How to Improve Your Scrabble Scores
Tips for Improving at Scrabble
We’ve discussed how to improve your Scrabble scores before on this blog, but this is a subject that most Scrabble players are going to want to explore, so I decided to readdress the subject of word game improvement. I’ll try to avoid referring back to Scrabble Pages this time and instead give you heads-ups on other Scrabble resources.
1. Get an Official Scrabble Dictionary
Buy a Scrabble dictionary like “The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary” by Merriam-Webster, which retails for $16.47 right now on Amazon with free shipping on $25 purchases. There are others, as well.
Once you have a Scrabble dictionary, occasionally open the book and look down the word list. Consider starting a “word of the day” program to build your vocabulary.
2. Read Scrabble Strategy Guides
Another solid purchase would be a Scrabble strategy tips book like Everything Scrabble by Joe Edley and John D. Williams Jr. Everything Scrabble came out with a Third Edition in 2009 and it will help you in studying everything else I’m about to tell you.
Included are board strategies, a discussion of the letter “Q” and Q-words, mastering two-letter words, bonus squares, parallel play, triple triples, getting better tiles, improving your skills with the big value letters (J, X, Z) and studying words with no vowels. Included are examples of great Scrabble play.
If you don’t want to buy a Scrabble book, which retails right now for $11.55, you can learn everything online that the book tells you, though you’ll have to search longer and harder for that information.
3. Learn the 2 and 3 Letter Words
Two and three letter words are more flexible, because you can put them in tighter spaces and build parallel words. Two letter words often help you get rid of difficult letters or hit a hard-to-hit double or triple word scores, and certainly help you in the later stages of the game. Scrabble experts suggest that learning these words will improve your scores by an average of 30 to 40 points per game.
The great thing about two-letter Scrabble words is that there really aren’t that many of them, so memorizing them should be easy. 3-letter words are a little more plentiful, so that will take a little longer.
4. Look for Stem Words
Looking for stem words on the Scrabble board will let you add prefixes and suffixes onto already played words. Study the board to find these possibilities and uses them to build longer words whenever you can, especially if the prefix or suffix builds into a double or triple letter score. Avoid giving your opponent too many chances to do the same, by limiting the times you build stem words.
5. Triple Triples
If at all possible, build a triple word score into a triple word score. This is difficult, but using the technique in #4, you might be able to find a word already built that you can add an additional prefix or suffix onto to create this situation. This usually gives you a huge boost in winning the Scrabble game.
6. Learn the Q Words
Especially focus on Q words that don’t have a U in them. This frees you of the need to luck into a U to get rid of the Q tile. Placing a Q on the board is going to give you a 30 point swing, because you get 10 points, while avoiding losing 10 points by getting stuck with the tile at the end of the game, while also giving the player who goes out 10 points. Q’s don’t have to be the beating they are for beginning Scrabble players.
7. Rearrange Your Letter Tiles on the Rack
Don’t build one word or partial word on your letter rack and leave your letter tiles in that combination. Instead, move your letters around and try to see as many possibilities as possible. The more word combinations you see, the more opportunities you’ll have and the better board positions you’re likely to choose. Maintaining your bearings on Scrabble board position and seeing more word plays by scrambling your Scrabble letters might seem like a minor action, but it’s one of the best ways how you can improve your Scrabble scores immediately.
See also:
- How To Play Scrabble Cards
- How To Play Subway Scrabble
- How To Play Anagram Scrabble
- How To Join a Scrabble Club
- How To Use a Blank Tile in Scrabble
- Online Scrabble Games
- Lexulous Scrabble Help
This entry was posted on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 5:47 pmand is filed under Scrabble. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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