To the untrained eye, Words With Friends (WWF) and Scrabble can appear to be identical word-building games. However once you have had the time to play them both, you will quickly see that they have some fundamental differences that can result in completely different gaming experiences.
Comparing Words With Friends against Scrabble
Both games are known for having a predominant format in addition to unique board layouts, tile distributions, tile points and dictionaries which can help them appeal to players of different levels and backgrounds. To help you understand the differences between each game in more detail, WordsRated has provided a breakdown of their key elements.
| Game detail/element | Scrabble | Words With Friends |
| Published | 1948. | 2009. |
| Original format | Board game. | Mobile application. |
| Board size | 15 x 15 (225 squares). | 15 x 15 (225 squares). |
| Word placement | Horizontal (left to right) or vertical (top to bottom). | Horizontal (left to right) or vertical (top to bottom). |
| Number of premium letter/bonus squares | 61. | 60. |
| Number of tiles | 98 letter tiles + 2 blank tiles. | 102 letter tiles + 2 blank titles. |
Format
As one of the most popular word games of all time, Scrabble is synonymous with providing players with a traditional board game experience. Originally published in 1948, it went on to become a household name and is frequently played by family and friends in living rooms all over the globe.
Since then, digital adaptations and themed versions of the game have been released to appeal to the online gamer and other players with unique interests. Despite this, the best players in the world still compete in official Scrabble competitions that require the use of the standard board, albeit with custom letter tiles that are designed to prevent cheating.
In contrast to Scrabble’s slow and steady rise to fame, Words With Friends was originally released as an application for smartphones in 2009. The ability to play simultaneous games against players from all over the world created an addictive new form of social and competitive gameplay, creating a loyal community of fans that helped it to become an instant hit.
Interestingly, the makers of Words With Friends, Zynga, took the opposite approach to Scrabble and began releasing physical game versions of the game in 2012 to appeal to the traditional board games market. Although each game has had a contrasting trajectory, they have both found a huge amount of success with players of all ages due to their low requirement to entry and fun gameplay.
Board layout
When looking at the two games side-by-side, players will be able to see that there are some significant differences between the way each grid is presented, even though they feature the same number of squares. More specifically, each game contains a different number of premium/bonus squares (which are placed in different locations in each game) that can modify the total score of a word in specific ways.
For example, the central square in Scrabble will double the score of any word that is placed on it, while the same square in Words With Friends has no impact on the score of the word placed. In both games the opening word must be played upon the center square and as such, the first player in Scrabble can receive a significant boost when compared to the first player in Words With Friends.
| Square type | Scrabble | Words With Friends |
| Normal squares | 164 | 165 |
| Double letter | 24 | 24 |
| Triple letter | 12 | 16 |
| Double word | 17 | 12 |
| Triple word | 8 | 8 |
Words With Friends has 4 additional triple letter squares, Scrabble has 5 more double word score squares and there are the same number of double letter and triple word squares in each game. Due to this, Scrabble players may be more focused on creating words that have a longer word-length while WWF players will be more incentivized to place the highest scoring letters on letter multipliers squares.
Overall, players may find it easier to land on premium/bonus squares in Words With Friends when compared to Scrabble, as they are more accessible and tend to be less concentrated towards the middle of the board. The result of these differences in each game can lead players to undertake different strategies for the words they choose to play, alongside their placement.
Tile distribution and points
Each game makes use of the entire English alphabet plus blank tiles that can represent any letter of the player’s choice for the duration of the game. Even though the letter tiles themselves are the same, where each game differs is on the frequency of each letter tile and the number of points allocated to each tile.
In total, Scrabble uses 100 letter tiles while WWF uses 104 letter tiles and as a general rule, tiles tend to have a higher value in WWF. Long time Scrabble players may take some time to adjust to seeing different, higher scoring words being played by opponents in WWF before eventually adapting their own strategy to account for the game’s differences.
| Letter tile | Scrabble number of tiles | Scrabble tile value | WWF number of tiles | WWF tile value | WWF tile value difference |
| Blank | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | = |
| A | 9 | 1 | 9 | 1 | = |
| B | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | +1 |
| C | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | +1 |
| D | 4 | 2 | 5 | 2 | = |
| E | 12 | 1 | 13 | 1 | = |
| F | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | = |
| G | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | +1 |
| H | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | -1 |
| I | 9 | 1 | 8 | 1 | = |
| J | 1 | 8 | 1 | 10 | +2 |
| K | 1 | 5 | 1 | 5 | = |
| L | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +1 |
| M | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | +1 |
| N | 6 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +1 |
| O | 8 | 1 | 8 | 1 | = |
| P | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | +1 |
| Q | 1 | 10 | 1 | 10 | = |
| R | 6 | 1 | 6 | 1 | = |
| S | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | = |
| T | 6 | 1 | 7 | 1 | = |
| U | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +1 |
| V | 2 | 4 | 2 | 5 | +1 |
| W | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | = |
| X | 1 | 8 | 1 | 8 | = |
| Y | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| Z | 1 | 10 | 1 | 10 | = |
The letters “D”,”E”, “H”, “S” and “T” are more frequent in WWF but the additional “S” is particularly useful when making plural words that score higher points. The only tiles that are more frequent in Scrabble are the letters “I” and “N”, common letters that are appreciated by fans of word games due to their adaptability in word-building.
In terms of individual letter scores, 10 letters are worth more points in Words With Friends, with the most significant being “J” which earns 2 more points than in Scrabble and is valued highly due to its scarcity. The only letters that earn more in Scrabble than in WWF are “H” and “Y”, which score more highly than common letters and are useful for their versatility.
Even though these differences may seem trivial to beginners, intermediate or advanced players will be quick to notice the negative impact tile distribution and points can have on their final score if switching back-and-forth between each game. For this reason, serious players may prefer to become highly familiar with just one tileset by only playing one of the game titles with regularity.
Bonus points
In Scrabble and Words With Friends, successfully using all of the letters in your rack is known as a bingo. For both games, a bingo will be 7 letters in length if played on the opening turn (using only rack letters) but in later turns they will need to be 8 letters or more (connecting to an existing letter or letters on the board).
Scoring a bingo in Scrabble is a great way to significantly boost your points score as you will receive a 50 point bonus. However for Words With Friends it isn’t as well rewarded, netting the player an extra 35 points.
Power-ups
Out of the two games, Words With Friends is the only game to feature a power-up system to provide special boosts to the player, helping them get better at the game and score additional points. The four available power-ups in WWF are:
- Tile Swap Plus – Swap rack tiles for bag tiles without being forced to end a turn.
- Hindsight – After a move has been played, it will show the player an alternative move that could have been placed on the board.
- Word Clue – Provides a hint to the player by highlighting some of the rack tiles alongside a part of the board where the letters should be placed.
- Word Radar – All playable word locations are signalled on the grid so that players can see where to place words.
Players can see each of their available power-ups at the top of the screen and they will reduce by one each time they are used. Power-ups can be purchased from the store using coins earned in game, from earning mystery boxes or by using real money.
Accepted words
Another area upon which each game differs is their list of accepted terms. The dictionary used in Scrabble tends to be either NWL (NASPA Word List) or CSW (Collins Scrabble Words) while Words With Friends uses ENABLE (Enhanced North American Benchmark Lexicon).
Professional players of either game will often review and try to memorize the dictionary needed for the games or tournaments they predominantly take part in. At the highest levels of both Scrabble and WWF, 2-letter words are seen as essential to memorize, even though there are differences between which words are accepted in each game (eg: “OK” is valid in Scrabble but not in WWF).
The approximate number of words for each dictionary are given below, however it is important to remember that dictionaries are revised frequently and as such, their total numbers of words can vary greatly.
- CSW: 279,000+ words.
- NASPA: 196,000+ words.
- ENABLE: 173,000+ words.
Scrabble or WWF, which game is better?
Even though we have highlighted many of the differences between each game, it is important to remember that both titles still share the same basic concepts. Understanding this, the general preference of each player will play a large part in whether they choose to play Scrabble or Words With Friends.
As highlighted before, originally Scrabble was intended to be a standard board game while WWF was designed to be an online multiplayer game. As both games are now available in a range of formats, gamers are encouraged to check them both out before choosing to play their preferred title in the format of their choice.