Alrighty! So, you want to know how to play Scrabble, a game loved by English teachers and grandmothers alike 
as well as a number of inbetweeners of course.
Scrabble is a classic word game, where the objective is to collect the most âpointsâ by the end of the game, by creating words out of letter tiles.
Hereâs your go-to guide for how to do it! :] Itâs not too difficult, donât worry!
What you need
-
At least one other player
-
An official scrabble board with all components, including a bag of plastic/wooden letters with a small number on each one, and a rack to hold said letters for each player. (The numbers on the letters represent how many points each one generates)
-
A dictionary
-
A peice of paper and a pen to keep track of scores
Preparing to play
-
Put all your letter tiles in a bag and shake them, to make sure theyâre well and truly jumbled up
-
Determine who goes first by passing the bag around all the players, each one drawing a letter tile and showing it. Whoever has a letter closest to âAâ goes first, and everyone goes clockwise from that person. If someone draws a blank tile, they go first.
-
Draw your tiles. Beginning with the person who drew the tile closest to âAâ, allow the players to take seven tiles. Hold the bag above eye level so that you canât see the tiles. Do not show these tiles to your fellow players. Just put them onto your tile rack and pass the bag to the next player until everyone has drawn their letters.
How to play
-
Whoever goes first plays the first word. The word must cross the star in the centre of the playing board for it to be viable. (When calculating the first word score, keep in mind that the player who places the first word gets to double their total score because the star counts as a Premium Square with a double word bonus. For example, if the total value of the first word played was 8, then the player would receive a score of 16)
-
Count up your points by adding up the score for each letter
-
Select new tiles. For every tile that you placed on the board, you select another from the bag, without letting anyone see, of course. Once you select a tile, you cannot put it back.
-
Make sure you build on other playersâ words. When it is your turn, you are not allowed to place your word anywhere. It must connect with another playerâs word in some way, be it adding on an âsâ to the end of their word and creating two new ones in the process, or allowing your word to cross over theirs at some point
-
Make sure to use your tiles to get the highest possible score every round. thatâs the whole point, after all. If you have a tricky letter, like âXâ or âQâ, then try to get rid of them quickly, as they only clog up your tile rack.
-
You may challenge other players if you think theyâve spelt their word wrong, or if their word isnât a real word. This is where the dictionary comes in. If the word is not in the dictionary, or theyâve spelt it wrong, it will not count in the game, and they lose that turn, removing the tiles from the board and waiting for their next turn. If you challenge them and you are wrong, you will lose your turn instead
-
if you donât like your tiles, you can forfeit your turn to put a word on the board, using it instead to deposit a number of letters back in the bag, and draw new ones. You can only do this once per turn.
Scoring
-
Keep track of your scores as you go along
-
Watch for premium score squares. Premium Squares will alter your word scores, so pay attention to these when you play words. You can only use the bonus from a Premium Square if you laid the tile over that square during the current turn. You cannot incorporate bonuses from Premium Squares that you already counted in a different turn or that were counted by a different player. For example, if your word passes over a âtriple wordâ square, then you triple your overall score. * When adding the bonuses for plays with multiple Premium Squares, add the letter bonuses in before the word bonuses. For example, if you spell a word that has a double letter bonus and a triple word bonus, add the double letter bonus to your total before multiplying the total by three.
-
Add up each playerâs scores at the end of the game. After all of the players have exhausted their tiles or cannot play any more words, add up each playerâs points total. As the score keeper adds the totals, each player should let him or her know the points value (if any) of the tiles he or she has left over. Deduct this value from each playerâs points total to determine each playerâs final score
Extra rules you should be aware of
- All word you use must be in the dictionary, or else you could be challenged on them and miss a turn.
- You can create multiple words in a go if youâre smart and place your word correctly
- Never play against your grandmother. She will always win
@Gamers :]
