Scrabble Rules Guide — Complete Official Rules

📅 Updated 2026 | 🏷️ Scrabble Tips

Game Setup

• Players: 2-4
• Tiles: 100 tiles (98 letters + 2 blanks). See our tile distribution guide.
• Board: 15×15 grid with premium squares (Double/Triple Letter/Word Scores)
• Each player draws: 7 tiles at the start

Basic Rules

1. The first word must cover the center star (double word score)
2. All words must read left-to-right or top-to-bottom
3. Every word formed on each turn must be valid — use our dictionary checker
4. Diagonal words are NOT allowed
5. You may pass, exchange tiles, or play a word on your turn

Scoring

Each letter has a point value. See our complete letter score reference.

• Add up all letter scores in the word
• Multiply by premium squares:
  • Double Letter Score (DL): Letter value ×2
  • Triple Letter Score (TL): Letter value ×3
  • Double Word Score (DW): Entire word ×2
  • Triple Word Score (TW): Entire word ×3
• Premium squares only count on the turn they're covered
• Bingo bonus: Use all 7 tiles in one turn = +50 points!

Challenges

If a player plays a word you think is invalid, you can challenge it. The word is checked in the official dictionary. If it's invalid, the player takes back their tiles and loses their turn. If it's valid, the challenger loses their next turn.

Always check words with our dictionary checker before challenging!

Game End

The game ends when:

• A player uses all their tiles AND the bag is empty
• Or when all possible plays are exhausted (6 consecutive scoreless turns)

The player who goes out first gets the sum of all opponents' remaining tiles added to their score. All opponents subtract their remaining tile values from their score.

Useful Tools

• Word Unscrambler — find words from your tiles
• Letter Score Reference — all tile values
• Words with Q Without U — essential Q words
• 2-Letter Word List — for parallel plays