How to score Boggle
To score Boggle, read your lists aloud when the timer runs out and cross off every word that someone else also found. Each word left scores by its length: 1 point for 3 or 4 letters, up to 11 for 8 or more. Play one round, or keep a Boggle score sheet and race to 50.
- 16 letter cubes
- 3 minutes a round
- One round, or to 50 or 100
- Highest total wins
Tabletales is free on iPhone and iPad.
This is the real Scorepad, live. Each row is a round of Boggle. Tap any round to change it.
Boggle
- BGG #3021
- 10 min
A word hunt against the clock: shake 16 letter cubes into a grid and list every word you can trace through touching letters before time runs out. Only the words nobody else found count.
Year, players, time and rank from BoardGameGeek.
How to play Boggle, in brief
Everyone hunts the same grid of 16 letters at once, writing down words until the timer runs out. Only the words nobody else found will score.
- Shake the gridEach player needs a pencil and paper. Shake the cubes into the 4 by 4 grid and start the timer: 3 minutes for a classic round.
- Find wordsWrite words of 3 or more letters from cubes that touch one after the next, side to side or corner to corner. A word can’t use a cube twice, and names don’t count.
- Compare listsWhen time is up, take turns reading your words aloud. Cross out any word that is on more than one list.
- Score and go againEach word left scores by its length. Play one round, or play on to an agreed total such as 50 or 100.
Only your own words count, and long ones count most.
Your score for a round is the words left on your list once the shared ones are crossed off. Each scores by its length, so one long word can be worth more than ten short ones.
What a word is worth
| Word length | Points |
|---|---|
| 3 or 4 lettersWords shorter than 3 letters do not count | 1 |
| 5 letters | 2 |
| 6 letters | 3 |
| 7 letters | 5 |
| 8 letters or more | 11 |
| A word someone else also foundCrossed off every list that has it | 0 |
| The Qu cubeCounts as two letters: QUEST is a 5-letter word | 2 letters |
- Read the lists aloudWhen the timer runs out, take turns reading your words. Any word on two or more lists is crossed off all of them.
- Count each word onceA word you traced in two places on the grid, or one with two meanings, still scores once.
- Score what is leftEach surviving word scores by its length, with Qu counting as two letters. Add them up for your round.
- Play on, or stopOne round can be the whole game. For a longer game, play a set number of rounds or race to an agreed score such as 50 or 100, adding each round to your total.
Round 5: Sam’s long word takes the game.
A game to 50 for four players. Going into round 5, You lead with 41, Sam has 40, Dev 39 and Mara 38. Everyone wrote REST and STOP, and Mara and Sam both found PROSE, so those words are crossed off before anyone counts. This is round 5, the last row on the Scorepad above.
| Player | Words left, by length | Round |
|---|---|---|
| You | TOP, SET, PORT, STORE1 + 1 + 1 + 2 | 5 |
| Mara | ROTE, TOPS, SPORT, POSTERS; PROSE crossed off1 + 1 + 2 + 5 | 9 |
| Dev | PEN, TOE, ORE, POSTER1 + 1 + 1 + 3 | 6 |
| Sam | TERN, QUEST (Qu is two letters), PORTENTS; PROSE crossed off1 + 2 + 11 | 14 |
Every round, one number each.
Tabletales is a scorepad and scrapbook for game night. In Boggle you still compare lists and cross off the shared words at the table. Type each player’s points for the round, and Tabletales keeps the running totals while someone shakes the cubes again.
- Every round gets a rowKeep Highest wins (every new game starts there) and switch to By hand. Each round is a numbered hand, and the TOTAL line adds them.
- Your words on the keypadType your round’s points, or read down your list and type each word’s points (1 + 2 + 11) and Tabletales adds them up.
- 50 is on the padFor a longer game, set Play to a score to 50 or 100. A total that gets there turns gold, the game ends there, and the highest total wins.
- And the night is keptSave it with who played and a photo of the grid. Each game gets a history: how often you play it, who with, and who holds the high score.
- Everyone who was there
- Photos from the table
- Boggle, with its scores
Common Boggle scoring mistakes
- Scoring a word someone else foundA shared word is crossed off every list that has it, not just the second one read out.
- Counting Qu as one letterThe Qu cube is two letters, so QUEST is a 5-letter word worth 2.
- Giving 4-letter words 2 pointsWords of 3 and 4 letters both score 1. The jumps come at 5 letters (2), 6 (3), 7 (5) and 8 or more (11).
- Scoring a word twiceA word you found in two places on the grid still counts once.
Boggle scoring, answered
- How do you score Boggle?
- Cross off any word that two or more players found, then score each word left by length: 3 or 4 letters is 1 point, 5 letters 2, 6 letters 3, 7 letters 5, and 8 or more 11.
- What happens if two players find the same word in Boggle?
- Nobody scores it. A word on two or more lists is crossed off every list before anyone counts.
- How many points do you need to win Boggle?
- There is no fixed number. A single round can be the whole game, or you can play to an agreed score such as 50 or 100, and the highest total wins.
Boggle score sheet
Print the Boggle score sheet for the table: six players and twelve rounds, with a running total beside every round and the points for each word length at the bottom.
Score another game
Hasbro’s newer Boggle Classic comes with a 90-second sand timer and says to flip it once more for a traditional 3-minute round. Big Boggle (5 by 5) does not allow 3-letter words, and Super Big Boggle (6 by 6) scores longer words differently. Hasbro gives no tiebreaker, so a tied game stays tied unless your table agrees on one. Rules checked on 19 October 2026 against Hasbro’s instructions (electronic timer edition), Hasbro’s Boggle Classic guide and Wikipedia. Boggle is a trademark of Hasbro. Tabletales is not affiliated with Hasbro, and this score sheet is our own design.
Keep score tonight. Keep the night for good.
Tabletales adds up every hand, then saves the whole night: the games, the scores, the photos and who was there.
