Premium Squares. Best use.

(DL = Double letter: TL = Triple letter: DW = Double Word: TW = Triple Word. Your letters are CAPITAL and letters already on the board are shown in Brackets (S) )

We all want to be able to use the Triple word Premium square, but there are ways of scoring with other Premium Squares that are MORE valuable!

Take the 2nd row from the outer edge (across or down) and you will see 2 DW squares with only 3 spaces in between them. You may have the opportunity to use them both and your word score is multiplied by 4. 

Use the same Premium square TWICE. If you are left with a Premium Square at the beginning or end of a word and you HOOK a word placing the hooked letter on that Premium Square then you get the Bonus value both ways.

Now look again at the TW squares. 3 squares away from each is a TL square. Place a high value letter on the TL and run the word onto the TW gets super high scores. Say you placed QUIZ  with the Q on the TW and the Z on the TL it scores on its own 129!

Then there are the silly 2 letter words like AX EX XI JO KA etc. (there is a list of them on the blog) If you look carefully you might see a place to put say K(A) using the A on the board and with the K on a TL and by using some other letters on your rack you make another KA then the K=5 x 3 =15 but you've got it twice so that's 30. This works well with Hs (HE HA AH EH HM) Ws (WE WO)  Xs (AX EX OX XI) and Js (JO) (sometimes). It's quite often that a score of 25-30is obtainable with only 1 letter.

Many inexperienced player leave these premium squares open. Be the first to use them. If you can use a TW square do so. Say you choose not to and score 30 elsewhere, as the TW play only got you 15 then if your opponent uses it on his turn he might get a 40 or more. Whereas he'd only have gotten say 15 elsewhere. Therefore using it got you 15 and he got 15. Not using it got you 30 and he gets 40! +10 to you opponent.

But do remember that if it is good for you to use them it is bad to allow your opponent to use them so play carefully.