How to play Scrabble

What you need

• The Scrabble board, 15 squares by 15, with its colored premium squares.
• 100 letter tiles, including 2 blanks. The letter distribution is printed on the board, and each tile shows its point value.
• A tile rack for each player and the drawstring bag.
• Pen and paper for the scorekeeper.
• A dictionary everyone agrees on before the first tile goes down. Hasbro recommends The Official SCRABBLE Players Dictionary from Merriam-Webster, but any agreed dictionary works. It is used only to settle challenges, not to hunt for words during play.

Missing pieces, or need a fresh copy? Miniature Market stocks current editions; compare the edition and component list against the rules here before you buy. (Affiliate link: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How links work.)

Set up the game

1. Open the board in the middle of the table and check that all 100 tiles are in the bag.
2. Pick a scorekeeper and give them the paper.
3. Everyone takes a rack.
4. Draw for first turn. Each player draws one tile. The letter closest to A goes first, and a blank beats any letter. Play then goes clockwise.
5. Return those tiles to the bag and shake it.
6. Draw seven tiles each in playing order, without letting anyone see them.

Playing Scrabble, turn by turn

1. First word. It must be at least two letters long and cover the center star. The star is a double word square, so the first word's score is doubled.
2. Every later word must connect to at least one tile already on the board, and every turn must form at least one new word.
3. Place tiles in one straight line, across or down, never diagonally. You can add letters to the front or back of an existing word (or both ends at once, turning TEA into STEAL), cross a word at a right angle, play parallel to a word, or bridge two words.
4. Every group of touching tiles must read as a real word, both across and down. If your play creates a two-letter word on the side, that word must be valid too, and it scores.
5. Announce your score. Add the letter values of every word you formed or changed this turn. Count premium squares only if you placed a tile on them this turn.
6. Refill your rack to seven from the bag. Then it is the next player's turn.
7. Instead of playing, you may exchange or pass. To exchange, put any number of your tiles face down, draw the same number from the bag, then return the discarded tiles to the bag. Exchanging or passing scores nothing and ends your turn.
8. Challenges. Any player may challenge a word before the next player starts their turn. Look it up. If it is not in the dictionary, the player takes the tiles back and loses that turn. If it is valid, the word scores and the challenger loses their next turn.
9. End of game. The game ends when the bag is empty and one player has used all their tiles, or when every player has passed twice in a row.

Tiles stay where they are placed for the rest of the game. A blank's letter is announced when played and cannot change later. The same word may be played as many times as you like across a game.

What counts as a word

Under A8166 household rules, anything in your agreed dictionary is playable, except proper nouns and names, foreign words, abbreviations, acronyms, prefixes or suffixes standing alone, hyphenated words and words needing apostrophes.

Scoring more without a bigger vocabulary

1. Learn the two- and three-letter words in your dictionary. They let you play parallel to existing words, scoring several short words at once. Hasbro's own tips call them the building blocks of expert play.
2. Score twice with one play. Laying a word alongside another, as in Ana's PASTE, often beats a longer word in open space because the side words score too.
3. Put heavy letters on letter premiums. A 4-point letter on a triple letter square is 12 points by itself. A 1-point letter there is 3.
4. Keep a balanced rack. Aim to keep a mix of vowels and consonants after each play. A rack of seven vowels or seven consonants costs you a turn sooner or later.
5. Save the S for a real payoff. Hasbro suggests not spending an S on a plural unless it earns at least 8 points. An S hooked onto an existing word lets you score two words at once.
6. Hunt for bingos. Move common beginnings (UN, RE, DE, OUT) to the left of your rack and common endings (ING, ED, ER, EST) to the right, then look for a word between them. The 50-point bonus is often the difference in a close game.
7. Look at what you open before you play. A word that leaves a clear lane to a triple word square can hand your opponent 30 or more. Sometimes the second-best score is the better move.

Scoring errors and challenge disputes

"I covered a word square earlier, so the new word through it gets doubled again."

No. A premium square counts only on the turn a tile is first placed on it. After that it is an ordinary square.

"The little word on the side doesn't count."

It counts, both ways. Every new word formed must be valid and is added to your score.

"Can I look in the dictionary for a word before I play?"

No. The dictionary is for settling challenges only.

"Is a name like MARIA allowed?"

No. Proper nouns and names are excluded, as are abbreviations, acronyms, hyphenated words and words with apostrophes.

"Can I move a tile I played last turn?"

No. Once played, tiles cannot be moved or replaced.

"I drew eight tiles by mistake."

Another player removes the extra tile at random, without looking, and returns it to the bag.

"What does a failed challenge cost?"

Under A8166, the challenger loses their next turn. A successful challenge means the player takes back their tiles and loses the turn. Club and tournament rules can differ, so state yours before play.

Popular variants and house rules

• Finish Line Scrabble (official A8166 variant). The first player to reach a target score wins, regardless of tiles left. Targets depend on skill and player count. With 2 players: beginner 70, intermediate 120, expert 200. With 3: 60, 100, 180. With 4: 50, 90, 160. Mixed groups each play to their own level, so a beginner joining two intermediates needs 60 while they need 100.
• Blank recycling (official A8166 variant). At the start of your turn you may swap a tile from your rack for a matching blank on the board, then take your normal turn. It keeps blanks in circulation.
• Open dictionary (house rule). Allow lookups before playing. It suits kids and language learners but removes challenges entirely.
• Team Scrabble (house rule). Two pairs, one rack per team, partners whisper. It is a good way to bring a new player in without a long losing game.
• No-penalty challenges (house rule). A wrong challenge costs nothing. Families with young players often prefer this.

A five-minute Scrabble walkthrough

1. "Seven tiles each. Make words on the board like a crossword."
2. "First word goes through the star in the middle. After that, every word has to touch what's already there."
3. "All in one line, across or down. And anything you put next to other letters has to make real words too."
4. "Add up the numbers on your tiles. On a standard board, light blue doubles a letter, dark blue triples it, pink doubles the word, red triples it. Only the first time it's covered."
5. "Use all seven at once and you get fifty extra."
6. "Draw back up to seven. Stuck? Swap some tiles instead of playing."
7. "Think a word's fake? Challenge before the next person goes. Whoever's wrong loses a turn."

Then score the first few turns out loud for everyone, the way the sample above does. Premium squares click once people see them counted.

Ages and group size

The box says 2 to 4 players, ages 8 and up. Younger children who are confident readers can play on a team with an adult or use the open dictionary rule. Two players is the classic tournament format and gives the most control over the board. Three or four is more social but slower, since you wait longer between turns. A game typically runs 45 to 90 minutes; set a gentle timer of two or three minutes per turn if one player tends to stall.

Scrabble rule questions

Sources and edition notes

Hasbro A8166 classic household Scrabble. Dictionary and challenge rules vary internationally and in tournament play. Setup, word placement, premium scoring, the 50-point bingo, challenges, exchanges, the end-of-game adjustment, the tie rule and the two official variants follow the A8166 instructions. Letter values used in examples are the ones printed in that rule sheet. Strategy tips marked as Hasbro's come from the same sheet; the rest are common practice.

Sources rechecked October 22, 2026. This records a document check, not a claim of hands-on testing.

• Hasbro A8166 Scrabble instructions (PDF)

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