…with Gary Moss

Archive for January, 2010

Are you old enough to remember when the very first scrabble games arrived on the shelves in the game sections of department stores (1950ish)? I don’t believe that there were game stores back them, like Toys R Us or KayBee. Back then, all the rules were printed on the inside of the box and there weren’t more than a dozen or more rules.

Once the scrabble clubs came into existence, more rules became necessary to standardize the game so that whether you played in Boston or LA, the rules would be the same. All the while, home players made up their own versions of the rules and chose their favorite dictionary to be their own personal word list.

When disagreements occurred at homes, the disgruntled player would simply dump a bowl of hot chicken soup onto the lap of the offender. Things were usually a bit more civil at the first clubs and tournaments; the director would adjudicate the situation and a note was sent to the NSA, ‘The Rules Committee’. Sooner than later a new rule was written to address that issue.

The number of issues over the years has been HUGE. And a massive number of rules have been added. (I have heard via the grapevine that Harvard Law School now offers an elective class called ‘SCRABBLE RULES/LAW.)

The newest update to the Official Scrabble Rules is scheduled to go into effect on February 2, 2010. To see that list of changes CLICK HERE.

For a full set of the RULES, click on FULL SET.

As a part of my online class, SCRABBLE 101, I always emphasize the importance of knowing the rules, playing by the rules, and holding your opponent accountable to play by the rules. I am often surprised that many players are unaware of the rules of the game. If they are long time players, they will even put up an argument, insisting that they are right, until I show them the rule in print. Games are often won by people who break the rules. The rules keep the playing field level for all players.

For the most part, scrabble players are a great group of people. But every now and then, one comes along who is ‘beastlike’ and possessed. That player needs to win at all costs. You’ve most likely noticed one or two. They keep an eye open for unsuspecting newbies and treat them like ‘fresh meat’. They have been known to display all varieties of chutzpa from time to time by sneaking peeks into the tile bag or palming a ‘Q’. Did you ever wonder how certain missing tiles end up being found on the floor after a game? One of their distinguishing behaviors is walking away from the board after a game, leaving their opponent to return all the tiles to the bag. Another frequent annoyance is when they place the tip of their pen or pencil directly on the tiles, when counting their score, depositing ink or graphite onto someone else’s tiles.

And then yesterday, I discovered the answer for myself, while doing some recreational reading.

“At the bidding of Jupiter, Prometheus set about the creation of man and the other animals. Jupiter, seeing that mankind, the only rational creatures, were far outnumbered by the irrational beasts, bade him to redress the balance by turning some of the latter into men. Prometheus did as he was bidden, and this is the reason why some people have the forms of men but the souls of beasts.”
~ AESOP

And you know exactly who I am talking about.

The OSPD4, pictured on the left, contains MOST of the legal words that are allowed to be played during a scrabble competition. (This is a complete list for school scrabble competitions.)

But there is another list too.
You see, the OSPD4 is a sanitized list. All the ‘NAUGHTY WORDS‘ were removed to protect the eyes and minds of the children. I’ll agree that foul language is often disgusting and overused. But it has its purpose.

For me, words are words. They are simply a means of communicating. The fact that a committee removed 100+ words from the OSPD4 didn’t eradicate their existence or their use by children.

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Wiser powers in the NSA and NASPA have allowed them to remain in the OWL2.

These words have been fashioned into a list, referred to in the inner circles as ‘The Pooh List’. I dare to suggest that many of you will not be able to recognize some of these words as being ‘offensive’. Others will be obvious and may cause you to cringe.

Today you can obtain your own copy of The Pooh List, printed on an 8.5 x 11 page of card stock (suitable for framing), for $5, including costs of mailing. – or – for $8 you can have the words on a laminated bookmark. CLICK HERE.

Most people read a word and only think about its meaning.

Scrabble players see a word and think a whole lot more. They think about the letters. For instance, when I see the word ‘initiate’ I think ‘what a great i dump’. Other times, I might look at ‘initiate’ and see the words that I could make with those letter: AE; INITIATE; ENTIA; TENIA; TINEA; ANE; NAE; ANTE; ETNA; NEAT; ATE; EAT; ETA; TAE; TEA; TATE; TEAT; AI; INIA; TITIAN; AIN; ANI; ANTI; TAIN; TAINT; TITAN; AIT; AN; NA; ANT; TAN; AT; TA; ATT; TAT; NITE; TINE; TIE; EN; NE; NET; TEN; NETT; TENT; ET; TET; INTI; TITI; IN; NIT; TIN; TINT; IT; TI; TITAre you seeing ‘trouble’? Or are you seeing ‘blue’? How many words do you think you can find in trouble? 10? 25? 50? more? Give it your best shot. Take 10 – 15 minutes and write out a list of all the words you can find in ‘trouble’. Then CLICK HERE to see how you did.

Last night was the first meeting in 2010 for Scrabble Club #350. Similar meetings occurred at other sanctioned and casual clubs from Seattle to Fort Lauderdale. Scrabble enthusiasts will play millions of games each week, fashioning words as common as ‘mother’ and as unfamiliar as ‘fanzines’ (a magazine written by and for enthusiastic devotees): played by Amnon Meyers at Club #350 on 1/6/10.
When I first began playing at clubs and competitions I remember that I’d arm myself with 10 words before each session. (This was before I had learned the tricks about learning ‘stems’ and ‘hooks’.) I’d choose 10 words at random from the dictionary. Most times, because I was choosing words with less common combinations of letters, I’d never get the right set of letters to form those words. More frustrating than that was when I’d get the word on my rack, and there wasn’t a place to play the word on the board. But, many of those words that I learned over the years stuck with me. It was always a special delight to play some arcane word against a higher ranked player and win a challenge.
Learning the words in the OWL2, using the method that I used back then, is a forever process. It is the same as learning all the words one at a time. At that rate, learning even 5 words a day, the process would take 155,000 divided by 5 = 31,000 day = 84.9 years. It is best to learn and use some shortcuts to become more knowledgeable, faster.
Today’s assignment: Find a club that meets nearby. Make a plan to attend. Call the director and introduce yourself. CLICK HERE. Get involved. Have a great time with scrabble in 2010.

When I began my exciting scrabble adventure in the late 1980s, there weren’t any programs like ZYZZYVA. But there was a hard copy book entitled, The Backwards Book. That book contained a list of all the words in the current lexicon of the day, with reversed alphabetization. It looked something like the list on the right.

The top players knew back then, and still recognize today, that there is a big value in knowing how words end. I’ve pointed this out before and it is well worth repeating today, that in order to become a successful scrabble player one must be willing to see the board differently.

There are so many places where one might begin to expand their knowledge of word. I invite you to step outside the box that holds the 94% who always do things over and over again in the same way. Become a 6 per center. Check things out at a deeper level. Be unconventional in the way you look at groups of words.

For today, lets look at the list of words that end with two I’s. CLICK HERE!

Learning is never finished. There’s always something.

Yesterday I was at a scrabble club at Laguna Woods Village, a senior community. It was between games and I walked out to the vending machine to purchase a diet soda. After making my purchase and walking away from the machine, a little old lady came hobbling toward me, with her arms flailing, and shouting, “Wait, wait, wait.” As she approach nearer, out of breath and exhausted from her 10 yard dash, she asked me to wait. She told me that she had never used one of those machines before and asked if I would teach her how to use it. I showed her the slot for her dollar bill, instructed her to insert it face up as pictured on the dispenser, choose the appropriate button that illustrated her beverage of choice, and wait for her change that has a delayed drop. The lady marveled and oohed when the machine dispensed her diet cola. She appeared to be truly amazed. She began to thank me profusely. All I could think to say was, “Welcome to the Computer Age.”

I continually find it amazing to learning the simple things that people do not know.

New comers to clubs in the US, who are thrust into playing with the OWL2 Lexicon, are amazed to discover that they know only about 5% of the words therein.

Did you know that the SOWPODS Lexicon, used in England, Australia, South Africa and elsewhere is near twice the size of the OWL2. Imagine that. We have it easy.

No matter how much most we learn today, most of us will never complete the entire task. BUT if we don’t keep up keeping up, we will fall even farther behind.

Make a resolution to take a step forward in 2010. Click on one of the pieces of scrabble linked below and let me and my learning tools assist you.

BOOKMARKS
WHIZ CARDS
SCRABBALUTION

It’s a new year. Millions of people have made resolutions and are still choosing to go on diets, join health clubs, and quit smoking.
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SUGGESTION: Do not make any resolution that you do not intend to take seriously. Do not use the word 'try' in any resolution; it is a convenient back door escape to let yourself off the hook.
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Make your resolution to improve your scrabble game in 2010. Let me help you with a jump start and designing a personal plan that works in you busy schedule. Take advantage of my offer of a FREE, 20 minute consultation (value $50) with your $25 order for WHIZ CARD STEM SETS #1, #2, and #3.
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What a great deal is that?
CLICK HERE

Whether you are a novice or an intermediate player, there is always so much more to learn, when it come to scrabble.

Ready?

Set? (pick a date)

GOAL (begin the journey)

They don’t get drunk and get silly, but then, no one has ever received a DUI while driving home from a scrabble party.

They have been known to put on a few extra pounds, due to all the sitting around and the amazing dishes that they prepare and bring to the pot luck events.

They tend to develop a whole new second family from among their word scene opponents, and they share a common interest that supersedes commonalities with their own blood.

Such was the party I attended yesterday, to bring in the new year by playing scrabble and hopefully a bingo or two.

CLICK HERE to see the results and a few photos.

My brother Joel writes an annual year end reflection worth reading. I think you’ll enjoy this. Click Here.