How to Win at Scrabble - Basic Scrabble Strategy

I have mentioned in other hubs that my family loves playing Scrabble and that we particularly love Facebook Scrabble because we can play whenever we want, giving it as much or as little attention as we have time for. If my daughter can't play for a few weeks because she is very busy at work, all of our games in progress will be waiting for her when she does have spare time again. If there is no one in my family available to play, I can join public games and play with strangers. I love Facebook Scrabble.

If you are not familiar with Facebook Scrabble, you might like to read How to Enjoy Facebook Scrabble.


I win most of the games we play within our family. I am NOT a great Scrabble player; any serious player will defeat me easily. However, I have learned a few things about playing better Scrabble and I am happy to pass them on here to help you have a more enjoyable game.

Vocabulary

Yes, vocabulary is important. But knowing twenty-five dollar words isn't as important as you might think. The really important words are the two and three letter words, because you can score far more when your longer word is also forming short words along its edges. Often knowing those short words lets you take advantage of double and triple opportunities you would otherwise miss.

This is particularly important when using high scoring letters like Q, X, J and Z. If you can play those so that they form words in two directions, you have doubled their value. If you can do that and get them on a double/triple letter tile or word block, you can double or quadruple their value or more.

You need to watch for those opportunities, but you also want to NOT give those same opportunities to your opponent. If you can avoid it, you don't want to make a play that leaves open a place begging for a high scoring letter to get quadded up. If I have a choice between scoring 35 points with one play that creates an opportunity like that and another play that scores 25 but leaves no such opportunity, I will take the lower score. Remember, it isn't your score that matters: it is beating your opponents score.

Q, X, J and Z words

It is definitely worth finding lists of these odd words online and memorizing at least some of them. You should try very hard never to waste these high scoring letters; I am hesitant to play them unless I am at least doubling their value and I would rather wait for a better opportunity unless it is getting late in the game and I fear getting stuck with them.

Blanks and S

I will not use a blank or an S unless it gives me a very good score. If at all possible, I will save both of these in hopes of getting a Bingo (see below).

Bingos

A Bingo is where you use all 7 of your letters in one play. You get an extra 50 points for that, but be sure to look around - that play might not be the best in spite of the extra points. I almost missed a big score once by being anxious to play that Bingo.

Also, don't assume there is only one place on the board to play it. I have missed very high scores by putting down my letters in the first spot I noticed.

Is it worth skipping your turn to possibly play a Bingo you have but can't play now? It can be, but that depends on the board, the skill of your opponent and if course just plain luck. I wouldn't skip very many turns waiting for a place to play it.

My daughters used to ask why I got more Bingos than they did. It's not that my vocabulary is any better; most of my Bingos are common words. I do look hard for Bingos and I may be a little more skilled at seeing them, but I think most of it comes from not wasting blanks and S's and just looking hard.

Another thing that helps is to save common word endings like ING and ION, ED and so on. If I can keep ING by taking a slightly lower score this turn, I will because having those endings increases the chance of a Bingo.

Don't just look at your 7 letters - look at the board. Often a 8 letter word or longer is staring you right in the face.

Another Bingo tip is to just start laying tiles on the board. Sometimes that helps you see Bingos you don't see in your rack. For example, in a recent game I had SOERINE. There's no Bingo to be had, so I gave up and resigned myself to putting ERO after an open H in the middle of the board. Once I put down those three letters, I realized that I could just continue with INES for a nice Bingo.

Using more letters

If I have a choice between using 5 low value letters against 3 that give me a slightly higher score, I will use the greater number and take the lower score. This gives you more chance to get better scoring letters and Bingos on a subsequent turn.

Swapping

New players are adverse to swap their letters and miss a turn. If you have six E's, it could take you four or five turns to get back to decent scoring opportunities. Swap them now and move on.

Swapping can also come into play near the end. If you are stuck with a Q and the board is unlikely to give you a place to play it, you might want to swap before the letters run out and you cannot.

On the other hand, if you have all low scoring letters with 10 letters left in the bag, and a fairly good board to play with, you may want to swap in hopes of getting better valued letters.

Defensive Play

You need to play defensively. I have a hard time drilling that lesson in to new players: if you give me a shot at a triple, I am probably going to take it, even if it isn't my best score. Why? Because I don't want YOU to make a better score there!

I will not give you a shot at anything good unless I get a decent score from my play or just have no other choice. There is no point in my scoring 8 points and opening up a possible triple word play for you. I'm better off playing a lower scoring word. You should always play defensively and be thinking at least one move ahead.

If my play is worth 30 points or more, or if I am 100 points or more ahead, I'll let you have that chance. Otherwise, no.

Avoid stairs

You may have played Scrabble games where the players build stairs diagonally up and down the board. Long before all the letters are gone, nobody can find a place to play.

If stairs start building, it can be worthwhile to make a sacrifice play. That is, play so as to open up the board even though you get a lesser score and obviously give your opponent an opportunity. The rationale for this is that the board will be locked if one of you doesn't do it, so while this may be disadvantageous now, you at least get a chance to play later. If you have high scoring letters in your rack, you absolutely want to do this because you will ultimately gain more by the momentary loss.


Know your odds

If you need an E to make a big score but don't have one, you need to know how many have already been played, how many are available overall and how many letters are left. Let's say there are still 3 E's available and 17 tiles left in the bag. Your opponent has 7 letters in their rack, so all together there is a one in eight chance of a draw being an E. You don't have to be a math whiz or calculate this accurately; just be aware of the likelihood. If it is low, you might not want to take a low score now in hopes of getting that E. If it's a pretty good chance, it could be worth the gamble.

Words and Strategy

I hope this has helped you see that Scrabble is more than just knowing words. If you have other tips you'd like to share, please leave them in the comments.

High Score

In September of 2011, I obtained the highest score I have ever had - 621 points.

This was pure luck and one unfortunate near end of game play by my daughter (QUA allowing me to add YID for a triple in both directions).

I normally score in the 400's or less - rarely reaching 500 territory. This 621 game was an absolute fluke.

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