5 Ways to Win: Words With Friends
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 2:45PM 
I attempted to avoid Words with Friends for a long time; I'm currently playing about 15 games at once. At the risk of sounding boastful, I'll admit I win most of my games. How? I want to teach the tricks of the trade to pwn your peeps at words with friends. Follow these 5 tips to win!
1. Know them two letter words!
Scrabble Words with friends has a bunch of legal words that are only made up of 2 letters. These little words are the equivalent to big points! Check out this list at the bottom of this page. Yes, I did include the definitions, because I know some of you will ask... blah blah. See the next point on how to use these little words effectively.
2. Bunch those letters for massive point scoring words!
See the word "cane" in the center of the board? Right above this is the word "top" creating several smaller 2 letter words. You can do this a lot; play little words on top of big words. By applying this little concept in conjunction with the double and triple word scores (especially in the last few tiles of the game you can get some good point combos.
3. Focus on the Triple and Double Word Scores
I know this should go without saying, but by playing words on these spots on the board (abbreviated with the letters DW and TW in words with friends) is really key to scoring points! There is an art to this, and when played right can yield high returns. Can't quite make your word reach to the magic DW or TW tile? Not to worry! By placing an akward like qi right underneath the TW box will block your opponent from getting to them. If you can't have those tiles, neither can your opponent.
4. Throw the spaghetti against the wall!
Can't seem to find any words that work? The beauty of words with friends is that there is no penalty for trying a word. Consider this a hail mary play, but start popping some letters on the board and see if they go through; occasionally you'll get lucky. Still no dice? Well sometimes it is simply better to sacrifice a turn and swap out that hand of "I, E, E, I, U, N, O" for something better.
5. Q, Z, J, X Work It!
These are often the most intimidating letters. They are worth big points, but they are rarely used to their full potential. Here are a few easy words to use with these letters:
Q: Qi, Qadi, Qat, Tranq (note: these words don't require the letter u!)
Z: Za, Fez, Zag, Zee
J: Jo, Haj, Jeux, Jeed
X: Xi, Ax, Oxy, Xylol
Extra Credit
Did you hear about the documentary called Word Wars? It is a great watch about professional Scrabble players. They are all friggin weird, and as a bonus you'll some new words and tricks.
Cheating
Yes, there is a few ways to cheat at words with friends. There is an app that will help you make words out of the tiles you have available. If you really have to prove yourself that much I recommend going to the Hasbro website where you can do the same thing using Word Builder. If you do go this route, be sure to not just include the tiles in your hand, but also tiles on the board so you have somewhere to play them. Also, if you've lost the last 8 games, and suddenly start winning with words no one has ever heard of you'll be caught. Just like most things, moderation is key.
Wanna play?
Think you got what it takes to beat me? Search for mynameisfoxtrot and we'll play a game!
2 Letter Word List
AA rough, cindery lava AB abdominal muscle {OSPD3} AD advertisement AE one AG pert. to agriculture AH to exclaim in amazement AI three-toed sloth AL East Indian tree AM [be-conj] (to exist) AN indefinite article AR letter 'r' AS to the same degree AT in the location of AW intj. expressing disbelief AX to cut with an ax AY aye BA eternal soul in Egyptian mythology BE to exist BI bisexual BO pal BY side issue DE of, from DO to execute/first tone of musical scale ED education {OSPD3} EF letter 'f' EH intj. used to indicate lack of understanding EL letter 'l' EM printer's measurement EN printer's measurement ER intj. expressing hesitation ES letter 's' ET [eat-conj] (to consume) EX letter 'x' FA fourth tone of diatonic musical scale FE Hebrew letter (feh, pe) {OSPD4} GO to leave/Japanese board game HA sound expressing triumph HE male person HI intj. used as a greeting HM intj. expressing thought (hmm) HO intj. used to attract attention to something ID part of psyche related to instinctual impulses IF possible condition IN influence IS [be-conj] (to exist) IT person playing tag/indefinite pronoun JO sweetheart KA Egyptian spiritual self KI vital life-sustaining energy force (qi) {OSPD4} LA sixth tone of diatonic musical scale LI Chinese unit of distance LO intj. used to attract attention MA mother ME pronoun referring to myself MI third tone of diatonic musical scale MM intj. expressing satisfaction MO moment MU Greek letter MY possessive prounoun NA no NE born with the name of (nee) NO negative reply NU Greek letter OD hypothetical force of natural power OE Faroean wind OF coming from OH to exclaim "oh" OI intj. expressing dismay (oy) {OSPD4} OM mantra used in meditation ON side of wicket where cricket batsman stands OP style of abstract art OR heraldic color gold OS orifice/bone/ridge of sand (esker) OW intj. expressing sudden pain OX hoofed mammal/clumsy person OY intj. expressing dismay PA father PE Hebrew letter PI Greek letter/to jumble QI vital life-sustaining energy force {OSPD4} RE second tone of diatonic musical scale SH intj. used to urge silence (shh) SI seventh tone of diatonic musical scale (ti) SO fifth tone of diatonic musical scale TA thanks TI seventh tone of diatonic musical scale TO toward UH intj. expressing hesitation UM intj. expressing hesitation UN one UP to raise US objective pronoun for "we" UT musical tone in French solmization system WE plural pronoun WO woe XI Greek letter XU Vietnamese monetary unit YA you YE you YO intj. used to call attention {OSPD3} ZA pizza {OSPD4}
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