
How many allowed scrabble words are there in different languages
I just read about Nigel Richards winning the french scrabble championship after learning 370,000 french words by heart. There was also mentioned that the Islandic scrabble society invited him to the ...
