Scrabble is a simple game for the most part. All you need to do is unscramble some letters that are in front of you to make a word and then place them on the board to get some points. With that being said, although the base of the game is simple, the game has a ton of depth to it with a lot of strategy that you can employ. If you are new to Scrabble and you try playing against someone who has played for years, you will find yourself getting absolutely destroyed by their word prowess and skills. Fortunately, you can master Scrabble as well by following a few tips and brushing up on your techniques. Before long, you will become the one winning all the games.
Here are some tips and tricks that you can employ to help you master Scrabble.
1. Get Better At Unscrambling
One of the reasons why you might not be the best at Scrabble is because you aren’t the best at unscrambling letters and making words from them. In Scrabble, you always want to be able to form the best possible word, and if you aren’t the best at rearranging your letters, you are definitely going to be leaving some points on the board. There are a few things you can do to help you get better at the game however and even some cheats to ensure that you never lose. The website unscramble.me mentions that there are letter unscramblers where all you have to do is stick your letters into it and it will tell you what words you can make. This is a great tool if you are playing Scrabble online because your opponent won’t know that you are cheating.
How can using this cheat help you master Scrabble? Sure it might be unfair at the time, but it is helping to train your brain to form new words. Spending some time looking at the letters and then sticking it into an unscrambler for Scrabble online can show you any words that you have missed and open up new possibilities for you. After a bit of time, your brain will begin to recognize these patterns in the letters and become just as good as one of these tools. An unscrambling tool also does not tell you where you should place your words, meaning you are going to have to decide that for yourself. You will learn quickly in Scrabble that placement is just as important if not more important than the word you make.
2. Save the ‘S’
In Scrabble, it is about making the most of the letters you have and saving them for the perfect opportunity. The most coveted letter in Scrabble and probably the best letter to have is the ‘S’. You have so many different options when you have the letter as you can use it to make a regular word or you can take a pre-existing word on the board and make it plural. Scrabble experts recommend saving an ‘S’ till you can guarantee that you are going to be getting at least 10 points with it. Ideally they recommend holding onto it and using it to complete a ‘Bingo bonus’ which is obtained when you use all the letters that are in front of you. This is easy to do with an ‘S’ because all you need to do is make that one word plural. Why is a ‘Bingo bonus’ so important? By playing all your letters, not only do you get the points the word would give you, but an additional 50 points. Using the ‘S’ in the right circumstances is what separates a beginner from a pro.
3. Small Words
You might not think two letter words are ideal to play in Scrabble, but they can net you a ton of points if you use them correctly. If you form two or more words in Scrabble on the same turn, you gain points for each word that has been formed. Therefore, if you are able to master small words like this and make 3 words in the same turn, you can easily have a 20+ point turn. It takes some time to recognize these words and where they can go, but with enough practice you can easily start winning with them.
4. Look for Bonuses
On the Scrabble board there are bonuses for both words and letters. Ideally, you want to ensure that you are utilizing these as much as possible and as best as you possibly can. Take the triple word score for example, it will multiply the score of the entire word by 3. If you are able to use a high point letter in it like a Z, J, or Q for example you are going to score massive points. Those three letters are worth ten points each, meaning that is 30 points right from the start. Utilizing these bonuses and utilizing them in the right way is how you can ensure you start beating people in Scrabble.
5. Play Difficult Letters Early
As mentioned above, Z, J, and Q, are some of the toughest letters to have but also can net you the most points. At the end of the game, you lose points for each letter you are holding onto. A Z for example which is worth 10 points will deduct 10 from your score if you haven’t played it. For that reason you have to play these letters as soon as you possibly can. The faster you get them out, the higher your score will be and the less you will have to worry about losing points at the end. You might not always get the perfect placement you were hoping for, but you can’t expect to win if you are losing a ton of points at the end of the game.
These are all tips and tricks that you need to use if you plan on mastering Scrabble. At the end of the day, the game is all about practice and recognizing the words that you can form. After weeks of playing, you will find yourself able to beat a lot of your friends and your vocabulary skills will also have improved as well. What do you think is most important in the game of Scrabble?
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