Words With Friends scores a play from the values of the tiles in every new word you create. Newly placed tiles can receive Double Letter or Triple Letter bonuses, while newly covered Double Word or Triple Word spaces multiply the word score. If one play creates several words, those words are scored separately and added together. Playing all seven tiles from your rack in one turn earns an additional 35 points.
Tile Values
Each letter tile contributes its displayed value.
Bonus Spaces
Premium spaces can increase tile or word values.
Cross Words
One move can create and score several new words.
Seven Tiles
Using the full rack earns 35 additional points.
Scoring Is About the Whole Move
Finding a valid word is only the first part of a strong Words With Friends move.
The same group of letters can produce very different scores depending on where you place them, which premium spaces you reach, and whether the play creates additional words with letters already on the board.
Understanding that relationship between the word and its placement makes it much easier to compare several possible moves.
Start With the Value of the Tiles
Letter tiles carry point values. When a word is scored, the values of the letters in that word form the starting point for the calculation.
This includes letters that were already on the board and become part of the new word you create.
Important: Word length alone does not determine the score. A shorter play involving more valuable tiles or better board placement can outscore a longer word.
Understand the Four Standard Premium Spaces
Words With Friends uses four familiar types of standard scoring spaces. Two apply to individual tiles and two apply to the value of an entire word.
Double Letter doubles the value of the newly played tile placed on that space, while Triple Letter triples it. Double Word and Triple Word multiply the completed word score.
Premium Spaces Apply When You Cover Them
A premium space is used when a new tile is placed on it during the current turn.
If a tile sitting on a bonus space was placed there during an earlier turn, that bonus is not repeatedly applied every time another word later uses the tile.
Think of a premium space as an opportunity attached to the turn in which a new tile first covers it, rather than a permanent multiplier attached to that letter forever.
Letter Bonuses Are Calculated Before Word Multipliers
When a newly played tile lands on a Double Letter or Triple Letter space, increase that tile's value as part of the word calculation.
If the same word also reaches a Double Word or Triple Word space, the word multiplier is then applied to the resulting word value.
looks_one First
Calculate individual letter values, including any newly activated DL or TL spaces.
looks_two Then
Apply any newly activated DW or TW multipliers to the completed word score.
One Move Can Score More Than One Word
A newly placed group of tiles can connect with neighboring letters and create several valid words during the same move.
When that happens, each newly created word is scored separately. Those individual word scores are then added together for the total value of the move.
Why this matters: A short placement that creates two or three words at once can sometimes be much more valuable than a longer word played by itself.
Useful 2-letter words and 3-letter words can be especially helpful when looking for compact connecting plays.
Using All Seven Rack Tiles Earns 35 Bonus Points
If you use all seven tiles from your rack in a single turn, Words With Friends adds a 35-point bonus to that play.
Use All Seven Tiles
The bonus is added when all seven rack tiles are played in one turn, making seven-tile opportunities especially valuable when the board allows them.
If you want to practise spotting longer possibilities, our 7-Letter Words resource can help you explore common seven-letter patterns.
Compare Possible WWF Words
Enter your available letters into the UnscrambleCraft WWF Solver to find possible words and compare your options before deciding which play best fits your board.
Try WWF Solver arrow_forwardBlank Tiles Score Zero Points
A blank can stand in for another letter, but the blank tile itself carries no point value.
Its strength comes from flexibility rather than direct scoring. A blank may allow you to complete a difficult word, reach an important board position or help use all seven tiles.
Even though a blank contributes zero letter points, the word containing it can still score normally from its other letters and applicable word bonuses.
Combining Premium Spaces Can Change a Move Dramatically
A single play may interact with more than one newly covered premium space.
That means a move can benefit from a boosted letter, a word multiplier, or even multiple relevant bonuses when the board position allows it.
This is one reason board placement deserves as much attention as the word itself.
Don't Judge a Move Only by Its Immediate Word
Suppose you can play a longer word in an ordinary position or a shorter word that reaches a premium square and creates an additional cross word.
The shorter option may produce the higher total score.
- Check the value of the tiles being used.
- Look for DL and TL opportunities.
- Check whether DW or TW spaces are reachable.
- Look for additional words created by the placement.
- Consider whether all seven rack tiles can be used.
Score and Strategy Work Together
Understanding the arithmetic is useful, but strong play involves more than calculating the biggest number available this second.
A move also changes your rack and changes the board your opponent will see next.
This is why the strongest decision may involve comparing current score, premium-space access, rack flexibility and the opportunities your move creates.
Calculate the whole move, not just the letters in the main word. Tile values, newly activated premiums, additional words and the seven-tile bonus can all contribute to the final score.
Add Tile Values
Start with the values of every letter included in each newly formed word.
Apply New Bonuses
Check newly covered DL, TL, DW and TW spaces when calculating the play.
Count Every New Word
Score each additional word created by the placement and add the results together.
Remember the +35
Playing all seven rack tiles in one move earns an additional 35 points.
Points begin with the values of the tiles in each word created. Newly covered letter and word premium spaces are then applied according to their type. If one move creates multiple words, each new word is scored and the totals are added together.
DL means Double Letter, TL means Triple Letter, DW means Double Word and TW means Triple Word. These premiums affect newly played tiles or words when they are covered during the current move.
Current standard Words With Friends rules award 35 additional points when you play all seven tiles from your rack in one turn.
No. The DL, TL, DW or TW effect is activated by newly placing a tile on that premium space. A tile already sitting there from an earlier turn does not activate the premium again.
A blank can represent another letter, but the blank tile itself has zero point value. Its main advantage is the flexibility it gives you when forming words.