Words With Friends in 2026: The Cheat Sheet Your Opponents Hate

My mom texts me every single day with screenshots of her Words With Friends board, asking “is this a good play?” And every single day, I tell her the same thing: you’re leaving the triple word square wide open.

If you’re like my mom – or like me three years ago – and you want to actually win at WWF instead of just placing whatever looks nice, this is the cheat sheet you need. I’ve been playing competitively (well, “competitively”) since 2020, and these are the things that moved the needle most.

WWF Isn’t Scrabble (And That Matters)

A lot of people treat Words With Friends like Scrabble with a different skin. Wrong. The differences are real and they change how you should play:

• The board is different. Premium squares are in different spots. That triple word square you’re used to reaching in Scrabble? It’s not there in WWF.
• Tile values are different. J is worth 10 in WWF (vs 8 in Scrabble). H is worth 4 (vs 3). These small differences add up.
• The dictionary is different. WWF uses the ENABLE word list, which accepts some words Scrabble doesn’t, and rejects some that Scrabble allows. GRRL? Valid in WWF. ZEN? Also valid.
• You can swap anytime. In Scrabble, you can only swap when there are 7+ tiles in the bag. In WWF, swap whenever. Bad rack? Dump it.

The Tiles That Win Games

Know your high-value tiles and plan around them:

• Z (10 pts), J (10 pts), Q (10 pts) – The big three. Never waste these on a basic play. Wait for a premium square.
• X (8 pts) – Incredibly versatile. AX, EX, OX, XI, XU – short words that score big.
• K (5 pts) – Worth more than people realize. KAYAK on a double letter for the K = nice.
• Blank tiles – Worth 0 points themselves, but priceless for making bingos. NEVER waste a blank on a short word.

2-Letter Words: The Backbone of Good Play

If you only learn one thing from this post, learn the 2-letter words. They let you play “parallel” – placing a word right next to an existing one and scoring in two directions at once. The best high-value ones:

• ZA (11 pts) – Pizza slang. Your go-to Z dump.
• QI (11 pts) – Life force. Your Q-without-U emergency exit.
• JO (10 pts) – A sweetheart. Simple J play.
• XI, XU (9 pts each) – Greek letter and Vietnamese currency. Memorize both.

Strategy That Actually Works in 2026

Play Defense When You’re Ahead

I cannot stress this enough. If you’re up by 50+ points, stop trying to score more. Instead, play short words that don’t open up triple word squares for your opponent. Keep the board tight. Make them work for every point.

The Hook Play

This is the single most underused strategy I see. Adding one letter to an existing word (like S to make a plural) while simultaneously playing a word in the other direction. You score for both words. My biggest-ever single turn was 87 points from hooking an S onto JINX while playing SAUCED downward.

Save Your S Tiles and Blanks

An S is worth 1 point. But if you save it and use it to hook onto a big word later? That’s 30-50 points easy. Same with blanks. I’ve seen people use blanks on 12-point words. That’s like burning cash.

Rack Management

After each play, look at what’s left on your rack. Ideally you want 2-3 vowels and 3-4 consonants. If you’re heavy on vowels, play vowel-heavy words. If all consonants, trade or play SHORT (uses no vowels, technically).

What’s Changed in WWF for 2026

The app has evolved quite a bit:

• Solo play against AI opponents has gotten much better – good for practice without the social pressure
• The word list gets periodic updates. New slang and cultural words get added
• The game now has more themed events and challenges that reward specific word types
• Ad experience has improved (finally). Premium still removes them entirely

Free Tools That Help

I use these between games and sometimes (okay, often) during:

• WWF Word Finder – Type your rack, get every valid play. I mostly use it to study what I COULD have played after a game.
• Word Unscrambler – Fast, works for any game, no sign-up needed.
• Dictionary Checker – “Is GRRL valid?” Yes. “BEZZY?” Also yes. Check before you challenge.

The beautiful thing about WWF is that it’s casual enough to play on the bus but deep enough to genuinely improve at. Start with the 2-letter words, learn when to hold your S tiles, and watch your win rate climb.