Lindsay Shin

<p dir="ltr">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.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">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.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">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.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">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.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">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.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">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.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">[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!]</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">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;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">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.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">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!</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">And as an experienced Scrabble player, I, too, cannot wait to participate as a nervous Scrabble parent again next year.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<h6><strong><sup>Would you like to contribute to the Scrabble Blog? </sup></strong><a href="https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6794350/Application-Become-a-Blog-Contributor" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><sup><strong>Click this link to send us your article</strong>.</sup></a></h6>
<p dir="ltr">

</p>		<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><span class="count-box wp_ulike_counter_up" data-ulike-counter-value="0"></span>			</div></div>
	<p>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>.</p>

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

<p dir="ltr">Whenever we are trying to teach someone how to play Scrabble, I find we often talk about what to do or how to play better. Find the hot spots! Learn the words!</p>
<h3 dir="ltr">Today, let’s talk about what NOT to do.</h3>
<ul>
<li dir="ltr">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">One of the first things I learned when I started to play Scrabble was literally how to start playing the game. If I have a short word to play, do not place it with the vowels next to the 2L squares. You do not want to give your opponent the opportunity to put an X or an H on either side of your vowel to then play horizontally and quadruple the value of that consonant. If you have a bingo or are trying to hit the star and the 2L five spaces away, then your high scoring is probably worth more than opening these 2L spaces. But as a general rule, keep your vowels away from the hot spots.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Taking this one step further&#8230;try to avoid putting vowels near any hot spot. Don’t open up these opportunities for your opponent unless you are sure you are making more points than your opponent inevitably will.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Possibly negating what I just said, don’t be scared to open up the board. Keeping a tight board makes it difficult to play the bingos that you find later in the game. If you open the board, it is open for both you and your opponent.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Don’t waste your premium tiles. ZQXJSSSS?? These are your 10 premium tiles. I’ve been told different things over the years about how to use these. Some people think you can use an S for 12 points, others 20 points, others 40 points. Obviously, it all depends on the rest of your rack and what the board looks like. If you have a Q with a bunch of Es, then you might just need to dump the Q for 11 points somewhere. If you have a Z as the last tile on your rack at the end of the game, you may not be able to quadruple this tile. But if you’re in the beginning of a game and you have an S with some other decent tiles, it will likely pay off to hold onto that tile until you find a bingo or an equally strong play.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Do not fight through a tough rack. It is no fun having to take zero points for a turn, but it’s even worse taking low scores for multiple turns in a row. If you’re stuck with WWVVUUU or IIIIRZV, it will certainly take you more than two turns to clear your rack of these junk combinations. Bite the bullet, trade your tiles, and move forward. There could be wonderful combinations left for you in the bag.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Don’t rush. There’s always time to look at the board one more time. To look for one more play that might earn you one more point. Take your time.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr">
<p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Don’t lose focus. While we all know that Scrabble is about words, the end goal is to make the most points.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">I hope these few tips help you in your next game. Please let us know which ones specifically have helped you to win or to find more points on the board!</p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<h6><strong><sup>Would you like to contribute to the Scrabble Blog? </sup></strong><a href="https://playscrabble.com/community-forums#discussion/19/%EF%B8%8F-contribute-to-the-scrabble-blog/p1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><sup><strong>Click this link to send us your article</strong>.</sup></a></h6>
<p dir="ltr">

</p>
<h6><strong><sup>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></sup></strong></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="1027"
					data-ulike-nonce="eb731e220d"
					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_1027"></button><span class="count-box wp_ulike_counter_up" data-ulike-counter-value="0"></span>			</div></div>
	<p>The post <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/scrabble-mistakes-play-scrabble/">Scrabble Mistakes | Play Scrabble</a> appeared first on <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com">Scrabble</a>.</p>

Whenever we are trying to teach someone how to play Scrabble, I find we often talk about what to do or how to play better. Find the hot spots! Learn the words!
Today, let’s talk about what NOT to do.


One of the first things I learned when I started to play Scrabble was literally how to start playing the game. If I have a short word to play, do not place it with the vowels next to the 2L squares. You do not want to give your opponent the opportunity to put an X or an H on either side of your vowel to then play horizontally and quadruple the value of that consonant. If you have a bingo or are trying to hit the star and the 2L five spaces away, then your high scoring is probably worth more than opening these 2L spaces. But as a general rule, keep your vowels away from the hot spots.


Taking this one step further&#8230;try to avoid putting vowels near any hot spot. Don’t open up these opportunities for your opponent unless you are sure you are making more points than your opponent inevitably will.


Possibly negating what I just said, don’t be scared to open up the board. Keeping a tight board makes it difficult to play the bingos that you find later in the game. If you open the board, it is open for both you and your opponent.


Don’t waste your premium tiles. ZQXJSSSS?? These are your 10 premium tiles. I’ve been told different things over the years about how to use these. Some people think you can use an S for 12 points, others 20 points, others 40 points. Obviously, it all depends on the rest of your rack and what the board looks like. If you have a Q with a bunch of Es, then you might just need to dump the Q for 11 points somewhere. If you have a Z as the last tile on your rack at the end of the game, you may not be able to quadruple this tile. But if you’re in the beginning of a game and you have an S with some other decent tiles, it will likely pay off to hold onto that tile until you find a bingo or an equally strong play.


Do not fight through a tough rack. It is no fun having to take zero points for a turn, but it’s even worse taking low scores for multiple turns in a row. If you’re stuck with WWVVUUU or IIIIRZV, it will certainly take you more than two turns to clear your rack of these junk combinations. Bite the bullet, trade your tiles, and move forward. There could be wonderful combinations left for you in the bag.


Don’t rush. There’s always time to look at the board one more time. To look for one more play that might earn you one more point. Take your time.


Don’t lose focus. While we all know that Scrabble is about words, the end goal is to make the most points.


&nbsp;
I hope these few tips help you in your next game. Please let us know which ones specifically have helped you to win or to find more points on the board!
 
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 Mistakes | Play Scrabble appeared first on Scrabble.

Scrabble Mistakes | Play Scrabble


<p>Here is a <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/scrabble-tips-tricks-to-improve-your-score-play-scrabble/">Scrabble Tips</a> quick list of words that I find myself using quite often. Without these words, I am sure I would be trading my tiles a lot more out of necessity.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Scrabble Tips The Quick List</h4>



<p><strong>HM, SH, BRR, BRRR, GRR</strong> [Bonus *<strong>CSW &#8211; GRRL, CH</strong>] &#8211; When you have no vowels on your rack, use these in a pinch!</p>



<p><strong>FLY, PLY, TRY, THY, MY, SYN, WYN, WYND, WYCH, LYCH, HYMN</strong> [Bonus *<strong>CSW &#8211; VLY</strong>] &#8211; Don’t forget that <strong>Y</strong> acts as a vowel sometimes too!</p>



<p><strong>AERIE, EAU, CIAO, AALII</strong> [Bonus *<strong>CSW &#8211; EUOI</strong>] &#8211; When you feel overwhelmed with vowels, these are my go-to words.</p>



<p><strong>ULU, GURU</strong> [Bonus *<strong>CSW &#8211; UMU, UTU</strong>] &#8211; I’m sure I’m not the only one whose least favorite letter is U. Without a Q, this letter only gets in the way.</p>



<p><strong>VAV</strong> &#8211; Ok, ok. I stand corrected. V is definitely the worst.</p>



<p><strong>WUD</strong> [Bonus *<strong>CSW &#8211; WUDU</strong>] &#8211; What an awful combination of letters. I’m glad they go together to make this one silly-looking word.</p>



<p><strong>ZA</strong> [Bonus *<strong>CSW &#8211; ZO, ZE</strong>] &#8211; The high-scoring possibilities for your Z are plentiful. The introduction of this two-letter word has made the Z extremely valuable. Even more recently, the world dictionary has introduced ZO and ZE. All of these<strong> Z </strong>options make playing in the *<strong>CSW dictionary</strong> really fun! With more words, you can score more points and with more points, you can win more games. If you win more games, you can win more tournaments. If you win more tournaments, you can win more trophies. And with more trophies, my kids might think I’m cool. So the moral of the story is to give *<strong>CSW</strong> a try&#8230;for the kids!</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Scrabble Tips Bingos</h4>



<p><strong>STAINER</strong> &#8211; Using all 7 tiles on your rack to make a word is called a bingo. These words are critical for boosting your score by an extra 50 points each time you play one.  Learn the most probable 7-letter and 8-letter words in the dictionary to take your game to the next level.</p>



<p><strong>AEINRST</strong> is the most common combination of letters you can grab from the bag. It makes nine 7-letter bingos in the American dictionary and 10 7-letter bingos in the CSW dictionary. It is pretty important to take a moment to consider all of your options when making a play.</p>



<p>In one of my club games this week, my opponent played the word <strong>RESTORED</strong> against me. In my next game, the word was so fresh in my mind that I saw it immediately on my rack. I quickly played my bingo without a second thought. It was right next to the triple lane and my opponent slapped down <strong>JADE</strong> with a four-tile overlap and the <strong>J </strong>doubled in both directions before being tripled for a total of<strong> 89 points</strong>, which was at least 20 more points than I earned with my bingo. If I had just looked at it for a second and considered what other words might be available, I could have played <strong>RESORTED</strong>, preventing my opponent from placing the J on the critical space and I think I would have won that game. I will try not to sink into a deep dark hole of despair as I replay that move in my head over and over.</p>



<p>I hope you’ve found this short list helpful. The English language is full of funky words and I’m sure that plenty more words could have been added to this list. (I even played all of my <strong>Scrabble Go</strong> moves to double-check if there were any important words that I left out.) I hope when you look at your next rack, you don’t see a bunch of junk, but instead a bunch of possibilities!</p>



<p><sub><strong>*CSW</strong> &#8211; Collins <a href="https://playscrabble.com/wordfinder">Scrabble Words</a> is the word list used in the English-language tournament Scrabble in most countries except the US, Thailand, and Canada.</sub></p>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading"><strong><sup>Would you like to contribute to the Scrabble Blog? </sup></strong><a href="https://playscrabble.com/community-forums#discussion/19/%EF%B8%8F-contribute-to-the-scrabble-blog/p1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><sup><strong>Click this link to send us your article</strong>.</sup></a></h6>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading"><strong><sup>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></sup></strong></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="611"
					data-ulike-nonce="ea534ea985"
					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_611"></button><span class="count-box wp_ulike_counter_up" data-ulike-counter-value="0"></span>			</div></div>
	<p>The post <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/scrabble-tips-for-clearing-your-rack/">Scrabble Tips For Clearing Your Rack</a> appeared first on <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com">Scrabble</a>.</p>


Here is a Scrabble Tips quick list of words that I find myself using quite often. Without these words, I am sure I would be trading my tiles a lot more out of necessity.



Scrabble Tips The Quick List



HM, SH, BRR, BRRR, GRR [Bonus *CSW &#8211; GRRL, CH] &#8211; When you have no vowels on your rack, use these in a pinch!



FLY, PLY, TRY, THY, MY, SYN, WYN, WYND, WYCH, LYCH, HYMN [Bonus *CSW &#8211; VLY] &#8211; Don’t forget that Y acts as a vowel sometimes too!



AERIE, EAU, CIAO, AALII [Bonus *CSW &#8211; EUOI] &#8211; When you feel overwhelmed with vowels, these are my go-to words.



ULU, GURU [Bonus *CSW &#8211; UMU, UTU] &#8211; I’m sure I’m not the only one whose least favorite letter is U. Without a Q, this letter only gets in the way.



VAV &#8211; Ok, ok. I stand corrected. V is definitely the worst.



WUD [Bonus *CSW &#8211; WUDU] &#8211; What an awful combination of letters. I’m glad they go together to make this one silly-looking word.



ZA [Bonus *CSW &#8211; ZO, ZE] &#8211; The high-scoring possibilities for your Z are plentiful. The introduction of this two-letter word has made the Z extremely valuable. Even more recently, the world dictionary has introduced ZO and ZE. All of these Z options make playing in the *CSW dictionary really fun! With more words, you can score more points and with more points, you can win more games. If you win more games, you can win more tournaments. If you win more tournaments, you can win more trophies. And with more trophies, my kids might think I’m cool. So the moral of the story is to give *CSW a try&#8230;for the kids!



Scrabble Tips Bingos



STAINER &#8211; Using all 7 tiles on your rack to make a word is called a bingo. These words are critical for boosting your score by an extra 50 points each time you play one.  Learn the most probable 7-letter and 8-letter words in the dictionary to take your game to the next level.



AEINRST is the most common combination of letters you can grab from the bag. It makes nine 7-letter bingos in the American dictionary and 10 7-letter bingos in the CSW dictionary. It is pretty important to take a moment to consider all of your options when making a play.



In one of my club games this week, my opponent played the word RESTORED against me. In my next game, the word was so fresh in my mind that I saw it immediately on my rack. I quickly played my bingo without a second thought. It was right next to the triple lane and my opponent slapped down JADE with a four-tile overlap and the J doubled in both directions before being tripled for a total of 89 points, which was at least 20 more points than I earned with my bingo. If I had just looked at it for a second and considered what other words might be available, I could have played RESORTED, preventing my opponent from placing the J on the critical space and I think I would have won that game. I will try not to sink into a deep dark hole of despair as I replay that move in my head over and over.



I hope you’ve found this short list helpful. The English language is full of funky words and I’m sure that plenty more words could have been added to this list. (I even played all of my Scrabble Go moves to double-check if there were any important words that I left out.) I hope when you look at your next rack, you don’t see a bunch of junk, but instead a bunch of possibilities!



*CSW &#8211; Collins Scrabble Words is the word list used in the English-language tournament Scrabble in most countries except the US, Thailand, and Canada.



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 Tips For Clearing Your Rack appeared first on Scrabble.

Scrabble Tips For Clearing Your Rack


<p>As I began to think about the various topics related to our favorite game, Scrabble, my mind went in many directions, why do we play Scrabble?</p>



<p>Scrabble is such a large part of my life at this point. I met my husband playing Scrabble, my mother directs our local club and we’ve started a school Scrabble club for our kids too. But how did Scrabble even come to be my game of choice? And why have I stuck with it for so long?</p>



<p>Let’s dig into some basic questions.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Why do we play Scrabble?</h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">And, why is the tournament Scrabble community one to be a part of?</h4>



<p>Scrabble is a unique game! Every single game is going to be different due to the random grabbing of 100 tiles from the bag. I’ve played plenty of games of tic-tac-toe, connect four and other board games where playing multiple times may yield the same results. You may end up with repeat racks in Scrabble, but the board will surely be different each time. The possibilities are endless!</p>



<p>There are cool words! Over time, I’ve learned words with no vowels, words with all vowels, words that are sounds, and much, much more. I like to think that I’m a well-educated, brainy member of society, but the fact that I am still discovering new words every day reminds me that there is always more to learn. Bonus: There’s no need to know the definitions of said words. It may be helpful to know if a word is a verb or a noun, but there’s no need for me to be able to define any of them. It’s way more fun for me to see cool combinations of letters.</p>



<p>Math&#8230;love it or hate it? If you love math, you’ll love Scrabble. Many would argue that Scrabble is actually a math game instead of a word game. The goal of the game is to score the most points. Unfortunately, there are no bonus points for cool words. Focus on making high scores and you have a great chance of winning, even with a limited vocabulary. If you hate math, you will survive. Learn some simple addition and your 3 times tables and you’re good to go! My grade school daughters have the math skills to play this game.</p>



<p>Speaking of my daughters, I find Scrabble to be a wonderful learning tool for them. They’re practicing their math skills and focusing on learning short words to enhance their school learning. It can only help them hone their math and word knowledge. Bonus: it can help all of our brains as we age. What a smart game for players of all ages!</p>



<p>Strategy&#8230;take it or leave it! The game of Scrabble allows you to incorporate as little or as much strategy as you like. Is your strategy to simply score the most points? Great! Do you want to play defense so your opponent has nowhere to play? That’s good too! Do you want to track the tiles very carefully to stick your opponent with the Q in the end? You are free to choose your own style of play that you’re comfortable with to make the game most enjoyable for you!</p>



<p>To borrow a few words from Dr. Seuss, you can play Scrabble in a house. You can play Scrabble with a mouse. You can play Scrabble here or there. You can play Scrabble anywhere! (Sorry, I’m a mother of 3, I digress.) Most people think about playing Scrabble with Grandma at the kitchen table. The kitchen table is a great place to play, but I’ve played on a train and even in the middle of a Mardi Gras parade. [PICTURE] Once, the people on the float were so offended that we were playing Scrabble, that they continuously threw beads and cups at us in order to mess up our game! Sorry, not sorry, Mardi Gras! And now with the modern technology of Scrabble Go, we are able to play anywhere and everywhere on our phones.</p>



<p>The strategic spacing on the board always keeps things interesting. The more I look at the Scrabble board, the more I think about the brilliant spacing of the hot spots. The double letters that are put near the triple words and the double words that take exactly seven letters to connect them are just two examples of smart placement of these hotspots. It has forced us all to learn longer words in order to use multiple hot spots at once. On top of this, Scrabble Go has proven that by moving these hotspots, you are forced to flex your brain and think of the board slightly differently, just different enough to keep you on your toes!</p>



<p>There are no gender biases within the game. Scrabble doesn’t care how you identify or if you are young or old. No handicaps are given and even my 8-year-old daughter can draw a junk rack of DIRUUUV. Fun (or misery) for everyone!</p>



<p>Based on the reasons listed above, I think we can all conclude that we play this game for many reasons.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Once we’ve learned the game, who can we play with?</h4>



<p class="has-normal-font-size">If you’re like me, growing up, I played with my mom and a few aunties during family gatherings. Eventually, I just wanted more people to play with. I wish Scrabble Go was a thing when I was younger, but through some online forums and some word of mouth, I found the competitive Scrabble scene. I can hardly believe I’m saying this, but I’ve been part of this community for almost 20 years now. It has been an incredible community to be a part of. I have made lifelong friends, met my husband, and know that we will be welcomed across a board in dozens of countries around the world. These are the reasons that I enjoy this community, but here is an organized list of why you should also give the tournament Scrabble scene a try.</p>



<p>Most importantly, you will find other people who enjoy the game of Scrabble as much, if not, more than you do! I thought I loved Scrabble until I met a few hundred people who knew the game and appreciated the game much more than I did. I used to think I was on my own Scrabble kitchen island. Now I know there are people near and far who all have this beautiful game in common.</p>



<p>I might have shared this story before, but it’s worth retelling. My uncles often reminisce about their childhood and tell of a time when they asked my mom, “Why do we play games?” Without hesitation, she replied, “to win.” Her competitive nature has been passed on to me and it is amazing to be a part of such a healthy, organized competition. It’s a great way to test my own abilities against others of the same level and those much better than me as well.</p>



<p>On the other side of that same coin, Scrabble has also taught me humility and to remain grounded. With each game you play, there’s a winner and a loser and I am often the latter. To be precise, according to<a href="http://cross-tables.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> cross-tables.com</a>, I am the loser 46% of the time. As a mother, I’m trying to teach my children how to lose graciously. They have a little giggle when I tell them how often I actually lose. Sometimes your opponents get both blanks separately and sometimes you just can’t make the letters into the words you want. But there are other games where you will be on the winning end and you can just hope to get a streak going for a tournament win.</p>



<p>You can win money! I think it’s fair to say that it’s nearly impossible to turn tournament Scrabble into your full-time job. Your tournament winnings won’t be paying for your child’s education anytime soon. You pay a nominal fee to enter a tournament. Your entry fee goes towards paying for the room space and possibly some snacks and the majority of it is returned to the top performers in the tournament. I’ve won a few of these in my time and first place has ranged from $100 to $1,500 and this was in the lower levels too! So yes, I can say that I win money playing Scrabble. I won’t mention how much I have “invested” in travel and lodging in order to get to some of these tournaments <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f642.png" alt="🙂" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></p>



<p>This is a worldwide community. Are you traveling to Thailand? Did you want a reason to go to Niagara Falls? Are you interested in venturing off to Nigeria? These are just a few countries where you can find a welcoming Scrabble community. Are you averse to traveling abroad? There are tournaments all over the United States and Canada, one is probably closer than you realize. The tournaments are also plentiful and of varying lengths. If you can’t commit too much time, there are one-day tournaments available. If you have time to spend a week in Malaysia, that’s fun too. If you want to sign up for three days in New Orleans, again, all are welcome! Scrabble tournaments are anywhere and everywhere waiting for you to sign up.</p>



<p>Each of these tournaments also provides different levels of play. If you’re new or you like to play Scrabble without much studying, there’s a group of people to play with. If you want to study 3-4 hours a day and learn every word in the dictionary, there are some of those serious players as well. There’s a place for everyone at the Scrabble tournament table.</p>



<p>Finally, I address this issue only because I met my husband this way. Where there is Scrabble, there is the possibility of love. There have been many Scrabble couples of all sorts. When you love the game of Scrabble more than the average person, I have found it personally difficult to find a mate who fully appreciates my interest in the game until I met my husband. I like to think he feels the same way <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f642.png" alt="🙂" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></p>



<p>Obviously, you’re reading this blog because maybe you agree with at least some of the first part of this post. What other things make Scrabble a fascinating and addictive game? In a post-Covid world, will you give tournament Scrabble a chance? What is preventing you from playing in person?</p>



<p>Come give tournament Scrabble a try for any or all of these reasons. We can’t wait to see you across the board once it’s safe to do so. We are happy you’re playing Scrabble. It’s a fascinating and smart game. We would love to meet you and hope to welcome you at a future event, whether you’re interested in intense competition or making new friends.</p>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading"><strong><sup>Would you like to contribute to the Scrabble Blog? </sup></strong><a href="https://playscrabble.com/community-forums#discussion/19/%EF%B8%8F-contribute-to-the-scrabble-blog/p1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><sup><strong>Click this link to send us your article</strong>.</sup></a></h6>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading"><strong><sup>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></sup></strong></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="835"
					data-ulike-nonce="35cd82ad79"
					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_835"></button><span class="count-box wp_ulike_counter_up" data-ulike-counter-value="0"></span>			</div></div>
	<p>The post <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/why-do-we-play-scrabble/">Why do we play Scrabble? | Play Scrabble</a> appeared first on <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com">Scrabble</a>.</p>


As I began to think about the various topics related to our favorite game, Scrabble, my mind went in many directions, why do we play Scrabble?



Scrabble is such a large part of my life at this point. I met my husband playing Scrabble, my mother directs our local club and we’ve started a school Scrabble club for our kids too. But how did Scrabble even come to be my game of choice? And why have I stuck with it for so long?



Let’s dig into some basic questions.



Why do we play Scrabble?



And, why is the tournament Scrabble community one to be a part of?



Scrabble is a unique game! Every single game is going to be different due to the random grabbing of 100 tiles from the bag. I’ve played plenty of games of tic-tac-toe, connect four and other board games where playing multiple times may yield the same results. You may end up with repeat racks in Scrabble, but the board will surely be different each time. The possibilities are endless!



There are cool words! Over time, I’ve learned words with no vowels, words with all vowels, words that are sounds, and much, much more. I like to think that I’m a well-educated, brainy member of society, but the fact that I am still discovering new words every day reminds me that there is always more to learn. Bonus: There’s no need to know the definitions of said words. It may be helpful to know if a word is a verb or a noun, but there’s no need for me to be able to define any of them. It’s way more fun for me to see cool combinations of letters.



Math&#8230;love it or hate it? If you love math, you’ll love Scrabble. Many would argue that Scrabble is actually a math game instead of a word game. The goal of the game is to score the most points. Unfortunately, there are no bonus points for cool words. Focus on making high scores and you have a great chance of winning, even with a limited vocabulary. If you hate math, you will survive. Learn some simple addition and your 3 times tables and you’re good to go! My grade school daughters have the math skills to play this game.



Speaking of my daughters, I find Scrabble to be a wonderful learning tool for them. They’re practicing their math skills and focusing on learning short words to enhance their school learning. It can only help them hone their math and word knowledge. Bonus: it can help all of our brains as we age. What a smart game for players of all ages!



Strategy&#8230;take it or leave it! The game of Scrabble allows you to incorporate as little or as much strategy as you like. Is your strategy to simply score the most points? Great! Do you want to play defense so your opponent has nowhere to play? That’s good too! Do you want to track the tiles very carefully to stick your opponent with the Q in the end? You are free to choose your own style of play that you’re comfortable with to make the game most enjoyable for you!



To borrow a few words from Dr. Seuss, you can play Scrabble in a house. You can play Scrabble with a mouse. You can play Scrabble here or there. You can play Scrabble anywhere! (Sorry, I’m a mother of 3, I digress.) Most people think about playing Scrabble with Grandma at the kitchen table. The kitchen table is a great place to play, but I’ve played on a train and even in the middle of a Mardi Gras parade. [PICTURE] Once, the people on the float were so offended that we were playing Scrabble, that they continuously threw beads and cups at us in order to mess up our game! Sorry, not sorry, Mardi Gras! And now with the modern technology of Scrabble Go, we are able to play anywhere and everywhere on our phones.



The strategic spacing on the board always keeps things interesting. The more I look at the Scrabble board, the more I think about the brilliant spacing of the hot spots. The double letters that are put near the triple words and the double words that take exactly seven letters to connect them are just two examples of smart placement of these hotspots. It has forced us all to learn longer words in order to use multiple hot spots at once. On top of this, Scrabble Go has proven that by moving these hotspots, you are forced to flex your brain and think of the board slightly differently, just different enough to keep you on your toes!



There are no gender biases within the game. Scrabble doesn’t care how you identify or if you are young or old. No handicaps are given and even my 8-year-old daughter can draw a junk rack of DIRUUUV. Fun (or misery) for everyone!



Based on the reasons listed above, I think we can all conclude that we play this game for many reasons.



Once we’ve learned the game, who can we play with?



If you’re like me, growing up, I played with my mom and a few aunties during family gatherings. Eventually, I just wanted more people to play with. I wish Scrabble Go was a thing when I was younger, but through some online forums and some word of mouth, I found the competitive Scrabble scene. I can hardly believe I’m saying this, but I’ve been part of this community for almost 20 years now. It has been an incredible community to be a part of. I have made lifelong friends, met my husband, and know that we will be welcomed across a board in dozens of countries around the world. These are the reasons that I enjoy this community, but here is an organized list of why you should also give the tournament Scrabble scene a try.



Most importantly, you will find other people who enjoy the game of Scrabble as much, if not, more than you do! I thought I loved Scrabble until I met a few hundred people who knew the game and appreciated the game much more than I did. I used to think I was on my own Scrabble kitchen island. Now I know there are people near and far who all have this beautiful game in common.



I might have shared this story before, but it’s worth retelling. My uncles often reminisce about their childhood and tell of a time when they asked my mom, “Why do we play games?” Without hesitation, she replied, “to win.” Her competitive nature has been passed on to me and it is amazing to be a part of such a healthy, organized competition. It’s a great way to test my own abilities against others of the same level and those much better than me as well.



On the other side of that same coin, Scrabble has also taught me humility and to remain grounded. With each game you play, there’s a winner and a loser and I am often the latter. To be precise, according to cross-tables.com, I am the loser 46% of the time. As a mother, I’m trying to teach my children how to lose graciously. They have a little giggle when I tell them how often I actually lose. Sometimes your opponents get both blanks separately and sometimes you just can’t make the letters into the words you want. But there are other games where you will be on the winning end and you can just hope to get a streak going for a tournament win.



You can win money! I think it’s fair to say that it’s nearly impossible to turn tournament Scrabble into your full-time job. Your tournament winnings won’t be paying for your child’s education anytime soon. You pay a nominal fee to enter a tournament. Your entry fee goes towards paying for the room space and possibly some snacks and the majority of it is returned to the top performers in the tournament. I’ve won a few of these in my time and first place has ranged from $100 to $1,500 and this was in the lower levels too! So yes, I can say that I win money playing Scrabble. I won’t mention how much I have “invested” in travel and lodging in order to get to some of these tournaments 



This is a worldwide community. Are you traveling to Thailand? Did you want a reason to go to Niagara Falls? Are you interested in venturing off to Nigeria? These are just a few countries where you can find a welcoming Scrabble community. Are you averse to traveling abroad? There are tournaments all over the United States and Canada, one is probably closer than you realize. The tournaments are also plentiful and of varying lengths. If you can’t commit too much time, there are one-day tournaments available. If you have time to spend a week in Malaysia, that’s fun too. If you want to sign up for three days in New Orleans, again, all are welcome! Scrabble tournaments are anywhere and everywhere waiting for you to sign up.



Each of these tournaments also provides different levels of play. If you’re new or you like to play Scrabble without much studying, there’s a group of people to play with. If you want to study 3-4 hours a day and learn every word in the dictionary, there are some of those serious players as well. There’s a place for everyone at the Scrabble tournament table.



Finally, I address this issue only because I met my husband this way. Where there is Scrabble, there is the possibility of love. There have been many Scrabble couples of all sorts. When you love the game of Scrabble more than the average person, I have found it personally difficult to find a mate who fully appreciates my interest in the game until I met my husband. I like to think he feels the same way 



Obviously, you’re reading this blog because maybe you agree with at least some of the first part of this post. What other things make Scrabble a fascinating and addictive game? In a post-Covid world, will you give tournament Scrabble a chance? What is preventing you from playing in person?



Come give tournament Scrabble a try for any or all of these reasons. We can’t wait to see you across the board once it’s safe to do so. We are happy you’re playing Scrabble. It’s a fascinating and smart game. We would love to meet you and hope to welcome you at a future event, whether you’re interested in intense competition or making new friends.



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 Why do we play Scrabble? | Play Scrabble appeared first on Scrabble.

Why do we play Scrabble? | Play Scrabble


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The Beginning</h4>



<p>I love words, competition, math, and winning. A love of competition was instilled in me early on. I would watch my mom and her friend play Scrabble at the kitchen table. When one game finished, another started. What began as a full table of food and family ended with her friend exiting the house at 5 am when the garden sprinklers popped up. Laughs were had, words were challenged, and friendships were strengthened. Slowly, I was invited to help keep score for them. Lucky me. But I watched, learned, and enjoyed my time at the grown-up table.</p>



<p>As I transitioned into university, my Scrabble circle ballooned as I discovered a group of friends online who also enjoyed this fickle game. They were located all around the world. Still, I am in contact with some of these players today as they also found their ways to local clubs and tournaments. </p>



<p>I married one of these friends and would compare this relationship to a <a href="https://playscrabble.com/">Scrabble game</a> where you open up with a seven-letter word and a fifty-point bonus, think you’re doing well, get another couple of good plays. Then your opponent goes bingo, bango, bongo; you end up losing by 400 points and trying to hold your head up high as you take your bathroom break. Essentially, it was not good, and I wasn’t winning anything. Throughout the marriage, less and less Scrabble was played, and fewer tournaments were attended. I was discouraged from playing the game I loved. I felt beaten up and ready to quit&#8230;my marriage, not Scrabble!</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The Next Chapter</h4>



<p>By 2016, I hadn’t played a tournament in a few years. I was busy being a single mother of these two incredible little girls. I was busy getting a divorce and selling my house. But it was that time of the year again when a hundred Scrabble friends would visit our hometown for another tournament with a side of New Orleans fun. I knew I wasn’t ready or able to play in a tournament yet, but I stayed involved by organizing food trucks for the players and preparing nametags on Mardi Gras beads. I was excited for the tournament, seeing the fun, seeing the competition, and seeing the winning to be had. My mom excitedly told me in all of the preparations, “Austin Shin is coming to the tournament!”. My response was, “Cool&#8230;who dat?” I was informed that he was one of England’s youngest and highest rated players and that he would be staying with us to help offset the cost of traveling internationally for the tournament.</p>



<p>At this point in my story, I’d like to make one thing very clear. If you ask anyone in the Scrabble community, it is not uncommon to hear that a player who traveled through New Orleans was hosted at our home on one trip or another. My mother has a gift of hospitality, and we love having visitors. So, for the record, I do not hit on every young man that visits our home, and I was not living my best life at the time, so I was not seeking out a handsome Scrabbler. I suppose it’s like drawing a Z when you already have six consonants on your rack and no open vowels on the board. But after a few days of casual visiting, entertaining toddlers, and many Scrabble games against other people, it felt like my opponent made a five-point play while simultaneously opening up the 3W for my Z to be played in two directions. In other words, we began endlessly messaging each other across the pond, and I was a smitten kitten. </p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">New Beginnings</h4>



<p>We played Scrabble, talked about words. He taught me about strategy, and we studied. We studied at the gym while lifting weights. He attended tournaments. He trained me up so that when I was ready, I’d win. We traveled and met up in at least four different countries to play in tournaments together. We ate and saw the sights. And in Niagara Falls (another one of the best tournaments on the circuit), we shared the news with our Scrabble friends that we would somehow, someway, turn this Scrabble relationship into life together. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" width="960" height="720" class="wp-image-232" src="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_9222.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_9222.jpg 960w, https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_9222-300x225.jpg 300w, https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_9222-768x576.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" />
<figcaption>Lindsay and Austin Niagara Falls</figcaption>
</figure>



<p>We are in good company. Even without my previously failed marriage, many successful “Scrabble couples” in our community are going back decades. I shouldn’t be surprised at how people bond over their love of this game. It doesn’t even have to be romantic. Some of our best friends are the ones from our Scrabble community. We know that we would be welcomed into a club or home for a game or two of Scrabble in many cities and many countries.</p>



<p>As we courted from afar, it was finally time to make objective decisions. Long story short, Austin moved here. We joke that he was my “90-day fiance”. (Please tell me that I’m not the only one who is familiar with this reality show.) Anyway, we have now been married for 2.5 years. We’ve played countless games of Scrabble. I wish I had kept some statistics, but really, the only important one is how many times I’ve won, which I think I can count on one hand. I might also be known to memorialize these wins with a picture. Austin adopted the girls and, together, we have organized tournaments, officially been named directors, and created a school Scrabble club for our daughters and their classmates. Oh, and our Scrabble baby’s name is Oliver. Please note that the word “Oliver” is only valid in the Collins dictionary, and it takes an -S.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" width="960" height="640" class="wp-image-238" src="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Lindsay-and-family.png" alt="" srcset="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Lindsay-and-family.png 960w, https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Lindsay-and-family-300x200.png 300w, https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Lindsay-and-family-768x512.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" />
<figcaption>Lindsay, Austin, and family.</figcaption>
</figure>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Now</h4>



<p>I’ve enjoyed quarantine. I haven’t studied words as much as I have in the past. Also, I haven’t lifted weights as I have in the past. I haven’t played as much Scrabble on the board as I have in the past. I have enjoyed A LOT of Scrabble Go! Austin and I compete in arena games and word searches and adventures, and puzzle paths. I still lose most of these contests against him, but I feel like I’m winning &lt;3. I’ve enjoyed the quiet and the time together with our family and getting to know our new baby, but I miss our Scrabble family too. We play in online tournaments and clubs and have added some recent accolades to our Scrabble resumes, but it’s not the same. We are vaxxed and itching to play in person again. Hope to see you all somewhere across a Scrabble board soon!</p>



<p><strong>Scrabble tip of the day:</strong> <em>Don’t be afraid to trade in your whole rack. Take the zero points. Let go of those tiles preventing you from bingoing or living your best words life. But, of course, you may just draw well after that!</em></p>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading"><strong><sup>Would you like to contribute to the Scrabble Blog? </sup></strong><a href="https://playscrabble.com/community-forums#discussion/19/%EF%B8%8F-contribute-to-the-scrabble-blog/p1"><sup><strong>Click this link to send us your article</strong>.</sup></a></h6>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading"><strong><sup>Do you want to discuss this article with the community? <a href="https://playscrabble.com/community-forums#categories/blog-discussions">Visit the forum with this link to start a conversation.</a></sup></strong></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="231"
					data-ulike-nonce="53cd2768cc"
					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_231"></button><span class="count-box wp_ulike_counter_up" data-ulike-counter-value="+2"></span>			</div></div>
	<p>The post <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/words-a-relationship-with-scrabble/">Words, A Relationship With Scrabble</a> appeared first on <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com">Scrabble</a>.</p>


The Beginning



I love words, competition, math, and winning. A love of competition was instilled in me early on. I would watch my mom and her friend play Scrabble at the kitchen table. When one game finished, another started. What began as a full table of food and family ended with her friend exiting the house at 5 am when the garden sprinklers popped up. Laughs were had, words were challenged, and friendships were strengthened. Slowly, I was invited to help keep score for them. Lucky me. But I watched, learned, and enjoyed my time at the grown-up table.



As I transitioned into university, my Scrabble circle ballooned as I discovered a group of friends online who also enjoyed this fickle game. They were located all around the world. Still, I am in contact with some of these players today as they also found their ways to local clubs and tournaments. 



I married one of these friends and would compare this relationship to a Scrabble game where you open up with a seven-letter word and a fifty-point bonus, think you’re doing well, get another couple of good plays. Then your opponent goes bingo, bango, bongo; you end up losing by 400 points and trying to hold your head up high as you take your bathroom break. Essentially, it was not good, and I wasn’t winning anything. Throughout the marriage, less and less Scrabble was played, and fewer tournaments were attended. I was discouraged from playing the game I loved. I felt beaten up and ready to quit&#8230;my marriage, not Scrabble!



The Next Chapter



By 2016, I hadn’t played a tournament in a few years. I was busy being a single mother of these two incredible little girls. I was busy getting a divorce and selling my house. But it was that time of the year again when a hundred Scrabble friends would visit our hometown for another tournament with a side of New Orleans fun. I knew I wasn’t ready or able to play in a tournament yet, but I stayed involved by organizing food trucks for the players and preparing nametags on Mardi Gras beads. I was excited for the tournament, seeing the fun, seeing the competition, and seeing the winning to be had. My mom excitedly told me in all of the preparations, “Austin Shin is coming to the tournament!”. My response was, “Cool&#8230;who dat?” I was informed that he was one of England’s youngest and highest rated players and that he would be staying with us to help offset the cost of traveling internationally for the tournament.



At this point in my story, I’d like to make one thing very clear. If you ask anyone in the Scrabble community, it is not uncommon to hear that a player who traveled through New Orleans was hosted at our home on one trip or another. My mother has a gift of hospitality, and we love having visitors. So, for the record, I do not hit on every young man that visits our home, and I was not living my best life at the time, so I was not seeking out a handsome Scrabbler. I suppose it’s like drawing a Z when you already have six consonants on your rack and no open vowels on the board. But after a few days of casual visiting, entertaining toddlers, and many Scrabble games against other people, it felt like my opponent made a five-point play while simultaneously opening up the 3W for my Z to be played in two directions. In other words, we began endlessly messaging each other across the pond, and I was a smitten kitten. 



New Beginnings



We played Scrabble, talked about words. He taught me about strategy, and we studied. We studied at the gym while lifting weights. He attended tournaments. He trained me up so that when I was ready, I’d win. We traveled and met up in at least four different countries to play in tournaments together. We ate and saw the sights. And in Niagara Falls (another one of the best tournaments on the circuit), we shared the news with our Scrabble friends that we would somehow, someway, turn this Scrabble relationship into life together. 




Lindsay and Austin Niagara Falls




We are in good company. Even without my previously failed marriage, many successful “Scrabble couples” in our community are going back decades. I shouldn’t be surprised at how people bond over their love of this game. It doesn’t even have to be romantic. Some of our best friends are the ones from our Scrabble community. We know that we would be welcomed into a club or home for a game or two of Scrabble in many cities and many countries.



As we courted from afar, it was finally time to make objective decisions. Long story short, Austin moved here. We joke that he was my “90-day fiance”. (Please tell me that I’m not the only one who is familiar with this reality show.) Anyway, we have now been married for 2.5 years. We’ve played countless games of Scrabble. I wish I had kept some statistics, but really, the only important one is how many times I’ve won, which I think I can count on one hand. I might also be known to memorialize these wins with a picture. Austin adopted the girls and, together, we have organized tournaments, officially been named directors, and created a school Scrabble club for our daughters and their classmates. Oh, and our Scrabble baby’s name is Oliver. Please note that the word “Oliver” is only valid in the Collins dictionary, and it takes an -S.




Lindsay, Austin, and family.




Now



I’ve enjoyed quarantine. I haven’t studied words as much as I have in the past. Also, I haven’t lifted weights as I have in the past. I haven’t played as much Scrabble on the board as I have in the past. I have enjoyed A LOT of Scrabble Go! Austin and I compete in arena games and word searches and adventures, and puzzle paths. I still lose most of these contests against him, but I feel like I’m winning &lt;3. I’ve enjoyed the quiet and the time together with our family and getting to know our new baby, but I miss our Scrabble family too. We play in online tournaments and clubs and have added some recent accolades to our Scrabble resumes, but it’s not the same. We are vaxxed and itching to play in person again. Hope to see you all somewhere across a Scrabble board soon!



Scrabble tip of the day: Don’t be afraid to trade in your whole rack. Take the zero points. Let go of those tiles preventing you from bingoing or living your best words life. But, of course, you may just draw well after that!



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 Words, A Relationship With Scrabble appeared first on Scrabble.