Words With Friends….Philosophy and Strategy

Although I was never a scrabble player, either as a kid or as an adult, I’m having a blast playing Words with Friends. I’ve been playing on my iTouch for a little less than a year now and I think I’ve gotten quite good. My play can be characterized as defensive and sneaky.  I like to play short, high scoring words and I try not to give my opponent an opportunity to score big. I’ve also been known to use a turn just to block my opponent from scoring.  I thought I’d share so tactics I use. Perhaps some will help you.

First, some important nuts and bolts:

• Never cheat. Never use outside programs that show you the best word combinations or word placement on the board. IT DEFEATS THE WHOLE PURPOSE AND FUN OF THE GAME. Period.
• Review the list of 2-letter and 3-letter allowable words. At the very minimum, memorize all the 2-letter combinations that begin with the following letters – J, Q, X, Z.   There are no 2-letter words that begin with C or V – know that.  I’ve included a link to the lists here.  2-Letter Word List  |  3-Letter Word List

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(Note: I don’t consider this cheating. I consider this studying and learning the rules of the game.)

• Most people know that the first word of the game has to start on the star in the middle of the board. What some people don’t know is that the first letter does not have to placed on the star and the word can go vertically or horizontally. (e.g. – If the first word of the game is “hello,” you can place your tiles so that any one of the letters covers the star…you do not have to place the “h” on the star)
• Get to know the board and the following squares – TW, DW, TL and DL

DL – Double letter – If you place a tile on a DL square, you double the points on that specific tile.
TL – Triple letter – If you place a tile on a TL square, you triple the points on that specific tile.
DW – Double word – If you place a tile on a DW square, you double the points of your whole word.
TW – Triple word – If you place a tile on a TW square, you triple the points of your whole word.

• Know the point value of the letters

Now for the tactics and strategy:

#1 – The word you want to play is almost always less important than giving your opponent an opportunity. This is my best advice to anyone playing the game. Many people are so excited to have formed a great word, they don’t realize that they have given their opponent a huge opportunity to score big.

#2 – Don’t play the first word you think of. Generate at least 2-3 words you can play and add up the points in your head. Again, make sure the word you play does not give your opponent an opportunity to score (see #1 above).

#3 – Keep your eye open for playing high-point letters on high-value squares. You can score big with these squares. For example, if there is an ‘I’ after an open TL square, you can score 31 points by just placing the ‘Q’ on the TL square in front of the ‘I’ (…making the word ‘QI’). In this example, if you also have an ‘I,’ you can score 62 points just by placing 2 letters. Be cognizant of these squares and remember to try and minimize your opponent’s opportunity to score big. Try and anticipate the letters they might have.

#4 – Don’t be afraid to swap tiles. If your rack has the letters ‘EEEIORT’, chances are you will be forced to play a few turns of low point words. In these cases, I will happily swap ALL my letters. Keep in mind that if you swap one or all of your letters, you lose a turn to play. I never swap less than 4 tiles.

#5 – Make as many words as you can on a single play. I like to “stack” words when I can. For example, my opponent played the word ‘ATES’. I played HIRE directly on top of ATES. Not only did I get points for the word HIRE, I also formed 4 other words – ‘HA’, ‘IT’, ‘RE’, ‘ES’. This adds points quickly because you get points for all five words.

#6 – Use your ‘S’, ‘ED’, ‘ER’ and ‘ING’ letters wisely. You can generate a lot of points by just extending words with the 4 combinations I just mentioned. The ‘S’ is one of the most valuable letters you can have.

#7 – Don’t be afraid to guess. The list of allowable words is very sizable and chances are that we mere mortals won’t know all of them. There is no penalty for guessing…..so guess! Plus, one of the best feelings is when you form a new word that you didn’t know before!

#8 – Anticipate the tiles and words your opponent has and can play. Try and think ahead of the current round. Place lower scoring words and set yourself up to capitalize on better squares! (be careful with this one)

#9 – Have a general idea how many letters are left in the game and the high-point letters that have not been played. As you approach the end of the game, you should have a reasonable idea of what letters your opponent has. Below is a list of the number of tiles for each letter.

#10 – Be courteous to your opponent. Words with Friends will automatially terminate the game if it is your move and you have not played a word in 10+ days. Don’t let this happen. On the flipside, don’t send numerous messages or reminders to your opponent harassing them to play. It’s just a game and people have their own timing. Respect that.

That’s it. I hope you can use some of these strategies to help you improve your game. Have fun playing and keep at it. The more you play, the better you’ll get. The game is a combination of both skill and luck. You can always improve your skill but not knowing whether you’ll have good luck with the tiles is what makes this game most interesting!