Scrabble Letter Values: Every Tile's Points and Count
A standard Scrabble set has 100 tiles: 98 lettered tiles and 2 blanks. The points on each letter are set by how common and how useful it is, so the everyday letters are worth little and the rare ones are worth a lot. Here is the complete list, with how many of each tile are in the bag.
The full tile list
| Points | Letters | Tiles in the bag |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 2 blank tiles | 2 |
| 1 point | E, A, I, O, N, R, T, L, S, U | E×12, A×9, I×9, O×8, N×6, R×6, T×6, L×4, S×4, U×4 |
| 2 points | D, G | D×4, G×3 |
| 3 points | B, C, M, P | 2 each |
| 4 points | F, H, V, W, Y | 2 each |
| 5 points | K | 1 |
| 8 points | J, X | 1 each |
| 10 points | Q, Z | 1 each |
That adds up to 100 tiles and 187 total points in the bag. The two blanks are worth zero but can stand for any letter, which makes them the most valuable tiles in the game.
Why the values are set this way
The points track how often each letter appears in English and how hard it is to use. E, A and the other 1-point letters are everywhere (E turns up in about 70% of words), so they are cheap. Q and Z are worth 10 because they appear in barely 1% of words and are awkward to place. We dug into this in the most common letters in English.
How to score more with the values
- Save the blanks for a big play such as a seven-tile bonus, not a cheap three-letter word.
- Put high-value tiles on premium squares. A Q or Z on a triple-letter square is worth 30 points from that tile alone.
- Learn the short words that play J, Q, X and Z, so a valuable tile is never stuck on your rack. See short words with Z, X, J and Q.
- Hold useful 1-point letters like E, R, S and T; they are the backbone of seven-letter bingos.
Words With Friends uses different values
Words With Friends looks similar but scores several letters differently, and it has 104 tiles rather than 100. The biggest differences in points:
| Letter | Scrabble | Words With Friends |
|---|---|---|
| J | 8 | 10 |
| B, C, M, P | 3 | 4 |
| G | 2 | 3 |
| L, N, U | 1 | 2 |
| V | 4 | 5 |
| H | 4 | 3 |
| Y | 4 | 3 |
So a word can be worth noticeably more or less depending on the game. See Words With Friends vs. Scrabble for the full comparison, and Words With Friends tips to score with its values.
To see every word your rack can make, scored for either game, use our Scrabble word finder or Words With Friends solver.
Values and tile counts are for the standard English-language sets. Scrabble is a registered trademark of Hasbro in the US and Canada and of Mattel elsewhere; Words With Friends is a registered trademark of Zynga. EasyUnscramble is independent and not affiliated with either.
Related reading: Short words with Z, X, J and Q · Scrabble bingo stems
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