How to Play Scrabble: Rules, Scoring and Your First Game

Scrabble has been played for more than 80 years, and its rules fit on a single sheet of paper. This guide explains everything a new player needs, in the order you'll need it during your first game. Where casual and tournament rules differ, we'll point it out.

What's in the box

A board of 15 × 15 squares, with coloured premium squares.
100 letter tiles (including 2 blank tiles).
A tile bag and a rack for each player.

The game is for 2 to 4 players. Two-player games are the standard in clubs and tournaments.

The goal

Score more points than your opponents by placing tiles on the board to form words, crossword-style. Words read left to right or top to bottom, and every group of tiles in a line must form a valid word.

Setting up

Put all the tiles in the bag and mix them.
Each player draws one tile. The player closest to A goes first (a blank beats everything).
Return those tiles, mix again, and each player draws seven tiles for their rack.

The first move

The first player must play a word of at least two letters that covers the centre square (usually marked with a star). The centre square is a double-word square, so the first word's score is doubled.

Taking a turn

On each turn, you do one of three things:

Play a word. Place one or more tiles in a single row or column. They must connect to tiles already on the board, and every word formed must be valid.
Exchange tiles. Return any number of tiles to the bag and draw the same number. This is only allowed when at least seven tiles remain in the bag. You score nothing.
Pass. Skip your turn and score nothing.

After playing, draw from the bag to bring your rack back to seven tiles.

How scoring works

Each tile has a value printed on it, from 0 (blank) to 10 (Q and Z). A word's score is the sum of its tiles, adjusted for any premium squares that your new tiles cover:

Square	Effect
Double letter	The tile on it counts twice
Triple letter	The tile on it counts three times
Double word	The whole word counts twice
Triple word	The whole word counts three times

Important details:

Premiums only count once. After a tile has been placed on a premium square, that square counts as a plain square for future words.
Letter premiums are applied first, then word premiums.
Every word you form scores. If your play creates a main word and two short side words, you score all three, including any premiums your new tiles cover in each.
Blanks score zero even when placed on premium letter squares. They still activate word premiums.

The bingo

If you use all seven tiles from your rack in one turn, you earn a 50-point bonus. See our bingo guide.

A scoring example

You play QUIZ across a triple-word square, with the Z on a double-letter square:

Q (10) + U (1) + I (1) + Z (10 × 2 = 20) = 32
Triple word: 32 × 3 = 96 points

Valid words

Words must appear in the dictionary you've agreed on. Not allowed:

Proper nouns (names of people, places, brands)
Abbreviations and words requiring a hyphen or apostrophe
Words with capitals only

Clubs and tournaments use official lists: NWL in North America, Collins internationally. Casual players often use a printed dictionary. See Scrabble dictionaries explained.

Challenges

If you think an opponent's word is invalid, you can challenge it before the next player moves. Look it up in the agreed dictionary:

If the word is invalid, the player takes their tiles back and scores nothing for that turn.
If the word is valid, what happens depends on the rules you're playing. In the classic home rules, the challenger loses their next turn. In North American tournament play, an unsuccessful challenge typically costs the challenger 5 points instead.

Agree on challenge rules before you start.

How the game ends

The game ends when:

the bag is empty and one player has used all their tiles, or
there have been six consecutive scoreless turns (passes, exchanges or invalid plays).

Then:

Each player subtracts the total value of their unplayed tiles from their score.
If a player went out, they add the total of everyone else's unplayed tiles to their own score.

The highest score wins. Our endgame guide explains how to make the most of the last few moves.

Tips for your first few games

Learn a handful of two-letter words before you start. Here's the full list.
Look at premium squares before you look for long words.
Keep a mix of vowels and consonants on your rack.
Don't be afraid to exchange a hopeless rack.
Afterwards, check what your racks could have made with our Scrabble word finder.

For the next step, read our beginner strategy guide.