Guide
Word game strategy for beginners
You do not need a huge vocabulary to play well. Four ideas do most of the work: hooks, parallel plays, bonus squares and a balanced rack. Here is each one, with examples you can play.
1. Hooks
A hook is a letter that extends a word on the board. Place one tile at its end (or start) and run your own word down from it: both words score. Some examples straight from the dictionary:
- HAT: back hooks E, H, S; front hooks C, G, K, P, S, T, W.
- ART: back hooks S, Y; front hooks C, D, F, H, K, M, P, T, W.
- ONE: back hooks S; front hooks B, C, D, G, H, L, N, P, S, T, Z.
- ARE: back hooks A, S; front hooks B, C, D, F, H, M, P, R, T, W, Y.
Plural S is the most common back hook. If a word on the board can take an S, you can hang a whole new word from it.
2. Parallel plays
Lay a word alongside one already on the board so each touching pair of tiles also spells a short word. You score every word you form, so learn the ZAX, XU, JO, KA, OX, AX family and the rest of the two-letter words.
3. Bonus squares
Double and triple squares multiply a letter or a whole word. The strongest move is a longer word that crosses two. Check what each tile would sit on before you commit, and block opponents' best squares when you can. On Wordtide, a tile on a bonus square scores for every word it forms.
4. Balance your rack
Aim for about two or three vowels in seven tiles. Play off duplicate letters, hold flexible ones (S, E, R, T) when you have a long word in mind, and swap rather than keep a hopeless rack. Seven-letter plays earn a bonus: see the best bingo stems.
What to learn first
- The two-letter words.
- Words that dump a bad tile: Z, X, J and Q without U.
- Common endings and starts, e.g. REPLAY, PLAYED, PLAYER (from RE-, -ED, -ER).
More guides
- Every valid two-letter word, grouped so they stick.
- The few Q words that work without a U.
- Top scorers and short rack-savers for Z, X and J.
- Techniques that turn jumbled letters into words.
- No-vowel words and vowel-heavy dumps.
- Six-letter stems that become 7-letter words.
- How to pick a free multiplayer word game, honestly.
Questions
What is a hook?
A hook is a letter you add to the front or end of a word already on the board to make a new word, while your own new word runs the other way. One tile scores both words.
What is a parallel play?
Laying a word alongside an existing one so that every pair of touching tiles also forms a short word. It scores several words at once and usually needs two-letter words.
How do I learn this fastest?
Play. On Wordtide's shared board there is always an open spot to practise on, and nothing to download or sign up for.
Play these words on the shared board
Wordtide is a free word game on one endless board shared by players around the world. Build off anyone's words, claim bonus squares and grow your own island: no download, no sign-up. Every word on this page is valid in the English world.