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How to Play Scrabble

The rules in the order you actually need them — setup first, then the first move, then how a turn works, then the parts people get wrong.

A game, start to finish

  1. Set up the board and the bag

    A 15 by 15 board and 100 tiles: 98 lettered and 2 blank. Put every tile in the bag and shake it. Each player draws seven and keeps them hidden.

  2. Decide who goes first

    Each player draws one tile; the closest to the front of the alphabet starts, and a blank beats a letter. Return the drawn tiles to the bag before drawing racks.

  3. Play the first word across the centre

    The opening word must cover H8, the star in the middle, and must be at least two letters. H8 is also a double word square, so the first play is doubled.

  4. Take turns building on what is there

    Every later word must connect to tiles already on the board, running left to right or top to bottom. Every new word the play creates — including the short ones formed sideways — must be a real word.

  5. Score the turn, then refill the rack

    Add up every word your play created, apply the premium squares under the tiles you just placed, then draw back up to seven tiles from the bag.

  6. Keep going until the tiles run out

    The game ends when the bag is empty and one player has used every tile, or when both players pass twice in a row without scoring.

What makes a play legal

Four conditions, and all four have to hold:

  • One line. Every tile you place this turn goes in a single row or a single column, with no gaps between them.
  • Connected. The first play covers the centre; every later play touches at least one tile already on the board.
  • Every word is a word. Not only the one you meant to play. If your tiles form short words sideways — and beside an existing word they always do — each of those has to be valid too.
  • At least two letters. A single tile that forms no word with anything around it is not a play.

The three rules people get wrong

  • Premium squares only count once. The turn a tile is first placed on one. After that the square is spent for good, and the tile on it counts at face value.
  • The 50-point bingo is added last. A seven-tile play on a triple word square is (word × 3) + 50, not (word + 50) × 3.
  • Word multipliers multiply each other. A play covering two double word squares is worth four times the word, not three.

The scoring page works a real example through square by square if you want to check your arithmetic against something.

The bits that decide games

Using all seven tiles in one move is worth 50 points — more than two average turns — which is why the strongest habit a new player can build is checking for it before looking for anything else.

The other one is the two-letter words. They are what makes it legal to lay a word alongside an existing one, which is how a four-tile play scores four or five words at once. The list is short.

Once you know the rules

Put a real position into the solver and it will show you every legal move ranked by score, with the arithmetic behind each. The move analyzer does the more useful version: you play your turn first, and it tells you what was available.

If you are coming from another word game, the differences are smaller than they look but they change which move wins — Words With Friends vs Scrabble lays them out from the other side, and every difference runs both ways.

Scrabble tools

Common questions

How many tiles are in Scrabble?

100: 98 lettered tiles and 2 blanks. E is the most common at 12; J, K, Q, X and Z appear once each.

What happens if I cannot make a word?

You can exchange any number of tiles for new ones — provided at least seven remain in the bag — which uses your turn and scores nothing. You can also simply pass. Exchanging is usually the better of the two.

How does a blank work?

You choose which letter it stands for when you play it, and it keeps that letter for the rest of the game. It scores zero points wherever it lands, but it still activates a word multiplier under it.

How does the game end and who wins?

It ends when the bag is empty and someone plays their last tile, or when both players pass twice consecutively. Each player then subtracts the value of their unplayed tiles from their score, and the player who went out adds the total of everyone else’s remaining tiles. Highest score wins.

Can I challenge a word?

In casual play, yes — you look it up and the invalid word comes off the board. Tournament rules add penalties for incorrect challenges and vary between organisations, which is why this tool does not model challenges at all.

Word validity is checked against ENABLE, an open reference dictionary. Word acceptance may vary from the current official Scrabble dictionary. TilePlayCoach is an independent word-game helper and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by the owners of the Scrabble trademark.