Scrabble tile values vs. actual letter frequency across 172,835 words
10 hours ago
- Scrabble tile values were set in the 1930s by counting letters on a newspaper page.
- A study of all 172,835 words in the ENABLE list found that tile values are accurate at extremes (E cheap, Q/Z expensive) but have 11 inversions where a higher-value tile is actually more common.
- Example: H is worth 4 points but appears more often than B (worth 3 points).
- The longest isograms (no repeated letters) are 'dermatoglyphics' and 'uncopyrightable' at 15 letters.
- The five letters A, E, P, R, S form the most anagrams: 12 different words.
- Letter S starts the most words (18,988), while X starts the fewest (136).