How do I Use Q in Scrabble?
If you feel a sense of dread wash over you when you get the letter Q in your tile rack while playing Scrabble, you aren't alone. Words with the letter Q are few and far between, and generally need to be accompanied by the letter U, of which there are only four. According to Stefan Fatsis of The New York Times, "What's a word? Scrabble has been bound up in that existential question since the game exploded into prominence more than a half-century ago." The question becomes even tougher when it involves the letter Q.
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Instructions
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Learn and memorize words that start with the letter Q. Most words using the letter Q also require the letter U. However, there are several Scrabble-approved words that use the letter Q alone. According to the Mind Sports Olympiad website, these include: qat, qoph, faqir, sheqel, sheqelim, tranq, qanat, qindar, qintar, qwert, and qindarka.
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Hold on to your U tiles and blank tiles for as long as possible during the game so that you have them available to you in the event that you get a Q tile.
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Learn words that end in the letter Q, so that you may play off of another player's tile. According to YourDictionary.com, the following Q ending words are approved for Scrabble: suq, tranq, tzaddiq, umiaq.
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Tips & Warnings
The Q tile is worth 10 points in Scrabble, so using it will reward you handsomely when you finally find a place for it on the board.
Once you and your fellow players run out of words to spell, you will have to add up the tiles you have left and subtract the total from your score. If you're left with a Q at the end, you will have a hefty 10 points to delete from your score, in addition to the values of your other tiles.
References
- Photo Credit scrabble about image by Bionic Media from Fotolia.com
