NYT Crossplay Cheat

How the Crossplay Cheat works

Enter the seven tiles on your Crossplay rack, using ? for each blank, and we'll show every word you can build from them. Scores use Crossplay's own tile values, not Scrabble's, so the points next to each word are what those tiles are worth in your game before bonus squares. Results that need a blank are marked with a ★.

Type all seven tiles to look for a Sweep. Any seven-letter result is a play that uses your whole rack.

Which dictionary we use

Crossplay scores only words on The New York Times' own official word list, and that list isn't published. Our results come from the NASPA Word List 2023, the official dictionary for Scrabble in North America. The two lists overlap heavily, but they aren't identical, so now and then a word shown here may not be accepted in Crossplay.

Crossplay tile values

Crossplay uses 100 tiles, including 3 blanks worth 0 points. Here is what every letter scores:

• 1 point: A, E, I, N, O, R, S, T
• 2 points: D, L, U
• 3 points: C, H, M, P
• 4 points: B, F, G, Y
• 5 points: W
• 6 points: K, V
• 8 points: X
• 10 points: J, Q, Z
• 0 points: the 3 blanks

What's different from Scrabble

If you come to Crossplay from Scrabble, nine letters score differently:

• G is worth 4 (2 in Scrabble), so every word ending in -ING is worth more
• J is worth 10 (8 in Scrabble), level with Q and Z
• V is worth 6 (4 in Scrabble) and K is worth 6 (5 in Scrabble)
• W is worth 5 (4 in Scrabble)
• B is worth 4 (3 in Scrabble)
• L and U are worth 2 (1 in Scrabble)
• H is the only letter that got cheaper: 3 (4 in Scrabble)

The bag is different too. Crossplay has one more H, one more S and a third blank, and one fewer I, N and U.

Crossplay rules in brief

• Each player has a rack of 7 tiles, drawn from a bag of 100.
• The first word must cover the center square. The center square has no bonus.
• Every later word must connect to at least one tile already on the board.
• Your score for a turn is the sum of the letter values in each word you form, multiplied by any bonus squares you cover (2L, 3L, 2W and 3W).
• You can swap any or all of your tiles, but swapping uses up your turn.
• When the bag runs out, each player gets one last turn. Tiles left on your rack at the end are not counted against you.

Strategy: what's different in Crossplay

Learn the board

The board is 15 by 15 with 56 bonus squares: 20 triple letter (3L), 20 double letter (2L), 8 double word (2W) and 8 triple word (3W). Unlike Scrabble, the corners are triple letter squares, and the triple word squares sit along the edges, on the fourth square in from each corner. A long word along an edge can reach a 3W, and a high-value tile in a corner gets tripled.

Put the expensive letters on letter bonuses

K and V are worth 6 here and W is worth 5, so a single one on a 3L square scores 15 to 18 points before the rest of the word. Short words that use them are worth keeping in mind. KA, XI, XU, JO, QI and ZA are all valid two-letter words in the Scrabble list we use. Crossplay's list isn't published, but common words like these are the least likely to differ.

Save a blank for a Sweep

A blank scores 0 itself, so spending one on a short word wastes it. Held back, it makes a seven-letter play far more likely, and the Sweep's 40 points are usually worth far more than the few points the blank would have added elsewhere.

Don't panic about leftover tiles

In Scrabble, tiles stuck on your rack at the end count against you. In Crossplay they don't. You don't need to dump a Q or a Z in a hurry as the bag runs low. Play it where it scores well, or keep it if there's no good spot.

Frequently asked