Keith Don

I am someone who is extremely late to the addiction that is Zynga’s Words with Friends. Being not really a facebook person - or a social gamer in the past for that matter - there was really no incentive for me to start playing. Ultimately what got me started playing is seeing the app be popular in the Android marketplace on my phone.

I wanted some more games to use and felt like a word game would be good. I also knew that some of my friends were players so I should be able to play against people I knew.

After playing for a week or so, I noticed a few things that can help you in the real world:

1. Its all about making use of the tiles your dealt.
   Whilst there is a lot of skill involved in knowing lots of potential words that can be played, there is chance involved in the tiles your dealt. Ultimately its about make use of what you’ve been given the best way possible. 
2. Look for all possible opportunities, not just the obvious ones.
   Its really hard to keep a handle on all the possible opportunities to play on the board especially when you can make multiple words at once. Thinking in these multiple dimensions at once is difficult but can pay big rewards.
3. Being first can give you a big advantage.
   Whilst Words with Friends is not a race, being the player who finishes their tiles first can be the difference between winning and losing. In a game I was playing I was behind the whole game. My last word would have tied the game but because I finished first I received the value of whatever tiles the other player hadn’t played. This ended up being the difference in the game which led to me winning and the other player losing.
4. Build relationships
   One of the best things I found about Words with Friends so far is the random opponent option. Right now I’m playing with three different random opponents. Engaging with random people may come to something or nothing but there is no fear, cost or reason not to play against people you don’t know on what is a level playing field.
5. Knowledge is power
   The more words you know, the easier it will be to win at Words with Friends. Same in life or business - usually the more you know the easier it will be to win at your chosen field.
6. Practice makes better (not perfect) 
   The phrase is supposed to be practice makes perfect, in my experience it makes you better - it helps you to improve. The more you play Words with Friends the more words you learn, and the more opportunities you see.
7. Strategy is not about control - prepare to react
   Whilst you may have a strategy, you are playing another competitor who will will need to react too. You can’t control them and you can’t have a strategy that assumes that things outside your control aren’t going to happen. You need to be able to be flexible and react successfully to your opponents decisions and actions.

These are just a few of my early observations. There are probably a lot more that I’ll find if I keep playing it. Any I missed or you disagree with?