Scrabble/Variations

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Common variants of Scrabble include, but are not limited to:

Anagrams[edit | edit source]

All 100 tiles are laid face down. Players take turns flipping over a single tile, leaving it exposed to all players. Players can form words by:

  • Removing three or more tiles from the face-up pile to form a word
  • "Steal a word" from an opponent by combining the your or the opponent's word(s) with at least one letter from the table to form a longer word. For example, if your opponent has TAILINGS, you can use an O from the pool and steal the opponent's word to make INTAGLIOS, LIGATIONS, or ISOLATING.

Clabbers[edit | edit source]

Rules identical to those of Scrabble, but players can arrange the letters of a word in any order, provided they anagram to a valid word.

Duplicate[edit | edit source]

Popular on the Internet Scrabble Club. An official draws seven tiles to start the game. All players have a fixed time limit to find the highest-scoring play (not necessarily the best play), and submit the play. The official reveals the highest scoring play, and then draws replacement tiles. The game continues until there are no more consonants or no more vowels remaining. The player with the most points wins the game.

Ecological Scrabble[edit | edit source]

Same rules as Scrabble, but a player (before his turn) may "recycle" blank tiles by replacing the blank tile with the letter it represents. For example, if CHIMERs is played (with a blank S), a player may replace the blank with a real S. Note that he cannot replace it with an A or E to make CHIMERA or CHIMERE.

Solitaire Scrabble[edit | edit source]

One-player Scrabble. To attain a maximal score, one can set up huge scoring plays (e.g. triple-triple-triples).

Super Scrabble[edit | edit source]

Played on a 21x21 board with 200 tiles and a slightly different tile distribution (e.g. 10 S's as opposed to 4 in the original). There are quadruple letter and word squares near the outer edge of the board.

Tag Team[edit | edit source]

This variant is played with two teams of two players, with each player possessing his or her own rack. The team going first makes one play using tiles from only one rack, and for all subsequent moves, one player makes a play, immediately followed by a play from the player's teammate. Setup plays are common. This variant is popular at the National Scrabble Championship.

Time-Based Single Play[edit | edit source]

This game variation of Scrabble is ideal for single players, who are looking to tease their mental capacity and vocabulary recollection in a fun way whilst challenging themselves against time.

Goal of the game: Use up all tiles in the fasted possible time.

Duration: 30 min to 1 hour 30 min

Rules:

  1. Set up all tiles in front of you in alphabetical order neglecting the blanks.
  2. Set a timer before you start the game.
  3. From the tiles displayed, create any word, and place it in the centre of the board (for example, SCRABBLE)
  4. Now, continue adding words to the tiles until all tiles are finished.
  5. You are allowed to change the tiles until the whole board has been completed.
  6. Try to beat your own time with each game. Continue improving on it each time you play.
  7. You are the judge of your own game.

Have fun playing!