How does words with friends calculate points

The game could also end if three successive turns have occurred with no scoring and as long as the score is not zero-zero. After the last tile is played, the opposing player will lose points equal to the sum of the value of his remaining tiles. This amount is then awarded to the player who placed the last tile.

In the case of a tie, the player who had the highest score before the game ended is the winner. April 22, An Update from Larry Mantle. Larry Mantle. July 16, Announcing LAist Studios. One Reason? Cheaper DNA Tests. The U. Each player starts with seven, refilling their rack from the bag until it is empty. The game ends when the tile bag is empty and one player uses up all their letters.

The goal of Words With Friends is to form words using the letters in your letter rack, plus the letters that are already on the game board. Words have to be at least two letters long. This first word gets a double-word score. Every letter in Words With Friends has an assigned point value. Common letters, like T and E, are worth fewer points.

More challenging letters, like X and Q, are worth more points. The point value is shown on the tile itself. In addition to the face value of the letter tiles, you can earn more points by playing words on bonus spaces. There are four types of bonus spaces in Words With Friends.

You can combine bonus spaces for even more points. If you play all seven tiles on your letter rack in a single turn, you earn an extra 35 points. This is on top of any additional points you earn from bonus spaces. One of the most valuable Words With Friends rules to remember is that you get credit for every word you create. If in forming one word horizontally, for example, the tiles also form another word vertically, you get points for both words. Using hooks is one of the most important strategies for winning.

For example, say that CARD is already on the board as a horizontal word. Words With Friends is a crossword game made for mobile devices iPhone, iPad, Android , and is based on the popular board game Scrabble.

The basic directions can be found HERE. Because of some of the new dynamics mentioned above, the friends that I play with regularly and I have agreed to a few rule clarifications for ease of play. First, we are allowed to keep a list of all 2 letter words. Since we are able to use trial and error to find words, it saves a ton of time to know what all the two-letter words are.

If you use a list long enough, you will probably end up memorizing it anyway. Sometimes the makers of Words with Friends add and delete words from its dictionary. Second, we have deemed it acceptable to keep track of the missing tiles if we like — much like counting cards in Blackjack. We figure that since there can be a relatively large amount of time between turns, why not use the time to keep track of what tiles have and have not been played yet.

None of us ever really do this early in a game, or even in the middle. But as the game is nearing the end and it looks like it could be particularly close, we will definitely do it. I put together a spreadsheet that takes care of this for me. Click the link below and you can use it too! You will need at least Microsoft Excel 97 to use the spreadsheet. In my group of friends, we have deemed it acceptable to keep the two-letter word list and keep track of tiles if we want, but NOT acceptable to use Words With Friends cheats, word generators or any other word lists, which are readily available online.

Hopefully it will give you an edge against your opponents as well. It never fails, you play a 5 letter word to start the game, and your experienced opponent puts a nice lay-along next to it, effectively scoring double for his word and single for YOUR word too. When I start a game, I like to start with a 2 letter word, and use that turn to dump my two least desirable letters. Let your opponent be the first to open the board up.

The best way to maximize the value of your tiles is to play them on the colored squares. Always look for the accessibility of these squares on the board — even before you examine your tray. Look for plays using these squares and try to work your letters to fit those plays. Even better, try and find plays that combine multiple letter scores with multiple word scores. You will score 11 points.

The score for this play will jump all the way up to 57 points! One of the keys to winning games consistently is learning how to make Bingos. It takes a bit of practice, but the more you play, the more you will develop strategies that will help you create more and more Bingos. When I first started playing, I was lucky to average one Bingo for every 10 games played. Read on for some of my strategies for creating Bingos. Just as you will be looking for plays around the High-Dollar squares, your experienced opponent will be doing the same.

Even a 40 point play might not be worth opening up one of those areas, knowing that he could potentially score 50 or even more points by taking full advantage of the opening. In your tray you notice the word VEST. I consider this to be wasting your S.

Mix in a few colored squares and you can easily clear 30 points. As a general rule of thumb, I try not to use an S or a BLANK unless they are directly responsible for scoring at least 30 points for me.

Swapping tiles is an art. Never try to swap tiles in order to create a word that you are trying to formulate in your tray. That will only lead to heartache, trust me. Never give them up if you have them. Giving them up gives your opponent a chance to use them with the colored squares for maximum value.

These combinations are very versatile in that they can be attached to the beginning or end of many 5 letter words, to make a Bingo. A high tile turnover rate is good for your tray.