How Scrabble scoring works, tile by tile

Scrabble scoring looks simple: add up the numbers on the tiles. But most of the points in a real game come from where you put those tiles, not from the tiles themselves. Premium squares, words formed in two directions at once and the 50-point bonus for using all seven tiles decide most games. This guide explains every rule that affects your score, with worked examples.

What each tile is worth

Each tile has a value printed in its corner. Common letters are cheap and rare letters are expensive, roughly in line with how often each letter appears in English. The game's inventor, an American architect, set the values and the number of each tile in the 1930s by counting how often each letter appeared in printed text.

There are 12 E tiles, 9 A and 9 I tiles, and 8 O tiles, but only one each of J, K, Q, X and Z. The two blanks can stand for any letter and always score zero.

Where the points are in the bag

Add up every tile and the bag holds 187 points, an average of 1.87 points per tile. The chart below shows how those points are spread across the letters, counting both the value of each tile and how many there are.

E carries more points than any other letter simply because there are so many of them. The five rare letters (J, K, Q, X, Z) are only five tiles, but together they hold 41 points. Whoever plays them well, especially on premium squares, usually wins.

The board and its premium squares

The board is 15 squares by 15. Most squares are plain, but 61 are premium squares that multiply your score. They are laid out symmetrically, so every corner of the board looks the same.

• Double letter and triple letter squares multiply the tile placed on them.
• Double word and triple word squares multiply the score of the whole word.
• The centre star is a double word square, so the first word of the game always scores double.
• A premium counts only in the turn a tile is first placed on it. Later words that use that tile score it at face value.

The opening move

The first word of the game must cover the centre star, which is a double word square, so the opening play always scores double. It does not touch any other premium squares unless it is at least five letters long, which is why long opening words are so valuable: a five-letter opener can also reach a double letter square on its way to the star.

The opener also shapes the board. A word that puts a vowel within reach of a double letter square near a triple word lane gives your opponent an easy score. Many experts choose an opening that keeps vowels away from those squares, even at the cost of a point or two, and some prefer a shorter opening that keeps their best tiles for later.

How a turn is scored, step by step

1. Add the value of each tile in your main word, applying any letter premiums under the tiles you just placed.
2. Apply any word premiums under your new tiles to the whole word. Two word premiums multiply together: a word across two double word squares scores four times.
3. Do the same for every other word your tiles formed, in either direction.
4. Add 50 if you used all seven tiles from your rack.

Example 1: one high-value tile on a premium square

Q₁₀U₁I₁Z₁₀

QUIZ is Q 10 + U 1 + I 1 + Z 10 = 22 points. Put the Z on a triple letter square and that tile is worth 30, so the word scores 42. Put the whole word across a triple word square instead and it scores 66. Same tiles, very different results: that is why players hold high-value letters until a premium square opens up.

Example 2: two words in one turn

CAT is on the board. You add an S to make CATS, and that S is also the first letter of SHOP, played downward. You score both words: CATS is 6 points, and SHOP is 9. If the O of SHOP sits on a double word square, SHOP doubles to 18, for a turn of 24. Hooking a letter onto an existing word like this is the most common way strong players score.

Example 3: playing alongside a word

Laying a word parallel to one already on the board can form several two-letter words at once, and each one scores. A short word with a high-value tile can earn 30 or more this way, which is why the two-letter word list is the most useful thing a new player can learn.

Hooks: one letter, two words

A hook is a letter you add to the front or back of a word already on the board, turning it into a new word. When the hooking tile is also part of the word you are playing, you score both words. Hooks are everywhere: 3,592 of the 5,577 four-letter words in our lists (64%) take an S on the end to make a five-letter word, and 1,634 take some letter on the front.

That is why the S is the most valuable one-point tile in the game. It turns almost any noun or verb on the board into a hook, and it lets your new word cross the end of an existing one without touching anything else. Many experts never play an S for less than about eight extra points.

Premium squares in practice

Letter premiums reward high-value tiles: a Z on a triple letter square is 30 points before anything else. Word premiums reward long words, because every tile in the word is multiplied. A word that covers two double word squares scores four times its value, and one that covers two triple word squares, across the full width of the board, scores nine times. That is rare, but even a modest five-letter word on a triple word square often scores more than a long word on plain squares.

Defence matters as much as offence. Placing a vowel next to a triple word square, or leaving a lane that runs into one, invites your opponent to score big. When you are ahead, close those lanes; when you are behind, open them and hope to use them first.

A sample turn, start to finish

Here is how a careful player scores a turn. Say you hold a rack with a Z and a few common letters, and there is a triple letter square two squares from an open E. You look for a word that puts the Z on that square and uses the E, count the Z at 30, add the other tiles, then check whether any of your new tiles also forms a second word with a letter already on the board. Then you compare that total with your best other move, perhaps a longer word on a double word square. Average common five-letter words score about 8.9 on plain squares, so a well-placed Z play often doubles what an ordinary word would earn.

Finally, think about what you leave on your rack. A move that scores two points fewer but keeps an S or a blank is often the better choice, because it sets up a bingo next turn.

Challenges and keeping score

If a player puts down a word that is not in the agreed dictionary, the opponent can challenge it. The exact rule depends on where and how you play: in many home games an invalid word is taken back and scores nothing, while clubs and tournaments use their own penalty rules. Agree on the dictionary and the challenge rule before the game starts.

Keep a running total for each player and write down each word as it is played. Tournament players also track which tiles have been played, so that near the end they know exactly which letters the opponent can still hold.

The bingo: 50 points for using all seven tiles

Using all seven tiles in one turn earns a 50-point bonus on top of everything else. A bingo is often worth more than the word itself: common seven-letter words with the highest tile scores include GRIZZLY (29), BUZZING (28), PUZZLED (28), PUZZLES (27), DRIZZLE (26), QUICKLY (25), but even a plain word like RETAINS scores 7 + 50 = 57. Strong players bingo about once every few turns. Our bingo guide shows how to find them.

Blank tiles

A blank can be any letter you choose, and it keeps that letter for the rest of the game. It scores zero, even on a premium square, but it makes bingos far easier. Most experts never play a blank for a small score; they save it for a bingo.

The end of the game

The game ends when one player uses their last tile and the bag is empty, or when every player passes several turns in a row. Each player then loses the value of the tiles left on their rack. If you went out first, you also gain the total of everyone else's leftover tiles. Holding a Q at the end can cost you 20 points: 10 off your score and 10 to your opponent.

Scrabble and Words With Friends values

Words With Friends uses the same idea with different numbers. 12 letters have different values, and the bonus for using all seven tiles is 35 instead of 50.

The score calculator shows a word's value in both games.

Scoring tips

• Learn the two-letter words with a high-value tile. In NWL they are QI (11), ZA (11), AX (9), EX (9), JO (9), OX (9), XI (9), XU (9).
• Look for squares where one tile forms two words, especially with a high-value letter on a letter premium.
• Do not open up a triple word square for your opponent unless your own score is worth it.
• Keep an S or a blank when you can: each one turns an existing word into a hook for your next play.