Have you played Words With Friends for a long time? Are you interested in Scrabble GO and debating if you ought to switch? Popular word games are similar in many ways—you still arrange letter tiles on a board to create words that score well—but they also differ significantly in a number of important ways.

The layout of the Board and Letter Tiles

Let’s begin with the fundamentals.

The board layouts for the two games are different, although both use 15 × 15 grids. For instance, the triple-word bonus squares are in the corners because Scrabble GO adheres to the classic Scrabble grid. They are not in the corners of Words With Friends, but along the outside.

The letter tile values and distribution in Scrabble GO are the same as in the classic version of the game. The value and distribution of the letter tiles in Words With Friends are a little different.

Dictionary usage varies across the two games as well. Compare the words in our Words With Friends cheat and Scrabble dictionary. Some words that aren’t playable in Scrabble frequently are in Words With Friends.

Presentation in general and user experience

The original Scrabble game on which Words With Friends was based had a lot of flash and sizzle when it first debuted in 2009. It introduced user profiles, power-ups, and more vibrant graphics. Words With Friends Live is a real-time trivia “game within a game,” which was just released by game maker Zynga.

Words With Friends did what Scrabble GO does, but Scrabble GO goes far further. Even more vibrant and dynamic it is. Words With Friends’ home screen consists mostly of a single column with static text and photos. Scrabble GO’s home screen is more intricate. It has animated buttons and icons, numerous navigational options, and numerous rows with horizontal scrolling.

This more dynamic layout can appeal to some players. It could be intimidating and distracting to others.

Words With Friends has a “practice” mode where you can compete against a lone computer-controlled opponent. Every two minutes, the computer opponent, simply called “Practice,” performs a move. There are no settings for difficulty.

You can play against artificial intelligence-controlled opponents in Scrabble GO as well. The “clouds” around the avatars of the Scrabble GO bots make them easy to spot. Other than their appearance, these Scrabble GO fake players are very similar to their human counterparts. This also implies that there is a wide range in how frequently they play a particular move.

Play-In Power-Ups

Players can utilize “boosts” in Words With Friends and Scrabble GO to assist them in finding winning plays. Each game has a somewhat distinct set of these “power-ups.”

GO Boosts for Scrabble

You can acquire “gems” while playing Scrabble GO. These “gems” can then be used to purchase “boosts.” In the normal game, each boost costs 10 gems, however, in duels, it only costs 5.

  • Plays a random word from your rack in Quick Word (Lightning).
  • Swap letters without losing a turn with the rack swap (bonus swap).
  • Using a magnifying glass only during duels will reveal the best place to play a word.
  • Word Spy (Binoculars): displays all potential word placements.

“Words With Friends” Power-Ups

You can acquire power-ups in Words With Friends through daily bonuses and challenges. In-game currency known as “coins” can also be used to purchase them.

Use after playing a word to see where you may have played for more points.

Word Radar (Green Radar): Based on the letters in your rack, see where the majority of words can be played.

Change your letter tiles using Swap+ (Pink rotation) without wasting a turn.

Word Clue (purple magnifying glass): Indicates a location on the board and the tiles that can be used there, but does not always indicate the word with the highest score.

Outside of the Main Game

The main game in both Words With Friends and Scrabble GO is a two-player word game. This game is the classic “core” that you are familiar with. For further diversity, both games provide additional game types. However, not all game modes are always accessible; they often take the form of temporary special events.

Game Modes for Words With Friends

Words With Friends also offers the following game modes:

Words With Friends game modes on a screenshot

Play against fictional characters with varying degrees of difficulty in Solo Challenge. You advance up a ladder and receive benefits as you defeat them.

Players are split into two teams of five for the lightning round. Then, using various shared game boards to build words, the teams compete to reach 750 points.

Word Wheel: This additional game option frequently reappears as a way to receive bonuses. It functions similarly to Wordscapes and other circle-based word games.

GO Game Modes for Scrabble

You can play the following game modes in Scrabble GO:

An image of the Scrabble Go game modes

Scrabble for a lone player: Play against Zoey, a virtual foe whom you control. Select from easy, medium, hard, master, and grand master levels of difficulty.

Play without boosters in Scrabble Classic versus human and artificially intelligent opponents.

Play Scrabble GO Duels on a smaller 11 x 11 board with a maximum of five moves per person. Each move has a time constraint that you must adhere to.

Tumbler Classic: You construct words from six-letter tiles in this timed minigame. In the same column, fresh tiles take the place of old ones.

Rush Classic: In this one-player game, you have three minutes to score as many points as you can in ten turns.

App Store Purchases

It costs nothing to play Scrabble GO or Words With Friends. You have the choice to fork out cash to purchase in-game currency, power-up packages, and premium content.

Scrabble GO has “gems,” while Words With Friends has “coins.” In each game, you can also gain “coins” and “gems.” There are additional possibilities to view an advertisement in Scrabble GO in order to earn more “gems” as well.

Options Without Ads

You will see banner advertising while playing both games as well as interstitial ads in between turns and plays because they are both ad-supported.

Scrabble GO: For $6.49 a month, you can remove ads by joining the Scrabble Club. Additionally, you will get daily arena tickets and challenge incentives.

Words With Friends: The monthly ad-free subscription is $12.99 and comes with additional power-ups and cash.

What Word Game Shall I Play?

Really, everything comes down to personal preference. The simpler method with fewer interruptions is available in Words With Friends. Scrabble GO, in contrast, features a flashier interface with more animations and vibrant colors.

Check out WordFinder’s list of new multiplayer word games for both Android and iOS smartphones if you’re seeking out more options to consider. Or, if you’d prefer to play by yourself, take a look at these 10 websites where you may play Scrabble online for free.