Software Study Tools | Basics | OWL2 Transition Lists | Word Lists | Printed/Published | Videos

So, you want to improve your game. But, where to start? There are the basics (2's, 3's, 4's, common bingo stems, etc.), but then what? There are various software tools created for both desktop and handheld computers that you can use to study and find words. There are also various word lists out there (mostly for free). Check out links below to a variety of useful tools.

Just as important as learning more words is working on strategy. Joe Edley's Everything Scrabble is a great detailed tutorial on how to win the game. Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis also contains strategy tips, along with an entertaining history of the game and the competitive Scrabble® scene. Once you start playing, you can use the Quackle program for detailed game analysis.

Still looking for more? You should also check out Verbalobe, which not only has word lists, links, and daily quizzes, but numerous articles on study techniques, strategy, tournament journals, and lots of other interesting stuff. You can also join CGP, a Yahoo email list games.groups.yahoo.com/group/crossword-games-pro, to exchange information with other competitive Scrabble® players.

Software Study Tools (for internet, desktop, and handheld)

For your Personal Computer

• www.zyzzyva.net - Word study program by Michael W Thelen
• Quackle - Game analysis tool (you can also play against it)
• WHAT - Wolfberg's Helpful Anagramming Tool
• LeXpert - Carol & M.G. Ravichandran's anagrammer for your desktop and Pocket PC [note: the original LeXpert site is no more so your options are: 1) archived page(s) at the Wayback Machine (Be patient--it can take a while) or 2) Windows Exe only archive (speedier download) ]

Internet

• Verbalobe - Lots of excellent study tools & articles on approaches to improving your game
• JumbleTime - Jumbled Words, Anagrams, Time, Play
• Aerolith - Cesar del Solar's study tool (similar to JumbleTime)
• MetaGrams - Anamonics, Anagramming tools, words, etc.
• Ottawa Study Room - Ottawa Scrabble Club online quizzes & word lists

For Handheld devices

• LAMPWords - Paul Sidorsky's anagrammer & word judge for your PALM device
• Checkword - anagrammer & word judge for your iPhone [Lite version is free and just has word judge, full version also has anagramming tools]
• Franklin - Handheld OSPD4/OWL2 device sold by Hasbro at www.wordgear.com [to unlock the OWL2 list on your Franklin: 1) Press CLEAR, 2) At the READY screen, type **OTCWL, 3) Press ENTER.]

Other (not specifically for SCRABBLE® but could be useful or fun)

• Word Twist - Facebook application where you have to find all the subanagrams in a 7-letter word (make sure you choose TWL as your dictionary)
• www.playhangman.com - Hangman Scrabble:   Sevens and Eights
• Scool - Paul McNett's online wordfinding tool
• FreeRice.com - not strictly Scrabble, but it's a cute vocabulary quiz

Basic Word Lists

• 2-Letter Words grouped by consonant [pdf] - (courtesy of Walker Willingham)
• 2-Letter Words [pdf] - Formatted 4 cards to a page (print your club info on the reverse and hand them out to newbies...)
• 2-Letter Words with definitions - courtesy of Mike Wolfberg
• 2-letter word list, including definitions, maintained by Rick Wong
• JQXZ Words [pdf] - Words with J, Q, X, Z
• Vowel Dumps [pdf] - Words with lots of Vowels
• Vowel dumps grouped by consonant [pdf] - (courtesy of Walker Willingham)
• Two-to-Make-Threes [pdf] - Two-Letter Words and Hooks to Make Threes
• 3-letter word list, including definitions, maintained by Rick Wong
• Threes [pdf] - Three-Letter Words
• [NSA] Important Words to Raise Your Score - 2s, 3s, 2-to-make-3s, JQXZ, Vowel dumps - all on ONE double-sided sheet
• The Cheat Sheet - 2s, 3s, 2-to-make-3s, JQXZ, Vowel dumps, and Bingo Stems - by Mike Baron (OWL2 and OSPD4 versions)

Transition to OWL2 Word Lists

• Cheat Sheet [pdf] - New 2s, 3s, 4s, JQZX, expurgated, Type I+II 7 & 8's
• Fives to Tens [Word doc] - New 5s, 6s, 7s, 8s, 9s, 10s, K words
• Combined new words [pdf] - New 2s, 3s, 4s, JQZXK, expurgated, Type I+II 7 & 8's, 5s, 6s, 7s, 8s, 9s, 10s
• Mike Wolfberg's Lists - Lots of OWL2 word lists, with definitions, hooks, etc.
• Toronto Club Word lists - OWL2 changes with definitions
• [NSA] New 2's and 3's with definitions - OSPD3/OSPD4 (expurgated)
• [NSA] List of OSPD3/OSPD4 changes (does NOT include expurgated words, or new trademarks that have been added)
• owl2_2-9_has_owl_anagram.txt - courtesy of Doug Kruyt
• owl2_2-9_with_owl_anagrams.txt - courtesy of Doug Kruyt

ERRATA for OWL2 and OSPD4:

Note that errors have been found both in the printed OSPD4 and the printed OWL2, as well as the NSA's website and the Scrabble News (#201, announcing the new words). Check the NSA's ERRATA list for the final word.

• [NSA] OWL2 Errata (scroll to the bottom) * NOTE: Check this link often for the most recent updates!
• Printable OWL2 Errata [pdf] *note updated 24 Feb 2006, check with NSA website for latest corrections*
• Printable OSPD4 Errata [pdf] Includes Errata for OSPD4 as well as all new "expurgated" words (shorter than 10 letters)

Word Lists

• 6-to-make-7.txt - Complete 6-to-make-7's (courtesy of Kevin Turner) [in alpha order].
• 7-to-make-8.txt - Complete 7-to-make-8's (courtesy of Kevin Turner) [in alpha order].
• 8-to-make-9.txt - Complete 8-to-make-9's (courtesy of Kevin Turner).

Ken Clark's word lists: [all of these use OWL2 and LL, where applicable]

• -eds.doc - Words Ending in -ED To Which -S Can Be Added .
• man-men.doc - Words ending in -MAN which can also end in -MEN, separate lists of words ending in -MAN and -MEN only.
• -ie-y.doc - Separate lists of words ending in -IE which can or cannot be changed to -Y.
• high5.doc - All 5-letter words that contain at least one 3-point (or higher) letter (new words also listed separately).
• k-to-c.doc - Words containing a "K" that can be replaced with "C" to form a new word.
• 3-no-2.doc - 3-letter words that can not formed by adding a letter to a 2-letter word.
• stem7x.doc - All the new 7s indexed by stem.
• stem8x.doc - All the new 8s indexed by stem.
• probn7.doc - All the new 7s indexed by probability.
• probn8.doc - All the new 8s indexed by probability.
• AHOOKS.doc - All words with A- front hook.
• SHOOKS.doc - all words with S- front hook.
• HOOKSY.doc - all words with -Y end hook.
• 4-5.doc - 4-to-make-5 (all 4-letter words, with 5-letter words formed from each by adding a letter)
• 3-4.doc - 3-to-make-4 (all 3-letter words, with front & end hooks)
• 2-3.doc - 2-to-make-3 (all 2-letter words, with front & end hooks)
• 4-no-3.doc - 4-letter words that do not contain a 3
• new4-5.doc - all new 4-letter words with all their front & end hooks, plus new hooks for existing 4s
• new5-6.doc - all new 5-letter words with all their front & end hooks, plus new hooks for existing 5s
• new6-7.doc - all new 6-letter words with all their front & end hooks, plus new hooks for existing 6s
• new7-8.doc - all new 7-letter words with all their front & end hooks, plus new hooks for existing 7s
• new8-9.doc - all new 8-letter words with all their front & end hooks, plus new hooks for existing 8s
• typei7.doc - all Type I 7-letter words [Adapted from the Scrabble Wordbook Mike Baron, Sterling, 2007]
• typeii7.doc - all Type II 7-letter words [Adapted from the Scrabble Wordbook Mike Baron, Sterling, 2007]
• typeiii7.doc - all Type III 7-letter words [Adapted from the Scrabble Wordbook Mike Baron, Sterling, 2007]
• typei8.doc - all Type I 8-letter words [Adapted from the Scrabble Wordbook Mike Baron, Sterling, 2007]
• typeii8.doc - all Type II 8-letter words [Adapted from the Scrabble Wordbook Mike Baron, Sterling, 2007]
• typeiii8.doc - all Type III 8-letter words [Adapted from the Scrabble Wordbook Mike Baron, Sterling, 2007]
• -INGS.doc - all words ending in -ING to which -S can be added
• -INGS9.doc - same but includes only words of nine or fewer letters
• -LIKE.doc - all words ending in -LIKE
• -LIKE9.doc - same but only words of nine or fewer letters
• -ABLE.doc - all words ending in -ABLE
• -ABLE9.doc - same but only words of nine or fewer letters
• YHOOKS.doc - all words with Y- front hook
• HOOKSA.doc - all words with -A end hook
• -BIRD.doc - just a fun list, words ending in -BIRD, -BUG, -FISH, & -FLY
• new-like.doc - New words ending in -LIKE, -ABLE, -IBLE
• new-ings.doc - Words ending in -ING to which -S can be added resulting in a word new to OWL2
• newHOOKS.doc - Front hooks involving new words for all letters except A and S
• newflips.doc - Words of 6, 7, & 8 letters that can be split in two parts of at least 3 letters each & transposed to form another word (involving new words)
• -ise-ize.doc - Separate lists of words that have endings in either -ISE or -IZE but not both
• -ize-ise.doc - List of words that have endings in both -ISE and -IZE
• -ed.doc - Words formed from a root plus -ED that are not formed from verbs (e.g. PAJAMAED, KIMONOED)
• comeback.doc - 3-letter front extensions for 5-, 6-, & 7-letter words starting with J, K, Q, and Z
• i-to-y.doc - Words that form another word when an I is changed to Y
• juxta.doc - 7- and 8-letter juxtagrams (pairs of words identical except for the transposition of two adjacent letters)
• -izer.doc - Words ending in -ISER or -IZER

Theme Word Lists:

• Yiddish - words with Yiddish/Hebrew origin -- Andrea Carla Michaels
• Polyorths - words with three or more different spellings -- Amit Chakrabarti
• Acronyms & Portmanteaux - words formed from longer phrases by combining and/or shortening -- Amit Chakrabarti
• moneybag.txt - Currencies -- courtesy of Austin Nichols
• like.doc -- 7/8-letter -LIKE words grouped by category...courtesy of Paul Phillips
• non-words - 7-letter NON- words grouped by category ...courtesy of Paul Phillips
• Scrabby Name List - People/First Names ...courtesy of Bernie McMahon

Other Word Lists:

• Phonies with Anagrams -- courtesy of John Chew
• openers5plus.txt -- 5 letter words containing high-scoring tiles but not ESJQXZ...courtesy of Adam Michelson
• Expurgated words -- Complete list of expurgated words (valid in OWL2, but omitted from OSPD4 because deemed "offensive")
• OSPD3 expurg.html -- Expurgated words from OSPD3/OWL -- courtesy of Steven Alexander

Do YOU have a list you want to share?   Send us a link (or your list) and we'll post it here.

Printed/Published Study Guides

	Everything Scrabble -- Joe Edley's definitive work on Scrabble Strategy The ultimate book on the SCRABBLE game written by the National SCRABBLE Association Executive Director, John D. Williams Jr. and the only three-time National SCRABBLE Champion and World Team member, Joe Edley. Contains rare interview with Alfred Mosher Butts, the game's inventor, as well as tips to make you a better player at EVERY skill level.
	Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers -- Stefan Fatsis Mingles strategy, game history, and encounters with real scrabble players in a fascinating story of a writer getting sucked into the competitive world of SCRABBLE®.
	Bob's Bible and more -- Robert Gillis sells a variety of very useful printed & bound word books
	Mike Baron's SCRABBLE Wordbook -- [you can also get the OWL2 Addendum for Mike's earlier work: The Complete Wordbook for Game Players: Winning Words for Word Freaks] Complete with winning word lists, such as those that combine high-scoring letters, those that have a preponderance of vowels, and those that allow multiple I and U dumps, it also offers tips on hitting triple-triples and achieving those elusive 7-letter bingos. These specially selected words and expert hints are guaranteed to boost scores. Based on the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, Fourth Edition and with foreword by World SCRABBLE Champion Brian Cappelletto.
	DEFALTS -- Diane Firstman has created humorous alternate definitions to common (and not-so-common) words. "Weird (or new) words stick in my head better when I make up a silly definition for them. I call them "DEFALTS" (ALTernate DEFinitions)." Diane was posting "DEFALTS" definitions to CGP for over a year before compiling them into a book. She continues to create new volumes... so check back for more!
	Word Nerd -- Peter Schwartzman has published several quiz study books.
	OSPD4/OWL2 Franklin -- Handheld Anagram/Definition Device The newly updated Franklin. Features over 100,000 2-8 letter words that are acceptable under OSPD4. Main dictionary entries include a brief definition, part of speech label and inflected forms. Adjustable skill levels for word building exercises. SPECIAL FEATURE for NSA members:   Shipment will include a password to activate the OWL2 list. SHIPMENTS START WEEK OF FEBRUARY 25, 2008, Order now from www.wordgear.com [....of course, if you already have a PDA device that runs Palm OS, you can get Paul Sidorsky's LAMPWords for free....]

Videos

The following video has some excellent advice about how to approach the game:

Software Study Tools | Basics | OWL2 Transition Lists | Word Lists | Printed/Published | Videos