Scrabble word game rules

Please refer to our FAQ for tips on how to accommodate more than four players. Setting ground rules is the first step of the game. While what is listed here are the traditional Scrabble rules, many people prefer to play their own variations of the game. It is important that all players understand the rules exactly from the beginning in order to ward off any disagreements. A dictionary must also be agreed upon. There are many different English dictionaries available, and each differ in which words are included.

There is even an official Scrabble dictionary. It does not come with the game, but is available in any reputable bookstore. All tiles should be placed into the tile draw bag before the game begins. Make certain the tiles are mixed well. Each player should be given a tile rack to place their unused tiles upon when they are drawn.

Each tile rack should be placed facing in a direction which is not visible to other players. After rules are explained and a dictionary is decided upon, players will each draw one tile from the draw bag.

The player who draws the letter closest to A goes first, and the other players go in a clockwise direction. If two players draw letters equally close to A, they will set their tiles aside and redraw until the tie is broken. After the order of play is decided, players return their tiles to the tile draw bag and mix it again. They then each draw seven tiles in the order of play. AMOUR is a naturally scandalous word, as it refers to an illicit love affair. So, to keep with the theme, you should use this seven-letter word filled with common letters to steal the game away from your opponent.

You could even score a bingo! They serve delicious drinks, but you can serve yourself some delicious points by playing this seven-letter word. Play it straight from your tile rack for a bingo bonus. Or, thanks to its common consonants and multiple vowels, you can use it to make extensions from words already on the board. It separates all of the courses of a single meal. For Scrabble, this word can let you score a bingo bonus and use the Z and Q tiles, all in one turn.

Think of it as something like a violin, but with a shallow yet wide body. So, you can use it to get out of situations when you have no vowels to create any other words. A DOJO is a school or room where people learn various forms of self-defense. These include popular forms of martial arts like karate and judo. Use the word to defend your lead in a game by playing the often-troublesome J tile.

Placing a word at right angles to a word already on the board. The new word must use one of the letters already on the board or must add a letter to it. See Turns 2, 3 and 4 below. Placing a complete word parallel to a word already played so that adjacent letters also form complete words. See Turn 5 in the Scoring Examples section below.

Blanks: The two blank tiles may be used as any letters. When playing a blank, you must state which letter it represents. It remains that letter for the rest of the game. You may use a turn to exchange all, some, or none of the letters. To do this, place your discarded letter s facedown. Draw the same number of letters from the pool, then mix your discarded letter s into the pool.

This ends your turn. Any play may be challenged before the next player starts a turn. If the play challenged is unacceptable, the challenged player takes back his or her tiles and loses that turn. If the play challenged is acceptable, the challenger loses his or her next turn. Consult the dictionary for challenges only. All words made in one play are challenged simultaneously. If any word is unacceptable, then the entire play is unacceptable. Only one turn is lost on any challenge.

The game ends when all letters have been drawn and one player uses his or her last letter; or when all possible plays have been made. Use a score pad or piece of paper to keep a tally of each player's score, entering it after each turn. The score value of each letter is indicated by a number at the bottom of the tile. The score value of a blank is zero.

The score for each turn is the sum of the letter values in each word s formed or modified on that turn, plus the additional points obtained from placing letters on Premium Squares.