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You Can Play Scrabble By Yourself (One-Player, AI, and More)

Last Updated on January 7, 2024 by Gamesver Team and JC Franco

Scrabble app in the app store
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Just how addicted do you have to be to Scrabble to want to play it alone? As addicted as me, I guess! I have been an enthusiastic Scrabble player my whole life and for very good reason. It is both educational and entertaining! 

I was only introduced to the game at around 10 years of age, and from thereon, I could not be deterred from playing it. However, there are undoubtedly times in life when there is no one to play Scrabble with. Does this mean that you have to seek out another form of entertainment, or can you play Scrabble alone?

Scrabble can be played solo by following the one-player variation rules of the game. Scrabble enthusiasts can also play Scrabble alone by registering for an online or mobile app version of the game, where they play against AI or “the computer”. 

There is no official single-player Scrabble game board available, and it doesn’t seem as if Hasbro or Mattel have the intention of creating and marketing one either.

Who would have thought that this spelling and strategy game could actually be played alone? Well, now you know that it can. And now you can stop feeling sad when there is no one around to play a game of Scrabble with – you have yourself! 

The great news about playing Scrabble alone is that you derive all the educational and brain-boosting benefits of playing Scrabble, as well as improve on your overall Scrabble playing skills. In short, playing Scrabble alone is an excellent practice for playing a winning game of Scrabble with family and friends. And you know what they say, don’t you? “Practice makes perfect”. 

If you want to learn more about the rules and gameplay of playing Scrabble alone, read on. 

Playing Scrabble By Yourself | Simply Explained

If you want to know how to play Scrabble alone, you have come to just the right place. I have done it many times and now, with a bit of information, you can too. Just because you are alone or nobody else wants to play your favorite word game, it does not mean that you have to suffer or deal with boredom. 

Scrabble Board Game. Word Scrabble from letter tiles in the tile rack on gameboard
Ekaterina Minaeva / Shutterstock.com

Playing solo scrabble is actually very similar to playing Scrabble with another player. You go about it as you usually would, so there is nothing surprising in the setup, gameplay, and rules. Here is what you need to know about playing Scrabble alone:

Setting Up Solo Scrabble

How do you set up a Scrabble game to play alone? Is it similar to how you would normally set it up? Yes, it is. Just like you would normally set up the Scrabble game, you now do so, but just for one player. The board is cleared of all the tiles, and you draw out 7 tiles from the bag (without looking). Leave the rest of the tiles inside the bag as they will be used for draws later on in the game.

The Game Play

As you are playing alone, there is no need to determine who starts the game – you are starting. 

You start the game by building a word in the middle of the board using your selected tiles. One of the tiles must be placed on the square in the middle of the board. Once your word is formed, you then add up the scores for the tiles and times the total by 2. You multiply the total by 2 because there is a double word bonus attached to the middle square. It is important to make a note of the score before you draw any more letters from the bag. You must draw enough new tiles to bring your total collection of tiles back up to 7.

Now, repeat the process by trying to form another word that is attached to the first word on the board. This is repeated over and over. You can continue doing this until you can no longer create any words or you run out of lettered tiles. 

The main objective of solo Scrabble is to keep trying to beat your own high score, so keep playing round after round, game after game. 

If you don’t think it sounds particularly difficult and if you really want to challenge yourself, it is a good idea to set a timer and see how many words you can come up with in the allotted time. Try to keep beating your highest score with each round within the allotted time. Challenge yourself – it will be worth it! The more you practice this, the quicker you will become at forming words and picking up on word building opportunities. 

Mobile Scrabble Apps and Online Scrabble Games

Close-up shot of Electronic Arts's popular app SCRABBLE Premium
OpturaDesign / Shutterstock.com

If you find that you are always in reach of your mobile phone or your computer, playing Scrabble alone might be quite easy for you. Scrabble is available in various formats, including mobile apps and online. If you do a Google search for Scrabble games, you will find a multitude of options to choose from. 

In most computerized Scrabble games, you play against artificial intelligence, but there are websites that you can sign up to (some might come with a fee attached) where you can play Scrabble against other real-life Scrabble players online. Keep an eye out for those – they are heaps of fun. 

You might wonder if the rules and gameplay differ when it comes to online Scrabble. The truth is that the rules and gameplay are pretty much the same. The main difference is the social element. 

Playing Scrabble online It is much the same as playing physical scrabble, but instead of selecting tiles, you click on a square where you want to place it and once you are happy with how you have positioned and spelled the word, you submit it by clicking a “submit” button. The system will let you know if your word is acceptable or not, and your score will be automatically worked out for you. Most app and online versions of Scrabble also come with a built-in Scrabble Dictionary. 

You can opt for the mobile app version of Scrabble if you do not feel like spending your time on a website. Simply navigate to the app store on your mobile phone and search for “Scrabble”. You will be presented with a plethora of Scrabble game variations to choose from, that are compatible with your specific device. Some work just like Scrabble, and others present themselves similar to a type of crossword. You could certainly spend some time sussing out each option until you find the Scrabble app that tickles your fancy. 

Benefits of Playing Scrabble Alone

What exactly is the purpose and benefits of playing Scrabble alone? In my situation, I often want to play Scrabble when I am bored or have nothing to do, and often this coincides with when I am alone. Playing Scrabble alone seems to be the only solution. That said, let us take a brief look at some of the expected benefits of playing Scrabble solo. 

Closeup of hand of woman playing with plastic letters to forming a word on Scrabble board game
NeydtStock / Shutterstock.com
  • Improves spelling abilities (you can look up the spelling of words you are unsure of).
  • It beats boredom (playing Scrabble is healthier than watching TV all day).
  • Increases your creative thinking. 
  • Gets your brain working and thinking, which is good for staving off the effects of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. 
  • Develops better concentration as it is easy to get distracted when you play alone. You will need to put in the effort to stay focused.

Of course, these are just some of the benefits to be expected if you play Scrabble alone.

Will There Ever Be a Solo Scrabble Board?

What does solo Scrabble have in terms of its future? Will there ever be such a thing as Solo Scrabble? If you like to play Scrabble alone, you might wonder if Hasbro or Mattel have the intention of releasing an official Solo Scrabble game board. I scouted around a bit for an answer to this online and all I could come up with is that there’s no intention of creating such a board game. 

At least there’s no particular mention of it, and there seems to be no rustling about it happening in the Scrabble community. I guess the reasons are obvious. Perhaps a game board for one person would be a non-starter purely because online sites and mobile apps would make such boards obsolete or unnecessary. If you want to play Scrabble alone, use your regular multiplayer game board, register for play on a Scrabble website, or download a Scrabble app for your mobile phone. It is that simple!

Last Word

If you would like to try your hand at one-man Scrabble, why not haul out the board and give it a go. You have nothing to lose!

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This article was co-authored by our team of in-house and freelance writers, and reviewed by our editors, who enjoy sharing their knowledge about their favorite games with others!

JC Franco
Editor | + posts

JC Franco serves as a New York-based editor for Gamesver. His interest for board games centers around chess, a pursuit he began in elementary school at the age of 9. Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Mercyhurst University, JC brings a blend of business acumen and creative insight to his role. Beyond his editorial endeavors, he is a certified USPTA professional, imparting his knowledge in tennis to enthusiasts across the New York City Metropolitan area.