What many people don’t consider is that the developers are creaming off huge advertising revenues from the app. If Mattel and Hasbro have any business acumen they won’t kill Scrabulous; instead they should claim the share of the advertising revenues that they rightly deserve, and enjoy the benefits of the offline Scrabble renaissance fuelled by the runaway success of Scrabulous. Or will Mattel and Hasbro follow the steps of the recording industry – fail completely to embrace a new technology that could rejuvenate their business, and try to sue innovation out of existance.

#3 – Use a word that looks mis-spelt

Here’s a short list of perfectly valid Scrabble words, but which your opponent will presume you’ve spelt incorrectly. They, of course, will challenge you and reach for the Scrabble dictionary. You, on the other hand, will sit back smugly, knowing that you’ve just earnt yourself an extra turn. Of course, try this trick more than once and your opponent will call your bluff and allow all of your weird words through, unchallenged. This, in turn, will give you the chance to use bogus words like cromulent, embiggens and kwyjibo.

There are piles of words in the Scrabble dictionary that fit the description; these are just a few examples.

AMUCK APATITE ASBESTUS ASPERATE COALA CHICKORY CIGARET CUNDUM CUTLAS CYDER DORNOCK DROWND FANTOM GALIVANT GOODBY GREWSOME JALOPY KREEP KULTUR KUMQUAT MUSTACHE PEEPUL PENCEL PENSIL RABBET SKEEING SYCOSIS

#2 – “Q” words without the “U”

So you’ve picked up the dreaded Q tile, but no matter how many tiles you get rid of, you just can’t pick up the U. It doesn’t have to be the end of the world, there are plenty of words you can use without a U following the Q. Just don’t expect me to tell you what these words mean.

• 2-letter Words – QI
• 3-letter Words – QAT QIS SUQ
• 4-letter Words – QADI QAID QATS QOPH SUQS WAQF
• 5-letter Words – BURQA FAQIR NIQAB QADIS QAIDS QIBLA QOPHS QORMA TALAQ TRANQ UMIAQ WAQFS
• 6-letter Words – BURQAS BUQSHA FAQIRS NIQABS QABALA QANATS QASIDA QAWWAL QIBLAS QIGONG QINDAR QINTAR QIVIUT QORMAS QWERTY SHEQEL TALAQS TRANQS UMIAQS YAQONA
• 7-letter Words – BUQSHAS INQILAB QABALAH QABALAS QASIDAS QAWWALI QAWWALS QIGONGS QINDARS QINTARS QIVIUTS QWERTYS SHEQELS TSADDIQ TZADDIQ YAQONAS
• 8-Letter Words – INQILABS MBAQANGA MUQADDAM QABALAHS QAIMAQAM QALAMDAN QAWWALIS QINDARKA QWERTIES SHEQALIM TSADDIQS TZADDIQS
• 9-letter Words – MBAQANGAS MUQADDAMS QABALISM QABALIST QAIMAQAMS QALAMDANS QINGHAOSU TSADDIQIM TZADDIQIM

#1 – Know all of those annoying 2-letter words

What’s better than annoying the hell of of your opponent by using a series of words like xu, zo and aa? Knowing what they mean, too. Trust me, it drives people crazy. Here’s a list of the two-letter words which either appear in the American or International English versions of the Scrabble dictionary. You can check here.

• AA – rough jagged lava found in Hawaiian volcanos
• AB – an abdominal muscle
• AD – short form of advertisement
• AE – one (Scots.)
• AG – agriculture
• AH – (verb) to say “Ah” for joy etc
• AI – a three-toed South American sloth
• AL – an East Indian tree
• AM – a present tense of the verb be -
• AN – a form of the indefinite article
• AR – the letter “R”
• AS – to that extent
• AT – in the position of
• AW – exclamation of disappointment
• AX – (verb) to work on with an axe
• AY – an affirmative vote (also AYE)
• BA – the eternal spirit in Egyptian mythology
• BE – (verb) to exist
• BI – a bisexual person
• BO – Amer. slang for friend
• BY – near; a side issue (pl. BYS)
• CH – English dial. for I
• DA – a Burmese heavy knife
• DE – preposition meaning of or from, in names
• DI – a plural of deus (a god)
• DO – (verb) to achieve; a celebration (pl. DOS)
• EA – a river (dial.)
• ED – education
• EE – Scots. dial. for eye (pl. EEN)
• EF – the letter “F”
• EH – (verb) to say “Eh” for surprise etc
• EL – an elevated railway
• EM – a printer’s measure
• EN – a printer’s measure, half of an EM
• ER – an expression of hesitation
• ES – the letter “S”
• ET – a past tense of eat
• EX – the letter “X”
• FA – a musical note
• FE – a Hebrew letter
• FY – an interj. expressing disgust (also FIE)
• GI – a judo or karate costume
• GO – (verb) to depart; a Japanese board game (pl. GOS)
• GU – a simple violin used in Shetland (also GJU, GUE)
• HA – an exclamation of surprise
• HE – a male
• HI – an exclamation of greeting
• HM – interj. expressing thoughtful consideration
• HO – interj. calling attention
• ID – part of the psyche
• IF – a condition
• IN – (verb) to harvest
• IO – a cry of joy
• IS – a present tense of be
• IT – impersonal pronoun
• JA – yes
• JO – a sweetheart
• KA – (verb) to serve (also KAE)
• KI – the spirit of Japanese martial art, see QI
• KO – a Maori digging stick
• KY – cows (also KYE)
• LA – a musical note
• LI – a Chinese distance unit
• LO – look, behold
• MA – mother
• ME – a musical note (also MI)
• MI – same as ME, above
• MM – exclamation of satisfaction
• MO – a moment
• MU – a Greek letter
• MY – belonging to me
• NA – interjction of disbelief
• NE – arch. form of not
• NO – a no vote (pl. also NOES)
• NU – a Greek letter
• NY – (verb) to approach (pl. also NYS)
• OB – an objection
• OD – a mystic universal force
• OE – a grandchild in Scotland (also OY, OYE)
• OF – belonging to
• OH – (verb) to exclaim “Oh” for surprise
• OI – interj. calling attention
• OM – a syllable intoned as part of a mantra
• ON – to go on
• OO – wool (Scots.)
• OP – an abstract art style
• OR – the heraldic colour gold
• OS – a bone
• OU – a bloke
• OW – interj. expressing pain
• OX – a mammal with hooves
• OY – same as OE, above
• PA – father
• PE – a Hebrew letter (also PEH)
• PI – (verb) to jumble or disorder (pr.p. PIEING, PIING)
• PO – a chamber pot
• QI – a Chinese life force
• RE – a musical note
• SH – interj. requesting silence
• SI – a musical note
• SO – a musical note (also SOH)
• ST – an exclamation of impatience
• TA – thanks
• TE – a musical note
• TI – a small tree
• TO – as far as
• UG – (verb) to cause hatred
• UH – interj. expressing disbelief
• UM – interj. of hesitation
• UN – one
• UP – (verb) to increase
• UR – interj. expressing hesitation
• US – a third person pronoun
• UT – a musical note
• WE – a third person pronoun
• WO – a curse
• XI – a Greek letter
• XU – a Vietnamese coin (pl. XU)
• YA – you
• YE – you
• YO – a call for effort
• YU – precious jade
• ZA – contraction of “pizza”
• ZO – a Himalayan cross between a yak and a cow (also DZO, DSO, ZHO, DZHO)