Words with All Vowels

Here is a list of vowel-only words:

AA, AE, AI, OE, EAU

All Consonants?

Stuck with a tray full of consonants? Don't despair! Either look for vowels that are already on the board and try to make use of them, or try to make a word from this handy list:

HM, MM, SH, BRR, CWM, HMM, NTH, PHT, SHH, TSK, BRRR, CWMS, PFFT, PSST, TSKS, CRWTH, PHPHT, CRWTHS, TSKTSK, TSKTSKS

On the following board I had one vowel - an O - and wanted to make use of the 2W/4W combo:

Here is my target spot:

I put down NOTCH with SH using the S from SOLVE. This gave me 116 points.

Putting the H (which is worth 5 points) on a 2W allowed me to double its value in two directions, plus the 4W also gave me 4 x 5.

Q without U Following It

Stuck with a Q without a U? Several words have a Q without a U following. The most handy ones are QI, QIS and QAT. The words SUQ and SUQS can also come in handy in some situations. Here is a list:

QI, QAT, QIS, SUQ, SUQS, QOPH, QATS, QADI, QAID, UMIAQ, TRANQ, QOPHS, QANAT, QADIS, QAIDS, FAQIR, UMIAQS, TRANQS, SHEQEL, QWERTY, QIVIUT, QINTAR, QINDAR, QANATS, FAQIRS, BUQSHA, QWERTY, QWERTYS, QIVIUTS, QINTARS, QINDARS, BUQSHAS, SHEQELUM, QINDARKA

Using J, Q, X and Z in Small Words

In the following Wordscraper board I had the second play. It's wise to get rid of letters such as J, Q, X and Z as soon as you get them to increase your chances of getting a 7-letter word or bingo (giving you 50 extra points) later.



I had an N and could have made the word SHAVEN plus a word perpendicular to SHAVE, but opted out of this because I had nothing that could reach the 3W above or below. Instead I decided to put the X on the 2L.



This gave me 21 points and I got rid of a difficult letter. Then I put the A to the left of the X giving me AX again for another 21 points and HA which is worth 6 points, 48 points all together.


Other similar 2- and 3-letter words with these difficult letters are: ADZ,AXE, AZO, COZ, DEX, FIX, FAX, FEZ, FIZ, GOX, HAJ, HEX, JO, JAB, JAG, JAM, JAR, JAW, JAY, JEE, JET, JEU, JEW, JIB, JIG, JIN, JOB, JOE, JOG, JOT, JOW, JOY, JUG, JUN, JUS, JUT, KEX, LAX, LEX, LEZ, LUX, MAX, MIX, NIX, OXO, OXY, PIX, POX, PYX, QI, QAT, QUA, RAJ, RAX, REX, SAX, SEX, SIX, SUQ, TAJ, TAX, TUX, VEX, VOX, WAX, WIZ, XI, XU, XIS, TAX, SIX, SAX, ZAG, ZAP, ZAX, ZED, ZEE, ZEK, ZIG, ZIN, ZIP, ZIT, ZOA, ZOO.

Using Small Words

Many new players focus on large words to attain higher point scores. Small words used strategically can also yield high scores. In the following board I put down YES on a triple word score (with the E on the 3W square).




This also allowed me to triple the word HE and add 14 points for the word QIS.

Bingos

I always get so excited to put down a seven letter word that I forget to be strategic. By being strategic I mean thinking about the possibilities for my opponent. Sometimes putting down a 7-letter board opens up areas so that your opponent can come back with even higher-scoring words. This may be to your advantage because you may also score well the next time, but it is worth thinking about how you use the tiles and where you place them especially if you have options.

Prefixes and Suffixes in Scrabble and Wordscraper

You can make bigger words with prefixes and suffixes. The most common ones I use are re-, -ing, -er, -ier and -iest. Following is a list of common prefixes and suffixes:

re-, pre-, post-, for-, fore-, co-, con-, sub-, over-, bi-,
di-, tri-, poly-, mono-, hypo-, hyper-, dis-, be-, de-, out-, mis- and
un- ; and suffixes such as -ed, -er, -or, -age, -ing, -al, -ly, -ally, -ic,
-oid, -tion, -able, -ible, -less, -ness, -man, -men, -ment, -est, -ier,
-ies, -iest, -ist, -ism, -ish, -ium, -ia, -ity, -ify, -ize, -ise, -ary, -ory,
-ology, -ate, -ite, -ine, -ive, -ase, -ose, -ful, and -like.