How to Improve at the Game of Scrabble?
Scrabble is a complex word game that includes not only words but also logic and probability. Not only do you need a vast vocabulary but you also need to have logical thinking to convert certain situations in your favor. When a beginner starts playing Scrabble, he focuses on learning new words and not on the strategy. However, there are things that are more important than vocabulary to win and excel at Scrabble. Here are some tips to Improve at the Game of Scrabble:
1. Play a lot of games
You need different techniques and strategies to excel at Scrabble along with a good vocabulary and you cannot achieve all of these without experience. So, the first thing that you should do is play a lot of games against different people. When you will play the game for a long time and against different players then you would find that every time you would be in a different situation and how the approach of different players is different from other players. Playing a lot of games will help you gain experience and when you will lose games in a row then don’t give up as you will get to learn many things. In every game, you will find yourself in different situations, and with that, you will also learn how to tackle those situations and convert them into your favor.
2. Learn to Maximize the use of Bonus Squares
The bonus squares are there in the game to give the edge to the player who knows how to use them correctly and if you learn the use of bonus squares and how you can gain an advantage over your opponents using the bonus squares then you would find that it would become difficult to beat your because you’re getting additional points for the same words just because of bonus squares. When making a play then carefully look at the Scrabble board and see if there’s any way you can squeeze your word onto bonus squares and also, try to line up your highest scoring on the bonus tiles to maximize your score.
3. Try out other word games to improve your strategy
To improve your strategy and learn new skills, you can try out other word games similar to Scrabble. One such game is Words With Friends that is developed by Zynga and is almost similar to Scrabble. The rules and regulations of Words with Friends are pretty much the same as Scrabble, however, both are different games. While Scrabble is played in-person between 2-4 players, Words with Friends is played online. So, if you are looking to practice your Scrabble skills, you can play WWF online against random opponents worldwide. Not only will you learn new strategies but your game experience and game sense will also be improved.
4. Don’t Hold onto Tiles
Try not to hold on to high-point tiles for long because it is better that you play them off when you have the chance instead of holding them for long. When you hold onto a letter tile for long then you are basically letting go of a chance to get bingo. Bingos don’t come easy and when you’re holding onto a tile then you’re letting the minute chance of getting a bingo. So, you should let go of high-scoring tiles and play them instead of holding onto them for too long.
5. Study different word lists
If you are playing Scrabble then you should know about all kinds of words. Whether it is a two-lettered word, three-lettered word, or long words, you should learn different types of words. Several two-lettered words/three-lettered words come in handy in various situations and learning those word lists can help you win games of Scrabble in difficult situations.
6. Try out Helping Tools
There are different Scrabble Helpings tools available such as Scrabble Word Finder or Unscrambler. Although these tools are not recommended to use when you are playing a competitive game when you are training or practicing then you should take help from these tools. These tools can help you learn new words and how you can tackle different situations e.g when you have tiles at hand from which you cannot create a word then you can take help from the tools and find out all the possible word combinations from the letter tiles at hand.