Study
Bingo stems
A bingo is a play that uses all seven tiles. It scores the word plus a 50-point bonus. Tournament players do not memorise every seven-letter word. They memorise six-letter stems that combine with lots of seventh letters, then add whatever tile they just drew.
Worked example: hold SATIRE and draw an N. ENABLE gives nine sevens — retains, retinas, retsina, stainer, stearin, nastier, ratines, anestri, antsier. Type SATIRE? in the finder to see every hook, not just N. The same six letters anagram to RETINA and TISANE, so you are really learning one family.
Stems worth learning first
- SATIRE + ? — 69 ENABLE bingos. Richest hooks: N (9), D (7), T (7), L (6), P (6).
- RETINA + ? — anagram of SATIRE minus S, plus the R already in the stem. Same family as unscramble RETINA.
- TISANE + ? — herbal-tea anagram of SATINE. Good vowel balance.
- SENIOR + ? — another everyday six with many hooks.
- AEINRST — the classic seven-tile rack. Anagrams include RETAINS, RETSINA, STAINER, STEARIN. See the full HTML list.
SATIRE + one letter (the 69)
You do not need to memorise all 69 this week. Learn the hook letters first: A B C D E F G H I L M N P R S T V W. Then drill the N, D, T, L and P lists because those five letters produce more than a third of the bingos.
- N — nine words
- anestri, antsier, nastier, ratines, retains, retinas, retsina, stainer, stearin. Open SATIREN.
- D — seven words
- aridest, astride, diaster, disrate, staider, tardies, tirades.
- T — seven words
- artiest, artiste, attires, iratest, ratites, striate, tastier.
- L — six words
- realist, retails, saltier, saltire, slatier, tailers.
- P — six words
- parties, pastier, piaster, piastre, pirates, traipse.
Rare but high-value hooks: F → FAIREST, H → HASTIER, I → AIRIEST, S → SATIRES. Type the stem plus that letter in the Scrabble word finder.
How to study without a book
- Say SATIRE out loud until the letters feel like one chunk.
- Draw a seventh tile (or type a letter after the stem).
- Name one bingo before you look. Then check the finder.
- When SATIRE is easy, switch to LISTEN leftovers and the 2-letter list for endgames.
FAQ
What is a bingo stem?
A six-letter set that combines with many seventh letters to make a seven-letter bingo. SATIRE, RETINA and TISANE are the stems worth learning first. The 50-point bonus is added on the board; the finder shows tile values only.
How many bingos does SATIRE make?
In ENABLE, SATIRE plus one extra letter makes 69 seven-letter words. N is the richest hook. Counts differ slightly on Collins and NASPA TWL — trust your club book if you play tournament.
How do I practise a stem on this site?
Type the stem plus a question mark into the Scrabble word finder, for example SATIRE?. Related pages: AEINRST, RETINA, 7-letter words.
Also useful: Q without U when the U is missing, and the how to unscramble guide if you are new to racks.