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How to play, step by step
Two to four players take turns making words on a board, like a crossword, and score points for every word. Here's the whole game, from opening the box to adding up the final score, with pictures of real plays. Your set's printed rules win if they're different.
Works with the Scrabble board game, played at the table. Tileside is an independent product, not affiliated with or endorsed by the makers of Scrabble.
1. What's in the box
- A board of 15 by 15 squares. The colored ones are bonus squares (section 6).
- 100 letter tiles. The small number on each tile is how many points it's worth. Two tiles have no letter at all: the blanks (section 7).
- A bag to draw tiles from without looking. Any bag or bowl you can't see into works.
- A rack for each player, a little stand that keeps your tiles hidden from everyone else.
- Paper and a pencil for the scores, or a phone.
Common letters are worth 1 and come in bunches (12 E's). Q and Z are worth 10, and there's only one of each. The two blanks are worth 0.
Shopping for a set? Our buying guide compares deluxe, classic, travel and big-tile sets. See the best sets
2. Set up and pick who goes first
- 1Put all the tiles in the bag and give it a shake.
- 2Everyone draws one tile. Whoever's letter is closest to A goes first, and a blank beats everything. If two players tie, they draw again.
- 3Put those tiles back and shake the bag again.
- 4Everyone draws seven tiles and stands them on their rack.
- 5Play goes to the left, around the table. For the next game, draw tiles again to pick who goes first.
3. Your first turn
The first player makes a word of two or more letters that covers the ★ in the middle of the board. Words read left to right or top to bottom, never diagonally. The ★ is a double-word square, so the first word of the game always scores double.
C 3 + A 1 + T 1 = 5. The ★ doubles it: 5 × 2 = 10 points.
Then:
- 1Say your score out loud and write it down.
- 2Draw new tiles from the bag until you have seven again. If the bag can't fill you up to seven, take what's left.
- 3It's the next player's turn.
Before
After
4. Connect to the board
From now on, every word has to use at least one tile already on the board. You can play through a letter, add to the start or end of a word, or build alongside one.
Y 4 + O 1 + G 2 + A 1 = 8 points.
5. Words side by side: every word counts
When your tiles touch tiles already on the board, every line your new tiles make with them, across and down, has to spell a real word. You score every word you make, so a short play can score a lot.
EH 1 + 4 = 5 · YE 4 + 1 = 5 · OH 1 + 4 = 5 · Total: 15 points from two tiles.
6. Bonus squares
The colored squares raise your score, but only for the new tiles you put on them this turn.
- 2L, double letter: that one letter counts twice.
- 3L, triple letter: that letter counts three times.
- 2W, double word: the whole word counts twice. The ★ is a 2W.
- 3W, triple word: the whole word counts three times.
Adding up a word, in this order:
- 1Letter bonuses first: double or triple the letters on 2L and 3L.
- 2Add up the word.
- 3Then word bonuses: double or triple the whole word. If one word covers two word squares, they multiply: two 2Ws make ×4, and two 3Ws make ×9.
- 4If you made more than one word, add them all together; a new tile's bonus counts in every word it makes.
Letters first: Y 4 × 2 = 8. Add the word: H 4 + A 1 + P 3 + P 3 + Y 8 = 19. Then the word bonus: 19 × 2 = 38 points.
7. Blank tiles
The two blanks can be any letter you want. Say which letter when you play it. It stays that letter for the rest of the game, and it's always worth 0 points.
8. Use all seven tiles: 50 bonus points
If you use all seven tiles from your rack in one turn, you get 50 extra points. Players call this a bingo. It's rare at first, and a big moment when it happens.
The 50 is added last, after every bonus square, so it's never doubled. If PAINTED covered a 2W, it would score 10 × 2 + 50 = 70. Only the seven tiles from your rack count toward the seven. Letters already on the board don't.
9. Challenges: who decides
Anyone at the table who thinks a word just played isn't real can say “challenge” before the next player starts their turn (some families let only the next player challenge). After that, the word stays.
- 1Look the word up in the dictionary or word list you agreed on. The list decides, not the players.
- 2Not in the list? The tiles come off the board, and that player scores 0 for the turn. If any word the play made isn't in the list, the whole play comes off.
- 3In the list? The word stays, and whoever challenged loses their next turn.
No dictionary at the table? Tileside's free word check looks words up in the NASPA Word List 2023 (NWL2023). Check a word
10. Ending the game and final scoring
The game ends in one of two ways:
- The bag is empty and someone plays their last tile. That's called going out.
- Nobody can play, and every player passes twice in a row. That's the usual family rule. (Swapping tiles doesn't count as a pass; a play taken off after a challenge does.)
Final scoring:
- 1Everyone still holding tiles adds up their points and subtracts that from their score.
- 2If someone went out, they add everyone else's leftover points to their own score.
- 3Highest score wins.
Sam
Ben
Table words
- Rack:
- the stand that holds your seven tiles.
- Bag:
- where the tiles nobody has drawn yet wait.
- Bonus squares:
- 2L, 3L, 2W, 3W and the ★. They count only on the turn a tile lands on them.
- Blank:
- a tile with no letter. It can be any letter and is worth 0.
- Bingo:
- using all seven of your tiles in one turn, for 50 extra points.
- Challenge:
- asking for a word to be looked up before the next turn starts.
- Pass / Swap:
- skipping your turn, or trading tiles for new ones: set them aside face down, draw the same number, then put the old ones back in the bag. Both score 0.
- Going out:
- playing your last tile once the bag is empty, which ends the game.
Make it stick: 5-minute lessons
Short lessons with pictures and a quick practice question or two, so the rules stick before game night. Free, no account needed.
Start the lessonsKeep score free with Tileside
Put one phone on the table and play. Tileside adds up every word and bonus square, doubles the first word, adds the 50-point bonus, settles challenges and does the end-of-game math. It's free, needs no account and works offline.
Start a free gameFree scoring guide for your next game
A one-page printable of tile points, bonus squares and how a turn scores. Download it right away. Then two short welcome emails (three scoring habits, then what Tileside Pro adds), and about once a month, a little more around the holidays: a word to know and a tip that scores.