Finding words for tile games: racks, blanks and board letters
How many words seven tiles can make, what a blank is worth, and how letters already on the board change the search, with counts from the English list.
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Publicerad 17 October 2026
What a rack can make
The rack "aeinrst" can make 174 English words of two letters or more. Only 5 of them use all seven tiles: antsier, nastier, retains, retinas, retsina.
Most racks follow the same pattern: many short words, a handful that use every tile.
What a blank is worth
Add one blank to the same rack, "aeinrst?", and 34 eight-letter words become possible, among them restrain, strainer and nitrates. Without the blank there are none, because every eight-letter word needs a letter the rack does not have.
Each blank can stand for any letter, so two blanks open far more words. If the list gets unwieldy, use the length filters.
Letters already on the board
In many tile games a new word must use a letter that is already placed. Type that letter in Starts with, Ends with or Contains. It does not need to be in your rack, and it is highlighted in the results.
With tiles "tear" and Starts with "s", the finder lists words that begin with s and are built from s plus your four tiles, such as stare, seat and star.
Check before you play
The list is a spell-checker list. It does not know what your game allows. Treat the results as candidates and confirm a long or unusual word in the dictionary your game uses.
Narrowing a long list
A seven-tile rack can return hundreds of words. Results are grouped by length with the longest first, so the top of the list is where to look when a bonus for using every tile is on offer.
When the board leaves only a short gap, set the maximum length to the space you have. The finder then skips every word that would not fit, which saves reading through words you cannot place.
Two-letter words
Short words are often the key to a crowded board, and they are also where word lists disagree most. Official tournament lists accept some two-letter words that a spell-checker list leaves out, and the reverse. If a two-letter play matters, check it in the dictionary your game names.