e.g. CO, QUE, T is fitted between an N and an S on the
board to make CONQ UEST.
Sometimes a word may cross two premium w ord squares. The
word score is doubled then re-doubled - 4 times the complete
word score; or tripled and then re-tripled - 9 times the
complete word score!
CONQUEST is play ed for 19 points with Q over the Double
Letter for an e xtra 10 points & then tripled to 87 points & then
tripled again for a total of 261 points!
End of the game
The game ends when
• all the tiles hav e been drawn and one of the play ers has used
all the tiles in their rack
• when all possible plays have been made
• all play ers hav e passed twice in consecutive turns
After all the scores are added up, each player’ s score is reduced
by the sum of his unplayed tiles, and if one play er has used all
their tiles, their score is increased by the sum of the unplayed
tiles of all the other players.
e.g. If Player one has an X and an A left on their rack at the end
of the game, their score is reduced by 9 points. The player who
used all their tiles adds 9 points to their score.
Remember - the game can be won or lost on the last letter in
the bag!
RULES CLARIFICA TIONS
•
If any tile touches another tile in adjacent rows, it must form
par t of a complete word crossword fashion, with all such tiles.
• The same word can be play ed more than once in a game.
• Pluralised words are allowed.
• A word can be extended on both ends within the same mov e
e.g. TRAINER to STRAINERS.
• All tiles played in an y one turn must be placed in one
continuous line only , horizontally or vertically .
• Players may not ad d tiles to various words, or form new
words in different parts of the board in the same turn.
• The bonus scores of the premium squares only apply to the
turn in which the tiles are placed on them.
• When more than one word is formed in a single turn, each
word is scored. The common letters are counted (with full
premium value, when they are on premium squares) in the
score for each word.
•
If a word crosses two premium w ord squares, the word score
is doubled and re-doubled - 4 times the complete word
score; or tripled and re-tripled - 9 times the complete word score.
• When a blank is placed on a red T riple or Double W ord
square, the sum of the tiles in the word is doubled or tripled
even though the blank itself has no score value. When it is
placed on a blue T riple or Double L etter square, the value of
the blank tile is still zero.
• When one play er has used all their tiles and the tile bag is
empty , the game is over . In some games, no play er succeeds
in using all their tiles. In this case the game continues until
all possible moves hav e been made. If a player is unable to
move, they pass their turn. If all play ers pass twice, in
consecutive turns, the game ends.
•
A dictionary or word guide may not be used while a game i s in
progress to search for words to fit the tiles on y our rack. It ma y on ly
be consulted after a word has been played and challeng ed.
GAME V ARIA TIONS
V ARIANTS
V ariants should only be play ed where all players agree. In the
case of disagreement it is recommended that the standard
rules are used.
HOUSE RULES
Rec ycling the blanks
The official rules state that once a blank has been played it may
not be moved. A variation e xists where blanks can be endlessly
recycled. If the word RET AINS has been play ed with the S as a
blank, then any play er holding an S can take the blank and
replace it with that S. The blank can then be used immediately
in that player’ s move.
Open dictionary
Some players play with ‘ open’ dictionaries where play ers
can look up any words they wish to, bef ore playing them,
without penalty . This variant is par ticularly useful for
learning new words.
T hematic SCRABBLE®
Thematic SCRABBLE® is good fun. If y ou are playing at
Christmas, give 5 e xtra points for every word played connected
to Christmas. If you’ re all great spor ts fans then try to play
words connected with sport etc. Players’ valiant attempts to
justify that words are connected with a giv en theme of ten add
to the fun element.
‘Jac ks to Open’
T o make the start more interesting and the game more open, a
rule can be introduced where players must play a w ord of at
least 5 letters on the first move of the game, similar to the ‘ Jacks
to Open’ rule in Jackpot pok er .
If the person going first cannot form a w ord of at least 5 letters then
play passes to the left and so on until one player can play 5 letters
or more. If nobody can form a 5-letter word then the starting player
gets the chance to play a 4-letter word, if they cannot do this either
then the player passes to the left again as abov e.
Double bag SCRABBLE®
T o make the game easier , split the letters in a set betw een
consonants and vow els and place in 2 separate bags, then allow
players, when they draw letters, to choose whether they w ant a
consonant or a vow el.
Un–SCRABBLE®
After you hav e played a game of SCRABBLE®, try
Un–SCRABBLE®. Each player , in turn, removes at least one and
not more than six of the letters from the board. The tiles
removed must be tak en from one word on the board and after
the move, all w ords lef t on the board should be valid and be
joined crossword fashion. The game continues until all tiles
have been remov ed or until no more valid moves can be made.
Players score the face value of all the tiles they remov e.
SCRABBLE® Bingo
SCRABBLE® Bingo is much lik e ordinar y Bingo but played with
SCRABBLE® tiles.
T o play:
a) Think of two sev en letter words and write them down.
Ensure that y ou do not use more of any one letter than are
in the SCRABBLE® set (check with the letter frequencies o n
the previous page.)
e.g. there are three G's in a SCRABBLE® set, so you must
ensure that in total your two words do not contain more
than three G's.
b ) One of the players or a neutral person picks letters from a
SCRABBLE® bag at random and calls them out. Strike
through those that are in your w ords. When you have
crossed through all letters of both words, call 'Scrabble
Bingo' and the caller will check y our form to ensure that
you hav e completed it correctly
Note: Y ou may only cross through one letter at a time i.e. if you
have f our E's within your two words y ou may only cross out
one E when “E” is called.
T OURNAMENT RULES
Using a timer
A timer can be used to limit the time each player tak es to make
their move. A common limitation is 2 minutes a mov e. In
Championship SCRABBLE®, chess clocks are used and each
player has 25 minutes to mak e all of their moves, after which a
penalty of 10 points per minute applies.
Restricted changing
Championship rules also ban changing once there are 6 or
fewer letters in the bag. This rule w as mainly introduced to
stop players changing a Q when they did not hold a U near the
end of the game.
SOLIT AIRE SCRABBLE®
Although SCRABBLE® was designed as a game for tw o to four
players, man y people have found it an absorbing form of
solitaire. There are various ways in which this can be done:
a) A player may try to beat their own previous scores, using
only one rack. Rules are as for regular SCRABBLE®.
b) A player sets up two racks, one f or themselves and one for
an imaginary opponent.
c) The tiles are turned right side up. By deliberate selection
and use of the dictionary , the play er tries to achieve the
highest possible score. The highest score obtainable in
SCRABBLE® is still a mystery .
DUPLICA TE SCRABBLE®
This method of play was inv ented by a Belgian, Hyppolite
W outers. All the players play with the same tiles but only receiv e
credit for the words they f ormed. In Duplicate SCRABBLE®, luck
plays no part. The game can be played by any number of play ers.
It can be played alone, whilst in F rench speaking countries,
where this method of play is very popular , more than 1000
players hav e taken part in a single game.
T o play:
Each player has a complete set of tiles, a rack and a board. Bef ore
the game starts, the players arrange their tiles in alphabetical
order , all face up. The arbitrator (or one of the play ers if there is
no arbitrator) draws seven tiles at random from a set of tiles in a
bag or face down in the box lid, and calls them.
All players draw the same tiles, place them on their rack, and try
to find the word with the highest score value. In three minutes
time, they must write on a slip of paper , the w ord, the score and
the grid reference of the first letter of the word (see letters and
numbers printed around the edge of the board. If the word is
horizontal, the letter is written first e.g.: H8; if v er tical, the
number is written first e.g.: 8H).
The arbitrator collects all the slips, and calls out the word with
the highest score; all the players now place this w ord on their
board (removing their word if it is not the same) but remember
that the individual score is the one for the word actually play ed.
If the word is rejected as being inadmissible, the play er scores
nothing. The arbitrator then draws new tiles to bring the total
number in their rack to seven and calls them.
In the first fifteen racks drawn, there must be a minimum of two
vow els and two consonants. F rom the sixteenth rack onwards there
must be a minimum of one vow el and one consonant. (Blanks
count as either vow el or consonant.) If this is not the case, all the
tiles are put back into the bag and seven new tiles drawn.
The players again try to make the w ord with the highest score
and place it on the board, linking it with the first word,
cross-word fashion, as in normal SCRABBLE®. On a second slip,
the players write down this second w ord, its score and grid
reference.
The game continues until all 100 titles have been drawn and
played, or until there are no v owels or consonants left. The
winner is the player with the highest total score. In Duplicate
SCRABBLE®, there is no strategy , the players at each mov e merely
have to find the highest scoring w ord.
FURTHER INFORMA TION
Consumer Affairs
If you require replacement tiles, boards etc. or hav e a quer y on
any Mattel product, please phone Consumer Affairs on 01628
500306 or write to them at
Mattel U .K. Ltd., V a nwall Business
P ark, Maidenhead SL6 4UB. Helpline 01628500303.
ONLINE
www .mattelscr abble.com
SCRABBLE® has a website where play ers can:
• get updated information
• play games
• get helpful hints on strategy and tactics
• get information on game variations
• learn about Scrabble-related books
© J.W . Spear & Sons Limited, 1948, 1949, 1953, 1955, 1988 and 1999.
© 2006 Mattel, Inc. All Rights R eser ved.
SCRABBLE® is a regist ered t rademark of J.W . Spear & Sons Limit ed, a subsidiar y of
Mattel, Inc.
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The racks are numbered and should be
stored in the side of the case.
Tiles can be stored in draw er to lef t of rack
storage.
Black
BAC K