What happens if you challenge in scrabble

In club and tournament play, you can "hold" a play if you are deciding on challenging. This does not neutralize the game clock. If you are holding, the opponent cannot draw tiles for 15 seconds.

Holding a play can be useful when the decision to challenge a play is more complex. Lastly, always challenge the final play of the game if you are the slightest bit unsure of its validity. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time.

This article has been viewed 17, times. Learn more Scrabble is a fun and challenging game, but it can turn sour when you disagree over the existence of a word.

When you challenge a word, you will use your pre-chosen dictionary to see if the word is valid or not. Then, the challenged player will either lose his or her turn or you will lose your turn as a result of the challenge outcome. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers. Please log in with your username or email to continue. No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy.

Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article methods. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Author Info Last Updated: October 21, Method 1. Look for potentially invalid plays. If one of your fellow players puts down a strange word or one that you think is not spelled correctly, then you may want to challenge the word. Depending on the rules in force, there may be different consequences for a challenge. There are three current variations: single challenge , double challenge and penalty challenge.

In single challenge, if a player places a word and his opponent wishes to challenge, the challenger may do so with no penalty. If the word is valid, it remains on the board.

If it is invalid, it is removed from the board, the challenged player gets back exactly the same letters as he had, and the turn is noted as a pass with a score of zero points. The challenger receives no penalty point deduction or loss of a turn no matter if the challenged play is valid or invalid. A suggested flaw of this is that a player can challenge any word at any time, even words he knows to be valid; since tournament games are usually timed, this can be used to unfairly gain additional time to think about his own next turn.

Double challenge is most widely used in North American club and tournament play. Suppose player A makes a play, then player B challenges. Not necessarily. However, the competition is probably much stiffer than your wife encounters, and she may have to adjust her thinking to adapt to the typical 25 minute time limit per person per game when using a chess clock.

Scoring[edit] Each letter tile has a number next to it that indicates how many points it is worth. Common letters, such as vowels, are worth 1 point, while rare letters such as "Q", "X", and "Z" are worth 8- 10 points. Blank tiles are worth zero points.

No, it is not permitted to consult a Scrabble dictionary during your turn. The dictionary should only be used to adjudicate on challenges i. It's as easy as A, B, C! Create a Game! Search for a random opponent, connect to Facebook, or ask a friend for their username! Take Your Turn. Create a word on the board by placing tiles vertically or horizontally. You win the game by scoring more points than your friend!

Final Tips. Although some players use house rules to govern the blank tiles , the official rules of Scrabble do not allow you to do two things.