Highest-Scoring Six-Letter Words

Like five-letter words, six-letter words get two slots on your board. There are 14,018 of them to choose from, and the average one is worth 11.8 points. The sixty below all score 19 or more, and the top three reach 22.

The top sixty

The small number after each word is its WyldTyle score with no wild tiles. Letter values are on the scoring guide.

• DYBBUK22
• KICKUP22
• SKIVVY22
• BACKUP21
• BUBBLY21
• KABUKI21
• KNUBBY21
• MUKLUK21
• PICKUP21
• PLUCKY21
• VIVIFY21
• BAULKY20
• BIPACK20
• BLABBY20
• BLOCKY20
• BYPLAY20
• CHIVVY20
• CLUBBY20
• COCKUP20
• DIBBUK20
• KABAKA20
• KABIKI20
• KAKAPO20
• KALPAK20
• KNOBBY20
• KOPECK20
• KYACKS20
• MOCKUP20
• MUKTUK20
• PACKLY20
• YAPOCK20
• YUKKED20
• ABBACY19
• BLEBBY19
• BLOWBY19
• BRICKY19
• BRUMBY19
• BUNKUM19
• BYWORK19
• CHUBBY19
• CHUCKY19
• CHUKKA19
• CLUMPY19
• FICKLY19
• FLABBY19
• FLAPPY19
• FLIPPY19
• FLOCKY19
• FLOPPY19
• FLYBOY19
• GLOBBY19
• GLOPPY19
• GLUMPY19
• GRUBBY19
• HUBBUB19
• KABAYA19
• KAPOKS19
• KAYAKS19
• KEYWAY19
• KULAKI19

Compound words and the K

The 21- and 22-point tier is where you first see a theme that dominates the seven-letter list too: compounds. BACKUP, KICKUP, PICKUP, and PLUCKY all bolt a common word onto a K-word. DYBBUK and KABUKI are loanwords that happen to double an expensive letter. SKIVVY and VIVIFY double the V.

The K is doing most of the work. It is the joint highest-value letter at 5 points, and it combines readily with common letters: -CK, -NK, -SK, and -LK endings are everywhere in English. If a single K arrives during a game, a six-letter slot is a good home for it, because BUCKET, LOCKER, MARKET, POCKET, ROCKET, SOCKET, and TICKET are all within reach of ordinary dice.

Why the six-letter slots decide games

Six-letter words are the real test of a WyldTyle board. They average around 2.2 vowels, which means they need a run of consonants that actually fit together. A seven-letter slot at least has room for an -ING or -ERS ending to bail you out; a six-letter slot is tight enough that a misplaced letter in position three can make the word impossible.

• Start them early. Feed your six-letter slots from turn one, while there are still 18 turns to find the letters they need. A six-letter word that is empty at turn 12 is a problem.
• Commit to an ending. An S in position six or an -ER in positions five and six converts the slot into a shorter word plus a suffix. Plurals of five-letter words are six-letter words, and there are nearly eight thousand five-letter words to pluralise.
• Watch the vowel count. Two vowels is the norm; three is common; one is rare and hard. If a six-letter word has one vowel in it by turn 10, it needs another, and you should be calling a two-vowel roll to get it. The roll selection guide explains the maths.

Setting realistic goals

Two valid six-letter words of 12 points each is a good game. One of them at 17 or above is a very good one. The words on this list that need only a single K or B are the reachable ones; the doubled-letter words at the very top are for when the dice are unusually kind.