SCRABBLE® Rules |
Be the player with the highest final score.
Players form interlocking words, crossword fashion, on the board using letter tiles of varying values. Each player competes for high score by taking advantage of the letter values, as well as the values of the “premium” squares on the board.
Player 1 always goes first.
Each player starts with seven letter tiles in his or her letter rack. Player 1 combines two or more letter tiles to form a word and places it on the board to read either across or down. One of the letters must be placed on the center <star> square.
On subsequent turns, each player adds one or more letters to those already played to form new words. All letters played in a turn must be placed in one row — either across or down — to form one complete word. All words must have at least two letters. If the letters played touch other letters in adjacent rows, they must form complete words, crosswise fashion, with these letters. The player gets full credit for all words formed or modified on their turn.
A player completes a turn by adding together the letter values of all new words formed on that turn. The player then draws as many new letter tiles as those played, thereby always keeping seven letter tiles in his/her letter rack.
Either of the two blank tiles may be used as any letter. Once a player states which letter the blank tile represents, it remains that letter for the rest of the game.
A player may use a turn to exchange some or all of the tiles in his or her tile rack, provided there are at least seven tiles left to draw. The player draws as many new letter tiles as are returned to the pool. This ends the turn.
All words, including those of foreign origin, as well as obsolete, colloquial, or slang words are permitted. Words that are not permitted include those that are always capitalized, abbreviations, prefixes and suffixes used alone, and those requiring a hyphen or an apostrophe.
The game ends when all letters have been drawn and one player uses his or her last letter; or when all possible plays have been made, or when each player scores zero points (by passing, exchanging or losing challenges) on three consecutive turns.
Scoring for the SCRABBLE computer game is done automatically. Here’s how scores are calculated:
The score for each turn is the sum of the letter values in each word formed or modified on that turn, plus the additional points obtained from placing letters on premium squares.
Premium letter squares: A light blue square doubles the score of a letter placed on it; a dark blue square triples the letter score.
Premium word squares: The score for an
entire word is doubled when one of its letters is placed on a pink square; it is
tripled when one of its letters is placed on a red square. Premiums for double
or triple letter values are included (if any) before doubling or tripling the
word score. If a word is formed that covers two premium word squares, the score
is doubled and then re-doubled (four times the letter count). Note: The center
<star> square is pink, which
always doubles the score for the first word.
Letter and square premiums count only on the turn in which they are played.
When a blank tile is played on a pink or red square, the value of the word is doubled or tripled, even though the blank itself has no score value.
When two or more words are formed in the same play, each is scored. The common letter is counted (with full premium value, if any) for each word.
Any player who plays all seven tiles on a turn scores a “Bingo” for a premium of 50 points after totaling his or her score for the turn.
When the game ends, each player’s score is reduced by the sum of his or her unplayed letters. If a player has used all of his or her letters, the sum of the other players’ unplayed letters is added to that player’s score.
The player with the highest final score wins the game.