Q without U
A Survival Guide
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The 'Q without U' combo is almost guaranteed to raise the clenched fist of a beginning Scrabble player. Why? Well, for one thing, just like that video says, the Q needs a U to really do its thing. But that doesn't really explain why this situation is so bad. Here are some good reasons...
Firstly, a
Q that stays on your rack move after move, stubbornly awaiting a friendly
U, severely limits your options. Playing with a six-letter rack is much, much more restrictive than a seven-letter rack.
Secondly, if the Q remains on your rack when your opponent uses up the last of their tiles, you will be hit with a double whammy of 20 penalty points! Many a Scrabble game has been lost by less than that.
For these reasons, even though the Q can sometimes score well, it is generally best to play it off as quickly as possible, even if it means taking a mediocre score.
Fortunately, the Scrabble dictionary is rather generous when it comes to the
Q without
U rack, and it is usually possible to play off the
Q quickly for a reasonable score, and occasionally a high one, without waiting for that elusive
U. This has especially been the case since the word
QI was introduced into the game in the 1990s. But there are plenty of others too.
To help you avoid the dreaded Q-stick, this page lists every possible word containing a Q that is not followed by a U (although a handful, like UMIAQ, have a U elsewhere in the word). Since there are only 84 'Q without U' words in total, most expert players learn all of them before too long.
Let's start with the 'Q without U' words containing 2 to 5 letters. These are the ones you'll come across frequently, and should know inside out. Here they are...
Next come the 'Q without U' words containing 6 letters. You won't see them played very often, except as plurals of fives, but they will occasionally make or break a game.
I once won an important game by extending QI to QIGONG on an otherwise closed board, and another by scoring 60+ points for the unusual YAQONA. Don't be one of those players who finds out QWERTY is a word after you had the very rare opportunity of playing it.
The next list of 7 to 8 letter U-less Q words brings us into bingo territory. Again, such plays are rare, but most top players will have their very satisfying INQILAB story to tell.
Here's a real example. It comes from Round 13 of the 2009 World Scrabble Championships, in which two of the best players in the world faced each other - David Boys and Nigel Richards. On move 3, David faces a rather unpleasant looking rack. Think about what you would play in his situation, and then click on the board to see what David played...
With the 9 to 10 letter '
Q without
U' words we are entering the regime of once-in-a-lifetime plays. This would normally recommend against bothering with these words, if it weren't for the fact that there are so few of them it seems silly not to memorise the final 11.
I know of at least one player who got to extend
QI to
QINGHAOSU in a tournament game, and I've had
Quackle (a free Scrabble game) respond to my opening play of
DI with
TZADDIQIM. So it
can happen. Provided you've devoted a few minutes to this list of course...
And finally, just to convince you that these 'Q without U' words are not made up, here are all the definitions in alphabetical order...
Q-without-U Word Meanings
BUQSHAa monetary unit of Yemen [n -S]
BUQSHASpl BUQSHA [n]
BURQAa coverall worn by Muslim women, also BURKA, BOORKA, BOURKHA [n -S]
BURQASpl BURQA [n]
FAQIRa religious ascetic in India, also FAKIR, FAKEER, FAQUIR [n -S]
FAQIRSpl FAQIR [n]
INQILABin India, revolution [n -S]
INQILABSpl INQILAB [n]
MBAQANGASouth African music [n -S]
MBAQANGASpl MBAQANGA [n]
MUQADDAMan Indian leader, also MOKADDAM [n -S]
MUQADDAMSpl MUQADDAM [n]
NIQABa type of veil worn by some Muslim women [n -S]
NIQABSpl NIQAB [n]
QABALAa Jewish doctrine based on hidden meanings in sacred texts, also CABALA, CABBALA, CABBALAH, KABALA, KABBALA, KABBALAH, QABALAH [n -S]
QABALAHa Jewish doctrine based on hidden meanings in sacred texts, also CABALA, CABBALA, CABBALAH, KABALA, KABBALA, KABBALAH, QABALA [n -S]
QABALAHSpl QABALAH [n]
QABALASQABALA, a Jewish doctrine based on hidden meanings in sacred texts, also CABALA, CABBALA, CABBALAH, KABALA, KABBALA, KABBALAH, QABALAH [n]
QABALISMa sect based on qabala, also KABALISM, KABBALISM, CABALISM, CABBALISM [n -S]
QABALISMSpl QABALISM [n]
QABALISTsomeone who finds hidden meanings in sacred texts, also CABALIST, KABALIST, KABBALIST [n -S]
QABALISTICrelating to QABALA [a]
QABALISTSpl QABALIST [n]
QADIa Muslim judge, also CADI, KADI [n -S]
QADISpl QADI [n]
QAIDa Muslim leader, also CAID [n -S]
QAIDSpl QAID [n]
QAIMAQAMa Turkish officer, also KAIMAKAM [n -S]
QAIMAQAMSpl QAIMAQAM [n]
QALAMDANa Persian writing-case, also KALAMDAN [n -S]
QALAMDANSpl QALAMDAN [n]
QANATan underground water tunnel [n -S]
QANATSpl QANAT [n]
QASIDAan Arabic poem of praise or mourning [n -S]
QASIDASpl QASIDA [n]
QATan evergreen shrub, also KAT, KHAT [n -S]
QATSpl QAT [n]
QAWWALa male singer of qawwali [n -S]
QAWWALIdevotional Sufi music [n -S]
QAWWALISpl QAWWALI [n]
QAWWALSpl QAWWAL [n]
QIa life force in Chinese medicine, also KI [n -S]
(QI is not only the most frequently played Q without U word, but is in fact the most frequently played word in tournament Scrabble!)
QIBLAthe direction Muslims face when praying, also KIBLAH, KEBLAH [n -S]
QIBLASpl QIBLA [n]
QIGONGa deep breathing exercise [n -S]
QIGONGSpl QIGONG [n]
QINDARan Albanian currency, also QINTAR, QUINTAR [n QINDARS or QINDARKA]
QINDARKApl QINDAR [n]
QINDARSpl QINDAR [n]
QINGHAOSUa chemical compound extracted from the plant artemisia [n]
QINGHAOSUSpl QINQHAOSU
QINTARan Albanian currency, also QINDAR, QUINTAR [n -S]
QINTARSpl QINTAR [n]
QISpl QI [n]
QIVIUTwool of the arctic musk-ox [n -S]
QIVIUTSpl QIVIUT [n]
QOPHa Hebrew letter, also KOPH [n -S]
QOPHSpl QOPH [n]
QORMAa mild Indian curry, also KORMA [n -S]
QORMASpl QORMA [n]
QWERTIESpl QWERTY [n]
QWERTYthe usual keyboard layout [n QWERTIES or QWERTYS]
QWERTYSpl QWERTY [n]
SHEQALIMpl SHEQEL [n]
SHEQELan ancient unit of weight and money, also SHEKEL [n SHEQELS or SHEQALIM]
SHEQELSpl SHEQEL [n]
SUQa marketplace in the Middle East [n]
SUQSpl SUQ
TALAQn a form of divorce [n -S]
TALAQSpl TALAQ [n]
TRANQa drug that tranquilizes, also TRANK [n]
TRANQSpl TRANQ
TSADDIQa person of extreme piety in Judaism, also TSADDIK, TZADDIQ, TZADDIK, ZADDIK, ZADDICK [n]
TSADDIQIMpl TSADDIQ
TSADDIQSpl TSADDIQ
TZADDIQa person of extreme piety in Judaism, also TZADDIK, TSADDIQ, TSADDIK, ZADDIK, ZADDICK [n]
TZADDIQIMpl TZADDIQ
TZADDIQSpl TZADDIQ
UMIAQan open Eskimo boat, also UMIAC, UMIAK, UMIACK, OOMIAC, OOMIAK, OOMIACK [n]
UMIAQSpl UMIAQ
WAQFa donation for pious purposes in Islam, also WAKF [n -S]
WAQFSpl WAQF [n]
YAQONAthe Fijian name for kava [n -S]
YAQONASpl YAQONA [n]
And before you go, make sure you grab a copy of this cool freebie...
Word Buff's FREE Downloadable
Mini Scrabble Dictionary
As part of my effort to compile a free library of Scrabble cheats, I've put together a 39 page mini online Scrabble dictionary containing all the short Scrabble words. As I explain in the book's introduction, the short words are by far the most important ones to learn first.
Here's a snippet...
I've carefully highlighted which words are from which dictionaries to help you avoid learning phonies. I've put a downloadable copy in the Members Area. If you'd like to get your hands on it right now...
Just tell me where to send it!
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