Tips and Strategies for Words with Friends

Contrary to popular belief, WWF is not about vocabulary. It is about tile placement, defense, and 2-3 letter words, most of which don't make sense. (WTF is OI?) Here are some tips and strategies.

• Be defensive. Don't give your opponent access to power squares (especially TW!) unless it is worth it (i.e. you think you can get more points even if your opponent uses that TW).
• Try putting a tile with a higher score on a power square (DL, TL) first and try out some weird words and combinations. If you can also access a DW or TW at the same time, it's gonna be a killer, because the letter is multiplied 2 times (e.g. TL + TW = multiply by 3 twice = x 9). One of my best records was 'OZONE' - the 'Z' was on the TL and the 'E' was on the TW, so this gave me more than 100 points.
• Avoid placing vowels next to power squares like DL and TL. Doing it means giving your opponent a perfect setup to use his power tiles.
• Store your asses, I mean, 'S's. 'S' is a good word stealer because you can create a new word and steal an existing word with ease. Calculate the value of putting it down. Is it giving you only an extra 4 points? Only use it when it really makes a difference.
• 'C' and 'V' are good words to start or end a word - because there are no 2 letter words beginning or ending with 'C' or 'V'. You can, say, form 'VET' with the 'V' ending near a TW tile and not worry about your opponent exploiting it.
• Don't be reluctant to pass if your tiles suck. Perseverance in putting 1 or 2 tiles at a time in the hope of getting better tiles may not pay off in the long run.
• If you can't exploit a power square, make sure your opponent can't. Ruin it! 'C' and 'V' are especially good for this.
• Following up on the previous point, if you can't even ruin it, open up another power square! So that when your opponent uses one of them, you can (hopefully) use the other in the next turn and even out the score.
• Be familiar with 2 letter words. As mentioned, most of them do not make sense. Some important 2 letter words include QI, ZA, JO, XI, XU, AX, EX - as you can see, they involve the power letters 'Q', 'Z', 'J', and 'X'. Double vowel words are good too, for example AA, AE, AI, OE, OI - they are especially useful on the final round where you are trying to get rid of all your tiles, or to prevent your opponent from accessing a power square.
• Don't just think of forming long words. Forming words that are parallel to other words can give you lots of points. This is where 2 letter words work wonders. Also, it is defensive.
• 'X' is a godsend. It is the best power letter because it has five 2-letter combinations - EX, XI, XU, OX, AX. For example, if there is a TL, you can easily earn more than 50 points. E.g. EX and XI at one go.
• Be familiar with words involving the power letters. Some examples: QI(s), QAT(s), QUID, QAID, QUAD, QUOD, WHIZ, WIZ, ZAX, HAJI, JIMP, JIVE(d,s), JOWL, JAY(s).
• Memorise how many tiles there are from each letter. This is really hardcore, but the benefits can be enormous. There are 104 tiles, and the more important ones to remember are 'Z', 'Q', 'J', 'X', 'K' (one each), jokers (two), and 'S' (five). How useful can it be? For example, if you have a 'Z' and access to TW, knowing that all the other power letters have been used up will give you the confidence to exploit the TW without worrying. It can also give you a rough idea of what tiles your opponent has in the final turn, so you can actually predict how he is going to move.
• Stuck with a high score letter and there are only 3 tiles left in the game? Swap it! If it is a 'Z' and there are no more 'A's to put ZA, swap it away so that your opponent will get it in his next turn. If he is also unable to use it when the game ends, this gives an extra 20 points in your favour. (If the game ends and you still have remaining tiles, their total points is subtracted from your score and added to your opponent's.) Of course, if he manages to use it, then good luck to you.