Get The Facts (then use them)
There have been a large number of people showing up at clubs expressing interest at joining in the fun. That’s great!
Most of these folks have been hidden away, around kitchen tables, across America for years. They have been playing with their own ‘house rules’ and using the old Webster or Funk And Wagnall’s as their word list.
I am representative of one of the first people they meet when they show up at club. I am very welcoming to them, and I always give them a brief overview of the way scrabble is played at club. Most are very nice, and appear to be attentive. But most just want to jump in and play; they want to see how good they are and how they measure up to seasoned club players.
I guess that is the nature of people. ( I want what I want, when I want it. )
Most newbies are unable to grasp all the different rules and protocol at one sitting. I admit, there is a lot to learn. But when the teacher says, “the tile bag must be held at eye level or higher when drawing tiles”, why do so many newbies insist on picking their tiles from the bag while it lies on the table? (Even after being reminded several times.)
The most difficult thing to learn is the order of things when taking your turn. 1) place your play onto the board; 2) count your score; 3) announce your score for the play aloud to your opponent; 4) HIT YOUR CLOCK; 5) record your score and the cumulative score on your score sheet; 6) replenish the tiles on your rack.
I remember 1957, Mumford High School, and Mr. McNair, the driver education teacher. Like every one of my friends in the class, all I wanted to do was hop into one of the cars and drive. But there would be several weeks of ‘book work’ before we even had an opportunity to open a car door. The frustration of being so close to a car, and yet so far away ‘driving’ was excruciating.
Maybe that is a good analogy for how it feels being a newbie at scrabble club. Players are anxious to get their hand into the tile bag and play some words. . . . and then find themselves being delayed by some guy with a list of rules and procedures.
And yet, a game without rules is chaos and meaningless. The rules make us accountable to one another, provide a level playing field, and insure fairness. I encourage newbies to develop good habits by learning the proper way to do things from the very beginning.
Get the facts, digest them, employ them, then rev your engine.