Scrabble Letter Distributions - German

German

German-language editions of Scrabble contain 102 letter tiles, in the following distribution:

  • 2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
  • 1 point: E ×15, N ×9, S ×7, I ×6, R ×6, T ×6, U ×6, A ×5, D ×4
  • 2 points: H ×4, G ×3, L ×3, O ×3
  • 3 points: M ×4, B ×2, W ×1, Z ×1
  • 4 points: C ×2, F ×2, K ×2, P ×1
  • 6 points: Ä ×1, J ×1, Ü ×1, V ×1
  • 8 points: Ö ×1, X ×1
  • 10 points: Q ×1, Y ×1

Note that the letter ß (Eszett) is not used. This is due to the fact that it does not exist as a capital letter in German. While a majuscule ß (see Capital ß) has been established in the context of computing (Unicode), ß is replaced by SS when capitalizing, according to German orthography (e. g. Straße (street): STRASSE). However, the umlauts Ä, Ö and Ü must not be replaced by AE, OE or UE when playing (as would usually be done in German crosswords where ß is also replaced by SS). Other diacritics which may occur in some foreign words are ignored (é = E, œ = OE etc.)

Before 1989–1990, German sets had 119 tiles. Players had eight tiles at a time on their racks, as opposed to the standard seven today. The old letter distribution was:

  • 2 blank tiles (scoring 0 points)
  • 1 point: E ×16, N ×10, I ×9, S ×8, R ×7, A ×6, U ×6, D ×6
  • 2 points: H ×5, T ×5, C ×4, L ×4, O ×4, G ×3, W ×2
  • 3 points: M ×4, F ×3, B ×2, Z ×2, K ×2
  • 4 points: P ×1, V ×1
  • 5 points: Ü ×1
  • 6 points: Ä ×1, J ×1
  • 8 points: Ö ×1, X ×1
  • 10 points: Q ×1, Y ×1

Read more about this topic:  Scrabble Letter Distributions

Famous quotes containing the word german:

    “Sometimes, because of its immediacy, television produces a kind of electronic parable. Berlin, for instance, on the day the Wall was opened. Rostropovich was playing his cello by the Wall that no longer cast a shadow, and a million East Berliners were thronging to the West to shop with an allowance given them by West German banks! At that moment the whole world saw how materialism had lost its awesome historic power and become a shopping list.”
    —John Berger (b. 1926)

    “I heard a Californian student in Heidelberg say, in one of his calmest moods, that he would rather decline two drinks than one German adjective.”
    —Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)

    “Some of us prefer Austrian voices risen in song to ugly German threats.”
    —Ernest Lehman (b. 1920)