Words With Friends Cheat Sheet

Words With Friends is one of the most popular mobile word games. This cheat sheet covers bonus squares, power-ups, and dictionary quirks to give you a competitive edge.

About Words With Friends

Words With Friends is a popular multiplayer word game by Zynga. It features power-ups, solo challenges, and a unique dictionary that includes many modern and informal words not found in Scrabble dictionaries.

Bonus Square Overview

Triple Word (TW)

Located at corners and edges. Always the highest-priority target — a single TW play can win a close game outright.

Triple Letter (TL)

Place your highest-value tiles (Q, Z, J, X) here for maximum points. Combining TL with a word multiplier is the most efficient scoring play in the game.

Double Word (DW)

Doubles the full word value. Hitting two DW squares in one play multiplies their effect — look for bingo plays (using all 7 tiles) that cross two DW squares.

Double Letter (DL)

Doubles one tile's value. Less impactful than TL but still worth targeting when no better options are available.

Dictionary Tips

Words With Friends uses the SOWPODS-based TWL/OSPD dictionaries with additional modern vocabulary. Some words valid in Scrabble are invalid here, and vice versa.

  • Short words like QI, ZA, XI, AA, and AE are valid and very useful.
  • Many slang and informal words (e.g., EMOJI) are accepted in the WWF dictionary.
  • Always verify an unusual word with the in-game dictionary before playing it.

Strategy Tip

Use Solo Challenges to practise board strategy without rating stakes. Strategically place high-value letters on Triple Letter (TL) or Triple Word (TW) spaces to maximise scores — these two square types account for the majority of big-score plays at high levels.