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Nouns and plurals

You will notice words like GRANITES in the word list and may wonder whether you can really have a plural of GRANITE. ‘What are those rocks over there?’ ‘Oh, they’re granites’, just doesn’t sound right, right? Wrong. The rule is that all nouns can have a plural unless… Read More

Using the letter H

The best way to use an H is usually to make one of the many two-letter words it appears in – or rather, to make two, thus scoring it both ways, preferably on a premium square. The twos with an H are: AH exclamation of surprise or pleasure… Read More

K-words from New Zealand

New Zealand has made a few additions to the language, mainly Māori words which have been absorbed into English, or they have in New Zealand anyway, all adding richness to our Scrabble game vocabulary. Most of these words contain a K, which can be an awkward letter. These words can… Read More

Angriest anagrams

The eight-letter combination with the most anagrams is AEGINRST, with eleven. No obvious name suggests itself for this group, like the RETAINS group or the TEASING one, but I suppose we could call it the STEARING committee, or even the ANGRIEST brigade. ANGRIEST ANGSTIER… Read More

Great for the anagrams

The letters of the word RETAINS form a whopping eleven anagrams making it one of the best possible racks to have for bonuses. They are: ANESTRI plural of ANESTRUS ANTSIER more anxious NASTIER RATINES plural of RATINE, a material RESIANT old Scots word for… Read More

Eight-letter Gs

There are some nice eight-letter words with the one- point tiles and a G that all Scrabble players should know. Here are eight you can make with the letters AEILNRS + G. ALIGNERS ENGRAILS decorates (e.g. the side of a coin) with… Read More

Using the letter G

The G is generally best got rid of as soon as possible (you will notice ‘guest’ begins with G – is this just coincidence?). Less experienced players often get very excited when they get -ING on their rack, thinking they will make a seven-letter word with it. It’s not as… Read More

Words with American spellings

Scrabble has always allowed American spellings – more than ever since the North American word list was incorporated into the one used by the rest of the world. So have no fear about playing COLOR or TRAVELED (as against the British… Read More

Using Q without a U

For most casual players, the letter that fills them with more dread than any other is the Q. Needing a U to be able to use it with any ‘normal’ word, it can leave you effectively playing with six tiles (removing any chance of a bonus, of course) or force… Read More