SAM is valid in Collins, not in North America — 5 points
It depends on the list you play by. SAM is in Collins, used in the UK and most of the world, but it is not in the North American lists — so in a US or Canadian game an opponent can challenge it off the board. Worth 5 points. Words with Friends does not accept it either.
Which word lists accept SAM?
| Official Scrabble Players DictionaryUSA, Canada, Thailand | Not listed |
|---|---|
| Official Tournament and Club Word ListUSA, Canada, Thailand | Not listed |
| Collins Scrabble WordsEnglish in most countries | Valid |
| Words with FriendsZynga word list | Not listed |
Word power: 40 / 100
Our own measure of how useful SAM is to know. It scores 5 from 3 tiles, takes 4 hooks, and its letters make up 5.0% of the bag. How this number is calculated
Hooks for SAM
Checked against OSPD, TWL, CSW, WWF. Takes an S, so it hooks onto plurals easily.
How SAM scores
Face value of the 3 tiles in SAM, before any board multiplier.
Tiles you need
| Letter | Needed | In the bag |
|---|---|---|
| s | 1 | 4 |
| a | 1 | 9 |
| m | 1 | 2 |
Drawing exactly these 3 tiles as an opening rack: 1 in 2,246.
What stands out about SAM
- The same 3 tiles also spell 2 other words, so the rack is worth re-reading before you play it.
Counted from the four word lists we hold, not taken from anywhere else. How we calculate things
Anagrams of SAM
The 3 tiles of SAM in a different order — 2 found.
Words starting with SAM
Showing 24 of 121 words that begin with SAM.
Words ending in SAM
6 words end in SAM. Useful as a back hook: play SAM onto a word already on the board.
Words with SAM inside
Showing 24 of 107 words that contain SAM somewhere in the middle. Words that start with SAM are listed separately above, so nothing is repeated.
Shorter words from the letters in SAM
Common questions about SAM
- Is SAM valid in Words with Friends?
- No. Words with Friends keeps its own list, separate from the Scrabble dictionaries, and SAM is not in it.
- How many points is SAM worth?
- SAM is worth 5 points in Scrabble and 6 points in Words with Friends.
- What letters can be added to SAM?
- SAM takes 4 hooks: 0 in front and 4 at the end.
Every word you can build from the 3 letters of SAM:
Open SAM in the Word Finder