Words With Friends
The massively popular social word game. Build words on a shared board with friends in this Scrabble-inspired mobile and browser experience.
About This Game
Words With Friends is the game that proved word games could thrive in the mobile era. Launched by Zynga in 2009, it became one of the most downloaded apps of its time and remains hugely popular today. The gameplay will be instantly familiar to Scrabble players: you place letter tiles on a board to form words, scoring points based on letter values and bonus squares.
What distinguishes Words With Friends from Scrabble is its social-first design. The game was built around playing with friends asynchronously — you make a move, your opponent plays whenever they are free, and you can have dozens of games running at once. The chat feature built into each game turns matches into ongoing conversations, and it has famously been used for everything from casual banter to first-date icebreakers.
The current version, Words With Friends 2, includes solo challenges, themed events, and a lightning-round mode for faster games. The dictionary differs slightly from official Scrabble dictionaries, which means some words are valid in one but not the other. The game is free with ads, and while the monetization can be aggressive, the core experience remains solid. If you want a word game that doubles as a social platform, Words With Friends still leads the pack.
How to Play
Get the game
Download Words With Friends 2 from your app store or play online. Create an account or link your Facebook.
Challenge someone
Invite a friend, match with a random player, or start a solo challenge against AI.
Place tiles to form words
Drag tiles from your rack to the board to create words. All words must connect to existing tiles and be valid dictionary entries.
Take turns until tiles run out
Players alternate turns. The game ends when all tiles are played or neither player can make a move. Highest score wins.
Tips & Strategy
- Use the "swap" feature early if your rack is unplayable rather than wasting turns on low-scoring words.
- The Words With Friends dictionary accepts some words that Scrabble does not (and vice versa) — experiment and learn the differences.
- Play defensively near triple-word squares — do not give your opponent easy access to high-value spots.
- Two-letter words are your best friends for squeezing into tight spots and scoring on multiple words.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Massive player base makes finding opponents easy
- Asynchronous play fits into any schedule
- Built-in chat makes it genuinely social
- Regular events and challenges keep it fresh
Cons
- Heavy ad load in the free version
- Monetization pushes premium features aggressively
- Cheating with word-finder tools is a persistent issue
- App can be battery-intensive on mobile devices
Game Details
- Players
- 2 players(recommended: 2)
- Duration
- 15-45 minutes
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Price
- Freemium
- Platforms
- WebiOSAndroid
Screenshots
