Lindsay Shin

I am a very experienced competitive Scrabble player. I&#8217;ve been playing in tournaments for over 20 years, organized tournaments and am an official director of tournaments, and traveled overseas and competed. Heck, I even married another competitive Scrabble player! But here I am, attending the North American School Scrabble Championships, and I&#8217;m not even playing any Scrabble. It has been a dream of mine to see our children play Scrabble, but it always felt so far away. But here we are, and I could not be more excited. Seeing Scrabble from a parent&#8217;s perspective has proven challenging. I no longer have any control over the tiles or the board. I&#8217;ve helped coach our daughter, Lea Shin, for a while now, but it&#8217;s now the time to release her into the wild room of competitive Scrabble.
&nbsp;
But here&#8217;s the cool thing about this tournament. The children, 8th grade and under, get to compete in pairs. It&#8217;s less pressure for the kids and just downright fun! We traveled to Washington DC and entered Planet Word, the most incredible museum dedicated to words! Who knew such a place existed!? We also entered a room of almost 100 other Scrabble players, all under 18. Seeing so many young people excited to play our favorite game was thrilling at the North American School Scrabble Championship.
&nbsp;
We originally had trouble finding a partner for Lea that she knew, but it turns out there are several people like her around the country, and we were able to pair her up with another 4th grader named Jonathan. He is the perfect partner for Lea. He is intelligent and bright and interested, and willing to learn.
&nbsp;
Lea and Jonathan met for the first time in person on the morning of the tournament. We rushed to give them last-minute times about notating scores and helping each other out, and then they were off, and there was nothing I could do to help them win the games anymore. They were the youngest team in the competition. But they won their first game! And they won again! And again! After three games, they were at the top of the leaderboard and finally had to play some of the more experienced players.
&nbsp;
She was featured as one of the games on the Scrabble Twitch channel, and we all watched play-by-play. We watched them make small mistakes. We watched them whisper to each other, and we watched them bingo! We interacted with the others in the Twitch chat and saw family members logging in to watch from worldwide. I&#8217;ve never been so nervous, and I wasn&#8217;t even playing. It was so exciting! Even when they lost the game. I hugged her opponent&#8217;s mother and congratulated her. We could only be proud of Lea and Jonathan, who were also proud of themselves.
&nbsp;
They averaged a bingo a game, which not many adults can claim! These bingos included DIppERS, MOUSIER, CRATERS, HATLESS, and STONIER. They challenged many words their opponents played and had a few of their own words challenged off the board. They scored high, and they scored low, and they killed it.
&nbsp;
[One notable play was that the word ISM was played. As a quick study tool, we coached Lea to review the short QXJZ words for high-scoring opportunities. Her opponents quickly challenged her when she linked the J to the top of that word. She was shocked that she had lost her turn, as was I. However, during our studies, we neglected to use the school Scrabble dictionary instead of the regular one. The word she played is inappropriate for children to look up in a dictionary!]
&nbsp;
Overheard in the playing room was a group of students reviewing who their next opponents would be. A couple of seventh-grade girls noted, &#8220;Yes! Our opponents are two fourth graders! This will be an easy win!&#8221; Their friends said, &#8220;Oh no! You don&#8217;t want to play the fourth graders! The girl knows all the words in the dictionary, and the boy knows them too!&#8221;
&nbsp;
Lea and Jonathan were the youngest ones in the room…the underdogs. They had nothing to lose. They had a fantastic time, made new friends, and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful new museum.
&nbsp;
After eight games, they ended up in seventh place. Sixth place was ahead by one point. Brutal. But they didn&#8217;t care. Lea and Jonathan had a blast. They won some and lost some. But they&#8217;re ready to play more. They&#8217;re studying. Watch out for NASSC 2023!
&nbsp;
And as an experienced Scrabble player, I, too, cannot wait to participate as a nervous Scrabble parent again next year.
 
<h6>Would you like to contribute to the Scrabble Blog? <a href="https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6794350/Application-Become-a-Blog-Contributor" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Click this link to send us your article.</a></h6>


		<div class="wpulike wpulike-default " ><div class="wp_ulike_general_class wp_ulike_is_not_liked"><button type="button"
					aria-label="Like Button"
					data-ulike-id="1067"
					data-ulike-nonce="8876d5582f"
					data-ulike-type="post"
					data-ulike-template="wpulike-default"
					data-ulike-display-likers="0"
					data-ulike-likers-style="popover"
					class="wp_ulike_btn wp_ulike_put_image wp_post_btn_1067"></button>			</div></div>
	The post <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/north-american-school-scrabble-championships/">North American School Scrabble Championships</a> appeared first on <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com">Scrabble</a>.

I am a very experienced competitive Scrabble player. I&#8217;ve been playing in tournaments for over 20 years, organized tournaments and am an official director of tournaments, and traveled overseas and competed. Heck, I even married another competitive Scrabble player! But here I am, attending the North American School Scrabble Championships, and I&#8217;m not even playing any Scrabble. It has been a dream of mine to see our children play Scrabble, but it always felt so far away. But here we are, and I could not be more excited. Seeing Scrabble from a parent&#8217;s perspective has proven challenging. I no longer have any control over the tiles or the board. I&#8217;ve helped coach our daughter, Lea Shin, for a while now, but it&#8217;s now the time to release her into the wild room of competitive Scrabble.
&nbsp;
But here&#8217;s the cool thing about this tournament. The children, 8th grade and under, get to compete in pairs. It&#8217;s less pressure for the kids and just downright fun! We traveled to Washington DC and entered Planet Word, the most incredible museum dedicated to words! Who knew such a place existed!? We also entered a room of almost 100 other Scrabble players, all under 18. Seeing so many young people excited to play our favorite game was thrilling at the North American School Scrabble Championship.
&nbsp;
We originally had trouble finding a partner for Lea that she knew, but it turns out there are several people like her around the country, and we were able to pair her up with another 4th grader named Jonathan. He is the perfect partner for Lea. He is intelligent and bright and interested, and willing to learn.
&nbsp;
Lea and Jonathan met for the first time in person on the morning of the tournament. We rushed to give them last-minute times about notating scores and helping each other out, and then they were off, and there was nothing I could do to help them win the games anymore. They were the youngest team in the competition. But they won their first game! And they won again! And again! After three games, they were at the top of the leaderboard and finally had to play some of the more experienced players.
&nbsp;
She was featured as one of the games on the Scrabble Twitch channel, and we all watched play-by-play. We watched them make small mistakes. We watched them whisper to each other, and we watched them bingo! We interacted with the others in the Twitch chat and saw family members logging in to watch from worldwide. I&#8217;ve never been so nervous, and I wasn&#8217;t even playing. It was so exciting! Even when they lost the game. I hugged her opponent&#8217;s mother and congratulated her. We could only be proud of Lea and Jonathan, who were also proud of themselves.
&nbsp;
They averaged a bingo a game, which not many adults can claim! These bingos included DIppERS, MOUSIER, CRATERS, HATLESS, and STONIER. They challenged many words their opponents played and had a few of their own words challenged off the board. They scored high, and they scored low, and they killed it.
&nbsp;
[One notable play was that the word ISM was played. As a quick study tool, we coached Lea to review the short QXJZ words for high-scoring opportunities. Her opponents quickly challenged her when she linked the J to the top of that word. She was shocked that she had lost her turn, as was I. However, during our studies, we neglected to use the school Scrabble dictionary instead of the regular one. The word she played is inappropriate for children to look up in a dictionary!]
&nbsp;
Overheard in the playing room was a group of students reviewing who their next opponents would be. A couple of seventh-grade girls noted, &#8220;Yes! Our opponents are two fourth graders! This will be an easy win!&#8221; Their friends said, &#8220;Oh no! You don&#8217;t want to play the fourth graders! The girl knows all the words in the dictionary, and the boy knows them too!&#8221;
&nbsp;
Lea and Jonathan were the youngest ones in the room…the underdogs. They had nothing to lose. They had a fantastic time, made new friends, and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful new museum.
&nbsp;
After eight games, they ended up in seventh place. Sixth place was ahead by one point. Brutal. But they didn&#8217;t care. Lea and Jonathan had a blast. They won some and lost some. But they&#8217;re ready to play more. They&#8217;re studying. Watch out for NASSC 2023!
&nbsp;
And as an experienced Scrabble player, I, too, cannot wait to participate as a nervous Scrabble parent again next year.
 
Would you like to contribute to the Scrabble Blog? Click this link to send us your article.


					
	The post North American School Scrabble Championships appeared first on Scrabble.

North American School Scrabble Championships

Scrabble Team

Official Rules
Scrabble® GO Design Your Own Tile Contest 
Presented by Scopely 
NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN A PRIZE. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW.  PLEASE READ THESE RULES CAREFULLY. AS EXPLAINED BELOW, THE RULES REQUIRE THAT DISPUTES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS CONTEST BE RESOLVED IN ARBITRATION ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS, RATHER THAN BY CLASS ACTIONS OR JURY TRIALS, AND LIMIT YOUR RIGHTS AND REMEDIES IN THE EVENT OF A DISPUTE.

CONTEST PERIOD: The Scrabble® GO Design Your Own Tile Contest Presented by Scopely (the “Contest”) begins on September 19th, 2022, and ends on October 2nd, 2022 11:59 pm PDT (“Contest Period”). The Sponsor of this Contest is Scopely, Inc. (“Sponsor”). The Administrator of this Contest is The Concept Studio, LLC (“Administrator”). 


ELIGIBILITY: The Contest is open to all individuals except for those who reside in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, North Korea, Myanmar, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the State of Tamil Nadu, India; the province of Quebec, Canada; New South Wales, Australia, Northern Ireland and countries subject to U.S. export control restrictions and sanctions; countries embargoed by the U.S.; or countries that have been designated by the U.S. government as “terrorist supporting” countries, and any other nation, state, canton or province where prohibited or restricted by U.S. law or the laws of such nation, state, canton or province. Each entrant must be the rightful owner (or have authorized use) of the social media account identified in the entrant&#8217;s entry. In the event of a dispute as to the identity of an entrant, the entrant will be deemed the natural person in whose name the account associated with the entry was opened. Potential winners may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder associated with the entry. Employees, shareholders, officers, directors, agents, and representatives of Sponsor, Administrator (as defined below), Scopely, Inc., and each of their respective parent companies, affiliates, divisions, subsidiaries, agents, representatives, and participating promotion and advertising agencies and any entity which is involved in any aspect of the creation, production, operation, execution or fulfillment of the Contest and their respective employees, shareholders, officers, directors, agents, and representatives are not eligible to participate in the Contest. Immediate Family and Household Members (defined below) of such individuals are also not eligible to enter or win. For purposes of the Contest, &#8220;Household Members&#8221; shall mean those people who share the same residence at least three months a year, and &#8220;Immediate Family Members&#8221; shall mean parents, step-parents, legal guardians, children, stepchildren, siblings, step-siblings, or spouses. Subject to all applicable laws. Void where prohibited by law.


HOW TO ENTER: You must have an Internet-connected mobile device, have the Scrabble® GO mobile game application downloaded to your device, and be an active player during the Contest Period to participate. Mobile game app available on iOS and Android. If you do not have the app you may download it for free on the App Store or Google Play stores. Data usage charges may apply.

To enter the Contest, players of the Scrabble® GO mobile game will receive an in-game message(s) during the contest period containing the link to a post on the official Scrabble® GO Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ScrabbleGO with the following steps to enter:
You can use the provided template (the template will be available to download from the Facebook post) or simply submit your design from your sketchbook.

The main design for a Scrabble GO Tile is for the back of the Tile. However, as seen in the Snowtime Collection example, you can also add some design elements to the front of the tile.
 
There is no limit to the number of designs you can submit
Upload your design here   https://scrb.ly/DesignYourOwnTile
Creating a Facebook account is free and can be done at facebook.com. 
Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant’s entry that it deems, in its sole discretion, to be a violation of the Official Rules or that is not in keeping with Sponsor’s image or which communicates messages or images inconsistent with the positive images and/or goodwill to which Sponsor wishes to associate. Sponsor is not responsible for a lost, interrupted, or unavailable network server or other connection; miscommunications; failed phone or computer or telephone transmissions; technical failure; jumbled, scrambled or misdirected transmissions; late, lost, incomplete, delayed, or misdirected entries; or other error of any kind whether human, mechanical, or electronic. False or deceptive acts or entries, or entries generated by script, macro, or other automated means will be void, will render a participant ineligible, and also may result in the participant no longer being allowed to enter the Sponsor&#8217;s contest, contests, or other promotions in the future, at Sponsor&#8217;s sole discretion. All entries submitted become the property of the Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. The entrant must provide all information requested. Incomplete, unreadable, or unintelligible submissions will be disqualified. All information submitted by Entrants is subject to and will be treated in a manner consistent with the Scopely privacy policy accessible at https://scopely.com/privacy/. By participating in this Contest, entrants hereby agree to the Scopely collection and usage of their personal information and acknowledge that they have read and accepted the Scopely Privacy Policy. Participation in the Contest constitutes the Entrant’s understanding of, full and unconditional agreement to, and acceptance of these Official Rules. The sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant that the sponsor determines to be in violation of any term contained in these Official Rules. The sponsor&#8217;s decision not to enforce a specific provision of these Official Rules does not constitute a waiver of that provision or of the Official Rules generally. All Entries submitted in compliance with these Official Rules and not disqualified are considered “Eligible Entries”. All Entry materials become the sole and exclusive property of the Sponsor. Entries will not be returned. 
All Entries submitted in compliance with these Official Rules and not disqualified are considered “Eligible Entries”. All Entry materials become the sole and exclusive property of the Sponsor. Entries will not be returned. By making a video submission, you hereby grant to Sponsor a royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, and worldwide license to use and display the Entry. Further, by submitting an entry, you give Scopely the right to use the entry for any other promotional purposes. 

WINNER SELECTION / JUDGING PERIOD: Contestants are judged based on their submitted design of a Scrabble GO tile. The criteria for the judges are as follows: 


Theme Fit / Understandability (Fall &amp; Autumn) 
Originality and fun of the Idea
The Originality of the Art Style
Appeal

Weighting will be equal for the above criteria where each category carries 25% of the final score. The Sponsor shall make the determination of the Winners based on the scores provided by the official judges, and such determination shall be final and binding. Sponsor reserves the right to extend the Contest Period and the right to select fewer than the stated number of Winners, if, in its sole discretion, it does not receive a sufficient number of eligible and qualified Entries. Winners will be notified via in-game messaging. By taking part in this Contest you agree to be bound by these rules and all decisions of the Administrator and Sponsor, which are final and binding on all aspects of the Contest.

PRIZES: One (1) Grand Prize: One Grand prize winner will be awarded their designed Scrabble piece to use within the Scrabble® GO game and have it added for other players to earn in a future challenge on the Scrabble® GO game. Winners will be notified via an in-game direct message. 

No substitutions or transfers of a prize, except at the Sponsor’s discretion. 
All federal, state, and local taxes and any other costs and expenses associated with acceptance and/or use of the Prizes not specifically provided for in these Official Rules are solely the Winner’s responsibility. The odds of winning the prize depend upon the total number of submissions during the contest period.

GENERAL CONDITIONS/INDEMNIFICATION: By participating in the Contest and/or by accepting any prize that you may be awarded, you agree that Sponsor, the Administrator, Scopely Inc., their respective parents, subsidiaries, and affiliated companies, units, and divisions; and their advertising and promotional agencies and prize suppliers; each of their respective officers, directors, agents, representatives, and employees; and each of these companies and individuals&#8217; respective successors, representatives and assigns (collectively, the &#8220;Indemnified Parties&#8221;) shall not be liable for any and all actions, claims, including any third party claims, injury, loss or damage, including death, arising in any manner, directly or indirectly, from or relating to the contest, including your Entry, participation in the contest, or the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any prize. By participating in the contest and/or accepting any prize that you may be awarded, you agree to fully indemnify each Indemnified Party from any and all such claims by third parties without limitation. The Indemnified Parties shall not be liable for: (i) late, lost, delayed, stolen, misdirected, postage-due, incomplete, unreadable, inaccurate, garbled, or unintelligible entries, communications, or submissions, regardless of the method of transmission; (ii) telephone system, telephone or computer hardware, software or other technical, computer, or app malfunctions, lost connections, disconnections, delays or transmission errors; (iii) data corruption, theft, destruction, unauthorized access to or alteration of an Entry or other materials; (iv) any injuries, losses or damages of any kind caused by your participation in this contest or resulting from acceptance, possession or use of a prize; (v) any printing, typographical, administrative or technological errors in any materials associated with the contest; (vi) any notifications or prize delivery to a winner that is undeliverable, returned, rejected or blocked due to reasons not attributable to Sponsor. The Indemnified Parties disclaim any liability for damage to any phone, computer, or other electronic device resulting from participating in, or accessing, or downloading information in connection with this contest, and the Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, modify or suspend the contest should a virus, bug, computer or phone problem, unauthorized intervention or other causes beyond Sponsor&#8217;s control, corrupt the administration, security or proper play of the contest. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to modify, cancel, suspend or terminate the contest in its entirety or any affected portion thereof. In the event the Sponsor is prevented from awarding prizes or continuing with the contest as contemplated herein by any event beyond its control, including but not limited to fire, flood, natural or man-made epidemic of health or of another manner/type, earthquake, explosion, labor dispute or strike, an act of God or public enemy, satellite or equipment failure, riot or civil disturbance, terrorist threat or activity, war (declared or undeclared) or any federal, state, provincial, regional or local government law, order, or regulation, public health crisis (e.g. SARS), order of any court or jurisdiction, the unavailability of Sponsor’s selected photographer or other cause not reasonably within Sponsor’s control (each a “Force Majeure” event or occurrence), then subject to any governmental approval which may be required, Sponsor shall have the right to modify, suspend, cancel or terminate the contest in its entirety or any affected portion thereof. If the contest or a particular portion thereof is canceled or terminated before the designated end date for any reason, the Sponsor may (if possible) perform a random drawing from among all eligible entries submitted as of the date/time of the event giving rise to the termination and that is in complete compliance with these Official Rules. This shall be each Entrant’s sole and exclusive remedy in the event the contest is so terminated or canceled. Only the type and quantity of prizes described in these Official Rules will be awarded. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these Official Rules shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision. The sponsor may prohibit you from participating in the contest or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines you are attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the contest by cheating, hacking, deception, or any other unfair playing practices.

CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE GAME (Scrabble® GO) OR RELATED WEBSITES OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHALL RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION FROM PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEST. SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, THE SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK REMEDIES AND DAMAGES (INCLUDING ATTORNEY’S FEES) TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.
This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook. You understand that the information you provide in connection with entering the contest is being provided to the Sponsor and/or Administrator and not Facebook. Any questions, comments, or complaints regarding the Contest should be directed to Sponsor, and not to Facebook.

GRANT OF RIGHTS: By entering, you authorize Sponsor, its affiliates and designees, and their respective agents and agencies to use your submitted design, your name, game name, voice, likeness, statements, photograph, biographical data, city, state, and country of residence for use in game (Scrabble GO), advertising and publicity purposes, worldwide in perpetuity, or on a winner&#8217;s list, if applicable, without further compensation unless prohibited by law.  By entering, you also agree that your name, city, state, and country may be posted on the contest website or mobile website.


PRIVACY POLICY: Information collected from entrants is subject to the Sponsor’s Privacy Policy located at http://scopely.com/privacy/ and may also be used as provided in these Official Rules.  By participating in the contest, entrants agree to all of the terms and conditions of the Sponsor’s Privacy Policy and the terms and conditions of the Sponsor’s website.


APPLICABLE LAW: These Official Rules are governed by the laws of the State of California, United States of America, without giving effect to conflicts of law rules. If any of the provisions of these Official Rules are held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions hereof will remain in full force and effect. To the extent permitted by law, participants waive their right to litigate, seek injunctive relief or make any other recourse to judicial procedures in case of disputes or claims resulting from or in connection with the contest, including waiver of the right to a jury trial.


ARBITRATION: By participating in the contest, you agree that the exclusive jurisdiction for any dispute, claim, or demand related in any way to the contest will be decided by binding arbitration. All disputes between you and Sponsor or anyone associated with the production, development, or handling of this contest, of whatsoever kind or nature arising out of the contest or the terms of these Official Rules, shall be submitted individually, without resort to a class action, to Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc. (“JAMS”) for binding arbitration, under its rules then in effect, in Culver City, California, USA, before one arbitrator to be mutually agreed upon by both parties. The parties agree to share equally in the arbitration costs incurred and that, unless prohibited by applicable law, under no circumstances will participant be permitted to obtain awards for, and participants hereby waive all rights to claim, punitive, incidental, and consequential damages and any damages other than actual out-of-pocket expenses.


SPONSOR: Scopely Inc., 3530 Hayden Avenue, Suite A Culver City, CA 90232 USA. Website: scopely.com. Scrabble® GO Scopely Inc. All Rights Reserved.


FOR WINNERS LIST and OFFICIAL RULES: All requests for a copy of the Official Rules and for the names of the Winners (first name and state) must be made by 11/2/22. For the names of the Winners and/or Official Rule(s) send a self-addressed stamped return envelope to:  Scrabble® GO Design Your Own Tile Contest  Official Winners, 606 Post Road East #693, Westport, CT 06880.

END OF OFFICIAL RULES
					
	The post Design Your Own Tile Contest Official Rules appeared first on Scrabble.

Design Your Own Tile Contest Official Rules

Judy Cole

Each month, in the Spotlight On column in the <a style="color: #0000ff;" href="http://www.scrabbleplayers.org/w/IContact" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NASPA News</a>, Mike Willis provides a broader biography of notable Scrabble players. This profile of NASPA CEO John Chew first appeared in the November 8, 2018, issue.
&nbsp;
<h3 class="p1">A Brilliant Mind</h3>
John Chew was born in Buffalo (NY) &#8211; not far from the site of the 2014 and 2018 NASPA Championships. He says of the day, &#8220;I was born just past noon on the day my obstetrician predicted. Or would have been, had someone taken the time to explain to me about Daylight Saving Time.&#8221;
John speaks of his parents: &#8220;My father is an emeritus professor of linguistic anthropology, a polyglot, with previous careers in the Foreign Service Institute (he phoneticized Kennedy&#8217;s Berliner speech), and as a code clerk for Gen. Douglas MacArthur.
&#8220;He played a lot of board games with me when I was young, inspired me to learn a few languages better than he did, and made sure the corners of the dining table were always stacked with dictionaries that we could use to explore the origins of obscure words.
&#8220;My mother is a retired Japanese language instructor born in Tokyo and raised during the WWII firebombing of that city. She made sure that I was fluent in Japanese and always appreciated that side of my heritage.&#8221;
John relates his childhood and education: &#8220;I thought for some time that I appeared intelligent because I was somewhere on the autism spectrum. Recently, I have been thinking that it might instead have been due to the adaptive effects of being at the extreme aphantasiac end of the visualization spectrum.
&#8220;I entered grade school a year early, attended a high school for gifted students, completed an undergraduate degree in mathematics, computer science, and classical studies, and a master&#8217;s degree in mathematics. I am still ABD on my Ph.D.
&#8220;I think my education is still an ongoing process, so I don&#8217;t feel as though I am the same person that I was 10 or 20 years ago. I value my skill set and the opportunities that it gives me and am always looking to expand it.&#8221;
John has been married to his wife, Kristen, for 19 years. Together they have two sons, Jamie, 14, and Liam, 11. He has intentionally devoted more time to his family, and less time to his career, than many of his peers because of the emotional reward it provides.
 <img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1034" src="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/john-and-wife-300x216.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="216" srcset="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/john-and-wife-300x216.jpeg 300w, https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/john-and-wife.jpeg 512w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Photo Credit: NASPA/Patty Hocker
That is not to say that he does not stay busy, however &#8211; he relates: &#8220;In addition to currently being a co-president of NASPA, itinerant Scrabble consultant, software developer, research mathematician, and translator, I have in the past been a full-time student and a full-time computer programmer &#8211; sometimes at the same time.&#8221;
John recounts getting into Scrabble: &#8220;I played online on <a style="color: #0000ff;" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LambdaMOO" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LambdaMOO</a> and ScrabbleMOO with Adam Logan and Steven Alexander in 1993. They encouraged me to visit my local club in Toronto (<a style="color: #0000ff;" href="http://www.torontoscrabbleclub.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NASPA Club #3</a>), where I found I fit in well. When then Toronto director Mike Wise died only 5 years later, I was honoured to be asked to take over many of his roles.&#8221;
When asked for some Scrabble tales that involved him, John replied: &#8220;I used to play Scrabble with Sherrie Saint John on long car trips, with a pegboard travel set propped up on her dashboard, with me driving. We stopped when the engine caught fire, and I was thinking too much about my next bingo to notice.&#8221;
Also &#8211; &#8220;At NSC 1994, I&#8217;m walking to a restaurant called THAI PLACE with Adam Logan and Steven Alexander.
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1">I say, &#8216;The name of the restaurant has an anagram.&#8217;</li>
<li class="li1">Adam says, &#8216;Yes, it does.&#8217;</li>
<li class="li1">After a brief interval, Steven says &#8216;HEPATICAL!&#8217;</li>
<li class="li1">Then simultaneously, Adam says &#8216;No&#8217; and I say &#8216;Yes.&#8217;</li>
<li class="li1">Adam then gently explains that HEPATICAL# is Chambers-only.&#8221; (Can you find the 1 TWL anagram?)</li>
</ul>
He spoke of his highlights while playing:
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1">&#8220;I&#8217;ve played two twelves: EXTRA-UTERINE and MENSTRUA-TION.</li>
<li class="li1">My highest-scoring word was JUNKIEST (266).</li>
<li class="li1">Zev Kaufman and I set a record in 1997 for <a style="color: #0000ff;" href="https://click.icptrack.com/icp/rclick.php?cid=1384631&amp;mid=278081&amp;destination=http://www.scrabbleplayers.org/w/Records%23Highest_tie_game_score&amp;cfid=6038&amp;vh=7d494ff33c118bbe7d10c8a65df646216c0690eac3cf6104536fec44e6ad925a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highest-scoring tied tournament game</a> at 502-502.</li>
<li class="li1">I have competed in one NSC (1994) and CNSC (1996) each, finishing in 2nd place in Division 2 and 10th place overall respectively.&#8221;</li>
</ul>
John has made so many contributions that have become mainstays of organized play: &#8220;I developed <a style="color: #0000ff;" href="https://click.icptrack.com/icp/rclick.php?cid=1384631&amp;mid=278081&amp;destination=http://www.poslarchive.com/tsh/doc/&amp;cfid=6038&amp;vh=3760edb4497edcf8e7e70848dc4f882454a80f512194f34ea28865eb5e6e291d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TSH</a>, its scoreboard, the software used to report on major championships, the software that runs our rating system, all the software that is part of the <a style="color: #0000ff;" href="https://click.icptrack.com/icp/rclick.php?cid=1384631&amp;mid=278081&amp;destination=http://www.scrabbleplayers.org/w/Welcome_to_NASPAWiki&amp;cfid=6038&amp;vh=3676c06c4100dba1000f0836e31e85612252370667355e2b5a9c1164c2f64ddc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NASPA website</a>, club data management software, word study software, MarlDOoM, and various other miscellaneous projects.
&#8220;I have overseen the online presence of competitive Scrabble in North America since 1998 and represent much of its technical institutional memory in my capacity as NASPA co-president. I edit the tournament word list. I do much of the graphic design for NASPA, including its logo and other aspects of its corporate identity.
&#8220;I influence policy and think that I am the main person responsible for such innovations as an official long words list, a rating database that includes scores, and rated Collins games. I have run several hundred tournaments of all levels and sizes. I do a lot of Scrabble-related public interviews.&#8221;
Co-President of NASPA Chris Cree says of John: &#8220;John has proven to be my best ever business partner. His talents are known by most in the Scrabble community. He is continually contracted to direct tournaments around the world. I first worked with him at the 2006 Dallas Open. The following year we worked our first large event together: The Players Championship.
&#8220;When the NSA folded and Hasbro said &#8216;you are on your own,&#8217; we were trying to determine what was to happen next. Many eyes were looking to me; my eyes went straight to him. For I knew establishing a Scrabble organization comfortable to the majority of players would be best possible with him.
&#8220;My family and I have gotten to know John, his wife, Kristen, and their boys, Jamie and Liam, very well over the years. Carla and I include them among our closest, dearest friends.&#8221;
 <img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1036" src="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/john-check-300x178.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="178" srcset="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/john-check-300x178.jpeg 300w, https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/john-check.jpeg 512w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
NASPA co-presidents John Chew and Chris Cree help NASC director Art Moore present the big check to 2018 champion Joel Sherman in Buffalo (NY).  Photo Credit: NASPA/Patty Hocker.
John has these words for his fellow players: &#8220;Remember that everything that gets done in our organization gets done because a volunteer puts in the time to make it happen. If there&#8217;s something that you&#8217;d really like to see us doing that we aren&#8217;t already, please consider joining or starting a committee to build the association you want to be a part of.&#8221;
For the future of NASPA John wishes, &#8220;More younger people playing competitively, which will lead to more people of all ages playing.&#8221;
John, thanks so much for all you have done for Scrabble, and all that you continue to do. Your efforts have created a lot of success for the organization and contentment for so many players of the game who in one way or another use some of your handiwork.
&nbsp;
<h6>Would you like to contribute to the Scrabble Blog? <a href="https://playscrabble.com/community-forums#discussion/19/%EF%B8%8F-contribute-to-the-scrabble-blog/p1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Click this link to send us your article.</a></h6>



<h6>Do you want to discuss this article with the community? <a href="https://playscrabble.com/community-forums#categories/blog-discussions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Visit the forum with this link to start a conversation.</a></h6>		<div class="wpulike wpulike-default " ><div class="wp_ulike_general_class wp_ulike_is_not_liked"><button type="button"
					aria-label="Like Button"
					data-ulike-id="1025"
					data-ulike-nonce="c332269c62"
					data-ulike-type="post"
					data-ulike-template="wpulike-default"
					data-ulike-display-likers="0"
					data-ulike-likers-style="popover"
					class="wp_ulike_btn wp_ulike_put_image wp_post_btn_1025"></button>			</div></div>
	The post <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/scrabble-player-spotlight-on-john-chew/">Scrabble Player Spotlight on John Chew</a> appeared first on <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com">Scrabble</a>.

Each month, in the Spotlight On column in the NASPA News, Mike Willis provides a broader biography of notable Scrabble players. This profile of NASPA CEO John Chew first appeared in the November 8, 2018, issue.
&nbsp;
A Brilliant Mind
John Chew was born in Buffalo (NY) &#8211; not far from the site of the 2014 and 2018 NASPA Championships. He says of the day, &#8220;I was born just past noon on the day my obstetrician predicted. Or would have been, had someone taken the time to explain to me about Daylight Saving Time.&#8221;
John speaks of his parents: &#8220;My father is an emeritus professor of linguistic anthropology, a polyglot, with previous careers in the Foreign Service Institute (he phoneticized Kennedy&#8217;s Berliner speech), and as a code clerk for Gen. Douglas MacArthur.
&#8220;He played a lot of board games with me when I was young, inspired me to learn a few languages better than he did, and made sure the corners of the dining table were always stacked with dictionaries that we could use to explore the origins of obscure words.
&#8220;My mother is a retired Japanese language instructor born in Tokyo and raised during the WWII firebombing of that city. She made sure that I was fluent in Japanese and always appreciated that side of my heritage.&#8221;
John relates his childhood and education: &#8220;I thought for some time that I appeared intelligent because I was somewhere on the autism spectrum. Recently, I have been thinking that it might instead have been due to the adaptive effects of being at the extreme aphantasiac end of the visualization spectrum.
&#8220;I entered grade school a year early, attended a high school for gifted students, completed an undergraduate degree in mathematics, computer science, and classical studies, and a master&#8217;s degree in mathematics. I am still ABD on my Ph.D.
&#8220;I think my education is still an ongoing process, so I don&#8217;t feel as though I am the same person that I was 10 or 20 years ago. I value my skill set and the opportunities that it gives me and am always looking to expand it.&#8221;
John has been married to his wife, Kristen, for 19 years. Together they have two sons, Jamie, 14, and Liam, 11. He has intentionally devoted more time to his family, and less time to his career, than many of his peers because of the emotional reward it provides.
 
Photo Credit: NASPA/Patty Hocker
That is not to say that he does not stay busy, however &#8211; he relates: &#8220;In addition to currently being a co-president of NASPA, itinerant Scrabble consultant, software developer, research mathematician, and translator, I have in the past been a full-time student and a full-time computer programmer &#8211; sometimes at the same time.&#8221;
John recounts getting into Scrabble: &#8220;I played online on LambdaMOO and ScrabbleMOO with Adam Logan and Steven Alexander in 1993. They encouraged me to visit my local club in Toronto (NASPA Club #3), where I found I fit in well. When then Toronto director Mike Wise died only 5 years later, I was honoured to be asked to take over many of his roles.&#8221;
When asked for some Scrabble tales that involved him, John replied: &#8220;I used to play Scrabble with Sherrie Saint John on long car trips, with a pegboard travel set propped up on her dashboard, with me driving. We stopped when the engine caught fire, and I was thinking too much about my next bingo to notice.&#8221;
Also &#8211; &#8220;At NSC 1994, I&#8217;m walking to a restaurant called THAI PLACE with Adam Logan and Steven Alexander.

I say, &#8216;The name of the restaurant has an anagram.&#8217;
Adam says, &#8216;Yes, it does.&#8217;
After a brief interval, Steven says &#8216;HEPATICAL!&#8217;
Then simultaneously, Adam says &#8216;No&#8217; and I say &#8216;Yes.&#8217;
Adam then gently explains that HEPATICAL# is Chambers-only.&#8221; (Can you find the 1 TWL anagram?)

He spoke of his highlights while playing:

&#8220;I&#8217;ve played two twelves: EXTRA-UTERINE and MENSTRUA-TION.
My highest-scoring word was JUNKIEST (266).
Zev Kaufman and I set a record in 1997 for highest-scoring tied tournament game at 502-502.
I have competed in one NSC (1994) and CNSC (1996) each, finishing in 2nd place in Division 2 and 10th place overall respectively.&#8221;

John has made so many contributions that have become mainstays of organized play: &#8220;I developed TSH, its scoreboard, the software used to report on major championships, the software that runs our rating system, all the software that is part of the NASPA website, club data management software, word study software, MarlDOoM, and various other miscellaneous projects.
&#8220;I have overseen the online presence of competitive Scrabble in North America since 1998 and represent much of its technical institutional memory in my capacity as NASPA co-president. I edit the tournament word list. I do much of the graphic design for NASPA, including its logo and other aspects of its corporate identity.
&#8220;I influence policy and think that I am the main person responsible for such innovations as an official long words list, a rating database that includes scores, and rated Collins games. I have run several hundred tournaments of all levels and sizes. I do a lot of Scrabble-related public interviews.&#8221;
Co-President of NASPA Chris Cree says of John: &#8220;John has proven to be my best ever business partner. His talents are known by most in the Scrabble community. He is continually contracted to direct tournaments around the world. I first worked with him at the 2006 Dallas Open. The following year we worked our first large event together: The Players Championship.
&#8220;When the NSA folded and Hasbro said &#8216;you are on your own,&#8217; we were trying to determine what was to happen next. Many eyes were looking to me; my eyes went straight to him. For I knew establishing a Scrabble organization comfortable to the majority of players would be best possible with him.
&#8220;My family and I have gotten to know John, his wife, Kristen, and their boys, Jamie and Liam, very well over the years. Carla and I include them among our closest, dearest friends.&#8221;
 
NASPA co-presidents John Chew and Chris Cree help NASC director Art Moore present the big check to 2018 champion Joel Sherman in Buffalo (NY).  Photo Credit: NASPA/Patty Hocker.
John has these words for his fellow players: &#8220;Remember that everything that gets done in our organization gets done because a volunteer puts in the time to make it happen. If there&#8217;s something that you&#8217;d really like to see us doing that we aren&#8217;t already, please consider joining or starting a committee to build the association you want to be a part of.&#8221;
For the future of NASPA John wishes, &#8220;More younger people playing competitively, which will lead to more people of all ages playing.&#8221;
John, thanks so much for all you have done for Scrabble, and all that you continue to do. Your efforts have created a lot of success for the organization and contentment for so many players of the game who in one way or another use some of your handiwork.
&nbsp;
Would you like to contribute to the Scrabble Blog? Click this link to send us your article.



Do you want to discuss this article with the community? Visit the forum with this link to start a conversation.					
	The post Scrabble Player Spotlight on John Chew appeared first on Scrabble.

Scrabble Player Spotlight on John Chew

So you&#8217;re interested in testing your skills against high-level or championship-level Scrabble AI? Routinely challenging your skills in online Scrabble games is a top-tier practice that any ranked Scrabble player can attest to. The AI plays slightly differently than players which can lead to developing new strategies and skills to win big in future games. 
<h2>Forming Your Strategy by Knowing How the Scrabble AI Plays</h2>
  You need to know right from the start that while the Scrabble AI is advanced-level, it is still a program built on the countless number of moves played by millions of online Scrabble players every day. Those plays are then aggregated and weighted against the final scores of their respective games, and only then is the playing language incorporated into AI.   All that to say–AI comprises real strategies executed by real people. The game&#8217;s player strategies and countermeasures that you are sure to face didn&#8217;t come from some lifeless, digital void. This is why playing the AI is like playing the combined braids of many players. The main objective here is challenging and hopefully exceeding the skills you had before. Combining previous games into a single strategy makes the AI a perfect foil for players wanting to up their Scrabble game.    Keep this in mind as you decide the best way to approach your game!
<h2>What&#8217;s Most Likely When Playing a Scrabble AI?</h2>
  Now that we&#8217;ve established that you&#8217;ll essentially come against human-created playing styles–you need to play slowly and decide what will likely be the first mode of play? Is this a player that draws out your plays and only forms countermeasures after a few turns of observation?? Perhaps someone who utilizes a condensed tile play and draws the game out?   The key to playing AI is to remember that, unless given reason to do otherwise, always play broad. In this case, broad means that the AI you&#8217;re facing is looking to play the highest scoring move. Most AIs are programmed to play this way.   Let&#8217;s look at the two play styles that are commonly found in AI Scrabble programs. The two playing styles each require a nuanced approach if you hope to win. 
&nbsp;
<h2>Scrabble AI That Plays The Highest Scoring Move</h2>
  If this is the player you&#8217;re coming against, then you&#8217;re in (relative) luck as this is the easiest to beat. Almost every Scrabble player who puts in some sweat equity will know that playing the highest scoring move is not always the most sound strategy for an outright win. In some cases, it can even be a hindrance.   In this case, all you have to do is play a sound, strategic game by making sure to get the AI to play its highest letters fast and early. You can do this by setting S, T, Q, and P traps all across the board or even utilizing your 2-Letter Words, but, honestly, it would be a surprise if you have to dig too deep into your arsenal for this one.
<h2>Scrabble AI That Plays Heuristically</h2>
  What does it mean to come against an AI that has heuristics built-in? In its simplest terms, heuristics means that the AI assigns value to the remaining letters to balance against scores played to that point.   This is where even top-level players can find themselves up against a wall if they&#8217;re not prepared.   As always, playing a purposefully deliberate strategy is key to any approach, but in addition to a compelling method, one could also benefit from exploits like Set-Ups. A Set-Up is best described as a move you initially play that you don&#8217;t plan to capitalize on until the next turn. Imagine playing FLU–one short of the triple word score–and then keeping the X    Plays like this yield high scores in addition to stumping the AI.   Now that you have some guidelines on how to best tackle Scrabble&#8217;s AI, there&#8217;s no reason why you shouldn&#8217;t challenge it RIGHT NOW and put your skills to the test!  
<h6>Would you like to contribute to the Scrabble Blog? <a href="https://playscrabble.com/community-forums#discussion/19/%EF%B8%8F-contribute-to-the-scrabble-blog/p1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Click this link to send us your article.</a></h6>
<h6>

</h6>
<h6>Do you want to discuss this article with the community? <a href="https://playscrabble.com/community-forums#categories/blog-discussions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Visit the forum with this link to start a conversation.</a></h6>		<div class="wpulike wpulike-default " ><div class="wp_ulike_general_class wp_ulike_is_not_liked"><button type="button"
					aria-label="Like Button"
					data-ulike-id="1072"
					data-ulike-nonce="374af96a94"
					data-ulike-type="post"
					data-ulike-template="wpulike-default"
					data-ulike-display-likers="0"
					data-ulike-likers-style="popover"
					class="wp_ulike_btn wp_ulike_put_image wp_post_btn_1072"></button>			</div></div>
	The post <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/play-scrabble-to-win-how-to-beat-the-ai-in-scrabble/">Play Scrabble To Win: How To Beat The AI in Scrabble</a> appeared first on <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com">Scrabble</a>.

So you&#8217;re interested in testing your skills against high-level or championship-level Scrabble AI? Routinely challenging your skills in online Scrabble games is a top-tier practice that any ranked Scrabble player can attest to. The AI plays slightly differently than players which can lead to developing new strategies and skills to win big in future games. 
Forming Your Strategy by Knowing How the Scrabble AI Plays
  You need to know right from the start that while the Scrabble AI is advanced-level, it is still a program built on the countless number of moves played by millions of online Scrabble players every day. Those plays are then aggregated and weighted against the final scores of their respective games, and only then is the playing language incorporated into AI.   All that to say–AI comprises real strategies executed by real people. The game&#8217;s player strategies and countermeasures that you are sure to face didn&#8217;t come from some lifeless, digital void. This is why playing the AI is like playing the combined braids of many players. The main objective here is challenging and hopefully exceeding the skills you had before. Combining previous games into a single strategy makes the AI a perfect foil for players wanting to up their Scrabble game.    Keep this in mind as you decide the best way to approach your game!
What&#8217;s Most Likely When Playing a Scrabble AI?
  Now that we&#8217;ve established that you&#8217;ll essentially come against human-created playing styles–you need to play slowly and decide what will likely be the first mode of play? Is this a player that draws out your plays and only forms countermeasures after a few turns of observation?? Perhaps someone who utilizes a condensed tile play and draws the game out?   The key to playing AI is to remember that, unless given reason to do otherwise, always play broad. In this case, broad means that the AI you&#8217;re facing is looking to play the highest scoring move. Most AIs are programmed to play this way.   Let&#8217;s look at the two play styles that are commonly found in AI Scrabble programs. The two playing styles each require a nuanced approach if you hope to win. 
&nbsp;
Scrabble AI That Plays The Highest Scoring Move
  If this is the player you&#8217;re coming against, then you&#8217;re in (relative) luck as this is the easiest to beat. Almost every Scrabble player who puts in some sweat equity will know that playing the highest scoring move is not always the most sound strategy for an outright win. In some cases, it can even be a hindrance.   In this case, all you have to do is play a sound, strategic game by making sure to get the AI to play its highest letters fast and early. You can do this by setting S, T, Q, and P traps all across the board or even utilizing your 2-Letter Words, but, honestly, it would be a surprise if you have to dig too deep into your arsenal for this one.
Scrabble AI That Plays Heuristically
  What does it mean to come against an AI that has heuristics built-in? In its simplest terms, heuristics means that the AI assigns value to the remaining letters to balance against scores played to that point.   This is where even top-level players can find themselves up against a wall if they&#8217;re not prepared.   As always, playing a purposefully deliberate strategy is key to any approach, but in addition to a compelling method, one could also benefit from exploits like Set-Ups. A Set-Up is best described as a move you initially play that you don&#8217;t plan to capitalize on until the next turn. Imagine playing FLU–one short of the triple word score–and then keeping the X    Plays like this yield high scores in addition to stumping the AI.   Now that you have some guidelines on how to best tackle Scrabble&#8217;s AI, there&#8217;s no reason why you shouldn&#8217;t challenge it RIGHT NOW and put your skills to the test!  
Would you like to contribute to the Scrabble Blog? Click this link to send us your article.



Do you want to discuss this article with the community? Visit the forum with this link to start a conversation.					
	The post Play Scrabble To Win: How To Beat The AI in Scrabble appeared first on Scrabble.

News & Blog