Rack solvers are useful but incomplete
A rack solver or anagram finder can list words from your letters. That is helpful for learning what words your tiles can spell, but it does not know the current board, open squares, cross words, or premium scoring opportunities. A rack solver might return fifty possible words and still miss the best move in your actual game position.
Board solvers use position
A board solver starts from the placed tiles and searches legal attachment points. It must fit your rack letters around existing words and reject moves that create invalid cross words. The result is not just a list of words — it is a list of moves that are actually legal given the current board state, ranked by how many points each one scores including bonuses.
Screenshot solvers reduce setup time
The hard part of board solving is often entering the board. A mid-game Words With Friends board can have thirty or more tiles on it. Typing each one into a grid by hand takes two to three minutes and one typo changes the legal move set. TileSmith uses screenshot reading to build an editable board state in seconds, then asks you to review the result before scoring.
Use both ideas together
Good move finding needs both rack knowledge and board knowledge. The rack tells the solver what letters are available; the board tells it where those letters can legally score. A rack solver can help you understand your options in the abstract, but only a board solver can tell you which of those options you can actually play.
When a rack solver is enough
Rack-only tools still have a place. If you are trying to learn new words, study common two-letter words, or understand what words your tiles can theoretically form, a rack solver is quicker to use and easier to explore interactively. Many experienced players use rack solvers for word learning between games and board solvers when they want the actual best move in a specific position.
Accuracy trade-offs
A board solver is only as accurate as the board state you give it. An incorrectly entered tile changes which words are legal and which bonus squares apply to the move. This is why TileSmith shows you the detected board before scoring — reviewing and correcting the board state takes thirty seconds and can be the difference between a move suggestion that reflects your real game and one that does not.