Win at Scrabble: 7 Strategies for Intermediate and Advanced Players
Want to win at Scrabble every time? Here are some of the best tips for intermediate and advanced players to help you level up your game. Let’s begin with the opening move.
The Opening Move: Avoid Common Letters
The first player gets the added bonus of using the center star, a double word score. But what to place there? Well, it’s not as straightforward as you might think. It’s tempting to use a common letter, right? But here’s the catch.
If you place letters like S, D, R, or T on the middle square, you’re giving your opponents a golden ticket. This simple move can make it easy for them to reach the triple word scores at the edges.
“That’s a potential score bonanza you’re handing over, so think carefully before you make that first move.”
Opt for a less common letter, one that will make it more challenging for your opponents to leverage. So remember, avoid using S, D, or R on the center square.
How to Maximize Your Score
Now let’s talk about maximizing your score. There are several tips you can follow to boost your game and improve your score.
Letter Turnover
Firstly, let’s look at the concept of turnover. The more letters you use, the less your opponents will have at their disposal. With only 100 letter tiles in each bag, using more letters is a key strategy to limit your opponent’s options and rack up points.
Playing Short Words
Now, don’t discount the power of short words. Memorize as many two and three-letter words as you can. Words with difficult letters like J, X, Q, Z, and K, when expertly placed on a double or triple letter bonus, can net you over 20 points.
Little words like QI, JO, XU, AX, and ZA are often overlooked gems.
Planning Ahead
Planning ahead is another crucial strategy. Look for jumping-off points where you can hit hotspots or the bonus squares. The game of Scrabble isn’t just about the present move but also about setting up your future moves.
Hooks
The concept of hooks is also a crucial one. This Scrabble lingo refers to one-letter additions that create whole new words. For example, LUSH becomes BLUSH or COME becomes COMET. Look for opportunities to create new words from existing ones. Seek out prefixes or suffixes.
Set aside any common word beginnings or endings to tack onto future plays. A few examples include ISH, ED, ING, ER, A, N, T, I, U, N, IN, R, E, and CO. These can be a great way to add on to existing words and maximize your score.
Dealing with the ‘Q’
Lastly, don’t dread the Q. Drawing the Q can feel like a curse, but it’s actually a blessing. Those ten points go a long way. Make do without a U by forming one of these approved words or their plurals: QI, QAT, QADI, or QAID.
So remember to use these strategies to maximize your score. Use more letters, memorize short words, plan ahead, look for hooks, and don’t forget those Q-U-less words.
Bigger Strategic Pieces
Finally, let’s talk about the bigger strategic pieces. The more opportunities you create, the higher your chances of racking up those all-important points.
Holding on to Important Letters
Hanging on to important letters, especially if you’re just one tile away from a BINGO, could pay off big time.
Parallel Words
Playing parallel words allows you to piggyback off others on the board, doubling your payoff, especially when you’re stuck with a rack full of vowels.
Challenging Words
Challenging another player’s word can be risky, but if you’re confident in your dictionary knowledge, it could net you a big payoff.
No Vowel Words
And lastly, memorize no vowel words. Drawing all consonants isn’t the end of the world if you have these words up your sleeve.
Remember, controlling the board, hanging onto important letters, playing parallels, challenging wisely, and knowing no vowel words can make all the difference in the endgame.
And that’s it for today’s Scrabble mastery tips! If you enjoyed this and want to continue improving your Scrabble game, make sure to jump over to our YouTube, where we share daily Scrabbletips and practice.
