How Scrabble Scoring Works
How a play is scored, in the order the game does it, worked through with an example you can check square by square.
The order it happens in
Add up the tiles in the word
Every tile in the word counts, including the ones that were already on the board. A blank counts as zero however expensive the letter it is standing for.
Double or triple the new tiles on letter squares
A tile you place this turn on a double or triple letter square counts twice or three times. A tile that was already there does not, whatever square it is sitting on.
Multiply the whole word by any word square you cover
Again, only under a tile placed this turn. If your play covers two word squares, the multipliers multiply together — two double word squares is four times, not three.
Score every cross word separately
Each perpendicular word your tiles form is scored on its own, from scratch, with the same rules. A tile on a premium square collects that premium in every word it is part of.
Add 50 if you used all seven tiles
The bingo goes on at the very end and is never itself multiplied. It is the largest single bonus in the game.
A worked example
RETAIN is already on the board across F8 to K8. You play SPARE downwards in column L, starting with a new S at L8 — which both extends RETAIN into RETAINS and starts your own word. L8 is a double letter square, and the E at the foot of SPARE lands on the double word square at L12.
- SPARE down: S(1×2) + P3 + A1 + R1 + E1 = 8, doubled by the word square under the E = 16.
- RETAINS across: R1 + E1 + T1 + A1 + I1 + N1 + S(1×2) = 8. The six existing tiles score face value, the new S is doubled by L8 — and because no new tile covers a word square on that line, the word itself is not multiplied.
- Total: 24 from five tiles.
The S is the whole play. It scores in both words, and its double letter premium counts in both. Notice what did not happen: the double word square at L12 multiplied SPARE and left RETAINS alone, because a word multiplier applies only to the words that actually run through the square.
Two tiles more and this becomes a different turn. Had SPARE used all seven tiles from the rack, the 50-point bingo would have gone on at the very end — 24 becomes 74, and the 50 would not have been doubled by anything.
The four mistakes that cost the most
- Re-using a spent premium. The triple word square you played on last turn scores nothing now. This is the single most common scoring error in casual games, and it always inflates your own score.
- Forgetting the cross words. A parallel play forms a short word at every tile. Miss them and you will underestimate the play by half — and if one of them is not a word, the whole move is illegal rather than merely worth less.
- Multiplying the 50. The bingo goes on at the end, untouched. A seven-tile play on a triple word square is (word × 3) + 50, not (word + 50) × 3.
- Adding word multipliers instead of multiplying them. Two double word squares in one play is ×4. A double and a triple is ×6.
Where the arithmetic gets interesting
The largest ordinary turns come from a tile doing two jobs. Put an X on a triple letter square so that it reads across and down, and it scores 24 in each direction — 48 points from one tile, before any word multiplier. That is more than most seven-tile plays.
The largest turns of all come from covering two word multipliers with one word, which the board layout shows you where to look for. Row 4 is the obvious one: two double word squares nine apart, so any word spanning both is quadrupled.
The solver shows this arithmetic for every move it finds: press Explain score on any result and the whole breakdown is there, word by word and square by square. If a number here ever disagrees with a number there, the page is wrong — they are generated from the same configuration and checked against each other by a test.
Scrabble tools
- Scrabble SolverEnter your board and rack, get every legal move ranked by score.
- Scrabble Screenshot SolverUpload a picture of the board and let it read itself.
- Scrabble Word FinderType your letters, see every word you can make.
- Scrabble Move AnalyzerScore the move you played and see what you missed.
- Scrabble PracticeFind the best move yourself, one hint at a time.
- Scrabble Dictionary CheckerIs that word playable? Check it instantly.
Common questions
Does the centre square double my first word?
Yes. H8 is a double word square as well as the square the opening move must cover, so a first play is always doubled. That is worth saying because it is not universal — Words With Friends uses its centre only as a start square and multiplies nothing.
How much is playing all seven tiles worth?
50 points, added after all multipliers and never multiplied itself. It is the biggest bonus in the game, but a word across two triple word squares beats it, so compare rather than assume.
Do blanks ever score?
No. A blank contributes zero in every word it forms, however expensive the letter it represents. It can still sit on a word multiplier and double or triple the rest of the word, which is often the best use of one.
If a tile is in two words, does its premium count twice?
Yes. A newly placed tile on a triple letter square counts three times in the main word and three times again in the cross word it forms. This is why a single well-placed tile can outscore a six-tile play.
Can I use a premium square twice?
No. A premium applies only in the turn a tile is first placed on it. From then on the square is spent and the tile on it counts at face value.
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.