How to Win at Words with Friends

Words With Friends is a popular iPhone and Android application that is very similar to Scrabble but is played only between two different phones. The best way to improve your Words With Friends score is to practice a few simple strategies.

Strategy #1 Understand the Scoring System and Use it to your Advantage

The first error new players make is that they play not understanding the scoring system. First of all, each letter is assigned a point value, located on the upper right corner of the tile. Easy to use letters are given the value of one with the harder to use letters, such as Z and Q, are given points values of 10. Most other letters fall in between with an even number score.

It is important to note that longer words do not necessarily score more points than short words. With the exception of when you are able to place all seven of your letter tiles in a single word, this is called a BINGO and awards you extra points in addition to your word score. To score high, words must be well placed over the bonus tiles. The bonus tile scoring is as follows:

DL=double letter, receive double the score of the letter

TL=triple letter, receive triple the score of the letter

DW=double word, receive double the score of the entire word

TW=triple word, receive triple the score of the entire word

To score the maximum score try to place your highest valued letters over a bonus tile. If you can place a word over two or more bonus tiles, you will score more points.

Strategy #2 Create Parallel and Perpendicular Words
Whenever you can, try to make new words parallel to the ones already existing on the board. The parallel words should create one or more two letter words that are also scorable. This way, you not only get points for your own new word but also for the two letter words formed by connecting the two words.

You can also create perpendicular words by "hooking" a letter to a word and creating a new word with the added letter, this will give you points for two words, the one you added to and the new word you created. For example: A+WAKE=AWAKE, then use the a to create a new word in the same turn such as PLAY or AGE.

Hold on to your S and Y tiles so you can use them to "hook" onto to the end of an existing word on the board and then build another word down or up off that S or Y.

Strategy #3 Finish Strong with Two Letter Words
One of the best ways to maximize your in Words With Friends is to know as many two letter words as you can, especially words using high value letters including Q, Z, X, and J. Knowing these two letter words also allows you to place the high value letters on triple word and triple letter spaces. QI, ZA, XI, XU, JO, AX, EX, and OX and their plurals (include the letter S) are all accepted by Words With Friends. For a complete list of two letter words (about 130 in all) consult a Scrabble Dictionary or do an internet search for valid two letter words.

Finally, Don't Cheat

Any internet search will help you find numerous Scrabble cheat sites, which are just as applicable to Words With Friends. There are even cheating apps, too. While you can use these sites to plug in the letter tiles you have with the letters on the board and find all of the possible combinations of words, your friends will know in a few moves that you are cheating since GJTOST, HAFIZ, and OTARINE have never been a part of your vocabulary, so if they all show up in the same game your friend will know that you are cheating. Remember, the name of the game is Words With Friends, and the friends part of the title is just as important to the game as the words part, so win by playing smart.