Words by Starting Letter
Words That Start With S
SHOWBIZZY leads the words that start with S at 38 points in Scrabble, and every word here carries both scores.
Words That Start With L
Every one of the words that start with L scored for Scrabble and Words With Friends, with LYMPHADENOPATHY highest at 34 points.
Words by Starting Letter in Scrabble and Words With Friends
A first letter decides more than spelling. Place a word so its opening tile falls on a premium square and that tile alone doubles or triples, which is why a rack holding a J, worth 8 points in Scrabble and 10 in Words With Friends, plays nothing like a rack holding an S.
Front hooks work on the same principle. One tile placed before a word already on the board makes a second word and scores the whole of it again, so knowing what starts with a given letter turns a stranded tile into two scores in one turn.
Which Starting Letters Reward Study
J, Q, X and Z repay memory fastest. Their words are few enough to learn and their tiles heavy enough to swing a game: Q and Z each price at 10 points in Scrabble, X at 8. The vowel starters do the opposite work, clearing a rack that has drawn three A tiles and no consonant worth playing.
Starting Letter and Word Length Together
A two-letter opener parks a heavy tile beside an existing word and scores in both directions. A seven-letter opener empties the rack for the bonus. Both start with a letter you chose, which is why the shorter word is worth learning first: it plays on a crowded board where the long one has nowhere to go.
FAQs
1What is a front hook?
A single tile placed in front of a word already on the board, making a new word. The play scores that new word in full, so one tile outscores a longer play elsewhere on the board more times than beginners expect.
2Which starting letters score the most?
Q and Z lead both games at 10 points a tile. J and X follow at 8 points in Scrabble, and Words With Friends raises the J to 10.
3Do Scrabble and Words With Friends score these words the same?
No. Words With Friends prices L at 2 points where Scrabble prices it 1, and the J at 10 against 8. Every word here carries both totals, and the toggle switches all of them at once.
4Should I spend a heavy tile early or hold it?
Spend it. A Q or a J held through three turns costs a rack slot every draw, and the premium squares that would have paid for it fill up while you wait.
Word lists grouped by the letter a word begins with, from two letters up to fifteen, with Scrabble and Words With Friends scores.