Normally I wouldn’t write about this, because everybody knows the rules of sportsmanlike conduct. But Scrabble is special. There is the risk of abysmal failure, or of overwhelming victory – and it can be hard. The turning point in a game can be a single play made in the middle of the game, or just simply a initial decision about whether to be defensive or aggressive.You can use an online unscrambler like instawordz to easily crack any given word, however you can memorize few words yourself for making the next good move.Anybody can win or lose a game with a big margin, with just a few mistakes or good decisions.
The below Tips/Hints will give an edge for winning the game.
Hint #1: High Scoring with High-point letters
The higher scoring letters are the F (4), H (4) , J (8), K (5), Q (10), V (4), W (4),Z 10). They account for 15 out of the 100 tiles. You can best place these on double and triple letter squares,or in words that cross a double or triple word square.
Some examples of words that make good use of high point letters are: ADZ, ADZE, COZ, COZY,COZE, FEZ, FOX, FOXY, HAZE, HAZY, JAY, QAT, QOPH, VIM, VEX, WAXY (credit: scrabblewordfinderguide.com). You get the idea. Make mental notes of such words that crop up frequently and then make them part of your repertoire. You would be suprised how often you use ‘favourites’ like that, which can net you 40 or 50 pts in a single turn and win the game!
How can you get so many points in a turn? Easy. Read the hints below…
Should you hang on to high scoring letters for more than a turn or two?
This is a controversial question, but with some good answers you may want to consider. If you adopt the view that you should hang on to high scoring letters, then you are saying that only high scoring letters give words with high points. This is a bit simplistic, and simply not true. The other extreme is to try to dump the high scoring letters rapidly in as profitable a manner as possible. But a balanced view states that you can get high scores with any letters.I adopt the latter view. The best approach is to look at the high scoring letters, then at the board, and try to determine whether you might employ them for a high score within the next several turns. If it looks likely,then hang to them. If the board is not favorable, then play them in the best score you can get for now.This frees up your rack for bingos and makes it easier to catch the triple word squares, combination plays, and other unusual scoring opportunities. I never keep high scoring letters for more than a few turns, and yet still manage to get very good scores. The high scoring letters are only valuable if there is a good place to put them, otherwise they are impeding your progress toward a bingo. Remember the longer you keep them, the tougher it is to get a bingo as the board fills up. The more the board fills up, the fewer the free spots that are left for you to use.
By all means, try to get the high scoring letters on premium squares, but just don’t wait too long. One move with high points does not offset a number of bad moves with low points.
Hint #2: How to handle the Q
The Q can be your enemy and your friend. Treat it with respect.
If you have a Q and no U, be aware that there are only several plays you can make! Look here? for the small number of Q-no-U words available in OSPD3.
The most frequent Q-no-U words I play are QAT, QAID and QANAT, and sometimes SUQ when really pressed. I just hate using up the invaluable S, though, just to get rid of a Q. What a waste, but it happens.
There are only 4 U’s, so study the board to see how many are used up. If there lots left then I am tempted to wait for a U so I can play the Q favourably on a triple letter. If I can play the Q on a triple letter, and still have the word cross a double word square, I can make 60+ points! This is as good as playing a bingo, to my point of view. In fact, it is better than a bingo because bingo plays often merely open up the board for the other player to reach a triple word square for a good return score.
If there is not much chance of getting a U, don’t hang on to the Q. It isn’t worth it. Play it whereever you can for a lower score. Trust your ability to use the rest of the letters to make points. Insecurity is often the reason people try to hold the Q for many turns. Now, your opponent may know or guess you have the Q, in which case he may try to keep his U (if he has it). Or he will try to play it in an unusable spot on the board. You would do the same. Just don’t give him any hints…try to appear confident and even cocky…heh heh. This will confuse him and make him give you an opening. You might even say…’I wonder where the Q is? It hasn’t shown up yet!’. He will utterly believe you and play right into your hands! Who said this wasn’t like poker?
Some handy quick-playing words if you have the U available to you are: QUA, QUAI, QUAD, QUAG, QUAY, AQUA, AQUAE, TOQUE, QUID, and yes the dubious SUQ. Toque, of course, is a favourite Canadian word.
Some people trade in the Q for better letters, especially toward the end of the game.I don’t like doing this, I prefer the challenge of the game. However, I do admit this is sometimes good strategy if your only goal is to win, or if you are completely flustered.
Hint #3: Scoring with medium point letters
B, C, D, G, M, P have values of 2 to 3 points. These letters are handly for getting large scores in a single turn. There is nothing great about getting these letters in a double word score. But if you can use them on premium squares in spots where you create several words in one turn, you have something! This is where the knowledge of your two-letters words comes in handy. If I can create PI and PIN in a single move, where the P sits on a triple letter, then I have 21 points! Wow! Not bad for 5 points worth of letters. This is where the meat of the game is played, and where the win or loss comes if two players are otherwise well-matched.
Now of course, if you can play a word like BIDING on a triple word square, that’s 30 points, where something like LINEN, with no counters to speak of, would only be 15. If you can keep your turns over 20 points, you can be assured of a good number of wins.
I try to get rid of the unusable C and G quickly. If I have an ING though, this is worth keeping for a short time if there is a chance of making a bingo play with it. If I have an H, then I keep the C for a while, and if I have an IGH or OUGH combo, I will try to make use of them without dumping the G right away. A careful study of the board will help your decisions. For example there are many times when a bingo using ING as an ending simply isn’t playable.
Get these hints integrated into your daily habit of playing scrabble and you shall be a Pro.
If you lose badly:
When you do make a mistake, and wind up very much at the bottom, what have you lost? Well, you have lost nothing! You HAVE gained some valuable experience, because obviously you have encountered a skillful player. What did he do that catapulted his score? What did you do that allowed him that freedom? I talk about these things more specifically in the following Hints section, but right now the best advice you can follow is to step back and look thoughtfully at what happened. Consider the opponent’s strategy. How was it different than yours? One thing you WILL notice, is that usually the big winners hardly know or use any more words than you. (Look at a winner’s word list and you will see). Why is that? You know, if I happen to win a game very well, very very few people ever ask me what I did to win. Yet often I am longing to tell them. I used to ask for advice all the time from the pros that would cream me. And they always answered. Keep your mind open to learning, use your failures as a stepping stone to better playing, and consider this … if you never lose in a big way, you absolutely will never learn to win in a big way. With the right attitude some careful thought, any failure is a victory. And so, when you lose, don’t complain to the winner, express the proper respect. After all, they have worked hard to become as skillful as they are and maybe they can help you. Now, in case you want to know, in time I went back to many of the pros that initially creamed me, and to my great surprise found it very much easier to play and often to win, once I had learned some of the basic strategies that can keep you afloat very well in a difficult game. Follow the hints to see what I mean.
