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In Scrabble, if you make a new word and one of your letters adds onto another word making a whole new word, but this letter falls onto a double word score and you want to count it for the higher word score (the word you added the letter to) can you do this?

My dad is trying to say you can only count the double word score for every new word you make but by adding this one letter to a previous word, I think I am making a new word so that should count as well.

marked as duplicate by AndyT, Joe W, mmathis, Malco, Mosquite Aug 15 '18 at 17:12



You can do what you want here (score the modified word and the entirely new word).

All that matters is whether you play a tile on a premium square. If you do, you'll get the bonus, for that tile or the word(s) containing it, as appropriate.

For example, if someone plays CLOUD, with a double-word score square just after the end of it, and you play SWORD off of that, forming CLOUDS as well, you'll get double score for both CLOUDS and SWORD. You could also just add the S and score for CLOUDS, but hopefully you can do better!

You'll only get the bonus once, on the turn when a tile is played on the special square. Once it's covered, it's used and it might as well not be there. But it applies to everything relevant on the turn when you do play on that square.

From the rules (in the scoring section):

The score for each turn is the sum of the letter values in each word(s) formed or modified on that turn, plus the additional points obtained from placing letters on Premium Squares.

Letter and word premiums count only on the turn in which they are played. On later turns, letters already played on premium squares count at face value.

  • 1
    I agree with the explanation but what does "You can do what you want here." mean? You can't do whatever you want. If the is S in a double-score square, all new words that were created in this turn and have that S added, count with double score. You can't choose which one to count as double. – ypercubeᵀᴹ Mar 21 '16 at 19:03
  • @ypercubeᵀᴹ It means that the OP can do what they asked about being able to do in the question (score off both the modified and the entirely new word). – Cascabel Mar 21 '16 at 19:56
