TLW December 2011 - The Last Word Newsletter

W O R D G A M E N E W SThe Last WordThe Independent Tournament SCRABBLE® NewsletterA Monthly Newsletter Issue 24 - December 2011Tournament ResultsSchool SCRABBLE®Grand Canyon Tournament XXXApp ReviewThe Last Word is an independent publication for tournament SCRABBLE® players. It is notaffiliated with Hasbro, Mattel, the North American SCRABBLE® Players Association (NASPA),the Word Game Players’ Organization (WGPO), or the National SCRABBLE® Association (NSA).Our mission is to provide content of interest to all SCRABBLE® players, so please let us know ifthere are topics you would like us to add. We welcome contributions: stories, artwork, etc.For the time being, we are hoping to provide this Newsletter at no charge; however, since it is a100% volunteer effort, we would appreciate any donations. Advertisers are encouraged, too. Ifyou would like to have The Last Word emailed to you, please send a request with your emailaddress to CorneliaSGuest@gmail.com and we will add you to our mailing list.Editor in Chief: Cornelia GuestColumnists: Jan Cardia, Timothy Cataldo, Judy Cole, Stu Goldman, JeffKastner, Joan Mocine, Tony Rasch, Lester Schonbrun, Larry Sherman,Chris Sinacola, Siri Tillekeratne, Linda WancelEditors-at-large: Robin Pollock Daniel, Joe Edley, Stefan Fatsis, Ted GestPhotographer-at-large: Betsey WoodContributors: Travis Chaney, Roger Culllman, Katie Devanney, MartinDeMello, Curran Eggertson, Dave Engelhardt, Charles Goldstein, AlbertHahn, Patty Hardwick, Ann Jackman, Zev Kaufman, Rich Lauder, ChrisLipe, Pete Manzolillo, Bernie McMahon, Jeremiah Mead, Jessica Meller,Kevin Nickolai, Terry Kang Rau, Trevor Sealy, Stephanie Steele, DanStock, Helen Trocel, Larry Rand, Barbara Van Alen, Jeff WidergrenThe Last Word is a volunteereffort. We appreciate yourdonations.(PayPal or snail mail--contactCorneliaSGuest@gmail.com)For advertising rates,please emailCorneliaSGuest@gmail.comCopyright © 2011 GuessWhat! Some data copyright ©1999-2011 NSA; copyright © 2010-2011 NASPA; and copyright © 2005-2011 Seth Lipkin and Keith Smith.SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark of Hasbro, Inc.in the USA and Canada. Elsewhere it is the trademark of J.W. Spear & Sons, Ltd.

Table of ContentsT A B L E O F C O N T E N T SFrom the Editor 4Advertising Section: Equipment, Tournaments, Organizations, Books 5Tournament News 10Cambridge, Maryland: October 28-30, 2011 by Terry Kang Rau 10Hawaii SCRABBLE® Cruise by Larry Rand 14Big SCRABBLE® on the Big Island by Albert Hahn 20Grand Canyon XXX by Barbara Van Alen and Larry Rand 226th Annual Terror of the Tiles Tournament by Cornelia Guest 26The D.C. School SCRABBLE® Fall Classic by Stefan Fatsis 28Essex, VT, November 18-20 by Cornelia Guest 30Oshawa SCRABBLE® Club Tournament by Trevor Sealy 332011 Spanish-language World SCRABBLE® Championship by Travis Chaney 35Mountain View, CA by Jeff Widergren 38Thanksgiving Weekend in Tarrytown by Cornelia Guest 39Tournament Results 41New Faces: Kevin Nickolai 43SCRABBLE® and Scrabblers in the News edited by Judy Cole 45Historic Moments: SCRABBLE® Throughout the Years by Stu Goldman 55So you want to be a professional SCRABBLE® player? by Katie Devanney 56Scrab-Doku by Jeff Kastner 57The Wordsmith: Consider More Sixes by Chris Sinacola 60App Review: Zarf 64A SCRABBLE® Holiday in England’s Lake District by Ann Jackman 65SCRABBLE® Strategy Video Guide: Parts 1 & 2 by Curran Eggertson 67The New Collins-Only Threes by Chris Lipe 68Linda’s Library by Linda Wancell 702

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T SWord Trivia Quiz by Siri Tillekeratne 72Club News edited by Larry Sherman 74What’s Your Endgame Play? 75Word Star by Jeff Kastner 78The Lighter Side of SCRABBLE® by Rich Lauder 81Animal Crackers Part II by Tony Rasch 83One Up! Cup for December by Timothy Cataldo 96Passages edited by Larry Sherman 97SCRABBLE® Resources 101Tournament Calendar 103Archives 111 3

From the EditorF R O M T H E E D I T O RA lot of discussion on cgp this past month about how much money directors make (or lose!) ontournaments. Opinions have been voiced, directors “called out” by name, lists of guesstimatedprofits posted. Some directors have flatly stated that they take no money at all, that they directtournaments basically as a labor of love. Others have acknowledged taking compensation for theirwork. But almost everyone agrees that there’s not much profit to be made. As cross-tables’ SethLipkin posted: “If the worst ‘profiteering’ that any director engages in is not nearly interesting enoughto cause a finance-obsessed analyst to say, "Wow, I should get into this lucrative directing racket!",then really, it's all just noise.”What disturbs me is not that different directors have different financial expectations from thetournaments they run, but that so many Scrabblers have elected to voice disappointment indirectors making any money at all. As a director of close to 20 tournaments a year, I understandhow much effort goes behind directing a tournament, and I am in awe of directors such as AnnetteTedesco, who works tirelessly to make her multi-day tournaments a pleasure for attendees. Whyshouldn’t someone like Annette be paid for her work? I certainly don’t expect my lawn to be mowedfor free. I don’t expect ticket-takers at the movie theatre to work for free. Why should directors beexpected to be volunteers?Before I began directing tournaments, I had little knowledge of how much work a director doesbehind the scenes. I may have been one of those grumbling about high entry fees and low prizemoney. Now that I have a fuller understanding, I can understand why many directors are upsetabout NASPA fees: There’s not much money to be made running a tournament, and these feesseem disproportionately high compared to other costs. In many of my tournaments I’ve lost moneyor made less than the NASPA payment.What’s behind a successful tournament? Hours of scouring for an appropriate venue, negotiating agood price, hiring helpers, preparing media releases and advertising. Talking to players--encouraging them to come, helping them find roommates. Planning every step of the tournament--printing flyers, loading computer data, determining table and chair configuration. And trying to makethe tournament really special--perhaps arranging entertainment, or a lunch, or a newcomers’division. Or ordering special prizes, such as custom tile bags or trophies.There’s also financial risk for a director. The least expensive way to rent a playing space at a hotelis to guarantee that you will bring in a certain amount of revenue--in room rentals, food andbeverage purchases, or both. For example, a hotel might let you use their ballroom for no charge ifyou guarantee 40 room nights (20 rooms for 2 nights) plus $500 in food and beverage billing. If youdon’t reach that number (say, $4500 total), you are responsible for the difference. Wow. A lot of riskfor a director to personally assume.I would expect that even the directors who do make a profit are making under minimum wage if youlook at the hours they spend.Rather than castigate directors for being compensated for their hard work and effort, why not thankthem for making tournament play possible? Organizing and directing a tournament, whether you’retaking compensation or doing it on a volunteer basis, is always a labor of love.Cornelia Guest4

A D V E R T I S E M E N TThe Stamford SCRABBLE® Classic&Northeast SCRABBLE® ChampionshipFriday, December 9 - Sunday, December 11, 201116-Game Fully Rated NASPA Main Event with Collins Division5-Game Fully Rated NASPA Early Bird: 12/94-Game Unrated Newcomers Tournament: 12/10Special Prizes for Top Northeast Players in Each Division!Frank Tangredi Team Trivia Contest! Holiday Bazaar!Directed by Jason Keller & Cornelia GuestSheraton Stamford Hotel700 East Main StreetStamford, Connecticut, 06901Phone: 203-358-8400Website: http://www.sheratonstamford.comGroup Rates: Ask for GROUP RATE for Cornelia Guest--Scrabble Group or use weblink:https://www.starwoodmeeting.com/StarGroupsWeb/booking/reservation?id=1109145947&key=4D3BFNightly Rate: Single Occupancy: $99; Double Occupancy: $99; Triple Occupancy: $99 (plus stateand local tax) ***Group Rate good through December 2nd 2011***Contact: Cornelia Guest, CorneliaSGuest@gmail.com or 203-244-5324. Click here for entry form. 5

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C A M B R I D G ECambridge, Maryland: October 28-30, 2011By Terry Kang RauWhen Hurricane Irene forced Connie Creed to cancel the Dover, Delaware tournament, sherescheduled it at a new venue, the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake in Cambridge, Maryland. Eventhough Cambridge is essentially in the middle of nowhere, the venue itself is a sprawling upscaleresort, set along the banks of the Choptank River, with spectacular views, and several goodrestaurants for those craving crabcakes or oysters. Because it was off-peak season, it felt asthough we had the hotel to ourselves. And not being in a casino, as is Dover, was a plus for thepocketbook. The good news is that because of the enthusiastic feedback she received fromattendees after the tourney, Connie has already scheduled another tourney at the same location fornext November 2-4. Mark your calendars – and take a look at the website to see that this is not arun-of-the-mill venue! Hopefully she’ll have double the attendance next year.Of all of the hotels I’ve stayed in, this one ranks in the top 10% in terms of comfort and service. Togive you an idea of how well the staff treated us: After the tourney ended, one notoriously absentmindedplayer returned all the way home to New Jersey before realizing that he had left behind hissuitcase; not his sweater or a tile rack, mind you, but his entire suitcase. He called the hotel, andwas thrilled when his suitcase was sent via overnight FedEx, a service for which he was chargedzero dollars! Even what was billed as the “soup/sandwich break,” during the KOTH pairing onSunday exceeded expectations. What I had envisioned as a rushed lunch with a plastic-wrappedsandwich and cup of Campbell’s ended up being a relaxed, sit-down meal, with plentiful selectionsand attentive servers.We arrived a day early Thursday afternoon, and had lunch at the hotel’s cavernous Water Edgerestaurant. That evening, we met Connie for cocktails in the hotel’s bar, the Michener’s Lounge,with its two-story ceiling, glass walls and fireplace. I was impressed with the flights of wine: a10

C A M B R I D G Esampling of three or four different glasses, and a bargain at nine or ten dollars per flight. Then,dinner was in the historic downtown’s Bistro Poplar, where we enjoyed oysters and tasty ifoverpriced French fare, followed by open-mike night at a local watering hole, where I sang animpromptu rendition of Landslide and American Pie. It was the next best thing to karaoke.Let the Games Begin. I was looking forward to the Early Bird Friday for the chance to play AtiruthSakdiyakorn, the unrated Thai player who had recently moved to Maryland. When asked how topronounce his name, he said, “Game” (rhymes with hem), which was a bit confusing as nicknamesgo, but makes for much easier typing.Early Bird winnerAtiruth Sakdiyakornfinished with a 4-1+282 record in his firstNASPA tourney.In Division A, the first round started off with a bang for top seed Stefan Rau, whobingoed with TAMARIN, GROANED, INVEIGLE and NIGHTJAR en route to a570 game, the high for the Early Bird. After four rounds, three players were at3-1: Stefan, with the highest spread of +347, followed by Game (+259) and ScottKitchen (+230). For the final round, Stefan would face off a second time againstGame while Scott would play me. Well, Game – bad pun alert! – ended uphaving game, as he finished with a record of 4-1, playing stylish bingos likeBENEMPT. Scott, who had recovered nicely from his first-round loss to win thenext three games, played me again in the last round, hoping to avenge the firstroundloss. Avenge he did, and though the margin was only seven points, it wasenough for second place.In Division B, Joe Geibler and Robb Griffith, at three wins apiece, played in Round 4, and Robbeked out a one-point victory. When they squared off again in the deciding game, it was Joe whoprevailed to take first, with Robb finishing second.A Whopper of a First Rating. Before the start of the Main Event Friday night, a group of us haddinner at the Ocean Odyssey restaurant, just a short drive down the main drag from the hotel.Everyone ordered fish, crab cakes or oysters except the two carnivores, Stefan and Game, whoordered bison burgers. Game was so fascinated with his bison burger (“Bison!”) that he took photosso he could show his mom on facebook.During dinner, Game mentioned that in his native Thailand, he had played for years with his goodfriend, a certain Pakorn Nemitrmansuk; not too shabby a mentor to have, considering Pakornbested even Nigel Richards in the just-concluded 45-round Causeway championship.Having played Game twice, I can say he was a solid expert-level player; however, I nearly fell off mychair when I saw his initial rating: 2086! By winning just four games out of five, against opponentswith an average rating of 1610, he was able to surpass the rating of his friend and former WorldChampion Pakorn, rated 1948, by 140 points! His 2086 also put Game ahead of all otherNationals’ champions except Nigel Richards. However temporary, is there something wrong withthis picture? If he had attained comparable results in, say, a 20-game tourney against bona fideexperts (not three intermediates like myself), perhaps that rating could be justified. And, with onlyfive games, luck can obviously skew more dramatically in one’s favor; of the four games to which Iwas privy, he drew 8 of 8 blanks.More surprisingly, Game’s rating stayed at 2000 despite a 7-9 result in the Main Event where he, asthe newly minted first seed, faced opponents whose average rating was a shade under 1650, or 436rating points below his. Now, this is not to knock the player, but rather a rating system that perhaps 11

C A M B R I D G Eneeds tweaking? It does not seem proportionate that a record of 11-10, or a winning percentage of .52, merits a 2K rating. What’s more, a review of the WESPA site shows that he has played 151games in WESPA-rated tourneys, and has a rating of 1815, so this was no newbie. But maybe thisissue is a dying horse to beat another day. . . .The Main Event Begins. We rushed back to thehotel for the first three rounds of the Main Event,ably directed by Jason “OrangePants” Keller. InDivision A, Stefan Rau and Connie Creed endedthe night undefeated, with spreads of 294 and 235,respectively. Also at 3-0 were Division B’s ScottKitchen, Ed Stewart and Betsey Wood, and inDivision C, Donna Anderson.Oysters, Cheddar, and Bacon! Among theculinary highlights of the weekend was Saturdaynight’s dinner at Jimmie & Sook’s Raw Bar andGrill, where we had perhaps one of the tastiestappetizers ever created: fresh plump oystersDirector Jason Keller. (Photo courtesy of Betsey Wood)baked with cheddar and bacon and topped with asplash of hot sauce. A description alone does not do this dish justice. The entrée selection includedthe “bay & hay,” a scrumptious all-lump crab cake paired with a flavorful flatiron steak – a bargain at$22.99. All of the servers were in costume for Halloween, and this made for a festive evening.Sometimes It Pays to Wear a Funny Hat. Sporting his luckypurple velvet jester’s hat, Division B’s Scott Kitchen went on a tearSaturday, winning the last five games of the day to end in first place.His streak continued Sunday morning as he won three more rounds.His final victory in Round 14 meant he was Gibsonized with twogames remaining; no matter that he lost them both. Or, as JasonKeller deadpanned during the awards ceremony, “Winning thedivision with two rounds to go, and then taking it easy. . . .“ DianaGrosman came in second, with 11 wins, followed by Ed Stewart andDan Milton, at 10 wins each.In Division C, Celia Thompson also enjoyed an eight-game winningstreak, with victories in rounds 5 through 12, but in losing the finalfour rounds, she fell to third place. In second place was NandiniDickens, also with 10 wins, and in first place, Robin Schlauch, whoclinched by winning her last four games.Division A was the most tightly contested, with Stefan Rau, Joe Petree, Pat Gaboury and Bob Linnin contention throughout Sunday’s final five games. In the last round, Stefan would play Joe for firstplace since they were the only two with 11 wins. Stefan’s first seven plays scored 42, 83, 76, 35,78, 32 and 48, with BITTERER, TAMPONED and RAVIGOTE as the bingos. Joe, behind 53 to 201after three turns, rallied with the back-to-back STAINED and FARSIDE, followed by a 50-pointZINNIA to get within 90. With both blanks still unseen, it was not yet time for Stefan to becomplacent. Joe did end up getting the blanks, but too late as they appeared on his last rack.Stefan’s 492-399 win gave him first place and the best overall record, with 12-4 +860. Pat Gaboury,12

C A M B R I D G Eby defeating Bob Linn in the last game, surpassed Joe on spread to finish second, with Joe and Bobin third and fourth. Richard Popper had High Word with TRANSMIT for 140 points, and Bob Linnhad the division’s and tourney’s High Game with a 612. Joanne Cohen won High Game in DivisionB with a 539, and in Division C, Jan Lapierre scored 532. The prize for Highest Scoring HalloweenWord went to Nancy Konipol, who played DAUNTING for 131 points, deemed “close enough toHAUNTING” and as close as anyone got to a Halloween word, according to Jason and Connie.Thanks to them both for an excellent tourney. Hope to see you there next November!Stefan Rau, winner of Division A, and Scott Kitchen, winner of Division B. (Photos courtesy of Terry Kang Rau)Last Word photographer-at-large Betsey Wood with a crabby friend.(Photo courtesy of Dave Engelhardt) 13

Hawaii SCRABBLE® CruiseBy Larry RandH A W A I I C R U I S EOur 15-night Hawaii SCRABBLE® cruise, on the Celebrity Century, embarked from San Diego, CA,on Monday, October 17. There were 25 guests in the group, and 19 participated in the 36-gametournament, which was held over the course of nine days at sea. We had seven Canadianscompeting in the tournament, and players from eight different U.S. states.The first four days of the journey were spent at sea traversing the 2,506 miles from San Diego, toHilo, Hawaii. Our weather was picture perfect every day, with temperatures in the 70s, and 80s, andsmooth sailing. Each morning we played four games and finished by 1PM to allow everyone topartake in the ship’s activities, or to take the opportunity to simply relax. Our Celebrity groupcoordinator, Matthew Masongsong, set us up in the very comfortable middle card room that had fullsizewooden, felt-topped card tables and floor-to ceiling-windows.14

H A W A I I C R U I S EOn Tuesday evening, we enjoyed the first of threeformal nights. Barbara and I were invited to sit atthe Captain’s Table, which was hosted by the ChiefEngineer on the Century, Evangelos Plomaritis.Back in Arizona, our granddaughter, ChristineAnderson Gilbert, was giving birth to our secondgreat-grandchild, Teagan. Mother and daughter aredoing fine!On Thursday morning, our entire group received aspecial invitation to tour the bridge where the 1stOfficer, Vasileios Evangelidis, gave us anexplanation of the controls and features of thevessel, and answered all of our questions.During the four days at sea, the ship had anabundance of activities to choose from in theirCelebrity Life Program, including: Polynesian linedancing; ukulele lessons; cooking demonstrations; naturalist seminars; casino games and lessons;snowball bingo; Hawaiian arts and crafts; wellness and fitness seminars; trivia contests; winegrowing, making and appreciation seminars; and slot and blackjack tournaments.After dinner every evening, there was either a production show with the Celebrity Singers andDancers, or name entertainment in the Celebrity Theater. A feature movie was screened in theCinema. Throughout the ship there was a wide range of music and dancing. Some of the specialactivities included: Big Band Night, Fabulous ‘50s Party, Karaoke Night, and Liar’s Club. We turnedour clocks back three nights in a row, Tuesday through Thursday.On Saturday, our first port ofcall was Hilo, which islocated on the north coast ofHawaii, the Big Island.During our visit to Hilo itrained for a portion of theafternoon. Hilo receives over125 inches of rain annually.Hilo was once a major sourceof sugar cane, but todaymacadamia nuts, vanilla andchocolate are the mainexports.Excursions were available toKilauea volcano within theHawaii Volcanoes NationalPark; Lava Tree State Park;Kaimu, a black sand beach; Akaka and Rainbow Falls; Nani Maui and Hawaii Botanical Gardens;and Imiloa Astronomy Center. 15

Barbara and I visited the unique PanaewaRainforest Zoo and Gardens, hometo Namaste, a 450-pound white Bengaltiger, born in Las Vegas in 1998.Namaste translates to “aloha.” Pana-ewais the only rainforest zoo in the UnitedStates, and it had a tremendous varietyof animals, birds, and reptiles fromaround the globe, some of which areendangered species.The Century left Hilo at 7PM and wesailed around the eastern shore of theisland. Past midnight, the bright red lavaflow from the Kilauea volcano, the mostactive in the world, was visible from theship as the Captain headed in towardsthe shoreline.H A W A I I C R U I S EOur second port of call, on Sunday morning, was Kailua-Kona, on the west coast of the Big Island,which only receives about 15 inches of rain annually. The coast is very rocky, and there is no deepwaterharbor in Kailua, so we were tendered to shore from the ship, which anchored in Kailua Bay.In contrast with Hilo, the weather was sunny, warm (low 80s), and beautiful.Water activities dominated the excursion options: kayaking, snorkeling, snuba, scuba, deep seafishing, glass bottom boat rides, and the Atlantis submarine tour. On land, there was a historicwalking tour of the city, with visits to the Captain Cook Monument, Kona Joe Farm, the HawaiianChocolate Factory, the Kona Soap Company, the Painted Church, and Royal Kona Coffee.On Monday, we docked in Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii,and the largest city on Oahu. A visit to the Pearl HarborMuseum, the Arizona Memorial, and the USS Missouri are amust for every visitor to Oahu. The second most popularsite is the Polynesian Cultural Center on the north coast.The ship was docked within walking distance to four otherattractions: the Aloha Clock Tower; the Iolani Palace;Chinatown; and the Punchbowl National Cemetery.Waikiki, a neighborhood of Honolulu, is the major shoppingand hotel area. The aquarium and zoo are at the end ofWaikiki beach, with the landmark Diamond Head Crater inthe background. Between the ship terminal and Waikiki isthe Ala Moana Shopping Center, the largest open-airshopping center in the USA. Beach luaus and dinnercruises are also popular evening activities in Waikiki andHonolulu. The ship offered a Hawaiian luau poolside as adinner option, followed by the “Drums of Polynesia,” anauthentic island dance performance in the Celebrity Theater.16

H A W A I I C R U I S EThe island of Maui was our fourth and final port, and we tendered into shore at Lahaina, on thewestern coast. The waters were moderate and the temperature was in the mid 80s. Many of themajor attractions are a good distance from Lahaina. Haleakala Crater is the most visited site.Other highlights include, Hana, the Rainforest Waterfall, Iao Valley, the Maui Tropical Plantation, theMaui Ocean Center, and Cirque Polynesia. Golf is very popular on Maui, with several PGA coursesavailable for players. Luaus and a sunset catamaran are good options for romantic dinners. Thehistorical downtown of Lahaina, originally a whaling village, provides an enjoyable walking tour witharts and crafts, churches, museums, and shopping and eating establishments galore.All three of the islands that we visited had helicopter rides available, which are another spectacularway to view the picturesque scenery of Hawaii.We departed Lahaina at 11PM on Tuesday, and our final five days of the SCRABBLE® tournamentresumed on Wednesday morning. The weather was sunny, breezy, and mild every day on ourreturn passage to the mainland.As we headed back to the mainland, the shipoffered many special activities, including aSinging Star Competition (similar to “AmericanIdol” for the guests) and a Trivia Game Show(similar to Jeopardy).Our 36-game SCRABBLE® tournamentconcluded on Sunday. The champions ineach division were Albert Hahn and BarbaraVan Alen, who won $250 for their respectiveperformances. Full results follow at the end ofthis report.Our final day at sea, Monday,was Halloween, and the shipwas decorated appropriately. Inthe morning, ten of ourSCRABBLE® enthusiasts playeda 4-game unrated event. Thatevening the ship held aHalloween party, with guestsenjoying costumed fun!On Tuesday morning, afterclearing immigration aboard theship, we disembarked in SanDiego and returned home. Thiswas a wonderful, relaxing cruise.Aloha! 17

H A W A I I C R U I S ETOURNAMENT RESULTSOn our Hawaii SCRABBLE® cruise, 19 players,in two divisions, played 36 rounds ofSCRABBLE® during our nine days at sea. Theoverall winners were Albert Hahn and BarbaraVan Alen.In each of the first 32 rounds, there was a $10“fun prize” for each division, for a total of $640 inprize money. Everyone in the tournament won atleast one prize! During the course of thetournament, there were six fun prizes that werenot awarded, and the $60 was presented to theplayer who was closest to “0” spread, at the endof the tournament. Luise Shafritz won the poolwith a spread of 71.On day seven, a vintage bottle of Cabernet wasoffered to the player with the highest scoring playthat contained “B” and “L.” Linda Bianca won withGRUMBLED (76).The place prizes were won by the followingplayers:Division A1st- Albert Hahn ($250)2nd- Marc Levesque ($170)3rd- Larry Rand ($120)High Game- Larry (555) ($20)High Loss- Larry (439) ($20)Division B1st- Barbara Van Alen ($250)2nd- Nancy Druskin ($170)3rd- Linda Bianca ($120)Best Over Seed- Marion Brien ($100)High Game- Nancy (558) ($20)High Loss- Linda (429) ($20)DIVISION A W L SPREAD HG/HL $$Albert Hahn 23 13 943 260Marc Levesque 21 15 -131 240Larry Rand 19 17 463 HG-555/HL-439 180Mason Shambach 19 17 439 30Luise Shafritz 19 17 71 140Robin Levin 18 18 150 30Laura Scheimberg 14 22 -600 40Siri Tillekeratne 11 25 -1335 10Division A WinnersDivision B WinnersHigh Game & High Loss Winners18

DIVISION B W L SPREAD HG/HL $$Barbara Van Alen 28 8 2291 290Nancy Druskin 27 9 1637 HG-558 240Linda Bianca 24 12 1583 HL-429 160Judy Ford 24 12 1038 10Audrey Pelkey 24 12 947 30H A W A I I C R U I S ELuise Shafritz: High $ WinnerLinda Bianca: Cabernet WinnerBarbara Van Alen wins the Trivia Game 19

B I G S C R A B B L E O N T H E B I G I S L A N DBig SCRABBLE® on the Big IslandBy Albert HahnEvery Friday night the Hilo SCRABBLE Club meets.~8 players every TGIF. Sometimes they play teams onan 8' by 9' Egyptian? SCRABBLE rug that was acquired from Gary Moss ata tourney on Maui in 1997. Mark Pistolese remembersthree attendees being all three Shermans:Mike, G.I. and General.Maybe that last one was Larry.Tiles for that SCRABBLE board were made by anotherHawaii scrabbler from Russian birch.But usually they play regular SCRABBLE,or as regular as SCRABBLE can be played by"Tarzan" and friends on a Hawaii Friday night.Mark only has two other competitive scrabblersin Hawaii but all three are on separate islandsand never get together. Btw, at the northern tipof the big island Siri, Laverne, Millie, the Shafritzes and Idrove past the only house I've everseen in the world with a sign out front saying ____'s house.Guess what name it was?Kenji.Interesting that Mark mentioned a Maui tourney in 1997.Judy Ford, Robin Levin and I rented a taxi there todayand the driver, a HAOLE since 1998,told us he was a kitchen scrabbler but wasthe champ of Maui, taking the title away from Elly (I think)of Boston. They used to have a SCRABBLE club but nowthey play on the Internet instead. We told him about QI,but he said if he played that word he would lose hisfew remaining opponents.He asked us how many seven-letter plays we make.He said he averages 3/4 a game.He said he does specialize in short wordshe learns from NY Times crosswords, enjoyingthe tougher ones late in the week.For SCRABBLE, what does Mark Pistolese do other nights besides Friday?He plays solitary SCRABBLE by kerosene light as he does nothave electricity. He spends much of his days shopping, knowingjust how long each food will last till it goes bad, since hehas no fridge or freezer. He will also stop to pick upavocados that have fallen by the roadside. I noticedthat they cost about $3 each. He gave Luise and me somepassion fruit to taste. Loved it. They fall to the groundnear his home, about 30 miles from Hilo. He wanted20

B I G S C R A B B L E O N T H E B I G I S L A N Dto take the Shafritzes and me to a hot pool on the way to the volcano butemail problems led us not to have our bathing suits.Dang.He has an email account on a friend's computer.He gave me a hibiscus flower and ginger flower to eat.Just the blossoms.He uses the hibiscus flowers for salad.He drove us past banyan trees planted by AmeliaEarhart in 1935 and Babe Ruth and Cecil B. DeMillein 1933. None matched the mind-blowing banyannear the dock in Lahaina, Maui. You could swearit was dozens of trees spread over almost a small city block.Kinsella used the word anthurium in his book.We came across a distinctive looking flower in a market.Mark told me it was an anthurium. I instantly realizedthe reason Bill used the phallic flower in hissupernatural Butterfly Winter.Later, walking with Linda Bianca, Judy Ford and Robin Levinin Honolulu we couldn't guess the name of the huge tree with blossoms12' up. Even botany whiz Judy wasn't sure (maybe some sort of magnolia).A few blocks later we stopped to admire some amazing orchid leisin a flower shop. The woman gave us handfuls of fragrant blossomsto carry with us: ginger, TUBEROSE and PLUMERIA.Bingo!Plumeria is the tree we saw.And it's another prominent flower in Kinsella's book,set in Hispaniola. He also often uses "bougainvillea,”which Judy identified for me.Btw, Bougainvillea is what Redford wanted to namehis Utah property before he got that role in Butch Cassidy, etc.Absolutely love the cruise and can't say enufabout how great it is to have Barbara/Larry hostingus and giving us unbelievable fares and directing.Despite directing/playing/data entry in the transatlanticcruise, Larry still managed to win it! He's madea big comeback in this one after starting very badly.I'm almost rooting for him:-) 21

Grand Canyon XXXBy Barbara Van Alen and Larry RandG R A N D C A N Y O N X X XHello from the Grand Canyon! All 60 entrants arrived safely on Thursday evening. Players traveledfrom as far away as New York, and three players came in from Canada. They arrived by planes,trains and automobiles!On Friday morning, we started at 10:30AM to allow players some time to relax from their travels, orto view the Canyon in the morning. We knew it was going to be a lucky day for everyone, 11/11/11!22Two players, Gertrude Savadge and Jerry Lerman, played in thefirst Grand Canyon event, which was held in 1981. The firsttournament was directed by Mike Baron and Stan Rubinsky, who isdeceased. Gertrude only missed one Grand Canyon tournament, in1984. Barbara Van Alen missed the first two tournaments, becauseshe was not yet playing SCRABBLE®, but has not missed onesince 1983.We asked our “first timers to the Grand Canyon” to stand, and there

G R A N D C A N Y O N X X Xwere about 15 players who were competing at the Canyon for the first time. Since it was Veteran’sDay, we also asked our veterans to stand and receive the applause that they richly deserve.Five years ago, at the 25th anniversary tournament, Mike Baronperformed the nuptials on the rim of the Canyon, for Sherry Schaffand Jason Sommer. Sherry and Jason came to the Canyon tocelebrate their 5th anniversary and greet the players inattendance. They were unable to stay due to work obligations athome in Solvang, CA.Seven “lucky” players won early entry prizes: $90 entry fee refundto Mary Parrish (from Las Vegas); copies of Bob’s Bible to TCHoulgate-West and Barbara Gray; Paul McCarthy’s Letterati toSusan Beard and Cynthia Pughsley; and Bob Schoenman’s double-injected Protiles to LawrenFreebody and Jerry Lerman.“Fun prizes” were awarded to all three divisions for the first 14 games on Friday and Saturday. Ineach case, it was the highest play made, and where necessary, the game score was used as a tiebreaker.All winners won $10 for each winning entry.In one of the higher scoring games, Joe Gaspard (500) lost to Mark Przybyszewski (526), puttingJoe definitely in the hunt for the High Loss prize.Luise Shafritz and Mason Shambach displayed items for sale. Luise had handmade tile bags, andMason had a Christmas CD produced by one of his choir directors. The CDs were $15, of which a$5 was donated to the 2012 WGPO Word Cup.Maswik Lodge cafeteria playing room 23

G R A N D C A N Y O N X X XOn the final day of the tournament it was a cold,dark, foggy and drizzly morning at the GrandCanyon, but we were safe and warm in the MaswikLodge cafeteria. Everyone was ready to completethe final four games of the 30th anniversary event.The top nine players in each of the three divisionshad a possible shot at winning their respectivedivisions.Before the first game of the day, the Fun Prizesfrom Saturday were awarded. Seventeen differentplayers won at least one of the twenty-one $10prizes. One prize went unclaimed and it wasdonated to the 2012 Word Cup.A funny situation happened when Roy Kamen andMason Shambach finished their game and one tilewas missing for the next game. They searchedeverywhere with no avail. Stephanie Steele asked ifthey had checked their clothing. Voila! The tile wasin Mason’s shoe. : > ))Total entry fees- $5,400. Total cash prizes- $4,300.Total non-cash prizes- $250. Cafeteria rental- $450.24

G R A N D C A N Y O N X X XFinal results for GCXXX (BOS= Best Overseed)Division A1st (530) Jerry Lerman 11-7 +8312nd (430) Lisa Odom 11-7 +5903rd (230) Steve Pellinen 11-7 +527BOS (130) Wally Schultz (four ranks over seed)HG (10 + GCXXX shirt) Jerry Lerman (590)HL (10 + GCXXX shirt) Joe Gaspard (500)Division B1st (430) Miriam Green 14-4 +9312nd (330) Charlene White 12-6 +8143rd (230) Paula Catanese 12-6 +480BOS (130) Stephanie Steele (ten ranks over seed)HG (10 + GCXXX shirt) Gary Smart (516)HL (10 + GCXXX shirt) Ruth Hamilton (439)Division A Winners: Jerry, Lisa, Steve & WallyDivision C- Yvonne was Gibsonized1st (430) Yvonne Knickerbocker 15-3 +11852nd (330) Rob Berahovich 12-6 +9493rd (230) Lewis Saul 12-6 +511BOS #1 (230) Julia Swaney (15 ranks over seed)BOS #2 (130) Audrey Pelfrey (7 ranks over seed)HG (10 + GCXXX shirt)HL (10 + GCXXX shirt)Thank you again to everyone who provided us withprizes and to all the players who provided support tothe execution of the tournament. The players madedonations totaling $234 to the WGPO Word Cup2012.Division B Winners: Miriam, Charlene, Paula & StephanieBy 3PM, the sunshine was out, the skies were blueand the air was fresh and clean. A beautiful day atone of the wonders of the world.It might be the last Grand Canyon tournament that wedirect. Thanks for sharing the 30th with us.Barbara Van Alen and Larry RandCo-directorsDivision C Winners: Yvonne, Rob, Lewis, Julia & Audrey 25

T E R R O R O F T H E T I L E S6th Annual Terror of the Tiles TourneyPound Ridge School SCRABBLE®, November 11thBy Cornelia Guest, Photographs by Jessica MellerPlayers arriving at the Pound Ridge Librarythe morning of November 11th were greetedby spiders, skulls, bats, and pumpkins--anddirectors Cornelia Guest and Mike Ecsedy intheir witch and warlock attire. Two divisionsof players competed in four 44-minutegames; then a small group of diehards stayedto compete in a three-game speedtournament, with each player allowed 5minutes a side. Players also received prizesfor costumes--and for Best Halloween Word.All participants got to select prizes from aghoulish collection of offerings, and playersfound themselves wondering whether to gofor the bag of bloody eyeballs, or opt insteadfor the shrunken head or witches’ fingernails.Division 1 went to 6th grader Mack Meller and 7th grader DeeAnn Guo, competing as a team for thefirst time in a tournament. They also had the High Game (464), and tied for High Play (QINTARS,93) with the runner-up team, 8th grader Nicholas Vasquez and 6th grader Thomas Draper from NewJersey, who scored 93 points for DEAIRS/STINKER. Two 4th graders, Jared Tilliss and CarolynMoyle (playing in her first tournament), finished third.L-R: Division 1 winners Mack Meller & DeeAnn Guo; Co-director Mike Ecsedy with the Speed SCRABBLE winners.Division 2 went to a pair of 5th graders: Sheng Guo and Noah Kalus, who were playing as a teamfor the first time. The boys also won the prizes for High Game (453) and High Play (AVOIDING, 70).Second was another new team: 9th grader Quinn Vissak and 4th Grader Jesse Federbush, who26

T E R R O R O F T H E T I L E Salso won the prize for Best Halloween Word for BOO. Both Noah and Jesse were competing intheir first SCRABBLE tournaments. Third went to 10th grader Josefina Altamiranda, playing with 4thgrader Ava Turner.The Speed Tournament was amazing to watch. Five players stayed to compete, so Mike Ecsedyjoined in to make pairings even (Mike’s games were counted as 50-point bye wins). The gameswere so fast that it sometimes took longer for the volunteer scorekeepers to add up the totals than ithad taken for the players to play. First went to Mack Meller, with Nicholas Vasquez finishing secondand Thomas Draper third.Complete results follow:DIVISION A1. Mack Meller & DeeAnn Guo2. Nicholas Vasquez & Thomas Draper3. Jared Tilliss & Carolyn MoyleHigh Game: Mack Meller & DeeAnn Guo (464)High Play (Tie): Nicholas Vasquez & ThomasDraper (DEAIRS/STINKER,93); Mack Meller & DeeAnn Guo (QINTARS, 93)DIVISION B1. Sheng Guo & Noah Kalus2. Quinn Vissak & Jesse Federbush3. Ava Turner & Josefina AltamirandaHigh Game: Sheng Guo & Noah Kalus (453)High Play: Sheng Guo & Noah Kalus(AVOIDING, 70)Division A Winners4th Grade Champions: Jared Tilliss & CarolynMoyle5th Grade Champions: Sheng Guo & Noah Kalus6th Grade Champion: Mack Meller7th Grade Champion: DeeAnn Guo8th Grade Champion: Nicholas Vasquez9th Grade Champion: Quinn Vissak10th Grade Champion: Josefina AltamirandaBest Halloween Word: BOO (Quinn Vissak &Jesse Federman)Costume Prize (TIE): Ava Turner; JesseFederman; Thomas DraperSPEED TOURNAMENT1. Mack Meller2. Nicholas Vasquez3. Thomas Draper4. Quinn Vissak5. Jesse FederbushDivision B Winners 27

D . C . S C H O O L S C R A B B L E F A L L C L A S S I CThe D.C. School SCRABBLE® Fall ClassicBy Stefan FatsisA total of 59 kids in the 4th through 8th grades fromeight schools in Washington, Virginia and New Jerseyplayed in the D.C. School SCRABBLE® Fall ClassicNovember 14th in the cafeteria at the newlyrenovated Janney Elementary School. Betweengames, the kids enjoyed the new playgroundequipment and tossed footballs and frisbees on thenew turf field.National School SCRABBLE® Championshipveterans Nicholas Vasquez (8th grade) and ThomasDraper (6th) came down from New Jersey andromped in Division A with a perfect record of 4-0 anda huge spread of +637. Among their bingos:ANTIGENE, NEREIDS, RESONANT and BESIEGED. They won $60 each and a choice of someexcellent prizes. In Division B, my daughter, Chloe, and her partner, Zara Hall -- the only 4th gradersin the division -- took second place with a record of 3-1 +242. Thanks to some big early wins, thatgroup was won by D.C. 6th graders Ben Page and Bryson Torgovitsky, who finished 3-1 +505.Division C, which consisted entirely of first-time tournament players, was won by Tanner Iverson andEthan Pham of Churchill Road Elementary School in McLean, VA, with a perfect mark of 4-0 +220.Among a long list of fine plays, a few stood out: SPARING for 98 by Vincent Graham and MichaelVigdor; TANNErY by Ben and Bryson; DEMENTS by Jack Gretschel and Alex Nardello; andFOOTSIE and FLYiNGS, a guess which drew a challenge, by Nathan Wagner and Nete Reistetter.The top three finishers in each division took home some cash and a choice of prizes. Thanks to theNSA, to Sam Kantimathi and to author and rated player Meg Wolitzer, who all donated prizes.Autographed copies of Meg’s new kids novel, The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman, which is set at aSchool SCRABBLE championship, were the hit of the prize pool.Thanks also to the parents and coaches of the players.It was especially rewarding to welcome kids fromanother D.C. public school, Hardy Middle School, totheir first tournament. I'm hoping to get enough D.C.schools playing to hold a citywide championship nextyear.NIcholas Vasquez (L) & Thomas Draper had aperfect 4-0 record to win Division A. (Photocourtesy of Melissa Block)Final standings:Division A1 Thomas Draper and Nicholas Vasquez (New Jersey)4–0 +6372 Sam Masling and Ben Schwartz (Deal) 3–1 +3643 Will Hamlin and Sammy Levenson (Deal) 2–2 +8328

D . C . S C H O O L S C R A B B L E F A L L C L A S S I C4 Jake Radack and Sam Radack (Deal) 2-2 -315 Christopher Bock and Lucy McCurdy (Deal) 2-2 -766 Sneha Kripanandan and Shreya Ramesh (Churchill Road) 2-2 -1547 Ethan Rosenthal and Philip Wright (Deal)1-3 -3958 Nate Reistetter and Nathan Wagner (Deal) 0-4 -428Division B1 Ben Page and Bryson Torgovitsky (Deal) 3–1 +5052 Chloe Fatsis and Zara Hall (Janney) 3-1 +2423 Yusuke Fukuda and Nathan Weiner (Deal) 3-1 +2194 Jack Gretschel and Alex Nardello (Deal) 3-1 +805 Vincent Graham and Michael Vigdor (Deal) 2-2 +1856 Ali Bauman and Isabel Rosenthal (Deal) 2-2 +77 Zeb Armstrong and Dylan Killingsworth (Binns) 2-2 -194)8 Arthur Browne and Katherine Quion (Churchill Road) 1-3 -1229 Mabel Malhotra and Georgia Rosse (Janney) 1-3 -22710 Jackson Easler and Josh Rosse (Janney) 0-4 -695Division C1 Tanner Iverson and Ethan Pham (Churchill Road) 4-0 +2202 Elizabeth Martu and Michael Pratt (Hardy) 3-1 +1253 Alexander Belikovetskaya and Kimberly Ventura (Hardy) 3-1 +834 Ryan Cheney and Nicholas Spasojevic (Janney) 2-2 +254 Abigael Harwell and Noah Wood (Binns) 2-2 +256 Quennie Cardenas, Kori Lurk and Bryanna Sizer (Hardy) 2-2 -667 Lucy Levenson and Madelyn Shapiro (Janney) 1½–2½ -318 Sofia Green, Maddy Kessler and Eliana Rosenthal (Janney) 1½–2½ -629 Felix Garland, Oliver Satola and Charlie Smiles (Janney) 1-3 -5310 D'rvion Edwards and Viktoria Stalwik (Hardy) 0-4 -266Participating SchoolsAlice Deal Middle School, Washington, D.C.Churchill Road Elementary School, McLean, Va.Cooper Middle School, McLean, Va.Floyd T. Binns Middle School, Culpeper, Va.Hardy Middle School, Washington, D.C.Heritage School, Livingston, N.J.Janney Elementary School, Washington, D.C.Montgomery Lower Middle School, Skillman, N.J. 29

Essex, VT, November 18-20By Cornelia Guest; Photos by Betsey WoodE S S E XFive years ago Jane Whitmoreorganized the first Essex SCRABBLE®Tournament. Held at the Inn at Essex,“Vermont’s Culinary Resort and Spa,” itwas an immediate success, withScrabblers raving about the beautifullight-filled playing room, the warm andfriendly staff, and the amazing food.This year’s incarnation, co-directed bySherrie Saint John and Tim Fukawa-Connelly, attracted 59 players of all agesfrom across New England and from asfar away as Florida. Between a well-runtournament in a lovely setting, and anexciting trivia contest run by FrankTangredi, the event was a smash. Players also enjoyed a complimentary whiskey and crepe tastingFriday evening in the lobby!The tournament opened on Friday with an Early Bird NAST qualifier. This event qualified the toptwo finishers for the finals of the North American SCRABBLE® Tour, the brainchild of Steve Pellinen.Last year’s NAST finals winner, Evans Clinchy, hoping to qualify again, came in third, just missing.The winner, Florida’s Steve Glass, was the only undefeated player in the 16-player Open, endingwith a 5-0 +317 record. Five players finished with 4-1 records, with spread being determinative. KitMorehead from Michigan, seeded ninth, finished second (+455). Evans was third (+425);JasonKeller fourth (+276); Paul Avrin fifth (+256); and Willie Pitzer sixth (+66). Jason had the High Win(540) and Stefan Rau the High Loss (445).Collins Division winner Joel WapnickThe main event started Friday evening, with59 players competing in 15 games throughSunday. This year’s tournament featured aCollins division, attracting 8 strong players,including former World, National, andCanadian Champion Joel Wapnick, recentlyreturned from the World SCRABBLE®Championship in Warsaw. Other Warsawveterans competing in the Collins divisionwere John O’Laughlin, Bradley Whitmarsh,and Chris Lipe. Joel finished on top, with a10-5 +425 record, with John second (9-6+895) and Evans third (9-6 +187). BradWhitmarsh was fourth (8-7 +554); he alsowon the prize for High Loss in a 502-529game against John O’Laughlin.30

E S S E XA group of 51 players in four TWL divisions competed in 15 games through Sunday. The winner inDivision 1 was Stefan Rau, fresh from his Division 1 victory at the Cambridge, MD tournament. His11-4 +537 record brought his rating up to 1904. Second was Cecilia Le (10-5 +513), third, KateFukawa-Connelly (9-6 +575), and fourth, Early Bird winner Steve Glass (9-6 +543). Jason Kellerscored the division’s High Win: 628-365 in a game against Mic Barron.Division 2 winner Jason LiDivision 2 went to Canadian Jason Li, whois making a remarkable rise to the topranks of SCRABBLE®. Jason startedplaying in tournaments just over a year agoand is now rated 1721. Essex was Jason’ssixth lifetime tournament. He finished herewith an 11-4 +1013 record, the largestspread in the tournament. Second wasFrank Tangredi (10-5 +670), with Joel Hornthird (9-6 +322) and Jeffrey Nelson fourth(9-6 +62). Marjorie Shoneboom had theHigh Win, with a 559-290 victory over JoelHorn, and Sue Tremblay won the classprize for best performance by a playerrated under 1550 (8-7 +367).The top three finishers in Division 3 all had 10-5records, so spread was determinative. Coming infirst was Chris ten Den (+934), with JeffreyScranton second (+707) and Wilma Pitzer third(+471). Barb Kester, who was fourth with a 9-6+279 record, won the class prize for bestperformance by a player rated under 1200. Eighthgrader Sam Heinrich, the youngest player in thetournament, finished sixth. The High Win went toJeffrey Scranton, with a 546-317 victory over JoeWaldbaum.Bridget McGrew took Division 4 with an 11-4 +539Division 3 winner Chris ten Denrecord, with three 10-5 finishers close behind:Marvin Kraus (+327), Bets Brown (+101), and Jane Kay (+82). Jane also won the class prize forbest performance by a player rated under 800 and a SamBoard for best performance by a Vermontplayer.The tournament offered many special Vermont-themed prizes, plus each of the division winnersreceived maple syrup in a maple-leaf-shaped glass container. Barb Kester was delighted to win afree night and breakfast at the Inn at Essex for the Best Vermont Word (SUGARED)! Other prizesincluded Lorraine Ray flannel tile bags, Mick Baron’s SCRABBLE® Wordbook, Joel Wapnick’s Howto Play SCRABBLE® Like a Champion, Joe Edley’s puzzle books, Protiles, a Pocket SamTimer,warm Socklady.com socks, and more. 31

E S S E XOne of the most exciting evenings was Saturday, when Frank Tangredi hosted the “SlumdogHundredaire” trivia contest. Trivia expert Jason Keller was the winner. Be sure to watch him inaction December 16th on Jeopardy!Thanks to Jane, Sherrie, and Tim for another lovely tournament at the Inn at Essex!Left: Tournament codirectorsTim Fukawa-Connelly and SherrieSaint John, with just afew of the manyprizes that wereawarded.Right: Frank Tangrediand the board for his“SlumdogHundredaire” triviagame contest.Awards Ceremony: Co-directors Tim Fukawa-Connelly and Sherrie Saint Johnflank division winners (l-r) Joel Wapnick, Stefan Rau, Jason Li, Chris ten Den,and Bridget McGrew. (Photo courtesy of Terry Kang Rau)32

O S H A W AOshawa SCRABBLE® Club TournamentBy Trevor SealyFifty-six players attended the Oshawa Scrabble Club's 17th Annual Tournament at the CaribbeanCultural Centre, in Oshawa, Ontario over the weekend of November 19 and 20, 2011.We would like to congratulate Lou Cornelis, Trevor Sealy, Matt Schlegel, andTara Smylie who were the 4 winners of Divisions A-D, respectively. Lou, Trevorand Tara were Gibsonized.In addition to the usual cash prizes for final placements, we presented prizes forHigh Word, High Game, High Losing Game, and The Most Outrageous Phoneyin each of the four divisions. Players winning the "PHONEY" prizes were againpresented with a bag of homemade "SCRABBLE tile cookies" so that they could"Eat Their Own Words". The cookies were prepared and generously donated byone of our members, Sylvia Meek.In Division A, the High Word prize was awarded to Steve Ozorio, who scored176 points for PERMEATE against Jackson Smylie. High Win was awarded toJim Nanavati, who scored 528 points in a game also against Jackson, and theHigh Losing Game was awarded to Mark Edelson, who scored 455 points to 517by Yvonne Lobo. The Most Outrageous Phoney, SNOOLER*, was played for107 points by Jim Nanavati against Priya Fernando.Above: Winners LouCornelis, Trevor Sealy,& Tara SmylieIn Division B, the High Word was awarded to Hilda Schlechter, who scored 104points for ZEROING in a game against Garth Hardie. High Win was awarded toRoger Cullman, who scored 565 points in a game against Hilda. The HighLosing Game also went to Hilda, who scored 416 points to 443 by Lilla Sinanan.The Most Outrageous Phoney, NAMASTE*, was played by Sophia Ozorio for 77points against Garth Hardie.In Division C, the High Word was awarded to Maggie Poulter, who scored 102 points for QANATagainst Emilie Henkelman. High Win went to Emilie with a score of 566 against Timothy Schwab.The High Losing Game went to Timothy, who scored 422 to 476 by Maggie. The Most OutrageousPhoney, JABOUTIE*, was played by Dianne Wittman for 66 points against Sean Baizano. Diannethen went on to add an S, making JABOUTIES* for another 44 points.IThey ate their words!L-R: Outrageousphoney winners JimNanavati (SNOOLER*,Sophia Ozorio(NAMASTE*), DianneWittman (JABOUTIE*),and Joan Taylor(BEDOINS*).In Division D, High Word was awarded to Joan Taylor, who scored 107 points for EQUINES againstTara Smylie. High Win went to Janice Madill, who scored 488 in a game against Barb Palmer. High 33

O S H A W ALoss went to Eugene Van De Walker, who scored 377 points to 394 by Jackie Nicholls. The MostOutrageous Phoney, BEDOINS*, was played by Joan Taylor for 79 points against Beverley Otto.Cash prizes of $175, $125, $100, and $70 were paid to players finishing 1st,2nd, 3rd, and 4th respectively in each Division. High Word, High Game, andHigh Losing Game in each division also received $10 each. A door prize waswon by Adele Peltier.A very special thank-you to Gene Tyszka, who donated two custom fold-upSCRABBLE boards, complete with their carrying cases and sets of long racks;one round board with cover, tile bag and racks; two additional tile bags; andthree sets of tile racks. These were all raffled, with proceeds going to the prizepool.Above: EmilieHenkleman had thetournament’s high win(566) and SteveOzorio the high word:PERMEATE (176 pts).The custom boards were won by Jackie Nicholls, John Apissoghomian, andValeria Huber, with two of the other prizes going to Lorette Magnan, and oneeach to Allen Pengelly, Jim Nanavati, and Tina Cur.We would like to thank all the very many helpers from the Oshawa ScrabbleClub, visiting Directors from neighbouring clubs, and our friends from theCaribbean Cultural Centre who lent their support to ensure that this was a veryenjoyable tournament.A special thank-you to Allen Pengelly for his invaluable technical support. Special thanks also to myco-director, Hy Francis, for his leadership at the tournament, which enabled me to play, and to theteam of Janice Madill, Treasurer, and Sylvia Meek of the Oshawa Scrabble Club, who coordinatedall of our food and catering supplies. Special thanks also to Eugene Van De Walker for the mooseroast and to Desiree Gomes for the delicious chili. Desiree unfortunately had to work and wasunable to attend. I would also like to thank my wife Antoinette for her assistance with thetournament.We look forward to another successful tournament in 2012.34

2 0 1 1 S W S C H A M P I O N S H I P2011 Spanish-language World SCRABBLE® ChampionshipBy Travis Chaney2011 SWSC Champion Diego González ofArgentina in the final series against runner-upBenjamin Olaizola of Venezuela.The fifteenth Spanish-language World SCRABBLEChampionship took place November 20-25 in Mexico City,known as D.F. (Distrito Federal). It opened in ceremoniousfashion with an inauguration ceremony that included aslide-show presentation of all the participants in this year'sevent--in total 98 players from 15 countries--accompaniedby traditional music for each countries respective section.(The U.S. team of five players was displayed to the tune ofFrank Sinatra.)Duplicate SCRABBLE is quite popular in Spanish (andFrench) and is the first event of the week. (For those ofyou who are not familiar with this variation, players withthe same rack of letters have three minutes to find the thehighest scoring play. The computer finds the highestscoring play, which remains as the Master play. The participant with the highest percentage ofcomposite points in relation to the maximum Master score wins.) Blai Figueras of Spain finishedwith the best overall percentage and was named world champion. Why is this not popular--not evenknown really--in English? I have a hypothesis: Because of the nature of Spanish and French, whichhave many conjugational forms of each verb, plural and masculine/feminine forms of adjectives, andmany nouns, there is a significantly greater number of words and an even greater proportion ofanagrams for each letter combination. (As far down as5000 to 10000 in the probability list, you will still find wordswith 10 or so anagrams.) As a result, it is more of achallenge to find the highest scoring play among so manyoptions. As part of an extra, informal, pre-tournamentevent at the West Coast World Championship WordlistChallenge in Ashland, Oregon, earlier this year, we tried aduplicate event in English and it just didn't seem to workas well or be as exciting. A secondary reason--for which Ihave a unique perspecitive--is that English-languageplayers are far more strategy-oriented and therefore justfinding the highest scoring play is not necessarily thatappealing to them. Nevertheless, I can say afterparticipating for the first time this year that it can be ratherfun and exciting in Spanish.Travis Chaney, tiles set out before him,prepares for a Duplicate SCRABBLE® game.(Photo courtesy of Helen Trocel)On Monday, the Copa de Naciones began. This even is a team-oriented event wherein threeplayers from one country play three players from another country in three head-to-head games.Whoever wins two (or three) games gets a point and the team with the most points at the end wins.I played on a mixed team since there were only two U.S. players participating. Playing in six of theseven rounds, I contributed not a single win. Despite having a fairly strong team (which includedpowerhouses Serge Emig of France and Hector Klie of Houston, Texas), we all drew rather 35

2 0 1 1 S W S C H A M P I O N S H I Phorrifically and finished with only one point. Venezuela and Argentina won first and second place inthe event. (No big surprise there.)The 21-game main event began Tuesday. At last, I could put the bad luck of the day before (andindeed, of the entire year before) behind me and begin anew. The tiles gods would not allow that,though. I lost my first game 411-501, stuck with the unplayable RR, a digraph tile which forms notwo-letter words. I extended my losing streak starting the previous day to eight games by losing thenext game 389-499, which started with my opponent opening with the natural TUVIMOS (“we had”)and went downhill from there. Finally in the third round I got my first win, getting down four bingos(which the Spanish players call “Scrabbles”), DESAGÜEN, REDASEN, COPINASE and RENALES,en route to a 610-270 stomping. I struggled with tiles for most of the rest of the tournament, drawinga mere 15 of 42 blanks. (Last year, I drew only 17 of 42, for a two-year total of only 32 out of 84!)While I realize that blanks are only one factor in the game, the huge deficit I just mentioned is anindicator of my poor drawing in general. Extremely unfortunate draws in the endgames of a numberof other matches (I lost three by three points!) contributed to a final record of 10-11, placing me62nd of 98.A few of my more interesting (obscure or difficult to find)bingos of the tournament included: PENSILES;ÑATEARA; ENEJARON; SAHORNADAS; MATIZAR,under which I played parallel across six letters PULIDOS;ASCESIS; and to win the last game in miraculous fashion,I extended EN to ENTISADOS (with my opponent holdingboth blanks). I averaged 435 points and 2.4 bingos pergame. (Though those seem like decent averages, theyare relatively low. Experts who are drawing and playingwell average over 500 points per game with 3.5 to 4bingos per game.)Diego González of Argentina won the final series againstBenjamin Olaizola of Venezuela to be crowned champion.Serge Emig, a nonnative speaker from France placed thirdincredibly. (Last year, he actually won the duplicatechampionship!)Despite my terrible luck, it was a privilege to represent the U.S. at the championship and aninteresting experience to visit Mexico City. I enjoyed the challenge of playing in a language I onlystarted learning as an adult. In this respect, I can relate to the players from around the world--especially the Thais--who excel at playing in English despite conversing little or none in it. For me,much more significant than the language difference is the cultural difference reflected in the differingrules. In many respects, the rules used reflect the way the game was played 30 or more years agohere in the United States. For instance, no pre-made tracking sheets can be brought to the table.Once a player begins to play a word in a particular place, that player must continue to play the wordthere and cannot remove it and decide to play somewhere else. (This rule is inextricably linked withthe order in which a play is made, tiempo corrido, “running time”: The player puts down the word,calls the score, draws new tiles, and then begins the clock. Therefore, a challenge [which is free]must be made after the word is placed and before new tiles are drawn.) Another significant rule36

Travis Chaney (center) with fellow SWCplayers. (Photo courtesy of Helen Trocel)2 0 1 1 S W S C H A M P I O N S H I Pdifference is that exchanges can be made with fewer thanseven tiles in the bag. With respect to equipment, theplayers still play on fold-up boards (normally set at a rightangle toward the side of the board) and the clocks used arenot those specifically designed for SCRABBLE play.(Apparently and unfortunately, there is not a strong desireamong most to play on deluxe boards and to have betterclocks.) And extending the discussion to style and etiquette,I can say that there is significantly less familiarity with andconcern for the rules among the players I face in Spanishlanguagegames compared with their counterparts inEnglish. For instance, it is not at all infrequent to hear aperson pronouncing the word as they lay it down on theboard. With respect to strategy, Spanish-language playersfocus on playing the bingo much more than scoring decentlywhile balancing the rack. For this reason (exacerbated bythe very nature of the language in which words tend torequire more vowels), you will see more exchanges, asmany as five per player per game or more! Alas, there isnot even a word for “endgame” in Spanish. One otherdifference I should mention has to do with the rating system.FISE (Federación Internacional de Scrabble en Español)uses an adapted ELO system. Interestingly, spread is not the second most significant factor inpairings, standings, and ratings; it doesn't even seem to play a really significant role.While I respect cultural differences and am in a unique position to speak to the varying natures ofEnglish vs. Spanish SCRABBLE play, I admit that I would like to see more universalization of thegame and that forward progress will require greater changes of the Spanish-language playerstoward the rules and approaches of the English-language players. (The French, in comparison, aregenerally more advanced with respect to rules and equipment.) The primary way to gently nudgefor these changes is to have events that are multilanguage, multinational tournaments, where wecan observe each other and come to new understandings. One very important lesson I know thatwe as English-language players can come to learn from the Spanish-language players is theimportance of solidarity, camaraderie, and festivity. In our time of division (lexically andorganizationally) we can be inspired at the love and respect and sportsmanship of our fellowScrabblers who play with a lexicon based on la lengua española.For videos of this year's Spanish-language World SCRABBLE Championship, go to: http://qik.com/redeletras 37

Mountain View, CABy Jeff WidergrenM O U N T A I N V I E WA field of 16 strong players competed at the November 20th Mountain View,CA tournament. Lester Schonbrun (left) was undefeated, finishing with a+247 spread. Congrats, Lester!Number 15 seed out of 16, Pat Diener finished second, beating yours trulyin her final game.Thanks to all who showed up!Results follow:Ply# Name Ratg W - L - T +/-5 Schonbrun, Lester 1789 6- 0- 0 247 $5015 Diener, Pat 1270 5- 1- 0 122 $31 (+13 spots!!! but took 2nd monies)3 Frentz, Mike 1866 4- 2- 0 490 $209 Apindi, Isaac 1561 4- 2- 0 392 $29 (1st perf + 5 spots)4 Widergren, Jeff 1807 4- 2- 0 3422 Lerman, Jerry 1879 4- 2- 0 1351 Armstrong, Peter 1928 3- 3- 0 1577 Weissman, Emely 1629 3- 3- 0 8012 Michaels, Andrea 1414 3- 3- 0 538 Jonnalagedda, Raghuram 1612 3- 3- 0 -403 $20 (2nd perf + 3 spots)10 Whitman, Alan 1505 2- 3- 1 -109 $5 (3rd perf tie +1 spot)6 Wong, Rick 1714 2- 4- 0 22614 Veevers, Terry 1325 2- 4- 0 -480 $5 (3rd perf tie +1 spot)13 Wong, Kar-mun 1334 1- 4- 1 -27511 Catanese, Paula 1475 1- 5- 0 -29616 Mocine, Joan 1067 0- 6- 0 -68138

T A R R Y T O W NKudos to Linda Wancel and her sister, newdirector Suzette Rodriguez, for a beautifully runtournament in a pleasant and convenient venue.Linda will be running a Memorial Day Weekendtournament in 2012 at this same hotel--and I’msure she’ll see many entries!For a complete list of results go to crosstables.com.Final game board: Rau vs. Sherman40

TournamentResultsNOVEMBER 1-30HAWAII CRUISE (WGPO)10/17-11/11. Albert Hahn2. Barbara Van AlenBLOOMINGTON MN(WGPO) 11/5-61. Rob Robinsky2. Aaron Daly3. Steve BachmanBRANTFORD ON CAN 11/51. Lou Cornelis2. John Lodinski3. Abdul Majid Khan4. Adele Peltier5. Susan GossoNACOGDOCHES TX 11/5-61. Matthew Hodge2. Michael Donegan3. Regenia HidalgoPITTSBURGH PA 11/51. Pete Zeigler2. Michael Bassett3. Dianne Wittman4. Patricia ConleyBERKELEY CA 11/61. Leesa Berahovich2. Isaac Apindi3. Alan Whitman4. Peter SmithLAGUNA WOODS CA 11/61. Bruce D’AmbrosioT O U R N A M E N T R E S U L T SPHILADELPHIA PA 11/61. Jason Keller2. Mike Lean3. David DlugoszINDEPENDENCE OH (LCT)11/81. Kevin McCarthy, Sr.EMERALD CITY (SEATTLE)WA 11/11-131. James Leong2. Kolton Koehler3. Tyler CrevistonEMERALD CITY (SEATTLE)WA (COLLINS) 11/11-131. Dave WiegandGRAND CANYON AZ(WGPO) 11/11-131. Jerry Lerman2. Miriam Green3. Yvonne KnickerbockerBAYSIDE NY 11/121. John Scalzo2. Eileen Johnson3. Gerianne AbrianoBRANDON MB CAN11/12-131. Curtis Kowalski2. Dev Lallawooa3. Linda PearnCHICAGO IL 11/121. Melissa Routzahn2. Doug Lundquist3. Charles Hounmenou4. Thomas Tremont5. Kevin NickolaiEDMONTON AB CAN 11/121. Mike Ryan2. Ed GuilbaultPOUND RIDGE NY(SCHOOL SCRABBLE®)11/121. Mack Meller & DeeAnn Guo2. Sheng Guo & Noah KalusGUELPH ON CAN 11/131. Heather McCall2. Crayne SpanierROCKY RIVER OH 11/131. Jason IdalskiESSEX VT EARLY BIRD11/181. Steve GlassESSEX VT 11/18-201. Stefan Rau2. Jason Li3. Chris Ten Den4. Bridget McGrewAPEX NC 11/191. Matthew BernardinaDALLAS TX 11/191. Michael Early2. Brian Whitt3. Craig SjostromFORT LAUDERDALE FL11/191. Howard Pistol2. Anita Rackham3. Sophie Marques4. Lorna ArmstrongMILLBURN NJ 11/191. Glen Filzer2. Judy Cole3. Noushi RahmanTUCSON AZ 11/191. Donna McDonough2. Richard Fields 41

WASHINGTON D.C.(SCHOOL SCRABBLE®)11/81. Nicholas Vasquez & ThomasDraper2. Ben Page & BrysonTorgovitsky3. Tanner Iverson & EthanPhamLINDEN MI 11/181. Jeff ClarkLINDEN MI 11/191. Cheryl Melvin2. Michael GarnerLINDEN MI 11/201. Steve GrobMOUNTAIN VIEW CA(WGPO) 11/221. Lester SchonbrunMOUNT LAUREL NJ 11/231. Rahn McKeownTARRYTOWN NY 11/251. Michael Ecsedy2. Nancy DruskinTARRYTOWN NY 11/25-271. Stefan Rau2. Woody Chen3. Elizabeth DiamentKINGSTON ON CAN11/26-271. Jason Li2. Alex Rodriguez3. Diane BrownKINGSTON ON CAN(COLLINS) 11/26-271. Adam LoganT O U R N A M E N T R E S U L T SGLEN ELLYN IL 11/26-271. Melissa Routzahn2. Lesley Salas3. Tasha Asberry4. Jonathan Kent42

New FacesN E W F A C E SSince our last issue, 14 new faces have competed at NASPA, NSA, and WGPOtournaments. Two players won their division first time out: Jonathan Kent, who won Division4 at the Glen Ellyn, IL tournament on 11/26-27 with a 10-2 + record to earn an initial rating of1138 from NASPA; and our featured “New Face,” Kevin Nickolai, who won Division 5 at theChicago, IL Tournament on 11/12 with a 6-1 +589 record to earn an initial NASPA rating of1102._________________________________________________________________________Kevin NickolaiKevin Nickolai, 32, lives in Chicago, where he works “crammingthe English lexicon down students’ throats” at the Illinois Instituteof Technology and at the Art Institute. “I also have had my handin Improv--nearly lost a finger though.” He recently returned fromliving for three years in Seoul, Korea. “Korea is good for a manin his twenties,“ he notes, “but I’ll take Chicago for a man in histhirties.”The November 12th Chicago tournament was Kevin’s first. Buthe has been obsessed with the game for many years. “Youmight find a young Kevin Nickolai sitting in his parents’ house on611 Pinellas Drive tinkering with what anagrams he could sufficeout of his whole name Kevin Paul Sebastian Nickolai = CutePink Seasonal Lava Bikini.” He plays “some RomanianSCRABBLE®” (ISC), but would love to find a club that meetsnear the University of Chicago.To prepare for the tournament, Kevin played his own version of SCRABBLE: Nickolai SCRABBLE.“I create a theoretical SCRABBLE board endgame with 14 bingos and no invalid words. I play withall the tiles facing up, and I pick the letters I want to create the words I want. Flipping through theSCRABBLE dictionary I find words that fit on the board. It can take a few hours, but it teaches you athing or two about board management, and you’ll learn a few bingos you didn’t know before.”The tournament was an exciting experience for Kevin. “I was surprised at the adrenaline I feltrushing through me during my first game.” Initially he found managing the clock trickier than he’dexpected, “but by the end of the day it was second-nature.” His one loss, against Tootsie Hamburg,was his toughest game: “Tootsie had a great game against me. I couldn’t catch her even though Ithrew down a few phonies that went unchallenged; she just kept on making solid plays.”Kevin’s favorite moment in the tournament was when he showed other players how to play NickolaiSCRABBLE.Kevin hopes to play other Chicago and St. Louis tournaments--and possibly Las Vegas. He’d alsobe interested in running a tournament “if I could only figure out how this rating system works.”His advice for other new tournament players? “Win your first six games. It will bring youconfidence.” 43

N E W F A C E SWelcome to Kevin Nickolai, Jonathan Kent, and the following othernew faces:BLOOMINGTON MI 11/5-6: Scott RoethlerPITTSBURGH PA 11/5: Don GawrylaBERKELEY CA 11/6: Kevin BelinkoffLAGUNA WOODS CA 11/6: Scott ShagrinSEATTLE WA 11/11-13: Chris Autio, Kathy Brunelli, Bill Ewing, Greg Williams,CHICAGO IL 11/12: Tasha Asberry, Colin SommersPOUND RIDGE NY 11/12: Jesse Federbush, Noah KalusGLEN ELLYN IL 11/26-27: Leodegario San MiguelKINGSTON ON CAN 11/26-27: Daria Pecht44

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W SSCRABBLE® and Scrabblers in the NewsEdited by Judy ColeSee something about SCRABBLE® or a SCRABBLE® player in the news? Let us know! Send yourstories to Judy Cole (judithcole@msn.com)._______________________________________________________________________________We Are the ChampionsIn the wake of the World SCRABBLE®Championship in Warsaw, Poland, severalcountries toasted the competitors or invited themto compete at the national level:• Northern Ireland – Paul Gallen and StewartHolden, who placed 8 th and 28 th respectively,garnered 1 st place in the team competition forNorthern Ireland.Paul, who first won fame as Champion ofChampions on the British game showCountdown in 2006, applies many of the sameskills to SCRABBLE® but finds that he alsoneeds to learn short words and get rid of therubbish on the rack. For example, Paul cleanedup his rack in Warsaw with FOLKTALE for 75points.Stewart, who writes the SCRABBLE® puzzle inThe Guardian every Saturday, scored 694 inone of his Warsaw games with 7 bingos, arecord for the World Championship.NOVEMBER MILESTONESATIRUTH SAKDIYAKORN reached 2000 for the firsttime at the Cambridge (MD) tournament.JAMES LEONG reached 2000 for the first time at theSan Francisco (CA) tournament.NICK BALL reached 1900 (Collins) for the first timeat the Seattle (WA) tournament.MELISSA ROUTZAHN reached 1700 for the firsttime at the Glen Ellyn (IL) tournament.JASON LI reached 1700 for the first time at theKingston (ON) tournament.JEREMY HALL reached 1700 for the first time at theTarrytown (NY) tournament.GEOFF TONGUE reached 1700 for the first time atthe Seattle (WA) tournament.PAT GABOURY reached 1700 for the first time at theCambridge (MD) tournament.JOE PETREE reached 1700 for the first time at theCambridge (MD) tournament.MIKE LEAN reached 1500 for the first time at theNews Letter (11/02/2011) http://Philadelphia (PA) tournament.www.newsletter.co.uk/lifestyle/features/the_war_of_the_words_ulster_champs_scrabble_for_success_1_3204913• Ireland – On November 12-13, 2011, the eighth Four Nations SCRABBLE® tournament tookplace at the Beechlawn Hotel in Dunmurry, Belfast. Ireland won this year for the first time overteams from Wales, Scotland, and England.Joining Paul Gallen and Stewart Holden to represent Ireland weretwo players from the south: Kevin McMahon and FeargalWeatherhead, the current Irish champion.The Irish team won 33 of their 48 matches while England, in 2 nd place,won 24 games.Build.ie (11/15/2011) http://www.build.ie/national_news.asp?newsid=135193 45

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W SEnniscorthy Guardian (11/22/2011) http://www.enniscorthyguardian.ie/lifestyle/fergal-on-winningirish-scrabble-team-2941893.html• United Kingdom – In a 5-game playoff held on November 5, 2011, Wayne Kelly defeated GaryOliver for the British national championship. Each player won scores of games, including nine inone day in the semifinals, to get to the finals for the first time.While Wayne and Gary battled in a small, quiet room, 50 spectatorsgathered to watch the moves replayed on a giant SCRABBLE® boardwith commentary by former champion Brett Smitheram. Live Internetcoverage was also provided.Wayne, who was a runner-up on the game show Countdown in 1994,plans to spend a portion of his £2,000 winnings on a new computer.The Guardian (11/06/2011) http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/nov/06/scrabble-champion-2011-wayne-kelly?newsfeed=trueBBC News (11/07/2011) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ukengland-15616889You can view videos of the championships at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/national-scrabblefinal-2011.• Malaysia - Top Malaysian SCRABBLE® players Aaron Chong and Yeo Kien Hung, who placed24 th and 45 th at the World Championship, performed well enough to increase the number of slotsallocated to Malaysia to 3 at the next World Championship.A third Malaysian player, Ker Jen Ho, earned a slot as the 2010 World Youth SCRABBLE®(WYSC) champion and placed 70 th in his World Championship debut.Malaysia Star (11/11/2011) http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2011/11/11/lifeliving/9863301&sec=lifelivingTourney TalkTournaments are in the news:• Green Mountain Challenge - On November 17, 2011, Sherrie Saint John and Jane Whitmoreappeared on WCAX TV to promote the sixthannual Green Mountain Challenge in Essex (VT).The TV station called to request the interview afew minutes after Jane sent out a press release.A few viewers dropped by The Essex to check outthe tournament over the weekend.Go to http://www.wcax.com/video and search forSCRABBLE to locate the 5-minute video.46

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W S• Eastern Championship – The strip search incident at the World Championship provided a hookfor Ryan Fischer to promote the Eastern Championship scheduled for February 17-20, 2012, inCharlotte (NC).The Charlotte Observer (11/23/2011) http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/11/23/2785794/scrabble-scene-offers-opportunities.htmlSchool DaysSCRABBLE® is appearing on college campuses and in schools across the country:• University of Pennsylvania – Class of 1985 alumnusStefan Fatsis returned to campus on November 5, 2011,to discuss the 10 th anniversary of Word Freak during avisit to the Penn Bookstore.Stefan remained on campus to Sunday’s tournament inHouston Hall, one of several tournaments that the PennSCRABBLE® Club is holding in conjunction with the Yearof Games at the university.The Daily Pennsylvanian (11/08/2011) http://thedp.com/index.php/article/2011/11/word_freak_author_stephan_fatsis_spells_it_out• Harvard University - The inaugural meeting of the Harvard College SCRABBLE® Club onNovember 1, 2011, was featured as one of the activities taking place at the Tuesday night BrainBreak in Annenberg Hall.According to club organizer Matt J. Pawlowski, the club chose Annenberg as a meeting spotbecause of its open space, central location, and large tables. SCRABBLE® boards took up fourof those tables that evening.Harvard Crimson (11/03/2011) http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2011/11/3/annenberg-midnightextended-hours/• Purdue University – On November 10, 2011, 162 students attended 11 in 11, a celebration forgaming of all kinds, at Purdue University. The Purdue University Gaming Guild (PUGG) hostedthe 11 th anniversary of Fall Games Night at Purdue.The Purdue University Calumet Chronicle (11/13/2011) http://www.pucchronicle.com/pugg-s-11-in-11-an-all-around-success-1.2697884#.Ttpk87LNlGU 47

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W S•Roosevelt School - The Rahway Foundation forExcellence in Education (RFEE) recentlyawardedDeborah Prakapas, a fourth grade teacher at theRoosevelt School in Rahway (NJ), a grant to introduceSCRABBLE® to all fourth graders at the school. Aprevious grant awarded by the RFEE funded theprogram for fifth graders at the school.New Jersey Today (11/22/2011) http://njtoday.net/2011/11/22/spelling-their-way-to-success/•Indianola (IA) High School – The recently formedSCRABBLE® club at Indianola High School alreadyhas about 35 members who meet monthly to competefor highest all-time score, highest scoring word, and most unusual word.Members will be able to earn credit for service hours through games with the residents of nursinghomes twice a month.The Indian (11/23/2011) http://my.hsj.org/Schools/Newspaper/tabid/100/view/frontpage/articleid/476327/newspaperid/3981/Scrabble_Club_It_isnt_just_for_playing_with_words.aspxShow Me the ShamanVermont SCRABBLE® player Ed Liebfried appeared on the October 30, 2011, episode of YourMetaphysical Condition to discuss the traditions of Andean Shamanism.You may be able to catch a rebroadcast of the interview on Cheshire TV (http://www.cheshiretv.org/grid.htm) or at the program’s site (http://www.ymc-online.info/ymc-online.info/Welcome.html).Smile When You Play ThatThe UK culture and artsmagazine, Don’t Panic,showcased Roger Cullman’sseries of SCRABBLEportraits. (Photo ©RogerCullman http://www.rogercullman.com)Don’t Panic (11/13/2011)http://www.dontpaniconline.com/magazine/arts/the-scrabbleportraits48

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W SSCRABBLE® FundraisersSCRABBLE® tournaments and events as fundraisers are in the news:• Families Plus – On November 3, 2011, more than 100 playersattended the first SCRABBLE® tournament fundraiser to benefitFamilies Plus in Frederick (MD). Families Plus offers programsand support groups that focus on education and empowermentto families, individuals, and children. Skills ranged from thoseplaying their first SCRABBLE® game to those withSCRABBLE® bracelets. Prizes were awarded to the top team aswell as to the top individual.•Literacy Volunteers of Greater Waterbury (CT) – Theannual wordfest held at Howland-Hughes in late October,2011, stirred things up with a soup challenge this year. TheBonterra Grill of Southington (CT) won top honors with azesty mussels and chorizo chowder. In the SCRABBLE®tournament, the Ryan’s Angels team won both the bonusand main rounds for the second year in a row.Republican-American (10/29/2011) http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2011/10/29/news/local/595468.txtGazette.Net (11/04/2011) http://www.gazette.net/article/20111104/NEWS/711049553/1018/scrabble-tournament-spells-success-for-nonprofit&template=gazette•Lincoln (NE) Literacy – About 120 people competed in the thirdannual SCRABBLE® Scramble to benefit Lincoln Literacy onNovember 6, 2011. For four hours, the 28 teams played to winSCRABBLE® crackers , trophies, and the honor of being Scrabblechampions. Victory went to the A-Team whose favorite word thatday was SPARKIER for 69 points.Lincoln Journal Star (11/06/2011) http://journalstar.com/news/local/article_d83b8e41-5ab3-503f-818e-e4bdd960cc8c.html•Oconee (SC) Education Foundation – The Oconee EducationFoundation will be holding the first of three planned SCRABBLE®tournaments on January 28, 2012, at Walhalla High School.Recent grants awarded by the foundation enabled teachers topurchase iPads, Netbooks, microscopes, music supplies, andfingerprint identification kits for the classroom.Expert player David Gibson will officiate at the 5-roundtournament for which Duke Energy has donated a first prize of$500. Registration is available online at http://www.oconee.k12.sc.us/Community.cfm?subpage=38172.Independent Mail (11/15/2011) http://www.independentmail.com/news/2011/nov/15/oconeeeducation-foundation-awards-classroom-grant/ 49

Geek of the WeekS C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W SGeekWire, an independent technology news site and onlinecommunity based in Seattle (WA), dubbed Chip Brown its Geek ofthe Week on November 10, 2011. Chip is chief architect at Puzzazz,a Seattle-area startup that applies technology and hand crafting tocreate products such as puzzle e-books for the Kindle. Chip’shobbies include keeping bees, creating a clock from scratch, andplaying the SCRABBLE® variant Clabbers.GeekWire (11/10/2011) http://www.geekwire.com/2011/geek-weekchip-brown-puzzazzchief-architectCamp SCRABBLE®On October 24 and 25, 2011, 100 students took part in the firstSCRABBLE® coaching camp in Dubai (UAE). The camp,conducted by Karen and Alastair Richards, schooled thestudents in the intricacies of tournament play as well as thepossibilities offered by a rack of OTARINE.Dubai will send 10 students to the World Youth SCRABBLE®Championships in Malaysia in December.Khaleej Times (11/01/2011) http://www.khaleejtimes.com/citytimes/inside.asp?xfile=/data/citytimes/2011/November/citytimes_November13.xml&section=citytimes&col=Pop ArtThe official artists of Monopoly and SCRABBLE® fineart, Jim and Kathleen Keifer [featured in the May2010 issue of The Last Word] held a show at the RileyArts Center in Manhattan Beach (CA) on November11, 2011, to benefit the Firefighter Cancer SupportNetwork and the Mira Costa High School PTSA.The couple, painting as J&K Keifer, began to createthe game-themed artwork after Jim obtained exclusivelicensing rights from Hasbro in 2009. Collectors of thegame series include celebrities from Sharon Stone toSteven Spielberg.The SCRABBLE® art, which features humoroussayings like “Need Coffee” and “It’s Complicated,” can be personalized on commission to depictwords or names of the collector’s choice.Easy Reader (11/17/2011) http://www.easyreadernews.com/37734/art-jk-keifer/50

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W SLet’s DanceToronto (ON) player Vera Bigall appeared on the October 16, 2011, broadcast of Equalizing XDistort (E-X-D), a radio program focusing on hardcore punk on CIUT 89.5 FM.Vera was one of the organizers of Start Dancing, a weekly event that attracted punk fans of all agesto halls, curling clubs, church basements, and other unlikely community spaces that they could findaround the city.Perhaps a SCRABBLE® tournament or two shared the same venues?You can download the broadcast at http://equalizingxdistort.blogspot.com/ - look for the October 30,2011, posting.Minds in MotionSitting down for a game of SCRABBLE® afterparticipating in a fitness routine is just theright mix of heart-pumping movement andmental exercise to make a difference in thelife of a person who suffers from Alzheimer’sdisease.The Minds in Motion program, offered throughNanaimo (BC) Parks, Recreation, andCulture, combines exercise and socialactivities such as board games and friendlyconversation over a cup of tea or coffee tohelp people in the early stages of Alzheimer’sdisease – or a related dementia – to livehealthier lives.Nanaimo News Bulletin (11/12/2011) http://www.bclocalnews.com/lifestyles/133635138.htmlMARVI-lousLike many other 14-year old girls, Marvi Deflinlikes to play sports on weekends – only hersport is SCRABBLE®. Marvi will representWestern Australia at the World YouthSCRABBLE® Championships, where she willplay 83 games across 10 days of tournamentplay in Malaysia and Singapore.Marvi, who prefers math to English in school,practices SCRABBLE® for 2 hours every day.WAtoday (11/07/2011) http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/easy-as-abcfor-scrabble-whizkidmarvi-20111107-1n2d9.html 51

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W SCo-OperationWoodlawn (ON) SCRABBLE® player Donna Balkan is cited several times in a Huffington Postarticle (11/23/2011) on the Co-Operative Movement.Donna, who is the Communications Manager for the Canadian Co-Operative Association, describesthe challenge faced by the movement: “The co-op business model is rarely taught in businessschools or law faculties, and mainstream media rarely cover co-operatives as a distinct form ofbusiness.”The Huffington Post – Canada (11/18/2011) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/emily-kennedy/co-opmovement_b_1095577.htmlGame On!November 12, 2011, marked the 4 th annual National Gaming Day, an initiative by the AmericanLibrary Association to reconnect communities through their libraries. Among the more than 1,000libraries showcasing gaming products and services were:• Niceville (FL) Public Library – The Niceville Public Library extendedNational Gaming Day to include all of November with SCRABBLE®tournaments on November 9 and 30, 2011.Northwest Florida Daily News (11/09/2011) http://www.nwfdailynews.com/articles/niceville-45110-unites-community.html• Hillsboro (OR) Public Library – About a dozen parents and childrengathered on November 12, 2011, to play SCRABBLE®, Chutes andLadders, Candyland, and other games.Oregon Live (11/12/2001) http://www.oregonlive.com/hillsboro/index.ssf/2011/11/families_bond_around_game_boar.htmlSCRABBLE® CelebritiesCelebrities share our love of the game.• Washington Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo takes on the Caveman in a SCRABBLE®-likegame in the latest GEICO commercial.Washington Post (10/31/2011) http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/post/brian-orakpos-scrabble-geico-ad/2011/10/31/gIQAVD6bZM_blog.html•Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Tracee Ellis Rossplay SCRABBLE® with their sitcom children onthe BET series Reed Between the Lines.The Charleston Gazette (11/09/2011) http://wvgazette.com/News/20111109024952

H I S T O R I C M O M E N T SHistoric Moments: SCRABBLE® Throughout the YearsTournament DistractionsBy Stu GoldmanWe all know how important concentration is to our play. I imagine that the experienced player whohas not at some time blamed distraction for a loss is a rare bird indeed. I sometimes wonder howpro athletes manage to do make precision plays with thousands of people screaming at them,sometimes with the goal of distracting them.The most common type of distraction is other people talking. I have on occasion called a director torequest an announcement for silence. More times than I would like to remember I have called forquiet myself, sometimes at top volume. I consider it fortunate that no punishment has ever beenmeted out to me for my outbursts.The worst distraction of this type I remember was in a game at a large tournament, a round robinthat started just before lunch and when all the other games had finished. For years I heard how Iwas trying to quiet the other players who were enjoying their break.But the most annoying vocal distraction often comes from another room, so nothing can be doneabout it. Once I was looking for a bingo with an awkward rack containing a blank, against a topplayer, while, in the next room, announcements were being made in a voice that came clearlythrough the partition. That time I did not overcome the problem, but on the final day of the 1992NSC in Atlanta I did.In another room of the hotel a lecture was in progress, and the speaker was enunciating very loudly.My tournament had gone very well previously, and I was 16-8. I finished 19-8 for sixth place, thoughI could hear every word of the nearby lecturer.Another distraction is the ringing of a cell phone. Tournament directors often ask at the beginning ofeach session to have phones turned off or set on vibrate. On cgp at least one player has postedthat all phones should be off in the tournament room. My reply to that was that there are somethings more important than doing well in a SCRABBLE® tournament. I was thinking specifically ofexpected medical evaluations of the player or a player's loved one, though I'm sure there are otherreasons someone might need immediate access to a phone.Yet another thing that could distract is someone's physical action. The most flagrant example of thisI know has an element of humor. The player involved knew how he would get rid of his final tiles, sohe took a walk around the room while his opponent contemplated his move. As he passed onetable, an arm was extended barring his path. The walker barely made it back to his game to finishit. He wrote on cgp that it was the only time his out play had ever been blocked by someone otherthan his opponent.Stu Goldman lives in California and has been playing tournament SCRABBLE® for 37 years. 55

S O Y O U W A N T T O B E . . .So you want to be a professional SCRABBLE® player?By Katie DevanneyClick and enjoy!XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX56

Scrab-dokuBy Jeff KastnerS C R A B - D O K UIn a standard Sudoku, your object is to fill in every square of the grid so that all nine rows across, allnine columns down, and all nine 3-by-3 boxes contain the numbers 1 through 9, with no repeats.Same rules apply to this Scrab-doku, but I’ve added a few twists to help you solve it. First of all, Iuse letters to replace the numbers. These letters are part of a “Keyword,” which I’ve scrambledbelow. I’ve also provided a clue to help you find the correct anagram. Once you’ve unscrambled theKeyword, one of the rows or columns will contain all of its 9 letters in the proper order.This week’s “Scrambled” Keyword: SAFE THIRDClue:In baseball, some fearless runners will dive into third base this way.SOLUTION on the page after next. 57

SOLUTIONS C R A B - D O K UKeyword (Unscrambled): HEADFIRST (35 Words Total)AIRSHEDAIRTHEDARIDESTASTRIDEDASHIERDEAFISHDEARTHSDIASTERDISRATEDITHERSFAIRESTFAITHEDFARSIDEFATHERSHAFTERSHARDESTHARDIESHARDIESTHARDSETHASTIERHATREDSHEADFIRSTRATFISHREDFISHREDSHIFTSHADIERSHAFTEDSHIFTEDSHIFTERSTAIDERSTRAFEDTARDIESTHREADSTIRADESTRASHED 59

The WordsmithConsider More SixesBy Chris SinacolaT H E W O R D S M I T HPart 2 of 2Last month I discussed the value (questionable) and beauty (undeniable) of studying six-letterwords, and offered 10 interesting ones. This month, I discuss another 10, drawn from the 1,900notecards I have been studying.I’ll conclude with a recap of some six-letter words I have played in recent months, and somethoughts on whether this intensive study of the sixes has been worth the trouble.NAGANAThis is a noun meaning a horse disease in Africa, and comes from a Zulu word, nakane.Specifically, according to thefreedictionary.com, it is “An often fatal disease of African ungulatescaused by various species of trypanosomes and transmitted by the bite of the tsetse fly.” I include itbecause it is an excellent word for sopping up excessive As.OBTECTThis word, an adjective meaning “covered by a hardened secretion,” along with the next word,OBTEST, illustrate how helpful some knowledge of Latin can be in SCRABBLE®. Perhaps that’s theseveral years of taking Latin in me speaking, but no matter. The OB- prefix, in Latin, means “in frontof, before,” and the –TECT part is from the Latin for a covering. Indeed, OBTECT is one of thethousands of English words that are derived more or less directly from Latin. The OED explains thatOBTECT or OBTECTED is used specifically “Applied to the form of pupa characteristic of theLepidoptera, in which the limbs, etc. of the future insect are indistinctly discernible through the outercovering….” Think about that for a bit, and you’ll realize you’ve seen examples, usually whilecleaning windows in the attic or a back room. And you might have shuddered. Well, now you knowthe word for it.OBTESTChange one letter and we have OBTEST, which is a verb meaning “to beseech, implore.” This, too,is a Latin derivative, but the subtleties of that allegedly dead language are here displayed to fineeffect. OB does mean “in front of, before,” but it means more than that, including, as here, roughly“on account of.” And testari is Latin for “to bear witness.” Thus, OBTEST means more than simply“to beseech.” It means, as the OED explains, to call upon “in the name or for the sake of somethingsacred, to charge solemnly,” and offers this example of its use from the letters of SamuelRutherford, a Scottish Presbyterian theologian of the 17 th century: “I beseech and obtest you in theLord, to make conscience of rash and passionate oaths, of raging and sudden, avenging anger, ofnight drinking, of needless companionry, of sabbath-breaking, of hurting any under you by word ordeed, of hating your very enemies.”It’s companionary*, by the way, in case anyone is wondering.The point to bear in mind with regard to OBTECT and OBTEST is that it really is possible, if youcare to spend the time, to puzzle out what part of speech a SCRABBLE word is likely to be. It does60

T H E W O R D S M I T Hhelp to have some knowledge of Latin, but any good dictionary – not a SCRABBLE dictionary,however – will do the trick if you peruse it enough.PLACETHere is yet another Latin word, one meaning, literally “it pleases,” and is thus a verb in Latin. But inEnglish, it means a vote of assent, and was used, the OED tells me, in the universities of old, whena question was put to the magistrates or doctors: “Placetne vobis, domini doctores? Placetne vobis,magistri?” (“Does it please you, Doctors? Does it please you, Masters?” The possible answers were,of course, “Placet” or “Non placet.”Thus does a Latin verb come into English as a noun, so we have PLACETS (and its anagram,CAPLETS, and some pills can be pleasing, indeed), and if you care to venture into Collins territory,there’s also PLACIT, -S#, PLACITUM# and PLACITA#, all meaning a favorable court ruling – andillustrating how much more inclusive and forgiving Collins can be.REPERKUnforgiving is perhaps the best way to describe the task of remembering which words take RE- andwhich do not. Many have tried to conquer this task, and some have succeeded, but I suspect bruteforce memorization is the only way to do it. There’s not a lot of logic or consistency in play. REPERKis an interesting case, because while PERK is a very familiar verb, usually used with “up” as in whatwe do to ourselves with caffeine in the morning, or a hot shower and the various ablutions that gowith that, REPERK, according to the OSPD4 means “to carry oneself jauntily anew.” This seemsunpersuasive to me, but so too does the Collins definition, “to brew again.”PERK itself is a very old Welsh or English word – the origin is obscure – meaning either a pole orspike, when a noun, or to carry oneself with confidence, when a verb. The OED is silent onREPERK, with any meaning. PERK meaning to brew coffee, say, clearly comes from the Latinwords for “to pass through a filter,” but why anyone would REPERK, which must involve reusing thegrounds, is beyond me. Some of my close relations do, sad to say, insist on reusing tea bags whenthey can get away with it. I have tried to curb the practice.In short, REPERK is good, and you’ll just have to remember that – along with hundreds of other REwordsthat may, or may not, make sense to you.SALOOP“A hot drink made from an infusion of aromatic herbs,” says the OSPD4, and that’s true, but theorigin of SALOOP lies in the Near East, where it is most commonly known as SALEP, a Turkishbeverage made from ground orchid roots mixed with sugar and spices. The package in my kitchenincludes sugar, skimmed milk powder, guar gum, cornstarch, cinnamon, tricalcium* (really, why not!)phosphate as an anti-caking agent, and “Nature Identical Salep Flavour,” which has me worried thatperhaps my salep is not the real deal. Tastes good, anyway.The Turkish original – half-a-dozen or more other cultures around the Eastern Mediterranean alsolay claim to a similar drink – came into vogue in England through the workings of colonialism, andone of their variations used sassafras, sugar and milk.TMESISTMESIS, along with its plural, TMESES, is the only word in SCRABBLE that begins with TM-. EvenCollins has nothing to add. It comes from the Greek for “a cutting,” and means the breaking or 61

T H E W O R D S M I T Hcutting of a compound word by the interposition of another word in the middle. One example offeredby Wikipedia comes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, where the phrase “circumdare virum,” meaning“to surround the man” becomes “circum virum dant” (they surround the man), because it just looksneat to put the man in the middle of the verb, which gets cut in half. Ancient Greek did this sort ofthing regularly, and those familiar with German know tmesis in the form of that language’s separableverbs.But tmesis is used in English, as well, and more than you might realize. Such simple statements as“turn the light off” are tmetic*, in that “turn” and “off” are separated. You can avoid tmesis by saying“turn off the light.” I wouldn’t worry about it.And then there are the many intensive examples of tmesis, such as “la-dee-frickin’-da,” in which ladee-dagets cut in half, or thirds, and an intensive is added. There are many other examples wecannot print here.UNSELLLike the RE- words, the UN- words are full of pitfalls. I lost a game a couple years ago when myopponent played UN- in front of CHOKING to reach a TWS. Surely that’s phony, I thought, andchallenged. But to UNSELL? Modern life and commerce is all about making sales, advertising,persuading folks that a product or idea is worthy of their support and dollars. To go in the otherdirection is contrary to much that we have been taught. While we are often UNCONVINCED orUNPERSUADED, we do not actively UNCONVINCE* or UNPERSUADE* anyone of anything.Collins defines it as “to speak disparagingly about,” but nowhere have I found a really old usage ofthe word.Again, as with the RE- words, there’s no substitute for just learning which are good and which arenot.WAFFIEOne of the most glaring inconsistencies in the SCRABBLE lexicon is the OSPD4’s habit ofaccepting a word like WAFF as a verb, meaning to wave, and accepting another variation of theword as a noun. For WAFF is also a Scottish word meaning a stray animal, from which we getWAFFIE, meaning a stray or vagabond person. In this case, things work out, but they often do not.Try telling a Scrabbler who knows definitions that WAFF means a stray animal, and they’ll probablydeny it and wave you away. Want more Scottish words, more than you ever thought possible?Check out: http://www.dsl.ac.uk/WICOPYFinally, another word full of difficult-to-dispose-of consonants. This one means an Indian herb orflowering shrub, and may come from the Eastern Abenaki words “wik pi,” meaning the inner bark ofleatherwood used in making cordage. The word shares its etymology with WIKIUP or WICKIUP,meaning an American Indian hut.Be that as it may, Maud Grieve’s famous herbal declares that wicopy is Willow-Herb or Rose Bay,Epilobium angustifolium, and goes on, in her exhaustive way, to catalog its origins, growingconditions, and uses, including this gem: “The ale made from the plant in Kamchatka is renderedstill more intoxicating with a toadstool, the Fly Agaric, Agaricus muscarius.”Maybe so, but don’t try this at home!62

T H E W O R D S M I T HNow that you have had a taste – or perhaps a surfeit – of sixes, the big question remains: Does aknowledge or six-letter words pay off when it comes to winning SCRABBLE games?I have to admit that a review of my games since last summer doesn’t offer a lot of evidence thatexotic or unusual sixes help all that much. For starters, I found very few sixes at all, and those I didplay rarely were not usually critical to success.There was GRUMPY for 41 and FAWNER for 21, both in lop-sided wins, (B)ISQUE for 51 in a lostcause, FOVEAL for 34, LEPTON fo 31 in a big win, and GRAPPA for 36 early in a game, where thepoints helped, but it’s hard to say they were the key to success.More helpful was EMOTED to reach a TWS for 41 in a fairly close game, PIGO(UT) for 18 to cleanup a tough rack early in one game that ended in victory, and CHaUNTS for 74 – that’s a seven, ofcourse, but CHAUNT is a six and that’s the way I figure it.A better example came in a game at Utica. My opponent and I had had several spirited, closecontests, and I opened one of them with KIBBLE for 38, and added NIDGET later on. That gamewent my way by four points. Did KIBBLE do the trick?Perhaps that one time it did, but it could have been a lucky draw or any of the many other factorsthat spell victory or defeat.But then, between the first and second parts of this column, I happened to find two sixes that didplay critical roles in winning a couple of games, both at club sessions.The first came in a game against a stronger opponent in which I had drawn very well early on andwas fortunate to hold a modest lead. On turn 8, I played SPRENT to a TWS for 38 points. Myopponent held the play and finally challenged it, and later explained he knew BESPRENT was good,but wasn’t sure about SPRENT. I got a mere 8 points on the next play, but held on to win by 30.In the second, I was locked in a very close game on a mostly blocked board, and was trailing by 17,but held a strong rack of DEORTX? There was one open lane, column A, and I decided to tryDEXTRO, hooking the O to a P, for 53, leaving the blank on my rack. I thought it was probably good,but I wasn’t 100 percent sure. But it scored well, and with five tiles remaining in the bag, I figured itwas a good thing to take chances by leaving a blank.My opponent held, but did not challenge. While my final rack was the potentially disastrous CCIOY?,my opponent was not able to go out with a rack of ALPS, and I survived by 397-376.So, in the end, I do recommend learning your sixes. They may not win a lot of games, but under theright circumstances they, like any other aspect of SCRABBLE, can be critically important.Chris Sinacola is director of the Worcester (MA) NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #600, where he tries toUNMESH letter combinations each Tuesday evening. 63

App Review: ZarfZ A R FZarf is an iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch app for players ofSCRABBLE® and Clabbers. It offers word list lookup, patternmatching, word adjudication, and a timer suitable for club play.By using the “search” penel, you can anagram and build wordsthat are acceptable in TWL, Collins, OSPD, Words with Friends,or ODS. If you tap on a word you can get a list of hooks or get adefinition.The clock function features a digital countdown timer, plus anidicator light to notify players when the one-minute courtesy holdtime has expired. Challenges can be made by pressing a buttonto pause the timer.The “judge” panel can be used to adjudicate challenges. It functions as a word judge, permittingplayers to see if one or more words is acceptable or not.Zarf’s Version 5 has several new features. You may now adjust the font size in the “search” panel,plus letters matching wildcards are highlighted.Users have found Zarf fast, simple, and accurate. The only negative is that the app is somewhat ofa “batttery drain.”You can download Zarf for free from the iTunes App Store here.64

A S C R A B B L E H O L I D A YA SCRABBLE® Holiday in England’s Lake DistrictBy Ann JackmanThis February 12-17, Rothay Manor Hotel, in England’s lovelyLake District, will be offering its annual “SCRABBLE Holiday.”The hotel started offering these vacations back in 2008, andthey have proved very popular. They were designed for boththe club player and those who may just want to start winningthose family SCRABBLE games! The holiday provides aperfect balance between learning new techniques, competition,and relaxing in the beautiful Lake District. It is suitable forcouples as well as anyone on their own, with communal diningand friendly leaders.During the course of the holiday,guests learn techniques andstrategies for greatly improving their SCRABBLE games. Each dayusually starts with a competition, after which there are optional tutorialson various aspects of the game. Leaflets are provided after each tutorialto support the topics covered. As one guest commented, “A goodbalance of tutorials, free time, and competition games. The lessons werewell taught and useful.”The course is run by a husband-and-wife team. Kathy Rush has beenplaying SCRABBLE competitively for many years. She has been a memberof the Postal SCRABBLE club both as a player and committee member. Sheis supported by her husband, David Rush, who has developed the tutoringside of SCRABBLE. Their friendly, informal approach makes for a relaxedatmosphere.There are three competitions during the week, but guests don’t have toenter all of them. The main competition is a series of one-on-one gamesagainst fellow guests, using Swiss pairings. If the thought of competingagainst fellow players is perhaps a little daunting, the tutors are alwaysavailable to help. A previous SCRABBLE enthusiast said: “Very interestinginput with regard to strategies, and I am now more knowledgeable about the rules. I was verynervous about playing publicly, but Dave and Kathy put us all at ease.”Play continues throughout the day and evening, but there is always time forcoffee, socializing, and exploring the local area, if guests wish. Rothay Manoris well placed to visit the major attractions of the Lake District either by walking,car, or public transport. Trips on the Lake, walks, and visits to cultural sitessuch as Wordsworth's Dove Cottage are all possible. Non-playing partners arewelcome, and games other than SCRABBLE are often played in the afternoonand late evening sessions.Each holiday runs from Sunday afternoon through to Friday morning. Breakfast, morning coffee, alight afternoon tea, and a three-course dinner are provided each day of the stay. 65

A S C R A B B L E H O L I D A YRothay Manor, near the village of Ambleside and a quarter mile fromthe head of Lake Windermere, is certainly a grand setting for epicbattles across the board. Built for a Liverpool merchant in 1825, it isthe sort of house Jane Austen might have had in mind when writingabout the elegant families of the pre-Victorian era. There are 19bedrooms, all individually decorated and with private bathrooms.Guests have a choice of Classic rooms to Superior rooms, many ofwhich have a balcony. Suites are available for those who require morespace and privacy. The hotel is set in a large garden, which is perfectfor croquet, and the restaurant is renowned for its afternoon tea. Owned by the Nixon family for thelast 45 years, Rothay Manor has a peaceful, friendly atmosphere.So, with expert tuition, beautiful surroundings, and wonderful food, the Rothay Manor SCRABBLEHoliday is the perfect relaxing break.For specifics on cost, transportation, and booking, contact Ann Jackman at the address or emailbelow:Ann JackmanRothay Manor HotelAmblesideCUMBRIAUKann@rothaymanor.co.uk66

S C R A B B L E S T R A T E G Y V I D E O G U I D ESCRABBLE® Strategy Video Guide: Parts 1 & 2By Curran EggertsonThese are the first two episodes of what will be a series of SCRABBLE tutorials focusing on intermediateand advanced strategy. In the first video Curran Eggertson introduces himself and defines the four generalstrategies of SCRABBLE: Offense, Defense, Leave, and Board Management. In the second video hediscusses strategy for the Opening Play. Next month Part 3 will discuss Tile Valuation.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXPart 1: IntroductionXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXPart 2: The Opening Play 67

T H E N E W C O L L I N S - O N L Y T H R E E SThe New Collins-Only ThreesBy Chris LipeThe time is 2006. The place is North America. The word list is the OWL and all kinds of excitementis in the air because...there are new words. New beautiful delicious crunchy words, additions to theword list that feel like getting a new baby in the family. Who doesn't remember fondly as wewelcomed EMAILED, FEST, PST, and, yes, QI, and ZA into our cozy little lexicon. All these additionsare new friends to be made, embraced, and welcomed. It was a giddy time.Well let me tell you want -- there are MORE NEW WORDS. The entire world is rising up in jubilationas we welcome new friends such as INBOX and ALOO and GUQIN into the fold. And yes, whilethere are no new twos, there are nineteen new threes to welcome. And one, sadly, is going the wayof EMF -- a farewell to a friend who will soon be erased from our board vision.Those of us who have been immersing in Collins will enjoy this once-over of the new three-letterwords -- but hold off on them until the first of the year! [1] And those of you who have been waitingfor an opportune time to play SCRABBLE® with the full English-language lexicon, the dawn of anew dictionary is a beautiful time to dip your toes into the softly roaring Collins ocean. The water iswarm and the minnows are jubilantly dancing between your toes.(Note: My mostly apocryphal series on Collins-only threes has been archived at the SeattleSCRABBLE Club website as well as in last March's issue of The Last Word.)Without any further ados, here are the nineteen additions:ALU -- Any Indian restaurant will have this, or its alternate spelling ALOO on the menu. It is apotato, and it is generally provided accompanied by the rest of a tasty vindaloo. Even though I justhad lunch this list is already making me hungry! Takes the mouse. [2]AME -- From the French âme, meaning "soul", from the Latin ANIMA. Used in English in the phrase"ame damnee,” i.e., a person who does someone else's dirty work. Takes the mouse.ANS -- "If ifs and ans were pots and pans, there'd be no need for tinkers' hands" goes the oldrhyme. Similar sort of meaning to "If wishes were fishes" or something like that.ATS -- There are 100 ats to the Laotian kip. Also ATT, although ATT doesn't take the mouse.AWK -- A clever command-line scripting language used in Unix, in shell scripts. Strange that I'vehardly ever used AWK; I prefer SED myself. AWK takes the mouse. SED does not as it's the pasttense of "SAY" sez the book.ERM -- This word is, erm, used when the speaker, um, doesn't really know what, erm, is comingnext.GAK -- GAK is street slang for cocaine. Don't do GAK, kids. It takes the mouse to make it plural. Asin the zero plural -- "I have no gaks in my house." Say no to drugs.GAW -- A Scots word, indicating a rainbow which is only partially visible over the horizon thatforetells bad weather -- the rainbow before the storm. Takes the mouse.GER -- Mongolian for "home,” a GER is similar to a yurt, but has certain structural differences tomake it different from a yurt. Takes the mouse.68

T H E N E W C O L L I N S - O N L Y T H R E E SING -- An ING is a water-meadow -- a low-lying meadow near a river, stream, or channel that issubject to seasonal flooding or is otherwise irrigated. The upshot is that since the low-lying ground isdamp, it will resist frost in the spring and fall and give extra time for growing hay or whatnot. Takesthe mouse.MEH -- An interjection expressing boredom or indifference. Popularised on "The Simpsons" in theearly 2000's, it is now mainstream enuf to have made it into Harper-Collins' sights. Dinna take themouse.OIS -- OI now has a new, non-interjectory definition which takes the mouse. Let's see.........WESPAclaims it means "a bloke," but I like wikipedia's definitions better... let's go with, the Maori name forthe Great Winged Petrel (as in, "Oi look at those ois!")PEL -- Like BINIT, it's an older form of a computer-type word; in this case today we use PIXEL asthe word abbreviated from "picture element," but it was also at one time simply "pel.” Takes themouse, natch.QIN -- A kind of Chinese stringed instrument. Look at the wikipedia article for GUQIN for pictures --it's a simple-looking thing, somewhat similar to a zither. Also, yes, GUQIN is being added to thelexicon -- it is the ancient version of the QIN (as opposed to contemporary qins.)RAV -- An SUV made by Toyota. No, seriously, it's the Hebrew word for rabbi, and also can be usedmore generically for a spiritual guide. Perhaps similar to a guru? Takes the mouse.SOZ -- A texter's or headline writer's abbreviation for "sorry.” As in:http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/07/u2_ticket_apology/SUG -- This is an acronym for "Selling Under the Guise of research.” It's when someone pretends tobe doing market research, but is really just trying to sell their product. Maybe sort of like thosecommercials you see where food bloggers are invited to a new "trendy restaurant" and served afrozen pasta dinner you can buy in the store. It's a verb, so SUGS, SUGGED and SUGGING.TIK -- South African (according to wiki) street name for crystal meth. Don't do tik, kids. Or "sillyrabbit, tiks are for kids.” Which they aren't. For kids I mean. Or adults, either. Drugs. They're bad foryou.UMS -- UM is now a verb, and it means, um, to erm, lace your, um, speech with, um, um. Yeah, Iwas umming a lot there.And finally, last, and apparently now, also least, is the three-letter word to whom we must bid fondadieux. One of the changes in CSW12 is the removed of plurals of some interjections. Theobjectionable interjectional pluralisations included the plural of one two-letter interjection, so, it iswith sadness in our hearts that we mourn the passing into SCRABBLE history the soon-to-benonwordYOS. Yo, man, you're gone too soon.This concludes your lengthy introduction to the new three-letter words. I hope to see you all on thecircuit playing QIN and AWK and GER very soon.[1] Although if you come to Albany over New Year's we'll let you play these words a couple daysearly. Special bonus.[2] The mouse is an S. In case anyone was wondering. 69

Linda’s LibraryBy Linda WancelL I N D A ’ S L I B R A R YAs an avid reader and book lover, I have found that many other Scrabblers also share my passionfor books and for reading. So I am happy to have this opportunity to share some of my favoritebooks with you. These reviews, for the most part, were written for Amazon.com, where I have beenwriting reviews under a pseudonym for over ten years. I hope that the book lovers among you mayfind your interest piqued by some of these books.______________________________________________________________________________Fiction:MidwivesBy Chris BohjalianThis beautifully crafted novel is set in 1981 when a midwife, leading anotherwise uncomplicated and simple life with her husband and daughter inrural Vermont, is thrust into a legal, moral, political, and ethical nightmare. Itevolves around a split-second decision made in a life-and-death situation--andthe aftermath of that decision.An experienced and respected midwife, Sibyl Danforth attends a womanduring a home birth. When she realizes that dangerous complications haveset in, she tries to call for help in vain, as a severe ice storm has knocked outthe phone lines. An attempt to drive the expectant mother to a hospital onlyresults in the car being wedged into an icy snow bank, as travel conditions areimpossible.Trapped in an isolated home with a physically fragile expectant mother in the throes of a labor thatwill not bear fruit, Sybil struggles to do the best that she can. Unfortunately, her best is just not goodenough, given the complications that had set in, and the expectant mother appears to succumb tothe ravages of a laborious childbirth.Under the belief that the expectant mother has died, Sibyl performs an emergency caesareansection in an effort to save the unborn child. She successfully does so, presenting the strickenhusband with an infant son. Yet the next day Sibyl’s assistant, Anne, who had been presentthroughout the ordeal, denounces Sibyl to the authorities, claiming that the expectant mother had, infact, been alive when Sibyl had commenced the caesarean. Consequently, Sibyl is charged withmanslaughter, and the political winds blown by the traditional medical establishment, as well asthose of the legal system, threaten to tear asunder all that she holds dear.The story of this event, its aftermath, and the impact it had on many lives is told through the eyes ofSibyl's daughter, who had been a young teenager at the time of the incident, and through the pagesof Sibyl's journal. The book takes the reader through a number of moral dilemmas for Sibyl, as wellas for her daughter, who is forced to come of age during this time of trial and tribulation for herfamily. Absorbing and often surprising, this sensitively wrought novel is a well-nuanced literary gemfrom a gifted writer.Midwives is available at Amazon.com.70

Nonfiction:L I N D A ’ S L I B R A R YThe Hot ZoneBy Richard PrestonThis is a nonfiction book that keeps readers on the edge of their seats,compulsively turning the pages. In it the author gives an education on thepossible origins of different deadly hemorrhagic viruses and the devastationthat they cause in both animals and humans. The author describes actualoutbreaks that occurred between 1967 and 1993. This is done in an engaging,straightforward narrative that reads like a medical thriller.The nucleus of the story focuses on an outbreak of Ebola virus in Reston,Virginia in the toney county of Fairfax, just outside of Washington, D.C., in1983. A special, highly trained team of Army specialists and scientists secretlyconverged on that hot spot to try and stop the spread of this deadly virus, as ithad a kill rate of ninety percent.The account that the author gives of the Army's mission is riveting, as is the vivid description of therain forests and caves of Africa where these hemorrhagic viruses are suspected of originating. Thedevastation these viruses cause to both animals and humans is horrifying, shocking, and,unfortunately, all too true. The author has managed to make science accessible to the generalpublic and eminently readable.The Hot Zone is available at Amazon.com.Linda Wancel loves reading, writing, watching films, traveling, and Scrabbling. She is the mother of28-year-old twins and has recently retired after having been a criminal prosecutor for nearly 25years. 71

Word Trivia QuizBy Siri TillekeratneW O R D T R I V I A Q U I ZThe following unique definitions are of words added to the OSPD in 2006. What are those words?1. Not based on the first tone2. The playful rubbing of knuckles on another's head3. A tribal chief of Nigeria or Benin4. A Japanese boxed meal5. A room in a harem6. A doughnut7. A central/South American mammal8. A mackerel9. Manure-like10. An orgy participantANSWERS ON THE NEXT PAGESiri Tillekeratne is a director of the Calgary NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #374 and a former Directorof the Year.72

W O R D T R I V I A Q U I ZANSWERS1. Not based on the first tone NONTONIC only2. The playful rubbing of knuckles on another's head NOOGIE/S3. A tribal chief of Nigeria or Benin OBA/S4. A Japanese boxed meal OBENTO/S = BENTO/S5. A room in a harem ODA/S = ODAH/S6. A doughnut OLICOOK/S7. A central/South American mammal OLINGO/S8. A mackerel ONO/S9. Manure-like ORDUROUS only10. An orgy participant ORGIAST/SSiri Tillekeratne is a director of the Calgary NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #374 and a former Directorof the Year. 73

Club NewsLarry Sherman, EditorC L U B N E W SIf you'd like your club to be considered for an article or if a newsworthy event has taken place atyour club in the last month, please submit material to CorneliaSGuest@gmail.com._______________________________________________________________________________New Berkeley Club attracts top playersOne of California’s top players, Charles Goldstein (1980), recently attended the newly revivedBerkeley CA NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #. He remarked: “I was astounded by the attendance ofsuch greatness. It reminded me of Berkeley SCRABBLE in the late 1970s with Lester Schonbrun,Donald Peterson, David Prinz, and others. Who played today (at least before 5:15, when I left)?:Conrad Bassett-Bouchard (1963), Noah Walton (1946), Leesa Berahovch (1838), Lester Schonbrun(1836), Alex Jaech (1747), Chris Patrick Morgan (1685), Isaac Apindi (1652), Mary Aline Stevens(1616), KC Frodyma (1560), Vicky Julian (1507), two newbies, and yours truly. Wow!”Berkeley (CA) NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #806 meets on Wednesdays from 2:30 p.m. to 8 or 9p.m. at Rounds Coffee House, 2409 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA. Contacts: Conrad Bassett-Bouchard, 925-323-4423, conradbb@gmail.com; Jesse Day, 617-699-9546,magrathezaphod@gmail.com; Leesa Berahovich, 510-290-3329, berahovich@gmail.com; MaryAline Stevens, 510-524-7933, carnelian@gmail.com. Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/groups/226303714096691/; Club Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/berkeley-scrabbleclub?pli=1.74

W H A T ’ S Y O U R E N D G A M E P L A Y ?What’s Your Endgame Play?Martin DeMello, Bernie McMahon and Pete Manzolillo, Jeremiah Mead, and Zev Kaufman shareoutstanding endgame plays this month. If you have a play you’d like to share with our readers,please send it to CorneliaSGuest@gmail.com._______________________________________________________________________________From Martin DeMello:Extra-satisfying because QUARE was the opponent's last play._______________________________________________________________________________From Zev Kaufman:At the Toronto Club December 7th, down 300 - 445, I bingoed out with EOSUYZ? for 112 andpicked up VICCPIQ from my opponent’s rack for another 50 to win 462 - 445.This was some game. My opponent, Jackson Smylie, bingoed 3 times: TERTIALS, the very niceniner (IT)ERATION, and REDLINe, while I got GARTERED, DELAYING, BROKAGES and the 162-point outplay: SOYUZEs.Jackson notes that he actually could have won the game had he not emptied the bag! 75

W H A T ’ S Y O U R E N D G A M E P L A Y ?From Pete Manzolillo and Bernie McMahon:Pete: “I had an amazing casual game against Bernie McMahon that had us wondering what thehighest out play to erase a deficit and win a game might be. I was already leading late when Ibingoed with TYROSINE above a triple lane, but with ADEINST he couldn't bingo. He played DINelsewhere, slotting the D in the middle of a triple lane. I played ZITI for 69 through the T inTYROSINE and was up by 193 points. He pulled the last three letters from the bag and I hadstopped tracking so didn't foresee him picking the J and a blank. He bingoes out with a 3x3JADEITES through the D for 194 points, and didn't even need the 18 points from my rack for thewin, a game we'll be talking about for years to come.”Bernie: “That game against Pete was off the hook, it was like the out play of a lifetime, just wish itcould have been at a tournament which would have made it a little more official but it is what it isand in my very next game against Pete, game 485 (but who's counting), we had a 504-419 doozy.Again all the big action at the very end of the game, the bag is empty and this time i'm running withit. There's one clear bingo lane open which I make an (ex) play on but he's sitting on a blank andmanages to play through the (re) I just put down and he bingoes out with a 9 "reVULSION" into thetriple! It was still my game by a good deal but he earned the bragging rights in that blowout of agame”76

W H A T ’ S Y O U R E N D G A M E P L A Y ?From Jeremiah Mead:Down by 52 on ISC, holding AAEINRY, one in the bag. There's a J at 8A, space below. Fished offthe E, pulled Z from AGLNOSTZ, oppo didn't block, and JANIZARY got me 161 points, a cushy win,and probably one of my four no-plays. I'm sure it's my highest bingo that was not a 3x3. 77

Word StarBy Jeff KastnerW O R D S T A RPlay Word Star, a word game with similarities to Boggle, created and presented each month by Phoenix, AZexpert Jeff Kastner.The puzzle grid is in the shape of a hexagram…also known as the “Star of David.”Your object is to find and list as many words as possible, using only the 7 letters contained in the Word Starpuzzle. All words must be OWL2 or Long List acceptable.There are 3 basic rules to finding words within a Word Star puzzle:1. Words must be at least 3 or more letters long (with no limit on how long the word can be).2. Words are formed by using letters that adjoin each other. For example, the words HER andWIT are acceptable, but not TIKE, because the “K” and the “E” are not neighboring letters.3. Letters within a word may repeat as many times as possible, as long as such letters arerepeated twice (or thrice) in a row, or as long as Rule 2 is followed. So, for example, ERR and TITIare acceptable. But, REWIRE would not be acceptable because the “I” and the “R” are notadjoining.• Note that the Center Star, located in the white middle portion of the puzzle, is the most importantletter. It is the only letter that adjoins each of the 6 others in the puzzle. In addition, there are bonuspoints awarded for using the Center Star as often as possible. The Center Star in this month’s puzzleis the letter “W.”78

W O R D S T A RMultiple forms of the same word are acceptable (for example, RATE, RATED, RATER, RATERS, andRATES would all be fine, if they were in the puzzle). No points are awarded (and no penalty points areassessed) for any entries on your word list that are not in OWL2 or the Long List, or that do not adhere tothe above rules.Points are scored as follows:• 2 Points for each WORD found.• 5 Bonus Points for each BINGO (7 or more letters) found.• 1 Point for each LETTER of every word found.• 1 Bonus Point for each CENTER STAR of every word found.Example of Points Scored:Let’s say a Word Star puzzle has an “S” as the Center Star letter, and your list consists of the followingwords:ATTIREATTIRESSATSATESATIRESATIRESTIRETIRESYour score would be:• 16 Points for the 8 WORDS found.• 10 Bonus Points for the 2 BINGOS (ATTIRES and SATIRES) found.• 42 Points for each of the 42 LETTERS used in the 8 words.• 7 Bonus Points for each CENTER STAR used (the letter “S” is used 7 times).TOTAL SCORE in this imaginary example = 75 Points.Par Scores for this month’s Word Star:110 points (Novice); 175 points (Intermediate); 215 points (Advanced)Once you’ve compiled your list, check out my SOLUTION on the next page.See you next month with another Word Star puzzle! …Jeff KastnerJeff Kastner, originally from New York City, has been living in Phoenix, AZ since 1985. Jeff is one ofa handful of players who has ever been ranked in the USA-top-50 in both SCRABBLE® and chess.He is the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 Phoenix SCRABBLE® Club champion as well as the 2008 and2009 Scottsdale SCRABBLE® Club champ. 79

SOLUTIONW O R D S T A REREERREWEEWERHEHHERHEREHEREWITHHEWHEWERITHERKITKITHKITHEKIWIKREWEREETHETHEETHERETHEREWITHTHEWTIKITITTITHETITHERTITITWEETWITWEEWEERWEEWEEWEREWHEEWHEREWHEREWITHWHEWWITWITHWITHEWITHERWITHERERPAR SCORES: 110 points (Novice); 175 points (Intermediate);215 points (Advanced)BEST SCORE:2 Points for each WORD found:42 Words = 84 points.5 Bonus Points for each BINGO found:4 Bingos = 20 points.1 Point for each LETTER of every word found:188 Letters = 188 points.1 Bonus Point for each CENTER STAR of every word found:27 W’s = 27 points.TOTAL = 319 Points80

T H E L I G H T E R S I D E O F S C R A B B L EThe Lighter Side of SCRABBLE®By Rich LauderRich Lauder, a longtime SCRABBLE® player from Madison, WI, illustrates his flashcards with hisparticularly warped sense of humor, warped thusly by too many years of drawing UUWV when hegets to “go first.” His cards now overtop 17,000 such visual depictions. Inquiries accepted at hisemail address: usstamps@charter.net.ANAGRAMS ON NEXT PAGE 81

T H E L I G H T E R S I D E O F S C R A B B L EDUCTWORKOUTSCOLDO+E COULDESTC+P OUTPLODSF+C FOULDOUTSL+W WOODCUTSQUIDNUNC a nosy personN+X QUINCUNX arrangement offive objects82

A N I M A L C R A C K E R S P A R T I IAnimal Crackers Part IIBy Tony RaschLast month I considered words containing BIRD, BUG, FISH, SNAKE, or WORM. I noted that all were verbs andcould form “ING” bingos: (BIRDING, BUGGING, FISHING, SNAKING, and WORMING).Most could be turned intoadjectives and form “IER” or “IEST” bingos: (BUGGIER, FISHIER, SNAKIER, and WORMIER). Most could form“LIKE” bingos: (BIRDLIKE, FISHLIKE, SNAKELIKE, and WORMLIKE). And all combined with other words toform a number of compound nouns.This month I’ll continue the animal theme and explore ways that a common animal on your rack might be turned into abingo. A surprising number of animals can be verbs and turned into “ING” bingos. Many can be turned into adjectivesand then declined to form words that no normal person would ever use. COWIEST, EELIEST, LAMBIEST,SPIDERIEST(!) can all be played with impunity. Most common animals take the suffix “LIKE,” and “ISH” is anothercommon ending.Some other suffixes I consider are: -ER, -ERY, -ILY, –INESS, -ISHLY and -LET (e.g., DOGGERs, DOGGERY,CATTILY, CATTINESS,CATTISHLY, PIGLET.) In the case of “ER” and “ERY,” the resulting word might not berelated to the animal at all. Nonetheless, I’ve included them. (e.g., A MOTHER is not someone who hunts moths andMOTHERY means “slimy” rather than “a place for raising moths.”)Next, I consider compound nouns either starting or ending with a common animal. Sometimes the meaning of thecompound word has nothing to do with the animal, but I’ve included them anyway (e.g., BATGIRL, CATSUP, orHOGMANE). I define a compound animal word as the animal plus a word acceptable for SCRABBLE® play. Thus, Icount GOSHAWK and HOGGET as compound words, even though they might not be counted as such under a stricterdefinition. For most words, I list all of the compounds. The exceptions are ANT, BAT, CAT, and RAT for which Iarbitrarily choose which compounds to include and which not to.Finally, I have an “Other” category. Here I put words containing the animal that aren’t verbs, declinable adjectives,words with common suffixes, or compound nouns. For “FOX, FROG, DEER, GOAT, HAWK, HORSE, LARK,MOUSE, SWAN, TOAD and WOLF,” I include all words, whether they are derived from the animal or not. Thusyou’ll see words like: BAYADEER,CLARKIA, and SULFOXIDE. For the above animals, only a few words fall underthe “Other” category. For animals other than the ones listed above, there are a large number of unrelated wordscontaining them. In those cases, I attempt to only include words that are somehow connected to the animal.I start by listing all of the “LIKE”, “ING”, “IEST”, and “ISH” words together. Next, I consider less common suffixes.And then with a little redundancy, I look at individual animals.-LIKEANIMALLIKE DEERLIKE LAMBLIKE SEALLIKEANTLIKE DOGLIKE LEECHLIKE SHARKLIKEAPELIKE DOVELIKE LEMMINGLIKE SHREWLIKEASSLIKE EELLIKE LEMURLIKE SHRIMPLIKEBATLIKE FAWNLIKE LIONLIKE SNAILLIKEBEARLIKE FISHLIKE LOBSTERLIKE SNAKELIKEBEELIKE FOXLIKE MOTHLIKE SPARROWLIKEBIRDLIKE FROGLIKE MOUSELIKE SPIDERLIKECALFLIKE GERMLIKE OSTRICHLIKE STEEDLIKECAMELLIKE GNATLIKE OWLLIKE SWANLIKECATLIKE GOATLIKE OXLIKE TIGERLIKE 83

A N I M A L C R A C K E R S P A R T I ICHAMELEONLIKE HARELIKE PIGLIKE TOADLIKECIVETLIKE HAWKLIKE PUPPYLIKE WASPLIKECLAMLIKE HENLIKE PUSSLIKE WHALELIKECOCKLIKE HOGLIKE RATLIKE WOLFLIKECRABLIKE HORSELIKE RAVENLIKE WORMLIKE-ING*ANTING CLAMMING HOGGING SEALINGAPING COCKING HORSING SHARKINGBATTINGs CRABBING LAMBING SHREWINGBEARINGs DOGGING LEECHING SHRIMPINGBIRDINGs FAWNING LOBSTERING SNAILINGBUCKING FISHINGs MONKEYING SNAKINGBUGGING FOXINGs MOUSINGs SWANNINGBULLING FROGGING PIGGING WHALINGsCALVING HARING RATTING WOLFINGCATTING HAWKINGs RAVENINGs WORMING*With the exception of “BEARING”, “ING” can be replaced by “ED” in any of the above words-IER*BATTIER DOGGIER GNATTIER RATTIERBUGGIER EELIER HORSIER SHRIMPIERBULLIER FAWNIER LAMBIER SNAKIERCATTIER FISHIER MOTHIER SPIDERIERCLAMMIER FOXIER MOUSIER WASPIERCOCKIER FROGGIER PIGGIER WORMIERCRABBIER GERMIER PUSSIER*In all of the above words “IER” can be replaced by “IEST”-ISHAPISH COLTISH LARKISH SHREWISHASPISH DOGGISH MONKEYISH SPIDERISHBABOONISH DOVISH MULISH SWINISHBEARISH GIRAFFISH OWLISH TIGERISHBOARISH GOATISH PIGGISH TOADISHBUCKISH HAWKISH PUPPYISH WASPISHBULLISH HENNISH RAMMISH WOLFISHCATTISH HOGGISH RATTISH WORMISHCOCKISH KITTENISH SHEEPISH-ER*APER COLTER LAMBER WHALERBATTER CRABBER LARKER WOLFERBEARER DOGGER MOTHER WOLVERBIRDER FAWNER MOUSER WORMERBUGGER FISHER RAVENERCLAMMER HAWKER SEALERCOCKER HOGGER SHARKER*All of the above words take a back-S.84

A N I M A L C R A C K E R S P A R T I I-ERY*APERY CATTERY MOTHERY SWANNERYBABOONERY DOGGERY PIGGERYBATTERY FISHERY SEALERYBUGGERY HENNERY SPIDERY*All of the above words except for MOTHERY and SPIDERY are nouns and form “IES” plurals.-ILYBEEFILY CRABBILY LOONILY SPONGILYCATTILY FOXILY LOUSILY WASPILYCLAMMILY FISHILY MOUSILYCOCKILY HORSILY SNAKILY-INESS*ANTSINESS COCKINESS LARKINESS SNAKINESSBATTINESS FISHINESS LOONINESS WASPINESSBEEFINESS FOXINESS LOUSINESS WORMINESSBUGGINESS GERMINESS MOUSINESSCATTINESS HORSINESS PIGGINESS*All of the above words are nouns and can be pluralized by adding “ES”.-LETAUKLETs FROGLETs OWLETs SWIFTLETsEAGLETs MURRELETs PIGLETsNow I’ll reiterate much of the above and add compound nouns and other words that I like to call Animal Crackers.Unless marked with an asterisk (*), all of the compound nouns can be pluralized in a normal manner by adding “s” or“es”, or by dropping a “y” and adding “ies”.For the categories: “animal” + Suffix and “Other animal” words, I append a lower-case (s) , (es), or (ies) to the word ifit can be pluralized. The lack of an appendage indicates that the word does not take a back-S.Declinable Adjectives containing “ANT”ANTSY ANTSIER ANTSIESTANT“ANT” + SuffixANTLIKEANTSINESS(es)Compound Nouns Ending with “ANT”PISSANTCompound Nouns Beginning with “ANT”ANTBEAR ANTEATER ANTHILL ANTLIONOther “ANT” wordsANTEDANTING 85

A N I M A L C R A C K E R S P A R T I IAPEVerbs containing “APE”APE APES APED APING“APE” + SuffixAPELIKEAPERY(ies)Compound Nouns Ending with “APE”WICKAPEBATVerbs containing “BAT”BAT BATS BATTED BATTINGBATFOWL BATFOWLS BATFOWLED BATFOWLINGDeclinable Adjectives containing “BAT”BATTY BATTIER BATTIEST“BAT” + SuffixBATTERY(ies) BATLIKE BATTINESS(es)Compound Nouns Ending with “BAT”BRICKBAT BULLBAT DINGBATCompound Nouns Beginning with “BAT”BATBOY BATFOWLER BATMAN* BATSMAN*BATFISH BATGIRL BATMEN* BATSMEN*Other “BAT” wordsBATWINGWOMBATsBEARVerbs containing “BEAR”BEAR BEARS BORE BEARING“BEAR” + SuffixBEARLIKE BEARISH BEARISHLY BEARISHNESS(es)Compound Nouns Ending with “BEAR”ANTBEAR BUGBEAR CUDBEARCompound Nouns Beginning with “BEAR”BEARBAITING BEARCAT BEARHUG BEARWOODBEARBERRY BEARGRASS BEARSKINCATVerbs containing “CAT”CAT CATS CATTED CATTINGCATCALL CATCALLS CATCALLED CATCALLINGCATNAP CATNAPS CATNAPPED CATNAPPING86

A N I M A L C R A C K E R S P A R T I IDeclinable Adjectives containing “CAT”CATTY CATTIER CATTIEST“CAT” + SuffixCATLIKE CATTILY CATTISH CATTISHLYCATTERY(ies) CATTINESS(es)Compound Nouns Ending with “CAT”BEARCAT HELLCAT POLECAT TIPCATBOBCAT HEPCAT PUSSYCAT TOMCATCOPYCAT MUDCAT SNOWCAT WILDCATCompound Nouns Beginning with “CAT”CATBIRD CATFACING CATHOUSE CATSPAWCATBOAT CATFALL CATION CATSUITCATBRIER CATFIGHT CATKIN CATSUPCATCALLER CATFISH CATMINT CATTAILCATCLAW CATGUT CATNAPPER CATTIECATFACE CATHEAD CATNIP CATWALKOther “CAT” wordsCATRIGGEDCLAMVerbs containing “CLAM”CLAM CLAMS CLAMMED CLAMMINGDeclinable Adjectives containing “CLAM”CLAMMY CLAMMIER CLAMMIEST“CLAM” + SuffixCLAMLIKE CLAMMERs CLAMMILYCompound Nouns Beginning with “CLAM”CLAMBAKE CLAMSHELL CLAMWORMCRABVerbs containing “CRAB”CRAB CRABS CRABBED CRABBINGDeclinable Adjectives containing “CRAB”CRABBY CRABBIER CRABBIEST“CRAB” + SuffixCRABBERs CRABBEDLY CRABBEDNESS(es) CRABBILYCRABLIKECompound Nouns Beginning with “CRAB”CRABEATER CRABGRASS CRABMEAT CRABSTICKOther “CRAB” wordsCRABWISE 87

88A N I M A L C R A C K E R S P A R T I IDEERVerbs containing “DEER”COMMANDEER COMMANDEERS COMMANDEERED COMMANDEERING“DEER” + SuffixDEERLIKECompound Nouns Ending with “DEER”KILLDEERREINDEERCompound Nouns Beginning with “DEER”DEERBERRY DEERHOUND DEERSTALKER DEERYARDDEERFLY DEERSKIN DEERWEEDOther “DEER” WordsBALLADEERsBAYADEERsDOGVerbs containing “DOG”DOG DOGS DOGGED DOGGINGDOGEAR DOGEARS DOGEARED DOGEARINGDOGFIGHT DOGFIGHTS DOGFOUGHT DOGFIGHTINGDOGGONE DOGGONES DOGGONED DOGGONINGDOGLEG DOGLEGS DOGLEGGED DOGLEGGINGDOGNAP DOGNAPS DOGNAPED DOGNAPINGDOGNAPPED DOGNAPPINGDOGSLED DOGSLEDS DOGSLEDDED DOGSLEDDINGDOGTROT DOGTROTS DOGTROTTED DOGTROTTINGBIRDDOG BIRDDOGS BIRDDOGGED BIRDDOGGINGBULLDOG BULLDOGS BULLDOGGED BULLDOGGINGHOTDOG HOTDOGS HOTDOGGED HOTDOGGINGWATCHDOG WATCHDOGS WATCHDOGGED WATCHDOGGINGDeclinable Adjectives containing “DOG”DOGGY DOGGIER DOGGIESTDOGGONE DOGGONER DOGGONESTDOGGONED DOGGONEDER DOGGONEDEST“DOG” + SuffixDOGGEDLY DOGGERs DOGGISH DOGGISHNESS(es)DOGGEDNESS(es) DOGGERY(ies) DOGGISHLY DOGLIKECompound Nouns Ending with “DOG”BANDOG FIREDOG HOTDOGGER SUNDOGBULLDOGGER FOGDOG LAPDOG UNDERDOGCANTDOG GUARDDOG OVERDOG WATERDOGCHILIDOG GUNDOG SEADOGCOYDOG HANGDOG SHEEPDOGCompound Nouns Beginning with “DOG”DOGBANE DOGFACE DOGROBBER DOGTOOTH*DOGBERRY DOGFISH DOGSBODY DOGVANEDOGCART DOGHOUSE DOGSLEDDER DOGWATCH

A N I M A L C R A C K E R S P A R T I IDOGCATCHER DOGNAPPER DOGTEETH* DOGWOODOther “DOG” WordsBULLDOGGERs DOGGIEs DOGHANGEDBULLDOGGINGS DOGGOs DOGIEsDOGDOMs DOGGRELs HOTDOGGERSFOXVerbs containing “FOX”FOX FOXES FOXED FOXINGFOXHUNT FOXHUNTS FOXHUNTED FOXHUNTINGFOXTROT FOXTROTS FOXTROTTED FOXTROTTINGOUTFOX OUTFOXES OUTFOXED OUTFOXINGDeclinable Adjectives containing “FOX”FOXY FOXIER FOXIEST“FOX” + SuffixFOXILY FOXINESS(es) FOXINESS(es) FOXLIKECompound Nouns Beginning with “FOX”FOXFIRE FOXHOLE FOXHUNTINGS*FOXFISH FOXHOUND FOXSKINFOXGLOVE FOXHUNTER FOXTAILOther “FOX” WordsFOXINGS SULFOXIDEsFROGVerbs containing “FROG”FROG FROGS FROGGED FROGGINGFROGMARCH FROGMARCHES FROGMARCHED FROGMARCHINGLEAPFROG LEAPFROGS LEAPFROGGED LEAPFROGGINGDeclinable Adjectives containing “FROG”FROGGY FROGGIER FROGGIEST“FROG” + SuffixFROGLIKEFROGLETsCompound Nouns Ending with “FROG”BULLFROGCompound Nouns Beginning with “FROG”FROGEYE FROGHOPPER FROGMAN*FROGFISH FROGLET FROGMEN*Other “FROG” wordsFROGEYED 89

90A N I M A L C R A C K E R S P A R T I IGOATVerbs containing “GOAT”SCAPEGOAT SCAPEGOATS SCAPEGOATED SCAPEGOATING“GOAT” + SuffixGOATISH GOATISHLY GOATLIKECompound Nouns Ending with “GOAT”BUSHGOATCompound Nouns Beginning with “GOAT”GOATFISH GOATHERD GOATSKIN GOATSUCKEROther “GOAT” wordsGOATEEs GOATEED SCAPEGOATISMsHAWKVerbs containing “HAWK”HAWK HAWKS HAWKED HAWKINGTOMAHAWK TOMAHAWKS TOMAHAWKED TOMAHAWKING“HAWK” + SuffixHAWKERs HAWKISHLY HAWKLIKEHAWKISH HAWKISHNESS(es)Compound Nouns Ending with “HAWK”BALLHAWK GOSHAWK NEWSHAWK NIGHTHAWKDORHAWKCompound Nouns Beginning with “HAWK”HAWKBILL HAWKNOSE HAWKSHAW HAWKWEEDHAWKMOTHOther “HAWK” wordsHAWKEYED HAWKIEs JAYHAWKERsHAWKEYs HAWKINGS MOHAWKsHENVerbs containing “HEN”HENPECK HENPECKS HENPECKED HENPECKING“HEN” + SuffixHENLIKE HENNERY(ies) HENNISH HENNISHLYCompound Nouns Ending with “HEN”GORHEN HAZELHEN MUDHEN WATERHENGREYHEN MOORHEN PEAHEN WOODHENCompound Nouns Beginning with “HEN”HENBANE HENBIT HENCOOP HENHOUSEOther “HEN” wordsDAKERHENs

A N I M A L C R A C K E R S P A R T I IHOGVerbs containing “HOG”HOG HOGS HOGGED HOGGINGHOGTIE HOGTIES HOGTIED HOGTIEINGHOGTYING“HOG” + SuffixHOGGERs HOGGISHLY HOGGISHNESS(es) HOGLIKEHOGGISHCompound Nouns Ending with “HOG”GROUNDHOG QUAHOG SANDHOG WARTHOGHEDGEHOGCompound Nouns Beginning with “HOG”HOGBACK HOGMANE HOGSHEADHOGFISH HOGNOSE HOGWASHHOGGET HOGNUT HOGWEEDOther “HOG” wordsCOHOGs HOGGs HOGMENAYs QUOHOGsHOGANsHOGMANAYsHORSEVerbs containing “HORSE”HORSE HORSES HORSED HORSINGHORSESHOE HORSESHOES HORSESHOED HORSESHOEINGHORSESHODHORSEWHIP HORSEWHIPS HORSEWHIPPED HORSEWHIPPINGUNHORSE UNHORSES UNHORSED UNHORSINGDeclinable Adjectives containing “HORSE”HORSY HORSIER HORSIESTHORSEY“HORSE” + SuffixHORSELESS HORSELIKE HORSILY HORSINESS(es)Compound Nouns Ending with “HORSE”CARTHORSE PACKHORSE SEAHORSE WORKHORSECLOTHESHORSE RACEHORSE STUDHORSECOCKHORSE REDHORSE WARHORSEHOBBYHORSE SAWHORSE WHEELHORSECompound Nouns Beginning with “HORSE”HORSEBACK HORSEHIDE HORSEPOWER HORSEWEEDHORSEBEAN HORSELAUGH HORSEPOX HORSEWHIPPERHORSECAR HORSEMAN* HORSERACE HORSEWOMAN*HORSEFEATHERS* HORSEMEN* HORSERADISH HORSEWOMEN*HORSEFLESH HORSEMINT HORSESHITHORSEFLY HORSEPLAY HORSESHOERHORSEHAIR HORSEPLAYER HORSETAIL 91

Other “Horse” WordsAHORSEHORSEMANSHIPsA N I M A L C R A C K E R S P A R T I ILARKVerbs containing “LARK”LARK LARKS LARKED LARKINGSKYLARK SKYLARKS SKYLARKED SKYLARKINGDeclinable Adjectives containing “LARK”LARKY LARKIER LARKIEST“LARK” + SuffixLARKERs LARKINESS(es) LARKISH LARKSOMECompound Nouns Ending with “LARK”MEADOWLARK MUDLARK TITLARK WOODLARKCompound Nouns Beginning with “LARK”LARKSPURLIONVerbs containing “LION”LIONISE LIONISES LIONISED LIONISINGLIONIZE LIONIZES LIONIZED LIONIZING“LION” + SuffixLIONESS(es)LIONLIKECompound Nouns Ending with “LION”ANTLION GANGLIONCompound Nouns Beginning with “LION”LIONFISHOther “LION” WordsDANDELIONs LIONISERs LIONIZERs LIONIZATIONsLIONHEARTEDMOTHVerbs containing “MOTH”MOTHBALL MOTHBALLS MOTHBALLED MOTHBALLINGMOTHPROOF MOTHPROOFS MOTHPROOFED MOTHPROOFINGDeclinable Adjectives containing “MOTH”MOTHY MOTHIER MOTHIEST“MOTH” + SuffixMOTHERYMOTHLIKECompound Nouns Ending with “MOTH”HAWKMOTHs92

A N I M A L C R A C K E R S P A R T I IMOUSEVerbs containing “MOUSE”MOUSE MOUSES MOUSED MOUSINGMOUSETRAP MOUSETRAPS MOUSETRAPPED MOUSETRAPPINGDeclinable Adjectives containing “MOUSE”MOUSY MOUSIER MOUSIESTMOUSEY“MOUSE” + SuffixMOUSELIKE MOUSERs MOUSILY MOUSINESS(es)Compound Nouns Ending with “MOUSE” or “MICE” (“mice” is only plural of “mouse” allowed.)DORMOUSE REARMOUSE SHREWMOUSE TITMOUSEDORMICE REARMICE SHREWMICE TITMICECompound Nouns Beginning with “MOUSE”MOUSEBIRD MOUSEPAD MOUSETAILOther “MOUSE” WordsMOUSINGS REREMOUSE REREMICEPIGVerbs containing “PIG”PIG PIGS PIGGED PIGGINGPIGGYBACK PIGGYBACKS PIGGYBACKED PIGGYBACKINGPIGSTICK PIGSTICKS PIGSTICKED PIGSTICKINGDeclinable Adjectives containing “PIG”PIGGY PIGGIER PIGGIEST“PIG” + SuffixPIGGERY(ies) PIGGISH PIGGISHNESS(es) PIGLETSPIGGINESS(es) PIGGISHLY PIGLIKECompound Nouns Ending with “PIG”BUSHPIG HEDGEPIGCompound Nouns Beginning with “PIG”PIGBOAT PIGGIN PIGPEN PIGSTYPIGFISH PIGNUT PIGSKIN PIGTAILPIGGIE PIGOUT PIGSTICKER PIGWEEDOther “PIG” WordsPIGHEADED PIGHEADEDLY PIGHEADEDNESS(ES) PIGTAILEDRATVerbs containing “RAT”RAT RATS RATTED RATTINGDERAT DERATS DERATTED DERATTING 93

A N I M A L C R A C K E R S P A R T I IDeclinable Adjectives containing “RAT”RATTY RATTIER RATTIEST“RAT” + SuffixRATLIKE RATTERs RATTISHCompound Nouns Ending with “RAT”MUSKRATCompound Nouns Beginning with “RAT”RATBAG RATHOLE RATSBANERATFINK RATLIN RATTAILRATFISH RATLINE RATTRAPOther “RAT” WordsRATICIDEs RATTAILEDSWANVerbs containing “SWAN”SWAN SWANS SWANNED SWANNINGDeclinable Adjectives containing “SWAN”SWANK SWANKER SWANKESTSWANKY SWANKIER SWANKIEST“SWAN” + SuffixSWANNERY(ies) SWANLIKECompound Nouns Beginning with “SWAN”SWANHERD SWANPAN SWANSDOWN SWANSKINOther “SWAN” WordsSWANG SWANNY SWANKILY SWANKINESS(es)TOADVerbs containing “TOAD”TOADY TOADIES TOADIED TOADYING“TOAD” + SuffixTOADISH TOADLESS TOADLIKECompound Nouns Ending with “TOAD”HOPTOADCompound Nouns Beginning with “TOAD”TOADEATER TOADFLAX TOADSTONE TOADSTOOLTOADFISHOther “TOAD” WordsTOADYISH TOADYISMsWOLFVerbs containing “WOLF”WOLF WOLFS WOLFED WOLFING94

A N I M A L C R A C K E R S P A R T I I“WOLF” + SuffixWOLFERs WOLFISHLY WOLFISHNESS(es) WOLFLIKEWOLFISHCompound Nouns Ending with “WOLF”WEREWOLF* WEREWOLVES*Compound Nouns Beginning with “WOLF”WOLFBERRY WOLFHOUND WOLFRAM WOLFSBANEWOLFFISHOther “WOLF or WOLVE” WordsAARDWOLF RAUWOLFIAs WERWOLF WOLVERsAARDWOLVES WOLFRAMITEs WERWOLVES WOLVERINEsTony Rasch is the author of Brow-Raisers, an excellent study guide for beginning and intermediateplayers who want to move up in the standings. Tony lives in Montana and spends most of hissummer in the mountains, far away from any hard-drive. During the winter he loves to put a log onthe fire and then dig into the intricacies of SCRABBLE® words. His website, www.BrowRaisers.comis worth checking out. 95

One Up! Cup for DecemberBy Timothy CataldoO N E U P ! C U PLast chance this year vocabularians! Every month we'll post a One Up! “game situation” so all youdoubledomes out there can show everyone how brilliant and quick you are.Here's all you need to know now to play: Take one or more letters from the center and add them toan existing word to make a new word. Note: The “Uppity” tile, in this case the letter T, can bechanged to any letter when forming a new word.Since there won't be a 'right' answer, we'll be looking for originality, wit and wow! The winner willreceive a One Up! and have his or her name put in the drawing for the Grand Prize at the end of theyear, which will be a $250 gift certificate to Uppityshirts.com_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________NOVEMBER’S WINNERNovember's winner is...well, we're just going to be foolish and rush in (to judgement) where angelsfear to tread:Hi Timothy,It's Devorah Pashev with submissions for your NovemberOne Up! contest.My submission starts with "stain" that is added to a "door"and what you get is the plural for one of my favoriteIndian dishes: "tandooris.” All the more fitting since wejust stained one of the doors in our house; so as Yodamight say, "It a 'tan door is'!"My husband Rado is submitting a very clever one too, I must admit. He's starting with "bleat,"adding something "odd," and ending up with "deadbolt.” He hopes to "lock up" the top prize with thatword!Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!Devorah and Rado PashevHow about if we award it to Rado this time, in the name of connubial harmony?96

PassagesEdited by Larry ShermanP A S S A G E SEach month we will be including information about SCRABBLE® players (births, deaths, marriages,etc.) Please send your news to Cornelia Guest at CorneliaSGuest@gmail.com.______________________________________________________________________________DEATHSTERRY OBLANDERBy Dan StockTerry Oblander was one of those people who was a delight to have atyour club or your tourney. He always had a kind word and a good story– and made people know that they were among friends. He had abrilliant, analytical mind that would work equally well at delving into apuzzle, a SCRABBLE® question, or the mind of a person in the news.It’s no surprise that he won a Pulitzer for his work on a team ofinvestigatory reporters.Photo courtesy of The Plain DealerTerry also was a modest local celebrity. When new players came tothe Independence, Ohio, club that Terry frequented, it was alwaysgreat to let them know that the guy with the bushy white beard was theguy who wrote the “Public Squares” word puzzle that appeared in thecomics section of the Cleveland Plain Dealer every day.A lot of Terry’s stories were either about his career as a journalist or about his issues raising hissons. There was a characteristic arc to his stories. At some point, his eyes would narrow justslightly, his voice would get just a bit quieter, and there would be a brief pause. You’d know thatsomeone – be it a local politician or a recalcitrant teenager – had been caught. Then would comethe laughter: as a writer said in his Plain Dealer obit (http://www.cleveland.com/obituaries/index.ssf/2011/11/terry_oblander_was_a_pulitzer-.html), “It would start as a little wheeze. Then look out.”Terry got his start in SCRABBLE back in the early eighties, attending mostly local tourneys. After thedeath of his first wife, Mary, in 1992, he was left with three young sons to raise. So he was not ableto attend tourneys or club for most of the 1990s. As his sons grew older, and once he remarried, hestarted becoming a regular attendee again.Terry had been using his semiretirement to start studying the game again, trying to work his wayback up to the 1600s where he had been. Unfortunately, a massive heart attack robbed him of thechance. He died November 13, at the age of 64.Terry Oblander played our game with a passion that was acknowledged by his peers at club and byhis family. Indeed, his family chose to bury him with a tee shirt from his last SCRABBLE tourneyunderneath his suit.Terry is survived by his wife, Linda; his father, Jacob; his sons, Terence, Christopher, and Nicholas;and two grandsons. Contributions: Project: LEARN of Medina County, 105 W. Liberty St., Medina,OH 44256, projectlearnmedina.org. 97

P A S S A G E SJEAN CAROLLongtime expert Jean Carol was with family and friends in Rochester, NY,when she passed away on November 12th following a period of nursinghomecare. She had suffered a series of strokes in 2009. Her obituary is inthe Rochester Democrat and Chronicle at http://obits.democratandchronicle.com/obituaries/democratandchronicle/In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to WVXU Public Radio(www.cinradio.org), 1223 Central Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45214, or toHeifer International (www.heifer.org), 1 World Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72202.Tournament organizer/director Larry Rand writes: "Jean played nearly 2,800 tournament gamesover her long career beginning in 1977. In 1997, I met Jean for the first time at the Reno Fourth ofJuly tournament. Jean was one of the nicest people to compete against, and away from the boardshe was an intelligent, exuberant and interesting person to converse with. As her obituary attests,Jean traveled the world with us, accompanied many times by Anne Hay. In 2006, her sister andniece were able to join her on our Scandinavia/Russia cruise. Because Jean spoke Russian, theywere able to travel on their own in St. Petersburg with Russian visas. The final SCRABBLE®tournament that Jean attended was in 2009 on our cruise to New Zealand and Australia. She had awonderful time. Our sincere condolences to her family and friends."From Ann Sanfedele: "Very sad to see this news, though I did know, of course, that she had been infailing health for a while. What a sweet classy lady. " Ann's photo of Jean (with Gordon Shapiro) isat http://annsan.smugmug.com/The-World-of-Word-Freaks/Photos-in-LETTERATI/3999592_BP73gX/1/241043339_2hNhE/MediumFrom Siri Tillekeratne: "I am very saddened by Jean's passing away. I met her for the first time inAugust 1988 at the Reno Nationals (my first major event) and have played with her many timessince. The last one was the 2009 Australia/New Zealand cruise Larry mentioned. She was a verytough opponent, and extremely graceful both in victory and in defeat (mostly in victory against me)."From Randy Hersom: "There's a great shot of Jean and me dueling with arm casts, probably atAtlanta Nationals 1992. Wish I knew where to find it. Another vivid memory of Jean is walkingthrough the Providence streets with John Leubkemann, Jean, and a few others on the way to arestaurant. Jean gave us a lesson on the proper French pronunciation of another restaurant wewalked by, Pot au Feu, and John got such a kick out of her pronunciation that he deliberately andrepeatedly mispronounced it just to hear her corrections."From Bob Schoenman: "I can see Jean sitting across the board from me, back straight, intentlyfocused on the game. She's sitting on the first edition of the OSPD (it never affected her posture)and she's working her way through her lists, using that razor-sharp mind of hers to patiently find thebingo and the best play. I've played so many games with her that I know what's coming maybeeven before she decides. She places the tiles carefully on the board, gives them one last check(remember LESBAIN?), then hits the clock smartly. We played hundreds and hundreds of games,Jean and I, and she never said no to another game.""She was my mentor, then my good friend, and she made me promise that once she told me hermiddle name that I would never reveal it to anyone."98

P A S S A G E SFrom Mady Garner and KC Conter: "I have thought about Jean so many times and am deeplysaddened to hear of her passing. I met Jean in 1977 (before the first edition of the OfficialSCRABBLE Players Dictionary). She attended just about all of our tournaments and was a regularmember of our local SCRABBLE clubs in Cleves, Cincinnati and Ross, OH. Jean was one of thefirst persons I discussed the creation of the Smoky Mountain tournament with in 1988. She was soexcited about it, she kept telling me 'Yes, go for it! It will be so big! Mady, you'll have 500 players.'"From Paul Epstein: “Jean's passing takes a particularly hard toll on me, for she was one of myclosest and best friends on the SCRABBLE scene. Only the harshly protracted period of thesuffering she endured ‘buffers’ this loss for me at this time.When I popped into the tournament scene in 1981 (along with Bob Schoenman--his and myfirst tournaments were the same one!) Jean immediately became one of my most notable mentors. Iwas remarkably impressed by her fastidiousness in knowing a lot of words and knowing themsolidly. In fact I still remember her earlier muses (with that Cheshire smile) of "you didn't know.......".Always good-natured, her ribbing and teasing made for great times and quite a few contributions toour early folklore and 'silly stories', including but not limited to her early-days tendency to transposetiles (which she then corrected and never did again for years to come). When Southern Ohio wasone of the nation's hotbeds of SCRABBLE, Jean was always at the fulcrum of activity, and was wellknownas Ohio's perennial top player. Naturally kindhearted to an astonishing degree, Jean wasalways there for everyone and nurtured newcomers' initiations to the game in such a way that theycould see how fun the whole competitive SCRABBLE experience indeed was. Her condo in northsuburbanCincinnati was a regular stop for me and my travel companions from, and particularly to,many Smoky Mountain tournaments. Otherwise, she would invariably join us for dinner at thenearby Perkins restaurant.I have known too well for too long a time I was about to lose one of my very top favoritepeople in SCRABBLE. And I do mean very top favorite. This long wait, however, makes it no lesssad. My condolences to Jean's family. May we be so fortunate as to have another person of JeanCarol's incomparable excellence as both a player and (especially) a person happen to us.PS: Oh, and due to a bad start, my record against her always fell a game or two short of 500.In the end I missed by one game. Never caught up! Man, she was good--and never seemed toflaunt it.According to cross-tables.com, Jean played in nearly 200 tourneys, achieving a peak rating of 1957.Jean is survived by her sister, Mary Lou Heilman; brother, Robert; nieces, Shannon, Katie, andVrinda; nephew, Govinda; sister-in-law, Marie McGill; great nephews, Andrew and Aaron; and greatniece, Jamuna. 99

SCRABBLE®ResourcesThere are many study tools tohelp SCRABBLE® playershone their skills, including anumber of programs that canbe downloaded for free. Thissection will offer suggestionsand links for both players anddirectors.Play SCRABBLE®On LinePOGO SCRABBLE®The official SCRABBLE®online game. Created underagreement with Hasbro in2008.SCRABBLE® ONFACEBOOKSelect the SCRABBLE®application on the Facebookhome page to play the officialSCRABBLE® game. Variousgroups hold tournaments atthis site, including a groupcalled “Mad Scrabblers”.INTERNETSCRABBLE® CLUBA Romanian-based site andapplication for interactivegames. A favorite site formany of the top players.Play LiveSCRABBLE®CROSS-TABLESLists all upcomingtournaments, as well asresults of past tournaments.S C R A B B L E R E S O U R C E SHas SCRABBLE®tournament aides.NASPA CLUB LISTINGSLists clubs throughout NorthAmerica with their meetingtimes and locations.NSA CLUB LISTINGSLists casual clubs throughoutNorth America with theirmeeting times and locations.WGPO CLUB LISTINGSLists clubs throughout NorthAmerica with their meetingtimes and locations.Anagramming/Practice ToolsJUMBLETIMEA free web site for practicinganagramming skills.MAC USERS: After you do aJumbletime quiz on a Mac,the scroll bar to view theresults is missing. To make itappear, go to the lower rightcorner and grab the stripedtriangle and shrink thewindow all the way to the topleft corner. When you pull itback, the scroll bar to theright of the answers to thequiz appears. (Make sure youdo this before you check yourscore against other players.)AEROLITHA free application forpracticing anagramming skillsand learning words.QUACKLEA free application for playing,simulating, and analyzinggames.ZYZZYVAA free application forpracticing anagramming skillsand learning words. Also hasWord Judge capabilities.SCRABBLE®DICTIONARYType a word to check foracceptability. OSPD4 words.LEXIFIND SCRABBLE®HELPER AND WORDGAME WIZARDWORDFINDER FORGOOGLE CHROMEA full-board SCRABBLE®word-finder program thatshows you every word thatcan possibly be made on anentire SCRABBLE® board,and continuously updates itsresults as you type lettersonto the board or into therack. Full version available athttp://bit.ly/ecwHPtFRANKLINSCRABBLE® PLAYERSDICTIONARYAn electronic handhelddictionary and anagrammer,with many helpful options andgames. Includes the latestword lists, and can beadjusted from OSPD4 toOWL2 lists with a code.100

S C R A B B L E R E S O U R C E SCLICK HERE TO HELPEND WORD HUNGER ASYOU LEARN WORDSA free vocabulary testing site.For every correct word, grainsof rice are donated through theUnited Nations World FoodProgram. Feed hungry peopleas you expand your vocabulary!Online SCRABBLE®Discussion GroupsCGP (crossword-gamespro@yahoogroups.com)This group, for NASPAtournament players anddirectors only, has the largestmembership of any onlinetournament SCRABBLE®discussion group. Mostimportant events and changesin the SCRABBLE® world arediscussed on cgp. Admission isby approval only. Details can befound at http://sasj.com/cgp/join.html.OSPD (ospdscrabble@yahoogroups.com)This group, dedicated to playersusing The Official SCRABBLE®Players’ Dictionary, offers lightheartedhumor, daily word lists,and more. Admission is to allSCRABBLE® lovers. Detailscan be found in the NASPATournament SCRABBLE®Newsletter #1.WGPO Listserv(WGPO@yahoogroups.com)This group, open to allmembers of the tournamentcommunity, is a forum for issuesof interest to SCRABBLE®players. No approval of anykind is needed to join, andreaders need not be membersof the Word Game Player’sOrganization (WGPO).SCRABBLE® BlogsTHE BADQOPHDIRECTORYThis is a database of blogs byknown SCRABBLE® bloggers,primarily tournament players.As of March 29th there were196 blogs in the directory.Cheat SheetsMIKE BARON’S CHEATSHEETA great cheat sheet with 2s, 3s,vowel dumps, short high-pointtilewords, and good bingostems. Includes useful frontand back hook letters to make3s from 2s. Adapted from MikeBarron’s SCRABBLE®Wordbook and the OfficialTournament and Club WordList, 2nd Edition.MIKE BARON’S CHEATSHEET (for SchoolSCRABBLE® and homeplay)A great cheat sheet with 2s, 3s,vowel dumps, short high-pointtilewords, and good bingostems. Includes useful frontand back hook letters to make3s from 2s. Adapted from MikeBarron’s SCRABBLE®Wordbook and the OfficialSCRABBLE® PlayersDictionary, 4th Edition.COOL WORDS TO KNOWA terrific cheat sheet from theNational SCRABBLE®Association for SchoolSCRABBLE® and home play.Gives useful information on howto find bingos, plus the 2s, 3s,vowel dumps, and short highpoint-tileplays.COLLINS-ONLY CHEATSHEETA cheat sheet of short Collinswords NOT found in the OWL2.2s, 3s, short high-point-tilewords, and Q-without-U words.COLLINS WORD LISTSUseful links to Collins word listscan be found at the followingwebsites: http://www.absp.org.uk/words/words.html; http://www.math.utoronto.ca/jjchew/scrabble/lists/; http://www.scrabble.org.au/words/index.htm; http://members.ozemail.com.au/~rjackman/.TournamentManagement SoftwareDIRECTOR!Marc Levesque’s software formanaging tournaments. Also 101

has a Yahoo user group youcan join as a support option.TOURNEYMANJeff Widergren’s software formanaging tournaments.TSHJohn Chew’s software formanaging tournaments.BooksBOB’S BIBLEA terrific book to build wordpower for tournaments.BOB’S BIBLE, SCHOOLEDITIONFor School SCRABBLE® andhome play.BROW-RAISERS IIA brilliantly organized studyguide geared towards thesuccess of beginning andintermediate players.HOW TO PLAYSCRABBLE® LIKE ACHAMPIONA new guide to winningSCRABBLE® from WorldSCRABBLE® Champion JoelWapnick. Fantastic insights intoexpert playing techniques. (Seereview in the October issue ofThe Last Word.)ENGLISH LANGUAGEWORD BUILDERBob Jackman’s guide tobuilding a strong Collinsvocabulary, organized by wordlength, familiarity, and part ofspeech.S C R A B B L E R E S O U R C E SEVERYTHINGSCRABBLE®, THIRDEDITIONThe ultimate guide to winning atSCRABBLE@ by 3-timeNational Champion Joe Edleyand John D. Williams, Jr.Completely updated to includeall new words. (See review inthe January issue of The Lastword.)THE OFFICIALSCRABBLE® PLAYERSDICTIONARY, FOURTHEDITIONThe official word source forSchool SCRABBLE® andcasual play.THE OFFICIALTOURNAMENT ANDCLUB WORD LIST, 2NDEDITIONThe official word source forNASPA tournament and clubplay.SCRABBLE®TOURNAMENT & CLUBWORD LIST (COLLINS)The official word list forinternational tournament play.(Available at SamTimer.com.)SCRABBLE®WORDBOOKA great word book forSCRABBLE® players by MikeBaron. OSPD4 words. (POOLists available with wordsexcluded from the OWL2.)102

Tournament CalendarT O U R N A M E N T C A L E N D A ROur new calendar format addresses two concerns: 1) Readers wanted as complete a list aspossible of tournament dates, not just two months worth of dates; 2) Readers wanted to know easilywhether a tournament was sanctioned by NASPA, WGPO, or the NSA (or was unrated).However, because new tournaments are constantly being added to the schedule, it is difficult to beall-inclusive. Please be sure to refer to the Websites of the organization sanctioning the tournamentfor a complete list. Click NASPA, WGPO, or NSA for the most up-to-date calendars. Links toNASPA and some NSA tournaments are also posted at cross-tables.com.Thanks to Henry Leong, who permitted The Last Word to adapt his calendar from the WGPOWebsite.Dates Organization Tournament/LocationDECEMBER12/1-8 WGPO LOS CABOS MEXICO12/3-4 NASPA AUSTIN TX12/3 NASPA CALGARY AB CAN12/3-4 NASPA FORT LAUDERDALE FL12/3-4 WGPO ALBUQUERQUE NM12/3 WGPO WAUPUN WI12/4 NASPA BERKELEY CA12/4 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA12/4 NASPA LAKE OSWEGO OR12/4 NASPA PHILADELPHIA PA (TWL & COLLINS)12/7 NASPA AKRON OH - LCT12/9-11 NASPA STAMFORD CT (TWL & COLLINS)12/10-11 NASPA ATLANTA (COLLEGE PARK) GA12/10 NASPA BETHESDA MD (TWL & COLLINS)12/11 NASPA COVINA CA12/11 NASPA GUELPH ON CAN12/11 NASPA STRONGSVILLE OH 103

T O U R N A M E N T C A L E N D A R12/17 NASPA DALLAS TX12/17 NASPA TAMPA BAY (PINELLAS PARK) FL12/18 WGPO MOUNTAIN VIEW CA12/23-26 NASPA WILMINGTON DE (TWL & COLLINS)12/29-1/2 NASPA ALBANY NY (TWL & COLLINS)JANUARY 20121/1 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA1/7 NASPA BAYSIDE NY1/7-8 NASPA DES MOINES IA1/7 NASPA LINDEN, MI1/8 NASPA BERKELEY CA1/10 NASPA INDEPENDENCE OH - LCT1/13-16 WGPO RENO NV1/14-15 WGPO TWIN CITIES REDEYE, BLOOMINGTON MN1/14-16 NASPA FORT LAUDERDALE FL1/14 NASPA NORWALK CT (REGULAR & YOUTHDIVISIONS)1/14-16 NASPA DURHAM NC1/14-16 NASPA NEW ORLEANS LA (TWL & COLLINS)1/14 NASPA WINNIPEG MB CAN1/21-23 NASPA ATLANTIC CITY NJ (TWL & COLLINS)1/21 NASPA DALLAS TX1/21 NASPA HUDSON OH1/21 NASPA TUCSON AZ (TWL & COLLINS)1/22 WGPO STANTON CA1/28-29 NASPA CALGARY AB CAN1/28-29 NASPA KNOXVILLE TN104

T O U R N A M E N T C A L E N D A R1/28-29 NASPA ORLANDO FL1/28 NASPA UTICA NY (TWL & COLLINS)FEBRUARY ’122/4NASPA2/4 NASPA SEVEN HILLS OH2/5 NASPA BERKELEY CANORWALK CT (REGULAR & YOUTHDIVISIONS)2/5 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA2/10 NASPA SALADO TX2/10 NASPA SALADO TX (TCC-RESTRICTED)2/12 NASPA PHILADELPHIA PA - TWL & COLLINS2/12 NASPA ARCATA CA2/17 WGPO PHOENIX AZ2/17-20 NASPA LAS VEGAS NV (TWL & COLLINS)2/17-20 NASPA EASTERN CHAMPIONSHIP, CHARLOTTE NC(TWL & COLLINS)2/18 NASPA DALLAS TX2/25 NASPA FORT LAUDERDALE FL2/18-20 WGPO PHOENIX AZ (TWL & COLLINS)2/24-26 NASPA SARATOGA SPRINGS NYMARCH ’123/2-4 NASPA VANCOUVER BC CAN3/4 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA3/10 NASPA NORWALK CT (REGULAR & YOUTHDIVISIONS)3/11 NASPA BERKELEY CA3/13 NASPA INDEPENDENCE, OH - LCT3/16-18 NASPA DALLAS TX3/16-18 WGPO INDIATLANTIC FL 105

T O U R N A M E N T C A L E N D A R3/17 NASPA BAYSIDE NY3/17-18 NASPA ELYRIA OH3/18 NASPA PHILADELPHIA PA (TWL & COLLINS)3/24-25 NASPA CALGARY AB CAN3/24 NASPA CAMBRIDGE ON CAN3/24 NASPA FORT LAUDERDALE FL3/31-4/1 NASPA DANVILLE IL3/30-4/1 NASPA MYRTLE BEACH SC3/30-4/1 NASPA PRINCETON NJ3/31 NSA (School) RIDGEFIELD CT3/31-4/1 NASPA ROCHESTER (WEBSTER) NYAPRIL ’124/1 NASPA BERKELEY CA4/1 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA4/7 NASPA BAYSIDE NY4/13-15 NASPA BAT (BOSTON AREA) MA4/14-15 NASPA EDMONTON AB CAN4/21-22 NASPA CUYAHOGA FALLS OH4/21 NASPA DALLAS TX4/21 NASPA NORWALK CT (REGULAR & YOUTHDIVISIONS)4/21 WGPO PHOENIX AZ4/22 NASPA PHILADELPHIA PA - TWL & COLLINS4/27-29 NASPA SAN DIEGO CA4/28 NASPA BERLIN NJ4/28 NASPA FORT LAUDERDALE FL4/28 NASPA SOUTH LYON MI106

MAY ’12T O U R N A M E N T C A L E N D A R5/4-6 NASPA GATLINBURG TN (TWL & COLLINS5/5 NASPA STRONGSVILLE OH5/6 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA5/6-13 NASPA BERMUDA TREASURES SCRABBLE CRUISE5/8 NASPA INDEPENDENCE OH - LCT5/12 NASPA NORWALK CT (REGULAR & YOUTHDIVISIONS)5/12-13 NASPA SASKATOON SK CAN5/13 NASPA BERKELEY CA5/18-19 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA5/19 NASPA BAYSIDE NY5/19 NASPA DALLAS TX5/19 NASPA FORT LAUDERDALE FL5/24-28 NASPA TARRYTOWN NY5/25-28 NASPA LAKE ARROWHEAD CA (COLLINS)JUNE ’126/2-3 NASPA CALGARY AB CA6/2 NASPA TENTATIVE - CHARLOTTE NC6/3 NASPA BERKELEY CA6/3 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA6/6-20 NASPA TORONTO ON CAN (TCC, LCT)6/7-10 NASPA HANCOCK MA6/16 NASPA DALLAS TX6/16-17 NASPA KNOXVILLE TN6/16 NASPA NORWALK CT (REGULAR & YOUTHDIVISIONS) 107

T O U R N A M E N T C A L E N D A R6/20-7/2 WGPO NORWAY / ICELAND CRUISE - TWL &COLLINS6/23 NASPA BAYSIDE NY6/23 NASPA FORT LAUDERDALE FL6/28-7/4 NASPA ALBANY NY (TWL & COLLINS)JULY ’127/1 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA7/6-8 NASPA WILMINGTON DE (TWL & COLLINS)7/7-8 NASPA OMAHA NE7/21 NASPA DALLAS TX7/27-29 NASPA TENTATIVE - OLD GREENWICH CT7/28 NASPA FORT LAUDERDALE FLAUGUST ’128/5 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA8/3-8 WGPO WGPO WORD CUP - BLOOMINGTON MN8/11-15 NASPA NATIONAL SCRABBLE CHAMPIONSHIP -ORLANDO FL (TWL & COLLINS)8/18 NASPA DALLAS TX8/18-26 NASPA IRELAND TOUR AND TOURNAMENT8/18-19 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA8/25 NASPA FORT LAUDERDALE FLSEPTEMBER ’129/1-3NASPATENTATIVE - ATLANTA/ALPHARETTA GA9/2 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA9/9 NASPA NEWARK DE9/15 NASPA DALLAS TX9/19-26 NASPA BAHAMAS CRUISE9/22 NASPA NORWALK CT (REGULAR & YOUTHDIVISIONS)108

T O U R N A M E N T C A L E N D A R9/29 WGPO PHOENIX AZ9/29 NASPA ASBURY PARK NJ9/29 NASPA FORT LAUDERDALE FLOCTOBER ’1210/6-20 WGPO NEW ENGLAND & CANADA CRUISE (TWL &COLLINS)10/6 NASPA NORWALK CT (REGULAR & YOUTHDIVISIONS)10/7 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA10/13 NASPA BERLIN NJ10/18-21 NASPA LAKE GEORGE NY (TWL & COLLINS)10/20 NASPA DALLAS TX10/27 NASPA FORT LAUDERDALE FLNOVEMBER ’1211/2-4NASPACAMBRIDGE MD11/4 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA11/10 NASPA NORWALK CT (REGULAR & YOUTHDIVISIONS)11/17 NASPA DALLAS TX11/17 NASPA FORT LAUDERDALE FL11/23-25 NASPA TARRYTOWN NY11/28-12/5 WGPO EASTERN CARIBBEAN CRUISEDECEMBER ’1212/1 NASPA CALGARY AB CA12/1-3 NASPA FORT LAUDERDALE FL12/23-26 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA12/5-18 WGPO EASTERN CARIBBEAN TO BRAZIL CRUISE12/15 NASPA DALLAS TX 109

T O U R N A M E N T C A L E N D A R12/15-16 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA12/22-25 NASPA WILMINGTON DE (TWL & COLLINS)FEBRUARY ’132/13-18NASPALAS VEGAS NV (TWL & COLLINS)MAY ’135/23-27 NASPA TARRYTOWN NY110

ArchivesA R C H I V E STo download previous issues of The Last Word click here. 111