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.
62
questions
30
votes
1answer
5k 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
6k 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 ...
22
votes
3answers
77k 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
12k 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
5answers
14k 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 ...
20
votes
1answer
2k 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
4k 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
125k 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 (...
15
votes
5answers
13k 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 ...
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?
11
votes
2answers
2k 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.
11
votes
4answers
836 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
33k 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 ...
10
votes
1answer
756 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
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 ...
10
votes
2answers
3k 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
824 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
748 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 ...
9
votes
2answers
906 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 ...
8
votes
3answers
428 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
566 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 ...
7
votes
2answers
10k 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.
7
votes
1answer
4k 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
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
7answers
63k 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
1answer
388 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 ...
7
votes
1answer
144 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.
...
6
votes
6answers
1k 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
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
1k 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
3answers
1k 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 ...
5
votes
1answer
738 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
3answers
367 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
3k 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
519 views
4
votes
3answers
524 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
22k 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
609 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
136 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
424 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
22k 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?
3
votes
2answers
1k 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 ...
3
votes
2answers
337 views
Add to an existing word
If an S is added to the end of an existing word, does the S have to be the first or last letter of the new word or can it be somewhere between?
For example
The words PAR and NIP are on the board ...
3
votes
1answer
474 views
What languages / countries do not have a dedicated Scrabble set?
There are, obviously, different Scrabble sets for other countries with different letters and - I assume - alphabets. I also assume the letter breakdowns (and point values?) differ - letter commonality ...
3
votes
1answer
298 views
Online Scrabble-like game with play-ahead feature?
I just played my turn in Words with Friends, and notice I can make a
killer word on my next turn, unless my opponent plays too close to
that area and blocks my making that word.
Are there any online ...
2
votes
1answer
6k views
Which words count for a double word score? [duplicate]
In Scrabble, if you make a new word and one of your letters adds onto another word making a whole new word, but this letter falls onto a double word score and you want to count it for the higher word ...
2
votes
3answers
909 views
What are good tips for playing the endgame in Scrabble?
Toward the end of the game, you want to get rid of as many tiles as you can so that they don't count against you. Or do you?
Yesterday, with less than 20 tiles to go, I got a few points for extending ...
2
votes
1answer
605 views
How do I replace lost plastic tiles for Scrabble?
Two of the letter tiles from my Hungarian language Scrabble set are lost. These are bright gray plastic tiles with the letters etched and painted on them. Is there a way I can obtain replacement for ...
