Scrabble Letter Values and Tile Strategy
Every standard Scrabble tile value and how many of each tile there are, plus the strategy ideas that matter most: leaves, bonus squares and bingos.
Scrabble rewards two skills that have little to do with each other: knowing words, and knowing the board. This guide covers the second. It gives the standard English tile values and counts, then the handful of strategy ideas that move scores the most.
Standard letter values
The English-language game has 100 tiles. Common letters are worth little and rare letters are worth a lot:
| Points | Letters | Tiles in the bag |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | blank | 2 |
| 1 | A, E, I, O, U, L, N, S, T, R | A 9, E 12, I 9, O 8, U 4, L 4, N 6, S 4, T 6, R 6 |
| 2 | D, G | D 4, G 3 |
| 3 | B, C, M, P | 2 of each |
| 4 | F, H, V, W, Y | 2 of each |
| 5 | K | 1 |
| 8 | J, X | 1 of each |
| 10 | Q, Z | 1 of each |
Other language editions and other games use different values and counts. Words With Friends, for example, scores several letters differently, so the best word in one game may not be the best in the other. The Anagram Solver lets you switch between the two scoring tables.
The board
The board is a 15 by 15 grid. Most squares are plain, but some multiply the score:
- Double letter and triple letter squares multiply the value of the single tile placed on them.
- Double word and triple word squares multiply the whole word. If a word covers two of them, the multipliers combine.
- The centre star counts as a double word square for the first play.
Letter multipliers apply before word multipliers, which is why a high tile on a letter square inside a word on a word square is so valuable.
Bingos
Using all seven tiles from your rack in one turn earns a 50-point bonus, on top of the word's normal score. This is the biggest single swing available, and many strong players build their racks towards it. Common high-probability letters, such as E, R, S, T, A, I and N, are the usual ingredients. Seven-letter words that use them, like retinas (and its anagrams retains, nastier and stainer), are the kind to practise.
Five ideas that raise your average
1. Think about what you keep
After a play, the tiles left on your rack (the leave) shape your next turn. An S or a blank is worth holding for a good play. A balance of vowels and consonants is better than a rack of all of one kind, and duplicates, such as three Is or two Vs, usually lower your next score. Sometimes the best move is the one that scores a little less and keeps a better leave.
2. Use the bonus squares, not just the long words
A six-point word on a triple word square can beat a longer word elsewhere. Scan the board for open premium squares first, then look for words that reach them.
3. Make parallel plays with short words
Laying a word alongside another, so that every pair of touching tiles forms a valid short word, can score in two directions at once. This is where knowing two- and three-letter words pays off most. Learn the valid two-letter words for your dictionary; they are few and enormously useful.
4. Deal with the Q, J, X and Z
High tiles are strong when they land on a premium square and a burden when they stay on your rack. J, X and Z fit many short words. For Q, the safest plan is to look for a U, or to learn the short words that accept a Q without one, such as QI. Be aware that QI is accepted by current official tournament word lists but is not in the older ENABLE list that our solver uses, which is one example of why dictionaries differ.
5. Watch what you open
A long word with a hook letter at the end (an S, for example) can hand your opponent a triple word square. Before you play, look at the squares your word makes reachable.
Exchanging tiles and the end of the game
If your rack is poor, you can swap tiles instead of playing, as long as enough tiles remain in the bag. This costs a turn, so use it only when the alternative is a very weak play or when you are holding a rack of duplicates. The game ends when one player uses all their tiles after the bag is empty, or when everyone passes in a row. Unplayed tile values are deducted from each player's score, and a player who goes out is credited with the total, so holding a Q late in the game can cost you ten points or more.
A note on dictionaries
Which words are valid depends on the dictionary your game uses. North American tournament play and club play use different word lists from most of the rest of the world, and the lists are not identical. Our Scrabble dictionary is the public-domain ENABLE list. It covers the large majority of valid words but is not an official reference, so confirm unusual words in your own game's official source before challenging a play.
Practising
Players improve fastest by reviewing their games afterwards. Enter your rack and the letter you were building on into the solver and look at what you missed. See which highest-scoring word you overlooked, and ask which pattern would have helped you see it. The unscrambling guide covers the patterns to look for.