Scrabble letter values and tile distribution
Every letter is worth a fixed number of points, and there is a fixed number of each tile in the bag. Both matter: the value tells you what a move scores, the count tells you what you can still draw.
Scrabble and Words with Friends side by side
The two games use different values for the same letters. Playing one while thinking in the other's numbers is a common and expensive mistake.
| Letter | Scrabble points | Scrabble tiles | WWF points | WWF tiles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | 9 | 1 | 9 |
| B | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| C | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| D | 2 | 4 | 2 | 5 |
| E | 1 | 12 | 1 | 13 |
| F | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| G | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| H | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| I | 1 | 9 | 1 | 8 |
| J | 8 | 1 | 10 | 1 |
| K | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| L | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| M | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| N | 1 | 6 | 2 | 5 |
| O | 1 | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| P | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Q | 10 | 1 | 10 | 1 |
| R | 1 | 6 | 1 | 6 |
| S | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| T | 1 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| U | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| V | 4 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| W | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| X | 8 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| Y | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Z | 10 | 1 | 10 | 1 |
| ? | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Total tiles | 100 | 104 |
Rows where the two games disagree are highlighted.
What the counts tell you
There are 100 tiles in a Scrabble bag and 104 in Words with Friends. Twelve of the Scrabble tiles are E, nine are A, nine are I — the vowels dominate, which is why a rack of five vowels happens more often than it feels like it should.
At the other end, there is exactly one J, one K, one Q, one X and one Z. Once you have seen the Z played, no one is holding another. That is what makes tile tracking worth doing: late in the game the remaining tiles stop being a guess.
Points are not the same as value
A Q is worth ten points and is frequently a liability, because placing it needs either a U or one of the small set of words that manage without one. An S is worth one point and is one of the most valuable tiles in the game, because it hooks onto an existing word and scores two words at once.
The score calculator works out what a specific word scores, including premium squares, if you want the exact number rather than the intuition.
The tiles worth more than their number
| Tile | Face value | What it is really worth |
|---|---|---|
| Blank | 0 | The most valuable tile in the bag. It completes bingos, and there are only two |
| S | 1 | Hooks onto an existing word and scores two words at once. Four in the bag, and worth saving |
| E, A, I | 1 | Ordinary, and that is the point — they are what bingos are made of |
| Q | 10 | Frequently a liability: it needs a U, a blank, or one of a short list of words |
| V | 4 | The awkward one: no two-letter word uses it, so it can sit unplayable for turns |
The pattern is that the cheap letters combine and the expensive ones do not. A rack of seven one-point tiles is often worth more over two turns than a rack holding a Q and a Z, because the cheap tiles turn into a fifty point bingo and the expensive ones turn into a twenty point move and a stuck rack.
What the differences between the games cost you
Twelve of the twenty six letters carry a different value in Words with Friends, and the rows above are marked where they disagree. Two of those matter more than the rest: the J is worth ten in Words with Friends against eight in Scrabble, and the L, a one-point throwaway in Scrabble, is worth two.
The bag is different too: Words with Friends deals from 104 tiles rather than 100, with an extra E, an extra S, an extra T and two extra Hs among others. More of a letter in the bag means you see it more often — and so does your opponent.
Common questions
How many tiles are there in total? One hundred in Scrabble, including two blanks; one hundred and four in Words with Friends, also including two blanks.
How many of each vowel? Twelve E, nine A, nine I, eight O, four U in Scrabble. That is forty two vowels out of a hundred tiles, which is why racks full of vowels are so common and why knowing a few vowel-heavy words is worth the ten minutes.
Is there only one Q? Yes — one Q, one J, one K, one X, one Z. Once you have seen one played, nobody is holding another, which is what makes tile tracking pay off late in the game.
Do the values ever change? The tile distribution has been effectively fixed for decades. What changes is the word list, not the tiles — see which dictionary applies where.