Defensive Scrabble Strategies

Playing Scrabble without learning some defensive strategies will surely give your opponent the chance to take advantage of the good spots. It is best to take note of the following:

1. Do not be generous enough to give away the triple word scores. It's not worth it if you place your word on a double word score leaving the triple word score wide open for your opponent. Please, you're not Santa.

2. Avoid placing a vowel next to a premium square since your opponent will be able to place a consonant on that spot and make a two-way play. Remember, most consonants have higher point values than vowels.

3. If you have good tiles on your rack, keep the board open for more chances of scoring a bingo. If not, keep it tight. Your opponent might have a bingo and you don't want to get pummeled throughout the game, do you?

4. Avoid placing words with common hooks like S. If there is a need to place a word with a hook, make sure you have the hook and it's not a common letter so it's yours for the taking.

5. If the triple word score is wide open but you can't take it, then might as well block it. It's okay if you don't get the triple word scores as long as they don't get it either.

6. When the end is near, check the tiles that haven't been played yet especially the power tiles. For instance, if your opponent still has a Q at hand, then let him keep it in his hand and not on the game board. That will give him a 10-point deduction when the game is over.

Always remember to play it safe but if you need to take risks, then better keep your fingers crossed, buddy!