Are you constantly getting beaten when you play Scrabble on the internet? Tired of losing to some 16 year-old kid in Iowa? Here are three things you can do to improve your chances of “out-wording” your opponent.
Learn the Baby Words
I'm talking about the little 2-letter words. You know, the ones that are kind of hard to work into a sentence like “aa” and “oe” - because no one knows what the heck they mean! But you can bet your opponent knows them. Better yet, make a small list of all legal 2-letter words and tape it to the edge of your monitor. Eventually you will know them well enough that you won't even have to consult it.
Is that cheating? No, not according to most online Scrabble game rules. You're allowed to consult a dictionary, for crying out loud - so you can certainly take a quick look at a piece of paper. There are a few exceptions to this, so check with the site's listed rules to be sure.
Don't Think Too Much
If you waste a lot of time trying to come up that perfect 7-letter word, you will run out of time. With most sites, the player that runs out of time loses the game - it doesn't matter if you are ahead by 100 points at the time! So forget “amplify” and instead make a few shorter words instead - it will pay off in the long run.
Should you ever form the bigger words? Absolutely! But if you are usually losing now, you just aren't at that level yet. Concentrate more on quantity rather than quality - just for now. Once you are in the habit of thinking and forming more words more quickly, you will begin to recognize when a big word opportunity presents itself.
Play Against People that Kick Your Butt
Of course, it's much easier to win against a newbie or someone with a very low overall score. But our objective is not to take candy from a baby! We want to actually improve our game - and you do that by playing against people that are more experienced and just better at the game than you are right now.
Yes, you will be defeated often. But make those losses count for something - watch the strategy your opponent uses and learn from it. Try to remember the key plays that determined the winner and the loser in that game. Then use the same strategies when you play future games.
One final recommendation…don't play just before going to bed at night. I used to do that, and I found that the adrenaline rush that comes with winning would prevent me from falling asleep for a while! Since there are games on 24/7, get up a little early and play against some European opponents. Any morning started with a Scrabble win is bound to turn into a great day!
Very interesting and well explained. I never thought too much about a strategy when playing Scrabble, but now it makes sense to me to do that. Obviously there are people who take Scrabble a lot more seriously than I ever have.
#2 by CJ, Apr 8, 2008
That is a very interesting strategy. I will have to put that to good use!
#3 by Tim Hopkins, Apr 9, 2008
You offered some very practical common sense strategies that I've never before considered. Thanks!
