At the beginning of the game, and after each turn, players get tiles from the bank to replenish their racks with seven tiles. On each turn, a player has the option to: pass the turn and scoring nothing; exchange one or more tiles for an equal number from the bank, scoring nothing; or form words on the board, reading either left-to-right or top-to-bottom. The new word must either use the letters of one or more previously played words or must cover the center square. The player can form a few words during one turn.

The game also has asterisk tiles that carry no point value. The asterisk tiles can be used as substitutes for any appropriate letters in the words throughout the game.

The game ends when one player uses every tile in their rack, and there are no tiles remaining in the bank or when all players pass their turn. The winner is the one who scored the most points.