January 28, 2010
This morning I received an e-mail from my friend that it was my turn on Wordscraper – which is the Facebook version of Scrabble. I have never been very good at Scrabble, my brain just lacks something that allows me to make words for points with little tiles. I know what you’re thinking, a person who is (a) attempting to become genius and (b) trying to improve her writing abilities, should not be admitting that. I suppose, like with everything, I will get better with practice. Today’s question is: what are some techniques for mastering Scrabble?
A: The first, and most obvious answer, is to improve your vocabulary. Many Scrabble masters become familiar with obscure or unusual words, which help to create words with awkward tiles. It is useful to know words that require many vowels as well as consonants to get rid of letters. It is also helpful to learn numerous two letter words - this allows players to increase their scores by making supplemental words from their main word. For example:
__Y
M O
A G
N A
Y
This player may have played the word YOGA, however they would also gain points for the words 'MO' 'AG' and 'NA'.
It is important for a player to know the game board, in order to take advantage of double and triple spaces. Use those spaces tactically, so not to give your opponent a chance to take advantage of them.
Arrange your tiles to make a word - preferably one that uses all seven letters. This is called a bingo and will add 50 extra points to a player's score. If a player does not have any tiles that will create words, it is suggested that they exchange tiles. It does result in missing a turn, but may allow for a higher word score.
Lastly, practice, practice, practice.
So, it seems that my tactic is good... I may not be a genius or have the ability to play Scrabble, but if I keep at it, who knows.
Sources:
ehow: How to improve your Scrabble game
Scrabble Help for the Average Game Player
Wikihow: How to improve your Scrabble score in 7 steps