Tile word finder
Type your rack — up to seven letters, with ? for each blank tile — and get every playable dictionary word, ranked by score. Switch between the two most common tile-value systems, and filter by a letter the word must contain, start with, or end with to hook onto the board.
How tile scoring works
Every tile word game gives each letter a fixed point value, and rarer, harder-to-play letters are worth more. Two point systems cover almost every tile word game you will run into: the classic system used by the original tile-and-word board game and its many clones, and the popular-mobile system used by the best-known mobile word-battle app. This tool implements both, and you can switch between them without re-typing your rack.
| Letter | Classic | Mobile | Same? |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | 1 | Same |
| B | 3 | 4 | Differs |
| C | 3 | 4 | Differs |
| D | 2 | 2 | Same |
| E | 1 | 1 | Same |
| F | 4 | 4 | Same |
| G | 2 | 3 | Differs |
| H | 4 | 3 | Differs |
| I | 1 | 1 | Same |
| J | 8 | 10 | Differs |
| K | 5 | 5 | Same |
| L | 1 | 2 | Differs |
| M | 3 | 4 | Differs |
| N | 1 | 2 | Differs |
| O | 1 | 1 | Same |
| P | 3 | 4 | Differs |
| Q | 10 | 10 | Same |
| R | 1 | 1 | Same |
| S | 1 | 1 | Same |
| T | 1 | 1 | Same |
| U | 1 | 2 | Differs |
| V | 4 | 5 | Differs |
| W | 4 | 4 | Same |
| X | 8 | 8 | Same |
| Y | 4 | 3 | Differs |
| Z | 10 | 10 | Same |
Why they differ: the two systems were designed independently, decades apart, for different tile bags and different play patterns. Both start from the same basic idea — score a letter higher the rarer and harder to place it is in English — but they land on different numbers for common consonants like B, C, G, H, L, M, N, P and U. Q, X and Z stay expensive in both, and vowels stay cheap in both, because those two facts about English are true everywhere.
Twelve letters differ, fourteen match. If your rack has none of B, C, G, H, J, L, M, N, P, U, V or Y in it, the two scoring systems will always agree on which word scores highest — only the specific number changes.
Worked examples
Every number below is exactly what the finder above computes — try the same rack and letters yourself.
1. The same word, two different scores
The word QUIZ only uses letters where the two systems mostly agree — except U.
One point of difference, entirely from U being worth 2 instead of 1 under the mobile system. On a longer word using several of the twelve letters that differ, the gap between the two totals gets much larger.
2. A blank tile always scores zero
Rack C A ? (a blank in place of a third letter) can spell CAT by using the blank as the T.
The blank still lets you play the T — the word is exactly as valid — it just does not add any points for that letter. The finder always prefers a real rack letter over a blank when both could supply the same position, since a real letter never scores less than a blank does.
How to use it
- Type your rack. Lowercase or uppercase both work. Add a ? for every blank tile you are holding — one ? per blank.
- Pick a scoring system that matches the game you are playing. If you are not sure, try both — the set of playable words is identical either way, only the ranking and point totals change.
- Open the board-hook filters if you already have a letter on the board you want to build from. Contains finds a word with that letter anywhere in it, starts with and ends with anchor it to one end, and the length filter narrows results to however many open squares you actually have.
- Read the table top to bottom. Results are ranked by tile score first, then by length, then alphabetically, so the highest raw-scoring play is always at the top.
Strategy note: score isn’t the whole story
This finder ranks words by their raw tile value only, because that is all it can know from a rack alone. In an actual game, where you place a word usually matters more than what it is worth on its own:
- Bonus squares multiply everything. A modest word placed on a double- or triple-value square can outscore a top-ranked word played somewhere ordinary. This tool has no idea where those squares are on your board — you do.
- Using your whole rack is usually worth chasing. Most of these games pay out a large flat bonus for playing every tile you are holding in one turn. Scan the longer results even when a shorter word tops the score column.
- Keep your rack playable. Dumping every high-value consonant in one turn can leave you with an unplayable run of vowels or duplicate letters next turn. Sometimes the second-highest word is the better move because of what it leaves behind.
- Blanks are precious. Spending a blank on a low-value letter in a short, low-scoring word is rarely worth it — save it for a longer word or a big bonus square when you can.
About the dictionary this tool uses
Results come from a large, general-purpose English word list — not the specific proprietary word list that any single tile word game enforces. In practice that means two things: a very obscure or archaic word might show up here that a particular game’s official dictionary would reject, and a handful of informal or added words that one specific app accepts might not appear here at all. For the vast majority of everyday racks this makes no difference, since common words are common words everywhere — but if you are about to spend a turn on an unusual-looking result, it is worth confirming it plays before you commit.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the two scoring systems?
They are two independently designed point tables for the same 26 letters. The classic system is the one used by the original tile-and-word board game and by most clones of it. The popular-mobile system is used by the best-known mobile word-battle app. Twelve of the 26 letters carry a different value between the two — B, C, G, H, J, L, M, N, P, U, V and Y — so the same rack can have a different highest-scoring word depending which one you pick.
What does the blank tile (?) do?
Type a ? for every blank tile in your rack. A blank can stand in for any letter when the finder assembles a word, but it always scores 0 points for that position, no matter which letter it is representing. The finder only uses a blank when your real letters run out — if your rack already has the letter a word needs, that real tile is used first, since a real letter never scores less than a blank.
Why do I get a different top-scoring word when I switch scoring systems?
Because the two systems price several letters differently. A word leaning on a letter that scores higher under one system (like C, G, H, L, M, N, P, U or V) can jump several places in the ranking when you toggle, even though the exact same set of playable words is available under both — only the order and the numbers change.
Can this tool see the board, hooks, or bonus squares?
No. It only knows your rack — it has no idea what is already on the board, where the double- and triple-value squares are, or what your opponent is holding. The contains / starts with / ends with filters are there so you can search for a word that would connect to a letter you already know is on the board, but you still have to check the actual position yourself.
Is this word list the exact dictionary my game uses?
No, and no online finder can promise that. This tool checks words against a large general-purpose English word list, not the specific proprietary word list any one app or board-game edition enforces. Most common words will match either way, but a rare or unusual result here is worth double-checking in your game before you commit to playing it, and a handful of app-specific informal words this list does not carry may be missing from the results.
How do the contains / starts with / ends with filters help me find a play?
They let you search for a word that has to include a specific letter somewhere, at the start, or at the end — which is exactly what you need when you are trying to build off a letter that is already on the board. If there is an R sitting on the board you want to play through, filter by “contains R”, then check which of the results actually fits the open squares around it.
Does the finder ever require me to use every tile in my rack?
No. It returns every playable word of any length your rack can spell, from two letters up to your whole rack. Many of these games award a large bonus for using all of your tiles in a single play, so it is often worth scanning the longest results even when a shorter word scores higher on tile value alone — this tool does not add that bonus, since it does not know your board position.
Is this tool affiliated with any specific word game?
No. It is an independent tool that implements two commonly used tile-scoring systems so it is useful regardless of which tile word game you are actually playing. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any game publisher.
Do you store the rack or words I type?
No. The whole search runs in your browser against a word list already loaded on the page — there is no server call involved in finding words, and what you type is never uploaded, logged, or recorded anywhere.
Use cases & limitations
Where this is genuinely useful
- A stuck rack. Seven unfamiliar-looking letters can hide a perfectly good word or three — the finder checks every combination instantly.
- Deciding between two plausible words. See the exact point difference before you commit a turn to one over the other.
- Awkward letters. Racks heavy on Q, J, X, Z, or with no vowels at all, are exactly where a finder earns its keep.
- Hooking onto the board. Use the contains/starts/ends filters to search for a word that connects to a letter you already have in play.
- Learning new valid words. Scanning results is a quick way to pick up short, high-value words worth remembering for next time.
What this tool cannot tell you
- Anything about the board. No bonus-square positions, no adjacency rules, no idea what is already placed — it works from your rack alone.
- Your actual in-game score. Multipliers, bonus squares and whole-rack bonuses are not modelled; the score column is tile value only.
- Whether a word is accepted by one specific game’s official dictionary. See the dictionary section above.
- What your opponent is holding, or what letters remain in the bag. The finder has no visibility into either.