Guide

How to find the 7 letter word in an anagram game

In SCRAMBLE, seven tiles always make one seven-letter word that uses every tile. Here is a way to find it, shown on three real puzzles.

The method: ending first

  1. Look for a common ending among the tiles: -ING, -ED, -ER, -ITY, -LY, -S.
  2. Set those letters aside.
  3. See whether the remaining letters spell a word you know.
  4. Put the two parts together and check that all seven tiles are used.

Example 1: E, A, Y, T, R, L, I (October 28)

The tiles I, T and Y make -ITY. That leaves E, A, R and L, which spell REAL. REAL plus ITY is REALITY. Along the way you also make ALERT, ALTER and LATER from five of the tiles, which are worth 4 points each.

Example 2: E, L, I, N, E, S, C (October 29)

Words ending in -ENCE are common, and the tiles hold E, N, C and E. Set those four aside and S, I and L are left. Put them in front and you have SILENCE. The same tiles also spell LICENSE, so this puzzle has two seven-letter words. Both count.

Example 3: Y, E, C, A, R, L, L (October 30)

L and Y make the ending -LY. Take them out and the rest are E, C, A, R and L, which spell CLEAR. CLEAR plus LY is CLEARLY.

If no ending works

Try a start: RE-, UN- or IN-. Or find the shorter words first. Each short word shows a pattern, and the patterns often grow into the long word. Shuffle the tiles often, since a new order can show a word that the old order hid.

Common mistake

Treating the seven-letter word as the end of the puzzle. In SCRAMBLE it is worth 15 points, but the shorter words add up to far more. On October 28 the best possible score was 137 points, and the long word was only 15 of them.

SCRAMBLE game screenshot
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SCRAMBLE: daily anagram

SCRAMBLE is a daily anagram game. Seven tiles, one long word, and a rank for how many words you find.

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Questions

How do you find the 7 letter word in an anagram game?

Look for a common ending among the letters (ING, ED, ER, ITY, LY, S), set those aside, and see whether the rest spell a real word. Then check the pair of letters at the start (RE, UN, IN).

Can there be more than one 7 letter word?

Sometimes. The October 29 puzzle (letters E, L, I, N, E, S, C) has both SILENCE and LICENSE.

What if I cannot find it?

Find the shorter words first. Each short word shows a letter pattern, and patterns often grow into the long word. Shuffle the tiles to see them in a new order.