1. Read More
Reading is a great way to improve your scrabble skills. Immersing yourself in books means you will be getting constant exposure to words, and the more you read the more you will sub-consciously notice the patterns of words: how they are put together; the spelling of them; and in many contexts the meaning of the word.
Reading the dictionary, though many of you won't find it interesting, is a brilliant piece of reading material that will not only give you a huge access to a variety of words but also to their definitions.
A previous article I wrote that expands on what's good about reading is here: 10 Benefits of Reading.
2. Learn Prefixes and Suffixes
Prefixes and suffixes are vital to learn if you are wanting to make some real improvement to your scrabble tactics. They're great for getting some sneaky points from another word already in place. Prefixes are added onto the beginning of an already existing word in order to create a different word, and suffixes are added onto the end of already existing words in order to create new words.
Examples of prefixes:
- super-
- un-
- multi-
- over-
- -ing
- -er
- -ish
- -able
- -ise/ize
3. Learn Words with Uncommon Letters In
Letters like 'Q', 'X', 'J', and 'Z' can be troublesome, so make it a goal to learn more words with them in - especially words with 'Q' but no 'U' in. The good thing about these letters is that they are worth more points, and so if you can make words with them in you are bound to start racking up your score. Many people who play scrabble don't know many words with these letters in so if you do know them - you will already have a huge advantage.
Examples of words with 'Q' in but no 'U':
- 'Qi'
- 'Qat'
- 'Qis'
- 'Qadi'
- 'Qaid'
Two letter words are essential in scrabble and when used effectively can earn a surprising amount of points. Some are more obvious than others, such as: 'HE', 'SO', 'ME', 'NO', etc. The more uncommon ones are the words that you should be learning, some examples being: 'QI', 'AX', 'PI' 'UH', 'XU', 'ZA', etc. Two-letter words with higher scoring letters in, when used in tangent with a bonus-square can earn you a respectable amount of points.
5. Knowing When to use the 'S' or 'Blank' Tiles
As an 'S' tile can be added to a lot of different words, it has quite the range of possibilities. Don't go wasting it on some 3-4 point word, you should really be aiming for at least 10 points as a general rule.
The 'Blank' tiles are more unique and can be used to make (in theory) any word in the scrabble dictionary. So with this in mind, having access to much more 'possible' words than any other tile, they should be used carefully and as a general rule only be placed where they make at least 25 points.
6. Rearrange
Once or twice a day, choose 7 letters at random and write down every possible word you can think of with the letters available. It's exactly what you are going to be doing in a game of scrabble so getting used to doing it is going to help with making improvements. The more you do it the more you are going to get familiar with this approach to words and will help you make progress with rearranging words.
7. Don't be Scared to Swap Tiles
Swapping tiles may seem like a waste of a turn but sometimes it's the best move to make. If you only have vowels then it it will probably be best to swap some letters in to try and get some consonants so you can make a higher scoring word next turn rather than having two low scoring rounds, and in a way wasting your turns. Also take into consideration tip #9
8. Play More Scrabble
If you are wanting to get better at playing scrabble...then play more scrabble. The more you play the more you will get used to the game and pick up tricks and words from other players. If you don't have people to play with then go online and find a scrabble server. You will find competition that way. Aim for at least 1 game per day, and over time you will get better and better.
9. Learn Words without Vowels
There are words without vowels, words that I think are great to have at your disposal - especially for those sticky situations where you don't have access to a vowel. Some examples are: 'RHYTHM', 'WRY', 'WRYLY', 'LYMPH', 'PRY', 'SYNC', etc.
Before swapping in tiles take a look and see if you can make a word from the consonants you have - who knows? you may be able to make a high scoring only-consonant word as well as freeing up space for new letters.
You could if you wanted learn some of the words without consonants which are made up of only vowels but to be honest they aren't brilliant and don't have the potential that words made up of only consonants have.
10. Aim for Bonus Squares
Always when playing keep bonus square in mind and how you can utilise them for your best benefit. They can make a huge difference to the game and sometimes can change the whole course of and direction of it. I sometimes refer to the triple-word squares as 'Game Makers' simply because they can 'make' the game for a player and see them in good stead for victory.