If you’ve ever played a game of Scrabble, you know how difficult it is. I mean, how hard can it be to make a few words? Turns out, Scrabble is pretty hard, and it could go downhill quickly if you don’t know what you’re doing. Here are some tips on how to maximize your score on Scrabble.
1. Memorize key words.
Sometimes, you just can’t think of a word to make when you’re stuck with letters that can’t make a word. This is why you have to memorize key words that could help you get out of such a situation. My favorite word to put on the board is always qi—yes that’s an actual word. Even though it’s only a two letter word, you could score a lot of points when you place it on the right part of the board. There are plenty of obscure words that could help you maximize your score on Scrabble. Depending on how serious you are about the game, you should consider researching these words and memorizing them.
2. Take advantage of the blank tile.
If you use a blank tile to help you make a low-scoring word, you shouldn’t even be playing Scrabble. You have to use the blank tile to your absolute advantage. If that one tile helps you place a word with a score above 20, you’re doing something right.
3. Take advantage of the letter S.
Even though the letter S is only worth 1 point, it is worth absolute gold when you know how to use it to your advantage. The best way to utilize the letter S is by putting it at the end of an existing word to make it plural and then making a whole new word using that same S. Doing this connects two words, so you essentially collect points from both words, which could potentially end up being a score above 30.
4. Know the rules of the game.
I know this one seems pretty obvious, but knowing the rules to Scrabble could help you in the long run. Reading the rules gives you little tidbits of knowledge on the game, AKA ways to score more points. By reading the rules, you would know that you automatically get 50 points when you use all 7 letters (I know, crazy). You also get to stop your opponents from placing unacceptable words by telling them it’s actually against the rules and not have to seem like a bad guy.
5. Prevent your opponents from maximizing their score.
Scrabble is a seriously competitive game and you shouldn’t expect to win just by getting high-scoring words. You also have to make sure your opponents don’t score higher words than you. Try to block off the triple word scores and other important tiles by getting them before they can.
Even though Scrabble is a highly competitive game, remember to have fun. The best games are the ones you actually enjoy.
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