Given a 5 X 5 Boggle grid, is it possible to score higher than 92 points using only US state names ("District of Columbia" is not included)? No spaces are used, so North Carolina becomes NORTHCAROLINA, and no double-counting of letters is allowed (for example, for HAWAII, cannot double-tap on "I" in a single grid space.) It is known that the following 5 x 5 arrangement of letters yields 92 points (there is a rumor a 105-point solution was found, but it is not available):
SUTHC
NORAD
AILKS
STONA
IUMWT
In summary, the state names found (and points) are represented in shorthand by the following USPS two-letter mnemonics:
NC-13, SC-13, ND-11, SD-11, LA-9, AR-8, MT-7, AK-6, KS-6, IA-4, UT-4 when spelled out they give a total of 92 points. The "UIS" in the lower left corner was used to capture LOUISIANA, but could conceivably be improved upon.
It has been suggested that the counts of occurrences of letters in state names might be useful:
A 63
I 45
N 43
O 36
S 34
E 29
R 22
T 19
L 17
H 16
M 15
C 13
D 11
W 11
K 10
G 9
U 8
Y 6
V 5
P 4
B 2
F 2
X 2
J 1
Z 1
Q 0
