How to Score a Scrabble Play

You score Scrabble by adding the numbers on each letter tile within the word formed on a player’s turn, including letters played from the player’s rack and those already on the board. The blank tiles act as wildcards, allowing players to play any letter in the alphabet but not add anything to the word’s score. Scrabble scoring may sound simple, but once you add in the special squares you can combine—and those you can use to double or triple a score for a character or word—scoring can get a little tricky.

Below are some basic rules to follow when scoring Scrabble.

Basic Rules for Scoring in Scrabble

There are a few basic rules that govern scoring in Scrabble, whether playing online or the traditional way:

• Special squares (double letter score, triple letter score, and so forth) only count the first time a player plays a letter on them.
• The light blue double-letter square doubles the point value for the tile played on it, and the blue triple-letter square triples the value for the tile. If a player plays a blank tile on either of these special squares, it contributes nothing toward the total word score because a blank tile has a score of zero.
• The pink double-word squares double the entire word value and the red triple-word squares triple the entire word value. This remains true even if a blank tile covers the double-word or triple-word score square. The pink square in the middle of the board—that you use to start the game—is a double-word score.
• You count double-letter and triple-letter squares first to obtain the initial word score, and then count any double-word score or triple-word score squares.
• A player using all seven letters in their rack gains a bonus of 50 points to add to their score after they count all other special squares. The 50 bonus points don’t count toward double and triple-word scores.
• If a player forms two or more words on a single turn, they score each word individually (meaning they count any special scoring squares for both words).
• At the end of the game, players subtract all tiles in their rack from their score and the highest score wins. If players tie, the person with the fewest points subtracted from their score wins.

Examples of Scoring Scrabble

Let’s look at a few real-world examples to see how Scrabble scoring rules play out. The basic rule to remember is that light blue and blue come before light pink and red.

The “T” in “thing” covers a double-word score and the “G” covers a double-letter score. You double the point value for the “G” when adding the word’s initial score (you then double this initial score to get the final score).

The word “thing” is formed and the “T” and “G” are on double-word score squares. You add letter values to get the word’s initial score, and then double the score for the first double-word score. Then, double that total for the second double-word score. The final value is four times the initial word score.

The “T” in “thing” covers a double-word score square, and a player lays down an “S” to create “things.” The double word score square under the “T” doesn’t count for the new word because the “T” was not played in that round. If the added “S” on the end of the word is on a double-letter or triple-letter score the value of the “S” is doubled or tripled. If the “S” is on a double-word or triple-word square, the score for the entire word (“things”) is doubled or tripled.

The “S” at the end of “things” sits on a special square and is used to spell out the word “star.” When a player creates two (or more) new words, all words are scored independently and then added to form the total score for the play. So if that added “S” is on a triple letter score, the “S” is tripled for both “things” and “star.” Even better, if the “S” is on a double word score, both newly formed words are doubled. This can create some high scores when used properly.

What About a Word That Covers Two Triple Word Score Squares?

It’s difficult to lay down letters on two different triple-word score squares in the same turn. You’ll need at least eight letters for the same word to be on two of these red squares, so the player must form the longer word around a smaller word. But it can be done and it follows the same rule as forming a word over two double-word scores. After the word’s letters are added to form the initial value, this score is tripled for the first triple-word score and that total is tripled again for the second triple-word score. The result is nine times the initial word’s value.

What Are Some Strategies Around Special Scoring Tiles?

Scrabble isn’t always won by the person with the best vocabulary or the highest-scoring tiles in their hand. Scrabble can also be quite strategic.

• Don’t always play high-scoring letters just because you can. Letters like “Q” and “X” are best used with one of the special squares to get the maximum value out of them. Late in the game, it might be best to just play them. If you’re caught with a high-scoring letter in your rack at the end of the game, it counts against you.
• Don’t give the opponent an easy double-word or triple-word score. When you play adjacent to these squares, it makes it easier for your opponent to use them. This can’t always be avoided, but if you can make a word in some other part of the board, even if it doesn’t score quite as much, it might be a better move.
• Save your “S” tiles. The “S” may be the most versatile tile in Scrabble. It can help you form two words in one play by making an already-played word plural. It can also extend your word by one letter when you need that extra square for a double or triple-word score. So even if you can play “things” from your hand, consider holding back that ‘s’ unless it lands on a special square. It may be more useful later in the game.