<p>The <a href="https://scrabble.hasbro.com/en-us/rules" rel="noreferrer">official rules</a> state:</p>
<p>New words may be formed by:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Adding one or more letters to a word or letters already on the board.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Placing a word at right angles to a word already on the board. The new word must use
one of the letters already on the board or must add a letter to it.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Placing a complete word parallel to a word already played so that adjacent letters also form complete words.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>And in the scoring examples, the last example shows a similar case to yours - the word BIT is played underneath PASTE as such:</p>
<pre><code>  P A S T E
B I T
</code></pre>
<p>with the player scoring for the words BIT, PI and AT which are formed from the running parallel words. So yes, your example is valid - it is a single word, played parallel to an existing word, such that all adjacent tiles result in forming valid English words.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-22T15:28:05.877Z
The only requirement is that all letters you place must be in the same row or column with no spaces between them, and all strings of adjacent letters must form valid words.  Doing words parallel to existing words often scores much better than perpendicular words (since each letter is counted twice), which is the reason why all serious Scrabble players should learn and memorize the complete list of valid 2-letter words.
Darrel Hoffman
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-22T16:37:09.327Z
Isn't that "PASTE / BIT" example from the box lid (a long time ago)? :)
Mark Stewart
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-22T21:53:28.840Z
It probably is, because I don't think they changed the rules much when they put them online.
ConMan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-22T02:47:14.597Z
2020-10-22T02:47:14.597Z
ConMan
<h1>Parallel words joined at a single letter forming a second word.</h1>
<p>I cannot seem to find a clear answer to this scrabble question.</p>
<p>Say player one plays, &quot;scrabble&quot; as their first word.
Is it valid for player two to then play, &quot;hello,&quot; parallel to &quot;scrabble&quot; but starting with the &quot;h&quot; in &quot;hello&quot; next to the &quot;e&quot; in &quot;scrabble&quot; to make the second word, &quot;he.&quot; Here is an example:</p>
<pre><code>       HELLO
SCRABBLE
       
</code></pre>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-22T15:16:01.733Z
Yes. That's perfectly fine. Note that while 'scrabble' could *a player's* first word, it could not be *the* first word
Strawberry
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-22T15:28:05.033Z
Are you kidding??? My wife has _memorized_ a list of all the 2-letter words she can find (and she's spent _years_ updating her list) just so she can make plays like this!
FreeMan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-22T16:38:52.550Z
@FreeMan - The Official Scrabble Dictionary has a list of all two letter words, among other lists; be interesting to see if her list has some they missed!
Mark Stewart
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-22T19:14:25.640Z
Does this answer your question? [Is adding a parallel word that only intersects the end letter of an existing word allowed in Scrabble?](https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/43426/is-adding-a-parallel-word-that-only-intersects-the-end-letter-of-an-existing-wor)
NobodyNada
<scrabble><scoring>
Scrabble - Parallel Words joined at one letter
Tim
# Scrabble - Parallel Words joined at one letter

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-10-22)

Parallel words joined at a single letter forming a second word.
I cannot seem to find a clear answer to this scrabble question.
Say player one plays, "scrabble" as their first word.
Is it valid for player two to then play, "hello," parallel to "scrabble" but starting with the "h" in "hello" next to the "e" in "scrabble" to make the second word, "he." Here is an example:
       HELLO
SCRABBLE

**Tags:** scrabble, scoring

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Yes. That's perfectly fine. Note that while 'scrabble' could *a player's* first word, it could not be *the* first word  
> **username_2**: Are you kidding??? My wife has _memorized_ a list of all the 2-letter words she can find (and she's spent _years_ updating her list) just so she can make plays like this!  
> **username_3**: @username_2 - The Official Scrabble Dictionary has a list of all two letter words, among other lists; be interesting to see if her list has some they missed!  
> **username_4**: Does this answer your question? [Is adding a parallel word that only intersects the end letter of an existing word allowed in Scrabble?](https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/43426/is-adding-a-parallel-word-that-only-intersects-the-end-letter-of-an-existing-wor)  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2020-10-22. Score: 22 | Accepted answer

The official rules state:
New words may be formed by:

Adding one or more letters to a word or letters already on the board.

Placing a word at right angles to a word already on the board. The new word must use
one of the letters already on the board or must add a letter to it.

Placing a complete word parallel to a word already played so that adjacent letters also form complete words.


And in the scoring examples, the last example shows a similar case to yours - the word BIT is played underneath PASTE as such:
  P A S T E
B I T

with the player scoring for the words BIT, PI and AT which are formed from the running parallel words. So yes, your example is valid - it is a single word, played parallel to an existing word, such that all adjacent tiles result in forming valid English words.

> **Comments:**
> **username_6**: The only requirement is that all letters you place must be in the same row or column with no spaces between them, and all strings of adjacent letters must form valid words.  Doing words parallel to existing words often scores much better than perpendicular words (since each letter is counted twice), which is the reason why all serious Scrabble players should learn and memorize the complete list of valid 2-letter words.  
> **username_3**: Isn't that "PASTE / BIT" example from the box lid (a long time ago)? :)  
> **username_5**: It probably is, because I don't think they changed the rules much when they put them online.  

---

