Scrabble vs Words With Friends: Key Differences Explained

Scrabble and Words With Friends look nearly identical — tiles, a board, taking turns to form words. But differences in scoring, tile values, bonus layout, and dictionaries mean a great Scrabble player and a great WWF player use completely different strategies.

Tile Values: Different Point Systems

Both games use A–Z tiles, but the point values differ. In Scrabble, B=3, C=3, M=3, V=4. In Words With Friends, B=4, C=4, M=4, V=5. High-frequency tiles (A, E, I, O, R, S, T) are worth 1 point in both, but nearly every other letter differs.

Full Rack Bonus

• Scrabble: playing all 7 tiles earns a 50-point bonus (called a "bingo").
• Words With Friends: playing all 7 tiles earns a 35-point bonus.
• Bingo-hunting is more important in Scrabble than in WWF.

Board Layout: Different Bonus Square Positions

The bonus square layout is completely different. Scrabble's triple-word squares sit at the corners and edges. WWF places premium squares toward the center. This changes which positions are most valuable and which opening moves are strongest.

Dictionary: Different Valid Words

Scrabble uses TWL in North America and SOWPODS internationally. Words With Friends uses the Enable word list, which is larger and includes some words Scrabble does not allow — and excludes a few Scrabble does allow.

Which Game Is Harder?

Most competitive players consider Scrabble harder because the bingo bonus is larger (50 vs 35 points), making 7-letter word knowledge more critical. WWF is more forgiving and better suited for casual play.