Strategy tips
Ways to play more tiles, spot hidden moves and lose fewer points.
Make your first meld early
Until you've put down 30 points you can't touch the table at all, so every turn without a meld is a turn spent drawing. If you have a valid meld, it's usually worth playing it soon. See first meld.
Don't empty your rack too fast
Playing every tile you can as soon as you can leaves you with nothing to work with later. Hold a few tiles that fit almost anywhere, such as middle numbers like 5 to 9, to unlock rearrangements on later turns.
Look at long runs first
A run of six or more tiles can often split into two runs, and a run of four can lend its end tile. When you're stuck, look for the longest runs on the table: that's where hidden moves usually are. For example, 234567 can take an 4 in the middle by becoming 234 and 4567.
Groups of four are spare parts
A four-color group can give up any one tile and still be valid. Treat every group of four as a source of tiles for your other sets.
Track the second copies
Every tile exists exactly twice. If both copies of a tile you need are already on the table and locked in sets you can't take apart, stop waiting for it and plan around it.
Play the joker carefully
A joker on the table can be taken by anyone who holds the tile it stands for. It's safer in a set where both copies of that tile are already played. Holding one until the end costs 30 if someone else goes out first. More in the joker guide.
Watch the other racks
When an opponent gets down to two or three tiles, the round is about to end. Get rid of your high tiles and any joker first so a loss costs you less. See scoring.
Review your games
After a game, enter a few tricky positions in the solver and compare its answer with what you played, or work through the practice puzzles. You'll start seeing those moves on your own.