Scrabble is one of the many popular word games, if not the most, that has probably squeezed many players� vocabulary to its limit. After all, in this game, you don�t get to use any letter you like in making words to fit whatever is on the board. You can only draw seven tiles of letters still unknown. You�ll have to combine these letters to make a word that gives you the highest score possible. However, in the middle of the game, many players end up with tiles they find useless like Q, Z, X, and J. Sometimes, they end up with only consonants and find it impossible to make a word. Therefore, it is really important to increasevocabulary and know when best to use each tile to improve your Scrabble game. You can painstakingly memorize the Official Scrabble Players� Dictionary cover to cover or try out the tips in this article.
Balance the Tiles on Your Rack
Don�t just put on the board the first word that comes to your mind. You have to think and plan carefully of your every move. If you don�t, you might end up with a rack full of consonants. Most players� goal is to keep a rack balanced with four consonants and three vowels � to make composing words easy.
Also, avoid keeping tiles of the same letter on your rack. For example, in a game where there is very few E tiles on the board, the word you are about to put is �sand.� If you have an E tile on your rack, consider putting �send� instead because there is a high chance that you�ll draw an E tile after your turn. To keep your rack balanced, avoid keeping tiles of the same letter like E which has twelve tiles of itself in the bag and only scores a point.
Plan ahead
The game may be unpredictable because you do not know what tile you will get from the bag after every turn but it is still advisable to plan ahead of time. Think of long words that you can construct with the letters you have as of the moment. If possible, try making a word that uses all seven of your tiles. This is called a bingo and will give you a very high score plus bonus points. If one or more of your tiles end upon a box that doubles or triples the score, well, it is your luck day. As a matter of fact, you can strategize to get these double and triple word scores. You need only to plan ahead.
If you still cannot make a word with seven letters, save A, E, I, N, R and S. These are the most common letters to make a bingo.
The J, Q, X, and Z tiles
These tiles are not really found in many words so they are very hard to use. Usually, when you get one of these, that tile gets stuck on your rack leaving you with only six to work with. You end up making random words because you become desperate to draw tiles useful in making a word with a J, X, or Z. Worse, when you get a Q, you need a U which has only four tiles of itself.
The solution to this is to widen your vocabulary. Look for words that have a J, X, Q, or Z in it. You can also memorize words with Q which does not need a U. Words such as Mbaqanga, Qadi, Qanat, and QWERTY are legal as they are listed in the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, 4th Edition. The letter S can also be added to most of these words.
Racks with Vowels only or Consonants only
List down and memorize words with many vowels to avoid a rack that has only vowels on it. Adieu, eerie, and queue are perfect examples.
If you end up with consonants only, a list of words with vowels is really going to be helpful. You just have to memorize it beforehand. One downer is that most of it requires a Y but not all. Examples are psst, cysts, glycyls, myrrh, and rhythm.
More Tips
Avoid letting other players get the double and triple word scores. Remember to plan ahead on how to get your words to these bonus-giving boxes.
Also, aside from the special words discussed in this article previously, read on words that are made up of only two letter � they can help you especially during desperate times. You can also use the Scrabble Word Finders to easily form words with the tiles you have. Enjoy!