Cheat sheet: ‘za, your pizza-themed friend

Sometimes less is more, and this can be very true when it comes to word games. It can often be tempting to throw all your tiles into a and use a tongue-twisting winner like the 25 point earning word Syzygy (the straight line configuration of 3 celestial bodies) or how about the equally unusual Caziques? Solo it’s a 28 point earner, but used correctly, as international record holder Karl Khonshnaw did, it is possible to claim 392 points (one of the five words that award the highest possible score using letters to words).

But why worry when you can annoy your opponent just as much, perhaps more so, with a well aimed two-letter word? An abbreviation of “pizza,” ZA is well worth remembering if you need to ditch an annoying Z near the end of a game. Used on its own this slang-tastic friend can help your game by 11 points in both  Scrabble® and  Words With Friends®. However, there is an even better way to utilize this secret weapon.

Here’s how you can really do some damage. Build on two As—one directly below, the other directly to the right of a triple letter square—to then spell this two-letter delectable across and down. For what reward? 62 points! In addition, if you’re playing with the SOWPODS list outside of North America, you can also play the word DZO or ZO, which is the name of a hybrid of a domestic cow and a Himalayan yak. Now there’s a fresh fact for you. If pizza wasn’t already amazing, huh?

If you’re looking for more two-letter gems we recommend XU, QI, and UT – they are all real we promise. They may become your next BO *(American slang for a boy or best friend), naturally.