A blank can stand for many letters
During move generation, a blank can represent whichever letter makes a legal word. That means it can unlock words that your visible rack letters cannot make on their own. A blank assigned to a common letter like E or S opens far more possibilities than one assigned to a rare letter like Q or Z — the solver explores all options and returns only the highest-scoring legal move from each position.
A blank is still worth zero points
Flexibility does not mean extra tile value. Once a blank is assigned to a letter in a move, that tile should still contribute zero points. A good solver has to remember which placed letters came from blanks. This matters because a blank covering a double-letter or triple-letter square contributes nothing to the bonus — only the face value of the letter it represents, which is zero.
Use a question mark in TileSmith
TileSmith uses a question mark to represent a blank tile in the rack editor. If OCR misreads a blank as a normal letter, correct it before scoring so the move generator can explore the right possibilities. The distinction is important: a rack entered as AEINRST will find different moves than AEINRS? even if the question mark looks like a T on screen.
Blanks can create unexpected hooks
Because a blank can become any letter, it is especially useful near existing board tiles. It may create a legal cross word while also completing the main play, which is why board-aware blank handling matters. A blank that hooks onto two separate words simultaneously can be worth far more than its face-value zero suggests.
When to use a blank versus save it
Blanks are among the most valuable tiles in the game precisely because they are so flexible. A common mistake is spending a blank on a modest play when holding it for one more turn would allow a much higher-scoring move. Generally, a blank is worth using if the play it enables scores significantly more than your best play without it. If your non-blank play scores within ten to fifteen points of your blank play, saving the blank is often the better long-term choice.
Blanks in the endgame
In the final few turns, the calculus changes. An unplayed blank at the end of the game subtracts zero points from your score — unlike other tiles, which subtract their face value — but a blank that goes unplayed is still a missed scoring opportunity. If the bag is empty and you have a blank, look for the move that uses it even if the score is modest, since holding it cannot hurt your opponent and will not hurt your final tally.
Tracking your opponent's blanks
When a tile on the board is a letter but shows no point value next to it, that placed tile came from a blank. Noting this tells you something important: your opponent used at least one blank earlier in the game. Each game has only two blanks, so if both are visible on the board, neither player has one in hand. This information matters when deciding how defensively to play late in the game.