SCRABBLE RULES
GETTING STARTED
The players decide who is going to start by taking one letter (one tile) from the bag. The person with the letter
closest to the beginning of the alphabet may start.
Each player takes seven tiles from the bag (without looking at what they are). The player puts these tiles on a
rack in front of him so that he can see them, but the others cannot see which letters he has. After each turn a
player can take some new letters out of the bag so that he has seven letters again for his next turn.
HOW TO PLAY
The first player puts a word on the board using some, or all, of his seven letters as possible. He must include the
square in the middle. It is then the next player's turn. His word must join on somewhere to what the other player
has already put. Sometimes it is possible to make two or more words in one turn by touching other letters, but
each word on the board reading horizontally (left to right) or vertically (top to bottom) must be a proper word (no
abbreviations or names). It should read like a crossword.
THE TILES
Each tile (each letter) has a number of points. The common letters such as A, B, T, etc are worth one point.
Unusual letters such as Q and Z are worth 10 points. There are also two blank tiles which can be used for any
letter. A player must say what the letter is when he puts it down, e.g. he might say that "C" "A" "Blank" spells
"CAT". During the rest of the game that blank tile must be treated as a letter "T".
THE BOARD
There are several squares on the board where a player can get extra points. Some squares allow the player to
count that letter twice (light blue) or three times (dark blue), other squares allow him to count the whole word
twice (light red) or three times (dark red).
The aim of the game is to get as many points as possible. A long word will not always get as many points as a
shorter word. It depends which letters are used. It is also a good idea not put a word which will let the next player
make a high score.
ACCEPTABLE WORDS
No abbreviations (e.g. USA) are allowed.
Allowable words must be listed in the dictionary. When playing according to the proper rules one is not allowed to
use a dictionary to find a word. However, if one of players challenges another (i.e. if he says: "The word you have
put down is not allowed"), then the players may check it in the dictionary. If the word does not exist, the player
must take his letters back and he loses his turn.
THE END OF THE GAME
After a while there are no more letters in the bag. The game finishes when one player has no more letters. The
other players have to count the points for the letters they still have in front of them, and take them away from
their total score.