SCRABBLE How-Tos

How To: Answer to Scrabble Challenge #20

It's sad to say, but I will no longer be writing up anymore Scrabble Challenges. Frankly, I just don't have the time to make them now. And though they are incredibly fun and "challenging" to conjure up, I'm not sure that people are finding them as useful as I had hoped. But really, it all comes down to time. So, unless I have a future craving for puzzle-making, last week's Scrabble Challenge #20 was the last one.

Scrabble Challenge #19: Would You Rather Play a Phoney or a Phoney-Looking Word?

Bluffing is one of the key components of poker. You may have a horrible hand, but if you can play it cool and raise the bet, you might just be able to convince your opponents otherwise and induce a few folds. But if you can't handle a little subterfuge, then you shouldn't be playing the game. Even the slightest tell could give you away. You have to maintain a poker face, no matter what.

Scrabble Challenge #18: Can You Win at Scrabble Rack Attack?

As touched upon in the past, knowing all of the possible words you can play is key to being a better Scrabble player. If you don't have the vocabulary, then you can't compete against the best of the best, and you'll never even get the chance to spar against professionals such as Nigel Richards, Joe Edley, Andrew Fisher, and Wayne Kelly.

Scrabble Challenge #17: How Many Words Can You Find in TURKEY?

The big day may be over, but the weekend is still full of Thanksgiving spirit. And so is this week's puzzle. But let's keep it short this time, because we should all be taking this time to play a real game of Scrabble with friends and family. I was thinking of making a puzzle about edible birds in general, but practically every bird is edible, meaning there's a lot of avian-related words. Since the turkey is such a big part of Thanksgiving, let's just stick to that...

How To: Really Connect Your Words with Friends Mobile Account to Facebook

I can't say it's absolutely true, but when it comes to mobile word gaming, there's Scrabble people and then there's Words with Friends people. It feels segregational. Rarely does one play both. At least, that's what I see when it comes to my family and friends.

Scrabble Challenge #16: Finding 6-Letter Words in 7-Letter Words

Being able to spell a seven-letter word on the board is one of the most enjoyable things about playing Scrabble. It's even better when those seven letters are all from your rack, giving you a bingo—those 50 bonus points in addition to your regular score.

Scrabble Challenge #15: What Would Be Your First Move in Words with Friends?

The concept of Scrabble and Words with Friends is the same—play words, score points, win. But the games require different strategy in terms of letter placement, premium squares, tile point values and word choices. Here's the main differences between the two games.

Scrabble Challenge #14: Which Variant Word Wins the Game (And Which Doesn't)?

Nearly every game takes strategy to win, but when it comes to games like Scrabble and Words with Friends, you've also got to have a lexically inclined mind full of wonderful and weird words. Most start out by learning all of the two-letter words in the Scrabble dictionary, then work their way up to three-letter words. But where do you go from there?

Scrabble Challenge #20: What Would You Do with a Rack Full of Vowels?

You're currently playing a heated game of Scrabble or Words with Friends. The game is close, too close for comfort. But you're not sweating because you're confident. You play a huge word that puts you in the lead, but then when your letter tiles are drawn...

Scrabble Challenge #13: Can You Find the Best Halloween Bingo Play, Plus a 765-Point Killer?

Halloween is just a few days away, and since I've been churning out the creepy Bingo of the Days for everyone the past few weeks, it seems fitting to do a puzzle based on them.

Scrabble Challenge #12: Can You Unscramble the Derivative Words?

Last week's challenge brought up a good question (thanks Lisa) regarding the functionality of the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, 4th Edition, both online and in print form. The word TACTICAL was the answer to the first puzzle in that challenge, but when you search for the word directly in the print version, it can't be found. Likewise, when you search the online dictionary on Hasbro's site, you won't find it either. Go ahead, try it. You won't find it looking for TACTICAL specifically.

Scrabble Challenge #11: Would You Pass Up the Opening Move?

In these weekly Scrabble Challenges, so far we've covered two-letter words, double bingos, high scoring moves, triple-triples, last moves, parallel plays, phoneys and opening moves. For this week's puzzle, we're revisiting the strategy for opening moves.

Scrabble Challenge #10: Would You Play a Phoney Word to Win?

A phoney word in a game of Scrabble is basically a non-valid word, either played or considered being played. Why? To fool the other player and go from losing to winning. It's perfectly acceptable in Scrabble play, but only if you don't get caught. If the other player challenges your play, then you'll be forced to remove it and your turn will be skipped. That right there—not fun.

Scrabble Challenge #9: Can You Win the Losing Game on the Last Move?

The end game is a very important aspect of playing Scrabble. If you have just a few letters left on your rack and there are none left in the draw bag, but you're currently losing the game, you still might have a chance to win if you play your cards (er… tiles) right. No matter if you're playing a casual game at home with a friend or competing against diehards in club or tournament games, the scoring process at the end provides the same results.

Scrabble Challenge #8: Is the Highest Scoring Move the Same in Words with Friends?

As much as I love Scrabble, the iPhone and Android versions of the game are just not as much fun or as fast paced as Words with Friends. I play both, but I'm most active on Zynga's version of the mobile word game because it's quicker to make moves, doesn't take as long to update, and gives more immediate competition, due to the fact that it's not as intimidating as Scrabble is to a lot of my friends. It's laid back... which means I have a bunch of games going, and I like that.

Scrabble Challenge #7: Can You Solve This Bingo Parallel Play for 150+ Points?

If you haven't noticed yet, I've started dishing out some "Scrabble Bingo of the Day" articles that showcase interesting and somewhat unusual seven-letter words (or longer) that could give you an extra 50-point bonus on the board, as long as you empty your rack. So, for this week's Scrabble Challenge you'll have to get your brain in gear, because it's a tough one based of high-scoring bingo plays.

How To: Play and Win Bananagrams – Scrabble's Addictive and Fast-Paced Cousin

Let's face it, not every logophile is addicted to Scrabble. Without the use of a timer, Scrabble can be a pretty slow game. Even in clubs and tournaments where the standard time limit is 25 minutes per person for a two-player game. Now, take away time restrictions and add two other players and you've got a game that could take up to 2 hours! It all really depends on who the competition is.

Scrabble Challenge #6: What Would Your Opening Move Be?

Now that you have your two-letter words down and have practiced your skills, it's time to move on to another important part of Scrabble gameplay—the opening move. There's a well known adage that states, “The player going first will win 54% of the time—all other things being equal."

Scrabble Challenge #5: Put Your 2-Letter Word Skills to the Test

Two-letter words are one of the most important parts of playing Scrabble. If you don't know all of the small ones, then you're missing out on one of the easiest ways to score big. Check out How to Score Big with 2-Letter Words in Scrabble and memorize all that you can. Definitions are optional, but you won't need them for this challenge.

How To: Score Big with Simple 2-Letter Words in Scrabble

No matter what word game you're playing, whether it's Scrabble or one of its near-homogeneous counterparts like Lexulous, Wordfeud or Words with Friends, one of the easiest ways to stay on top of your opponent is knowing all of the legal two-letter words you can play. You're not going to win by only playing two-letter words, but there are definitely occasions when the game could slip from your hands by not playing them.

Scrabble Challenge #4: How Fast Are You at Building Words? Find Out…

A recent study in Canada concluded that competitive Scrabble players are twenty percent faster than non-Scrabble players at identifying real words on a Scrabble rack. In light of this news, this week's challenge is actually just a game of Scrabble Sprint from Pogo.com.

Scrabble Challenge #3: Can You Find the Game Killing Triple-Triple?

There are two types of Scrabble players in the world—those who enjoy it and those who love it. I definitely fall into the latter category. Unfortunately, most of my friends don't. I'm lucky to have a few who simply enjoy it from time to time—some are even standing on the edge of Scrabble geekdom, afraid to take that last step. Maybe someday.

Scrabble Challenge #2: Can You Find the Highest Scoring Move?

Get ready to rack your brains, because it's time for another Scrabble Challenge! I may have gone a little overboard on last week's challenge (there was over 25 anagrams to solve), so I'm slimming things down this week. This time, there's only one puzzle.

Scrabble Challenge #1.5: I-35W Bridge Memorial Struck by 'Puzzling' Alphabet Thief?

Last week, I started a weekly feature on Scrabble World called Scrabble Challenge, where you can solve a few (hopefully) challenging word puzzles. Normally, these will be on Fridays, but today I have a potentially unsolvable puzzle for you to try and solve, in addition to the upcoming one...

Scrabble Challenge #1: Double Bingos, Trivia and Common Letter Groupings

To make things a little more fun here on Scrabble World, I've decided to start a weekly feature for word freaks to ponder about it... a challenge. No, I'm not 'challenging' any of your words... I'm challenging your brains. See if you can figure some of these Scrabble puzzles out. You can print this page or hand write the questions out to play at home (or wherever).

How To: Get an Official SCRABBLE Rating to Play in Tournaments

Many new players wonder how one actually gets a rating in SCRABBLE. Now, we're talking about an official rating, not one you would get on SCRABBLE Beta or with the ISC WordBiz player — I mean an "Official SCRABBLE Rating". A rating that allows you to play in the National SCRABBLE Championship (NSC), which is held once every year (sometimes two).

How To: Spell the word CIVIC without a "C" or "V" in Scrabble

This will show you how to arrange the word "CIVIC" using only the letters T, L, I, M, O, K, W, I, and O. What? No C's? Well, that's what makes it a riddle, right? Why do the letters not look like Scrabble tiles? Well, sometimes there's just too many questions, and sooner or later you're just going to have to stop asking them.

How To: Play Scrabble

Everyone loves Scrabble, but not everyone knows how to play the game properly. Yes, there is a set up rules that come with each game, but who actually wants to read them? Isn't it better to learn from a more visual approach? This video will teach you the basics of gameplay.

How To: Master SCRABBLE & Win Every Game

SCRABBLE. To some it's just a game, but to me it's life or death. Well, not really, but it feels that way anyway. On a normal weekend, a game becomes much like Jon Thomas' "friendly game of death Scrabble."

How To: Play the game Scrabble to broaden your vocabulary

What's a good way to learn the English language? Scrabble! What's a fun and irresistible word board game the whole family can enjoy? Scrabble! What's the best way to show off your smarts to your friends? Scrabble!

How To: Play Scrabble fast, when your short-tempered with kids

If you get annoyed playing Scrabble with your kids, because you get frustrated with "the" and "cat" and "ice", then learn how to play it fast, so you can get it over with, so you don't regret slamming the board on the ground in defeat, crying like a baby, while you're kids stare at you and laugh. Avoid it. Watch this, and sleep well at night.

How To: Play the cool word game Bananagrams

Bananagrams. Why would a wod game be called Bananagrams? Well, maybe because all of the game tiles are held inside a banana (no, not a real one). This gives you a brief description of how to play the Scrabble-style word game. Fun, high-speed, and competitive.

How To: Scrabble

You're either part of a Scrabble family, or you're not. If you're looking to transform your family, then before you can play Scrabble, you need to know all about it, the history and everything. Just don't be stuck being the Scrabble jackass.

How To: Play the word "oxyphenbutazone" in Scrabble Blitz

Watch and learn how to play "oxyphenbutazone" in Scrabble Blitz. Now, some might call you a cheater for this, but who cares what they think? Maybe you are cheating. Just don't try this is any tournament play, and you'll be fine. Unless Scrabulous or whoever kicks you off, which they might do, so beware!

How To: Play the classic word board game Scrabble

Yes, this is how to play play the classic word board game Scrabble. If you hate reading instructions and like videos tutorials, this is for you, but somehow I don't think you hate reading instructions, because they're words, and words are your friend.

How To: Play Scrabble

Andy Strohl is going to show you how to play Scrabble in this series. Besides showing you the basics, he gives you some tips and strategies on winning and using key tiles.