Playing Literati or Scrabble Online

If you enjoy word games, but you can't always find a Scrabble partner, the Literati rooms at Yahoo Games may be the answer. Literati is free to play. The only requirements are a Yahoo ID and a Java-enabled browser. It's even possible to cheat in Literati using third-party Scrabble solvers.

What Is Literati?

Literati is a word game that is similar to Scrabble. Players use a set of seven letter tiles to construct intersecting words on a board, collecting points based on letter values and bonus squares.

Literati vs. Scrabble

The most noticeable differences between Literati and Scrabble are the game board and the tile values. Both boards are 15x15, but the bonus squares (or, in the case of Literati, intersections) are in different places. Letter tile point values in Literati range only from zero to five, whereas Scrabble has letters worth as many as ten points.

Getting Started

Once you log in to Yahoo and arrive at the Literati section, you will notice that rooms are grouped into categories based on skill level. Select a skill level, then choose a room. This brings up a lobby window that's like a chat room from which you can join, watch, or start a game. The game runs in a third window, giving you constant access to the lobby. Games can be public or private and can accommodate up to five players. If you start a game, you control the game options, set time limits, rate your play, and boot players.

The interface is intuitive and easy to use. Placing tiles on the board is a simple drag-and-drop operation. When you submit your word, it is automatically checked by a dictionary before being permanently positioned on the board. If it isn't a valid word, the tiles are returned to your tray, and you must try again or pass. There is an optional challenge mode, which lets players challenge each other's words in Scrabble fashion. You can also juggle tiles in your tray to help you make words. Letters for wild tiles (white) are selected with the keyboard.

Literati Cheats

As is the case with many online games, it's difficult to ensure that the person you're playing against isn't cheating. Scrabble solvers and anagram generators are readily available online, so you can keep a solver running in another window while you play. A Scrabble solver takes a set of letters and produces all the words that can be made with those letters. It's like running a chess program while playing chess with someone online and entering all the moves into the program, then using the computer's moves as your own.

Strategy Basics

First and foremost, you must play for points and bonuses rather than go for otherwise impressive words. Long words look great on the board, but unless they use every tile in your tray (a 35 point bonus), they can score low for lack of board position.

There are essentially two ways to approach a game of Literati or Scrabble. Offensive players concentrate on words with high point scores, even if they happen to open up opportunities for other players. Defensive players put more thought into using words that are difficult to build on and limiting their opponent's chances of reaching bonus squares.

A common rule of thumb is to keep a roughly equal number of vowels and consonants in your tray. This is referred to as balancing the rack. Some players also caution against hoarding valuable letters in hopes of finding a big scoring opportunity because it tends to leave you with an excessive number of consonants. Letters still in your rack at the end of the game are deducted from your score.

If you want to excel at Literati and compete with the top ranking players on Yahoo, memorizing words will go a long way. There are, for example, 29 acceptable words in the English language that have the letter Q but don't have the letter U. Similarly, there are 12 acceptable three-letter words that contain a Z.