TLW April 2011 - The Last Word Newsletter

The Wordsmith by Chris Sinacola 57Word Trivia Quiz by Siri Tillekeratne 61Linda’s Library by Linda Wancel 63SCRABBLE® Resources 65Tournament Calendar 68Archives 70T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S 3

A D V E R T I S E M E N TPROTILESThe tiles preferred by expert SCRABBLE ® players worldwideDouble Injection Molded Lifetime Tiles, Custom SilkscreenedTiles, Large Font Tiles, World Class Tiles, Bulk OrdersWWW.Protiles.net[1] 5

SamTimer.comIntroduces the FlipTimer A D V E R T I S E M E N TFlipTimer NEW!• Scrabble®, Boggle®, Chess• Unique COMPACT folding timer for tournament and friendly Scrabble® games.• Conforms to all the American and International rules for overtime, hold period for wordchallenges, etc!• Even computes actual overtime penalties!• Just fold this FlipTimer to REMEMBER the time settings in the middle of a game and unfold tocontinue the game later, maybe in a location miles away! A FlipTimer exclusive!• Folded, the FlipTimer measures an amazingly compact 5½" long, 2 ⅝" wide and 1"high! Yet, the display digits at 1" high, are taller than existing digital clocks!Incredible.• Three color choices:Red/Yellow, Yellow/Fuchsia, or Blue/Green• It displays actual time spent on current move, in minutes and seconds!Cool clock. -- Conrad Bassett-BouchardWe love this new clock! -- KC FrodymaWe played with it at a closed tournament--we really like thisFlipTimer. -- Cesar del SolarORDERING OPTIONS: emailsam@samtimer.comWe Accept: Checks, InternationalMoney orders, Visa/Mastercard,American Express, Discover,Diner's Club, PayPal - usesam@samtimer.com 7

Emails to the EditorE M A I L S T O T H E E D I T O RShould you wish to comment on any of the Newsletter articles—or make suggestions or corrections—please email Cornelia Guest at CorneliaSGuest@gmail.com. Snail mail is also welcome at 135Codfish Hill Road, Bethel, CT 06801. Emails chosen for publication may be edited at the editor’sdiscretion._______________________________________________________________________________Hey, Cornelia--Here's a link to my Doomsday Wrestling match if you would like to see it:http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hot+flash+vs.+lady+rabies&aq=fIt was a total blast! I would do it every week if they would let me!Hope KennedyEditor’s Note: The story on Hope’s preparation for her appearance on Doomsday Wrestling as “HotFlash” is in the March issue of The Last Word. 9

PassagesLarry Sherman, EditorP 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.______________________________________________________________________________DEATHSCHERYL CADIEUXBy Jill Heffner; photo by Frank LeeCheryl Cadieux (AKA Stella) of Bay City, Michigan, died at home on March 16 from brain cancer.She was 63.10Cheryl Cadieux contributed greatly to the Scrabblecommunity in many ways, including the creation of theOSPD Scrabble online mailing list.With her outsized personality, Cheryl was a wonderfulambassador for the game. I watched her encourage newplayers at club, and am sure many returned for theopportunity of enjoying another game with her. Sheattracted attention in bookstores and restaurants wherewe would play, and I'm sure we gained members in ourcommunity who started chatting with Cheryl, watchedher play, and decided they wanted to be a part of whatshe was so obviously enjoying. Her jokes werelegendary, and when the joke was on her, no onelaughed louder than Cheryl. She could reliably becounted on to spill her water or coffee while we wereplaying, and I washed plenty of chocolate from browniesand cookies off my board, not minding it one bit. Takingthat situation in stride, she breezily traveled along with aspare set of clothes added to her Scrabble board setup.Some of the most enjoyable vacations I have had were spent traveling with Cheryl. She was theonly friend I have ever had who was willing to start playing Scrabble at breakfast and continueplaying, with few breaks, until it was time to go to bed.Cheryl was extremely generous with her time. If I had a question about Scrabble, or wanted heradvice on a related matter, I could rely upon her to shoot me back an email at lightning speed. Shetalked me down when I was trying to overcome nervousness during tournament play. Shedispensed excellent advice on surviving games with the occasional difficult personality. She sharedstrategy tips to help me when she spotted some of the many glaring holes in my game. I got so Icould hear Cheryl's voice in my ear at tournaments, "If you don't know the word look and see if thereis a word you DO know in it, maybe the opponent is trying to trick you, check your hooks, and beforeyou hit the clock look ONE MORE TIME!" I would not be the same player, and more importantly, Iwould not enjoy Scrabble the way I do, had I not had the good fortune to meet Cheryl and becomeher friend.

P A S S A G E SThere was so much to admire about Cheryl, including her genuine interest in words, the odder thebetter. Cross-tables has Cheryl playing 249 tournaments, beginning in 1981, and I think she couldfairly be described as an avid player. I envy how well Cheryl could keep Scrabble in perspective.When she was able to come to club, during the months she lived in Florida, or while traveling, andwhile at tournaments, she made the most out of those opportunities to play. When Cheryl was inMichigan and unable to play, she took that situation in stride and enjoyed other activities. She liveda balanced life. Cheryl always said her life was an open book, and in some ways she anticipatedsocial networking; many followed her life through the OSPD Scrabble listserv, wanting to know notjust what was next for Stellacious regarding Scrabble, but also what was going on in her life.If Cheryl was at a tournament you knew it by that laugh booming across the room. I enjoyedwatching when she was on the wrong side of a blowout in progress, leaning across the board andwhispering coyly to her opponent, "Are you having a good time?" Many times I tried to keep astraight face while watching Cheryl introduce herself to an unsuspecting opponent and mention, "Iam new at this game." I watched players laughing and shaking their heads when Cheryl would sayto the room at large, "When is somebody going to teach me how to track?"It is very hard to lose someone like Cheryl. When Cheryl was diagnosed, I collected the many, manygood wishes emails and posts and put them into a booklet for her, printed in her favorite purple ink,and I take comfort in knowing she knew how people in the Scrabble community felt about her, thatshe was appreciated and loved.Cheryl was laugh-out-loud funny, a very good sport, a terrific player, and a wonderful friend to somany of us, across the board and so very far beyond Scrabble.Surviving besides her husband, Gary, are a daughter, Colette Cadieux, one son, SSGT JasonCadieux, a granddaughter, Kaylee, and two brothers: Roy (Claire) Ancel and Jay Ancel. Cheryl wasa real estate agent and properties manager for several years, in addition to competing intournaments all across the United States. Cheryl, AKA Stella, started playing competitive Scrabblein 1981. Condolence messages may be left at http://www.obitmichigan.com/Obituary/7683/Cheryl-Cadieux. Donations in her honor may be sent to the American Cancer Society.Colette writes: "Mom, you will be missed dearly and we love you six thousand.” 11

Concord, MA--March 5, 2011By Judy ColeC O N C O R D , M ADivision winners Andrew Malaby (Div E), Trx Kt (Div D), John O'Laughlin (Div A), Mike Wolfberg (Div B),and Judy Horn (Div C) gather in front of the fireplace at the Concord Greene clubhouse.With the snow finally beginning to melt, 40 players from throughout New England (and New York)met in Concord, MA, to play a 7-game round-robin tournament.Prizes were $125/$75/$50 for 1st/2nd/3rd in each division. Prizes of $10 were awarded for HighWin, High Loss, Low Win, High Bingo, and High Non-Bingo as well -- players were eligible to winonly one of these prizes.Division A1st - John O'Laughlin - 6-1 +5042nd - Richard Buck - 5-2 +439•3rd - Jeremiah Mead - 5-2 -38High Win - Richard Buck - 552High Loss - Alyssa Faria - 432Low Win - Jeremiah Mead - 314 in a 1-point win over Rod MacNeilHigh Bingo - Cecilia Le - EARPIECE (149) - Cecilia also had the highest loss at 439.12

C O N C O R D , M AHigh Non-Bingo - Brad Whitmarsh - QI (64) - Richard had SNAP for 78 but took High Win prize.Division B1st - Mike Wolfberg - 7-0 +10862nd - Joel Horn - 5-2 +2063rd - Bob Becker - 4-3 +214High Win - Mike Wolfberg - 655. Mike had 5 bingos in this game - SAPIENT (78), TALIONS (82),HUMBLES (104), DEVIANT (83), and ARCUATED (65) - while Joel managed to squeeze inSIERRAN for 71.High Loss - John Cheras - 407Low Win - Bob Becker - 364High Bingo - Kate Fukawa-Connelly - AZURITES (95). Kate also had the lowest win at 360 but tookthis prize instead of Mike, who had HUMBLES for 104 but took High Win prize.High Non-Bingo - Joel Horn - VEXING (75).Division C1st - Judy Horn - 6-1 +6142nd - Sue Gable - 5-2 +2683rd - Roberta Borenstein - 4-3 -36High Win - Judy Horn - 493High Loss - Sue Gable - 444Low Win - Kevin Gauthier - 366High Bingo - Roberta Borenstein - BALDEST (91). Roberta also had lowest win at 349 but took thisprize instead.High Non-Bingo - Lorraine Ray - WIZENS (81). Sue had SQUEG for 85 but took what she dubbed"The BIggest Loser" prize instead.Division D1st - Trx Kt - 6-1 +2052nd - Jane Conti - 5-2 +1893rd - Elouise Pearl - 4-3 +584High Win - Elouise Pearl - 570High Loss - Nicole Kazarian - 398Low Win - Betsey Wood - 334High Bingo - Morris Greenberg - VINEGARS (98)High Non-Bingo - Trx Kt - QI (63)Division E1st - Andrew Malaby - 7-0 +1138. After his Concord triumph, Andrew headed to Philadelphia (PA)for a 1-day tournament where he placed 2nd in Division 3 with a record of 6-1 +409. Andrew gaineda total of 197 ratings points over the weekend and reached a new peak rating of 1019. 13

C O N C O R D , M A2nd - Norma Marshall - 4-3 -203rd - Marvin Kraus - 4-3 -52High Win - Marc Goldstein - 461High Loss - Steven Gonzales - 398Low Win - Loretta Young - 325High Bingo - Andrew Malaby - UNFLEXED(118). Andrew also had highest win at 524 but took thisprize instead.High Non-Bingo - Norma Marshall - ZERO (69)Full results are available at cross-tables (http://www.cross-tables.com/tourney.php?t=7145) and theNASPA wiki (http://www.scrabbleplayers.org/tourneys/2011/xt/03/005.shtml).Judy Cole is co-director of the Lexington MA NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #108 and solves crosswordpuzzles when not playing SCRABBLE®.14

R E D W O O D C O A S TRedwood Coast SCRABBLE® Tournament, March 19-20By Leah Kruley, photographs by Gladys BurrittIt was an old-fashioned tournament. Thehistoric Eureka Inn in a quiet northernCalifornia town provided few modernamenities but offered retro room rates anda comfortable lounge with a fireplacewhere players could relax and sample thelocal microbrews. The 34 players, all fromCalifornia or Oregon, sat where they likedin the slightly too small playing roomwithout segregation by division. Playersdeposited their tally slips into recycledKleenex boxes. Even the directing wasold-fashioned. Terry Marlow managed allthe pairings and data entry without thebenefit of a computer. The one touch ofmodernity came from the word judgeprogram on Rich Baker’s laptop.Terry Marlow, master of pre-computer age tournament directingIt was a typical rainy Humboldt County March weekend, but nobody complained about the weather.They were having too much fun playing SCRABBLE® and meeting new people. Several peoplecommented that it was a particularly friendly group.Day One: Jim Laris and Leah Kruley study their racks.Can you tell Leah hadn’t slept the night before? To theirleft are Louie Muller (in profile) and Chris Morgan (inbaseball cap).Elbow to elbow in the playing roomAt the end of two days and fourteen games, cash prizes were given to the top five finishers in eachdivision. The winners were:\ 15

R E D W O O D C O A S TDivision I1. Jesse Day: 11-3 +6872. Noah Walton: 10-4 +5943. Chris Morgan: 9-5 +4624. Rich Baker: 9-5 +4045. Michael Baker: 8-6 +465Division II1. Leah Kruley: 12-2 +15362. Michael Machi: 10-4 +2553. Marina Villena: 9-5 +3944. Joshua Standig: 9-5 +425. Kathy Sutrov: 8.5-5.5 +488The leaders in both divisions were Gibsonized in the final round.It was the first time since 2005 that the Redwood Coast SCRABBLE® Club had organized a multidaytournament, and they are hoping to put on a bigger (but not too much bigger ) and better onenext year. Remember, you don’t have to live on the West Coast to attend – any NASPA member iswelcome.16

T H E P U R P L E A N D G R E E NPlayers Clash, Make Splash, and Cash at the Purple andGreenBy Dan StockIt was a great weekend for Scrabble in Elyria!Almost everyone was wearing purple and/orgreen. One female wag said that the over/underline is 50% for the number of female playerswearing purple underwear. I make no claims toknow.We did a couple things in honor of two players welost recently. Players were provided with a smallplastic purple rose (with a green stem, of course),and encouraged to wear it and think of Flo Laatz-- who traditionally sang "The Rose" at MichiganMadness karaoke. And in honor of Cheryl "Stella"Cadieux, we held a special "no shushing" game inDan and Joyce Stockthe first round, encouraging players to belighthearted and social in Cheryl's style. Ironically, the room was actually remarkably quiet during thegame -- perhaps it was a bit of reverse psychology? We also had a prize in Stella's honor, for theword with the most letters in STELLA.The most popular door prizes, judging by thenumber of slips submitted to win them, were twostunning purple glass pieces, hand-blown byDallas Johnson (yes, the Tourney Committeechair and Nationals division leader). They went toMatthew Collins and Barbara Dixon. Also popularwere a bottle of "Pro-mis-Q-ous" brand wine witha small bar of dark chocolate won by DorcasAlexander, and the Scrabble Flash game won byMiki Sutherland.There was way too much food at this tourney.Due to the large number of homemade cookiesand other treats, we never got into the secondthree-pound box of Malley’s chocolates. Weended up giving it away as a prize to the personwho came closest to being in the money withoutdoing so in Division A; that turned out to be JoshKopczak.Matthew Collins was one of the winners of a beautifulpurple glass, hand-blown by Dallas Johnson.The first day of the tourney belonged to Joe South. Coming in as the 12 th seed in the Division A, hewent undefeated on Saturday – including knocking off three of the top five seeds! In Division B, the12 th seed was also in the lead after the first day. This time it was Tony Incorvati, with a record of 5-2. 17

T H E P U R P L E A N D G R E E NDinner on Saturday included a group of 16 from the tourney who went to a nearby Japanese place.Everyone at the table was either wearing a purple top or a green one!In evening activities, Dan Blake won the Taxes Hold Metourney. At anagrams, spelling-bee champ Tony Incorvatishowed his mettle by stealing METRONOME withSPHYGMOMANOMETER.In the first round on Sunday, Dorcas Alexander ruined JoeSouth's undefeated record with a 473-420 game. That puttop seed Lou Cornelis at the top at that point, with a 7-1record that matched Joe's but with a higher spread.In the next round, Dorcas played JERSEYS, beating herprevious play of OXIDIZE in the race for low-probabilitynatural seven-letter bingo. And Matthew Collins'ROUSTERS displaced OXIDIZE as the high score inDivision A ... but Matthew mentioned that he'd be evenfurther ahead if he hadn't missed a 130-point WALTZINGdouble-double yesterday. Then again, Elaine Glowniaksays she missed a triple-triple of METAZOIC through a Zwith a blank as the I. ROUSTERS ended up winning.In round 10, Joe South beat #3 seed Jeff Fiszbein by fourpoints after a recount. That set up a round 11 showdownwith Lou Cornelis, with both players having one loss at thatpoint.Karen SmithIn that game, Lou got the first bingo down: GIRTINGwith a blank. Joe tried to upstage him with a blankbingo of his own: UPSTAGER. But Lou pulled out a418-382 victory. That put Lou in the lead by a gameover Joe before the final "queen-of-the-hill" and king-ofthe-hillrounds.In that queen-of-the-hill round, Heather Steffy beat JoeSouth by 10 points, and Lou hung a 526 on DorcasAlexander. So Lou was Gibsonized. Congratulations toLou on a fine tourney!Joe then won his last game against Heather Steffy tofinish second. Dorcas won hers against Jeff Fiszbeinand finished third, with Heather fourth.Carolyn Easter and Kit MoreheadIf I had slavishly followed convention, the Gibson game would have been Lou playing against theonly other Canadian in the tourney: his wife, Lilla Sinanan. By unanimous consent of those involved,the Gibson game went instead to Steve Knapp, and Lilla played Terry Oblander (rather than Lou vs.Lilla and Steve vs. Terry). Sure enough, the Canadian couple won both of those games, too.18

T H E P U R P L E A N D G R E E NIn Division B, Janet Gray won all four games Sunday morning. Could it be because of theshimmering purple hat she wore? That put her just spread points behind Karen Smith with twogames to go.Dan Blake beat Karen in the second-to-lastround, but not be the huge amount heneeded to catch up to her. So Karenearned the right to play in the top king-ofthe-hillgame against Jane.Karen then proceeded to beat Janet to winthe division. Barbara Dixon beat Dan Blakein their king-of-the-hill game, but not byquite enough: Dan finished third, 30 spreadpoints ahead of Barbara.In her clinching victory, Karen played thebingo LISTABLE. That was the only word inthe tourney that contained all the letters inSTELLA, and so it won the STELLA prize. Itwas also astonishingly appropriate for aprize in memory of our late belovedlistmistress of ospd-scrabble.Was Carol Ravichandran JINXED at the tourney?The leading candidate in the low-probabilitynatural eight-letter bingo competition had been Josh Kopczak's CUTENESS, but it was beat by PaulEpstein's HAPPIEST. Remember that HAPPIEST beat CUTENESS the next time you are choosinga mate …Incidental musings ... A player was heard to mumble, "That wasn't very nice" after his *UNNICELY ischallenged off the board. A cute hook: In the game of Josh Kopczak vs. Pete Zeigler, someonehooked an A in front of CUTENESS, spelling BEAK with the B on a TWS and the K on a DLS ... 56points, as I calculate it. Carol Ravichandran had a tough tourney, even starting her loss againstsignificant other Steven Knapp by playing JINXED. She also ended up with the high loss of thetourney, a 465 in which Pete Zeigler played a non-bingo triple-triple of CENTAVOS through the ATfor 108. When Josh Kopczak played Terry Oblander in round 9, the second word played was"FUDGE", coming down from the F in the first word ... for which FUDGE is a common euphemism.It was a tough call in the cheesy costume award this year. Janet Gray's shimmering purple hat? KitMorehead's wild purple hat one day and wild green one the next? Dan Blake's subtle but distinctiveoverlaying of purple and green tops? Miki Sutherland's stylish stripes with a light purple bandanna?Pete Zeigler's unusual headgear and distinctive colors? Jeff Fiszbein's clever attempt to influencethe judges by wearing the Mardi Gras beads from previous years plus a green T-shirt from theMichigan vs. Ohio event last year? Elaine Glowniak's eclectic yet chic look? We decided to go withthe wild hats and gave it to Kit.The Division A class prize went to Pete Zeigler, who finished 9-4 as the 9th seed and gained some50 points to finally be back over 1600. In Division B, the class prize went to Tony Incorvati. Despitebeing the bottom seed, Tony had been in contention to win for much of the tourney, and finishedwith a winning record to gain some 200 rating points. 19

T H E P U R P L E A N D G R E E NPRIZES:Good egg award (Malley's chocolate eggs in purple and green): Elaine GlowniakCheesy costume award (Box of SCRABBLE Cheezits): Kit MoreheadJust of out the money award (Box of Malley's chocolates): Josh KopczakDivision B Hi Play, $10: REALIZED and DOVETAIL, both by Barbara Dixon, 101Division B Hi Loss out of the money, $10: Art Van Tol, 414Division B Hi Game out of the money, $10: Tina Cur, 495Division A Hi Play, $10: ROUSTERS, Matthew Collins, 122Division A Hi Loss out of the money, $10: Carol Ravichandran, 465Division A Hi Game out of the money, $10: Jeff Fiszbein & Michael Bassett, 522Low-probability natural 7-letter bingo, $15: Dorcas Alexander, JERSEYSLow-probability natural 8-letter bingo, $15: Paul Epstein, HAPPIESTBest STELLA word, $20: Karen Smith, LISTABLE -- all six letters & 72 points.Division B 3rd, $60: Daniel BlakeDivision B Class Prize, $110: Tony Incorvati (4.5 games over expectation)Division B 2nd, $120: Janet GrayDivision B 1st, $180: Karen SmithDivision A 4th, $60: Heather SteffyDivision A Class, $110: Pete Zeigler (2.5 games over expectation)Division A 3rd, $120: Dorcas AlexanderDivision A 2nd, $200: Joe SouthDivision A 1st, $280: Lou CornelisLilla Sinanan and Cheesiest Costume Winner Kit Morehead20

N E S C H O O L S C R A B B L E S E R I E SThe New England School SCRABBLE® SeriesBy Cornelia Guest, DirectorTournament 7 (3/20): Ridgefield Library, Ridgefield, CTL-R: Division A winners Kevin Rosenberg & Mack Meller; Division B winners Quinn Vissak & Jason Welch.School breaks and busy schedules brought a small group of six teams to the March 20th RidgefieldSchool SCRABBLE® Tournament. The teams were divided into A and B divisions for prizes, butplayed in one division.Mack Meller (5th grade) and Kevin Rosenberg (8th grade) once again dominated the field, winningall of their games and amassing a +544 spread to easily take Division A. Second, with a 2-1 +389record, were DeeAnn Guo (6th grade) and Amy Rowland (8th grade), with high-schoolers KevinGreene and Rob Salandra third. Mack and Kevin also won the prizes for tournament High Game(474), High Play (ALEATORY, 92), and Best “Spring” Word (ICICLE).First in the B Division went to Quinn Vissak (8th grade) and Jason Welch (6th grade), over theRidgefield Library team of Sharon Rowland (4th grade) and Ava Turner (3rd grade). LorenzoKinnicutt (7th grade) and first-time player Graham Hepworth (6th) grade were third.Complete results follow:DIVISION A1. Mack Meller & Kevin Rosenberg: 3-0 +5442. DeeAnn Guo & Amy Rowland: 2-1 +3893. Kevin Greene & Rob Salandra: 0-3 -487DIVISION B 21

N E S C H O O L S C R A B B L E S E R I E S1. Quinn Vissak & Jason Welch: 2-1 -242. Sharon Rowland & Ava Turner: 1-2 -1503. Lorenzo Kinnicutt & Graham Hepworth: 1-2 -272HIGH GAME: Mack Meller & Kevin Rosenberg: 474HIGH PLAY: Mack Meller & Kevin Rosenberg: ALEATORY, 92BEST “SPRING” WORD: Mack Meller & Kevin Rosenberg: ICICLE3RD GRADE CHAMPION: Ava Turner4TH GRADE CHAMPION: Sharon Rowland5TH GRADE CHAMPION: Mack Meller6TH GRADE CHAMPION: DeeAnn Guo7TH GRADE CHAMPION: Lorenzo Kinnicutt8TH GRADE CHAMPION: Kevin RosenbergHIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONS: Kevin Greene & Rob SalandraSERIES STANDINGS AS OF 3/20DIVISION A1.Mack Meller, Kevin Rosenberg: 282.DeeAnn Guo: 153.Amy Rowland: 124.Nicholas Vasquez: 114. Alexandra Kung: 105. John Schuman: 96. Jacob Litt: 87. Stephen Alt, Bradley Robbins: 68. Zachary Dietz, Nathaniel Jones: 59. Josefina Altamiranda 410. Richard Pairamazan: 311. Jerray Chang, Kevin Greene, Matthew O’Connor, Kell Pogue, Rob Salandra: 212. Dan Oates: 1DIVISION B1.Quinn Vissak: 172.Sheng Guo: 152.Jared Tilliss, Seth Tilliss: 133.Jason Welch: 113. Sharon Rowland: 104. Isabelle Johnson: 75. Stephanie Adams, Nick Krasnow, Willie Sia: 66. Philip Glynn, Drew Gregory, Lorenzo Kinnicutt, Reilly McManus, Alexander Pacetta, MichaelShofi: 57. Sarah Armstrong, Kyle Imperato, Ava Turner, Evan Winston, Thomas Wiig: 38. Graham Hepworth, Emily Welch: 29. Ignacio Altamiranda, Siya Chauhan, Aurora Joblon, Manisha Kanula: 14.22

TournamentResults 3/1-27MARCHTHE COLONY TX 3/51. Chris Cree2. Craig SjostromCONCORD MA 3/51. John O’Laughlin2. Michael Wolfberg3. Judy Horn4. Trx Kout5. Andrew MalabyPITTSBURGH PA 3/51. Mark Lum2. Jamal Stone3. Ed Vith4. Michelle StockerVANCOUVER BC CAN(WGPO) 3/51. Dean Saldanha2. Jane Bissonnette3. Rhonda Reece4. Jeffrey O’YekBERKELEY 3/61. Leesa Berahovich2. Dan Unger3. Maggie MorleyGUELPH ON CAN 3/61. Jason Ubeika2. Kevin Turner3. Dave KrookLAGUNA WOODS CA 3/61. Cesar Del SolarT O U R N A M E N T R E S U L T SPHILADELPHIA PA 3/61. Joel Sherman2. Edward H. Zurav3. Adam ShumanINDEPENDENCE 06 3/81. Pete ZeiglerDALLAS TX 3/11-131. Dave WiegandSARATOGA SPRINGSEARLY BIRD 3/111. Trevor Sealy2. Olivia Durant3. Maggie PoulterSARATOGA SPRINGS3/11-131. Ross Brown2. Sue Tremblay3. Barbara Gindlesperger4. Shubha KamathTWIN CITIES 3/121. Scott Jackson2. Carol Dustin3. Megan O’Connell4. Bobbi HendricksonTWIN CITIES 3/131. Scott Jackson2. Fran Galt3. Phyllis KoselkeST. AUGUSTINE FL 3/181. Ingrid HawkinsST. AUGUSTINE FL3/18-201. Vernon Jones2. Arthur Moore3. Celia Dayrit ThompsonBETHESDA MD 3/19-201. Jason Bednarz2. Edward Stewart3. Gwen Stewart4. Adam KrollBETHESDA MD(COLLINS) 3/19-201. John O’LaughlinCAN-AM, AB CAN (TCC)3/191. Dave WiegandDECATUR GA 3/191. Ryan Fischer2. Kate Graham3. Julia Scruggs4. Guy IngramARCATA CA 3/19-201. Jesse Day2. Leah KruleyELYRIA OH 3/19-201. Lou Cornelis2. Karen SmithMOUNTAIN VIEW CA(WGPO) 3/201. Jeff WidergrenRIDGEFIELD CT(SCHOOL SCRABBLE)3/201. Mack Meller & KevinRosenberg2. Quinn Vissak & JasonWelchASHLAND OR (COLLINS)3/25-271. Dave Wiegand 23

PRINCETON NJ 3/251. Jason KellerPRINCETON NJ (LCT)3/25-271. Jason KellerAUSTIN TX 3/261. Patricia Barrett2. Jason RandolphCALGARY AB CAN3/26-271. Eric Tran2. Sylvia KingDURHAM NC 3/261. Matthew Bernardina2. Marilyn Pomeroy3. Jennifer ColasuonnoFORT LAUDERDALE FL3/261. Ian Weinstein2. Mark Gooley3. Mitchell BrownNORWALK CT 3/261. Andrew Friedman2. Mack Meller3. Sue Gable4. Fred Schneider5. Scott MoresePINELLAS PARK FL 3/261. Elspeth AbbateT O U R N A M E N T R E S U L T S24

New FacesN E W F A C E SSince our last issue, 27 new faces have competed at NASPA, NSA, and WGPO tournaments.Three players won their divisions first time out: Adam Kroll, who won Division 4 at the Bethesda MDTournament 3/19-20 (10-4 +1166), Michelle Stocker, who won Division 4 at the Pittsburgh PATournament 3/5 (4-2 +492), and Guy Ingram, our featured “New Face,” who won Division 4 at theDecatur GA Tournament on 3/19-20 with a 5-2 +357 record, earning an initial NASPA rating of 976.______________________________________________________________________________Guy IngramGuy Ingram, the winner of Division 4 at the recentDecatur, GA, tournament, is new to SCRABBLE®tournament play. But this 35-year-old softwareconsultant from the Metro Atlanta area is no strangerto competition: Guy has been playing darts inweekend tournaments since he was in college. He’san A league player in Decatur, and competes 8-10times a year, with his best finish to date a 2nd placefinish in the December 2010 Savannah Open.What brings a tournament darts player to theSCRABBLE® scene? “I enjoyed SCRABBLE®growing up,” said Guy, noting that he got hooked onthe game in 2007, when he started playing quickgames on the now defunct scrabulous.com. He currently plays on line every day at pogo.com, andhe started attending a club several months ago. He estimates he’s played about 10,000 games online, about 8,500 of which were played on scrabulous.com in the 3-minute format.“I was playing someone on pogo.com about 6 months ago, and the person urged me to go to a club.I went to Jeremy Jeffers’ Club [Decatur NASPA Club #802] 3 times, and I learned a lot by playingsome really tough players.” Guy incorporated some of their strategies into his play, plus got hishands on a study guide with all the 2- and 3-letter words. He then started practicing on line.“Decatur was my very first tournament. It will not be my last,” says Guy, who enjoyed the event. “Ihad no idea what to expect; but it was great. I love to compete. I had some coffee and a creamfilleddonut--and then got down to business. Within 30 minutes I knew this would be the first ofmany tournaments.”Guy prepared for the Decatur tournament by practicing the new strategies he had learned at club online. He also studied the 2- and 3-letter word lists. His favorite moment of the tournament was inthe final and decisive match, when he played OZALIDS to pull within 25 points before coming backto win, 397-392.Guy now has some tough choices ahead---balancing dart and SCRABBLE® tournaments andfamily time with his wife and 2-year-old son Wil, pictured with Guy above. But he assuresScrabblers: “I will definitely be back for more. I had a blast. See you soon!” 25

N E W F A C E SWelcome to Guy Ingram, Adam Kroll, Michelle Stocker and thefollowing other new faces:THE COLONY TX 3/5: Donald Turner IIVANCOUVER BC CAN 3/5: Paul ClarkeBERKELEY CA 3/6: Mira Kittner, Jack NormanPHILADELPHIA PA 3/6: Chris Sitowski, Shirlee DeBaccoDECATUR GA 3/19: Daniel NovinsonTWIN CITIES 3/12: Jennifer Behrend, Tiny Fisher, Susan McNeilTWIN CITIES 3/13: Jane SchwabST. AUGUSTINE FL 3/18: Maryanne TaddeoARCATA CA 3/19-20: Shelley MitchellRIDGEFIELD CT (SCHOOL SCRABBLE®) 3/20: Graham Hepworth, Rob SalandraCALGARY AB CAN 3/26-27: Betsy ChaiNORWALK CT 3/26: Valeria Buckner Bobbin, Virginia Granata, Sunil Mahtani, Donna NorcrossDURHAM NC 3/26: Bindi Nemarugommula, John Price, Bowen ZhuPINELLAS PARK FL 3/26: Marlene Boyda26

W O R D S T A RWord StarBy Jeff KastnerPlay 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 TRY andNIM are acceptable, but not ARM, because the “R” and the “M” 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, TINT andMARRY are acceptable. But TRAIT would not be acceptable because the “A” and the “I” 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 “T.” 27

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:200 points (Novice); 275 points (Intermediate); 375 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 Kastner28

W O R D S T A RSOLUTIONAMAAMIAMINAMINITYAMITYARTARTYATMAATTATTARIMAMINNINTIINTIMAMAARMAMAMAMMAMAMMARYMAMMATIMARMARAMARRAMMARRYMARTMARTINMARTINIMARTYRMARTYRYMATMATINMATTMATTINMIMMINIMINIMMINIMAMINNYMINTMINTYMITTMITYNIMNINNYNITNITTYRAMRAMIRATRATATATRATTYTAMTARTARAMATARRYTARTTARTARTARTYTATTATAMITATARTATTYTINTINNYTINTTINYTITTITITITTYTRAMTRYPAR SCORES: 200 points (Novice); 275 points (Intermediate)375 points (Advanced)BEST SCORE:2 Points for each WORD found:70 Words = 140 points.5 Bonus Points for each BINGO found:6 Bingos = 30 points.1 Point for each LETTER of every word found:315 Letters = 315 points.1 Bonus Point for each CENTER STAR of every word found:70 T’s = 70 points.TOTAL = 555 PointsJeff 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 Phoenix SCRABBLE® Club champion as well as the 2008 and 2009Scottsdale SCRABBLE® Club champ. His chess, Sudoku, and word puzzles appear weekly in TheJewish Press newspaper and on its website. He has recently begun hosting the Internet programWho’s on the Show?, where one of his first interviews was with directors Larry Rand and BarbaraVan Alen: http://whosontheshow.com/shows.html. 29

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).Can-Am AdamThe Centretown News (03/11/2011) interviewed Ottawa(ON) SCRABBLE® player Adam Logan before the Can-Am SCRABBLE® Challenge in Calgary (AB) on March19-20, 2011.Adam discussed the challenge of playing North America’stop players: “It can be intimidating but you have to try notto be too afraid of them. The first few times you playpeople like that it’s hard to keep your concentration.”In turn, fellow Canadian players John Chew and JeremyHildebrand pointed out that Adam himself can inspire fearand intimidation on the other side of the board:• John on Adam: “He strikes fear into other players.”• Jeremy on Adam: “His awesome mind and his abilityto play near perfect Scrabble make playing againsthim intimidating.”But as we all know, there is nothing to fear but a rack ofvowels.http://centretownnewsonline.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2242&Itemid=99______________________________________________News on NewsThe SCRABBLE® News joins The Christian ScienceMonitor, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and othernewspapers in leaving the paper behind for online editionsexclusively.At its peak, The SCRABBLE® News was published 8times a year and mailed to 7,000 subscribers.North Shore Sun (03/08/2011) http://northshoresun.timesreview.com/2011/03/7682/greenport%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98the-scrabble-news%E2%80%99-goes-online-only/MARCH MILESTONESGEOFF THEVENOT reached 2000for the first time at the Dallas (TX)Open Tournament.RYAN FISCHER reached 1800 forthe first time at the Decatur (GA)Open Tournament.LEESA BERAHOVICH reached1800 for the first time at the Berkeley(CA) tournament.ANDREW FRIEDMAN reached 1700for the first time at the Norwalk (CT)tournament.ARIE SINKE reached 1700 for thefirst time at the Cambridge (ON)Tournament.VERA BIGALL reached 1600 for thefirst time at the Cambridge (ON)Tournament.NEIL DEWITTE reached 1600 for thefirst time at the Dallas (TX) OpenTournament.RON GIDEONS reached 1500(COLLINS) for the first time at theAshland (OR) Tournament.MACK MELLER reached 1500 forthe first time at the Norwalk (CT)Tournament.30

Tutti FruityS C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W SKellogg Company recently introduced SCRABBLE® Junior fruit flavored snacks.With a side order of Sunshine® Cheez-It® SCRABBLE® Junior crackers, you’ll soonbe spelling your way to a nutritional bingo.http://www2.kelloggs.com/ProductDetail.aspx?id=24671_______________________________________________________________________________Trivial PursuitsIt’s no wonder that trivia contests are a popular evening activity at many SCRABBLE® tournamentsaround the country.• On March 16, 2011, Durham (NC) SCRABBLE® player David Klionsky helped the BlueRibbon Mentor-Advocate team score a decisive victory in the WCHL Community Quiz Bowl.The Blue Ribbon Mentor-Advocate team matched wits with another non-profit to win a prizepackage and radio ads on behalf of the PTA Thrift Shop.1360 WCHL (03/16/2011) http://www.wchl1360.com/detailswide.html?id=17782• Chicago (IL) SCRABBLE® player Jeremy Cahnmann and ChadGordon went for a ride in Chicago Cash Cab on March 1, 2011.Ride along with Jeremy and see how far he gets – the answer willbe in black and white.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEqy27npyIY__________________________________________________________________________It’s Spelled T-H-E-R-E-M-I-NVermont Public Radio interviewed St. Johnsbury (VT)SCRABBLE® player Kevin Colosa about the theremin.Kevin discovered the theremin through the 1994documentary Theremin, An Electronic Odyssey. “It intriguedme that there could be an instrument that you didn't have totouch to play. I just thought it looked cool and I said, ‘I'll getone of these things; I bet I could play that.' For about thefirst year or so it kind of sounded like a cat being strangled;I think I was told to put it away a few times."The haunting and melancholy sounds of the theremin cannow be heard after hours at SCRABBLE® tournamentsthroughout the Northeast. No cats have been harmed in theperformances.http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/90237/ 31

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W SSCRABBLE® CelebritiesCelebrities disclose their passion for SCRABBLE® on the road.•In the “Favorite Things” segment on the March 21, 2011Today Show, Hoda Kotb confessed to co-host KathyLee Gifford that she is addicted to SCRABBLE® on heriPad.Today Show (03/21/2011) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IAu_jmC2Ek• Roger Taylor recalled that the band Queen loved to playSCRABBLE® backstage during the mid-1970s. While Rogerand the late Freddie Mercury were the champions,drummer Brian May scored the most points withLACQUERS for 168 points.http://www.musicradar.com/rhythm/roger-taylor-queenscrabble-sessions-got-too-serious-363830• In an interview with The Gainesville (FL) Sun, country singer Clint Black revealed some littleknownfacts:• The fingernails on his right hand are longer than on his left hand.• He was an early and enthusiastic adopter of social media, such as chat boards in the pastand Facebook and Twitter today.• He’s an avid player of iPhone SCRABBLE® with his wife, Lisa Hartman Black, and otherfriends. “I love SCRABBLE®. I even don't mind losing.”The Gainesville Sun (03/03/2011) http://www.gainesville.com/article/20110303/ARTICLES/110309893/1006/NEWS?p=2&tc=pg• Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton shared a passion for SCRABBLE® as well as for eachother. “When you get aroused playing SCRABBLE®,” Taylor has beenquoted as saying, “that's love, Baby.”http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5j7sLg8f8rBQ-qCbTH3D9flkwbD7w?docId=6356082• In a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine, original Guns N'Roses bassist Duff McKagan mentioned that SCRABBLE® andcrosswords contribute to the “nerd-fest” on the tour bus of his currentband, Loaded.http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/exclusive-duff-mckagan-onhis-new-album-and-why-guns-n-roses-wont-reunite-2011031032

Tennessee TitansS C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W SOver 200 3 rd graders competed in the DeSoto County (TN)Schools annual SCRABBLE® tournament on March 1, 2011.Each team of two students got the chance to play two 45-minute games.The event, now in its fourth year, began as a contest betweentwo rival schools after teachers visited a similar SCRABBLE®tournament in West Mississippi. In 2009, the event expandedto the entire county, and all but two schools participated inthis year’s tournament.“It's amazing to see everything come together,” said Hernando Hills teacher Kaye Roehm. “It helpsthe kids learn how to do problem-solving and decision-making; using everything from math skills tovocabulary.”Waiting in the wings were over 300 2 nd graders who were scheduled to play on March 2 nd .http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/mar/02/under-a-spell/_______________________________________________________________________________Closing the Generation GapSchool SCRABBLE® champion Bradley Robbins visited Marland Place, a senior living communityin Andover (MA), on February 27, 2011, and played two games at once with several residents. Hisfather, Phil, provided tips to Bradley’s opponents when they got stuck.The Andover Townsman (03/03/2011) http://www.andovertownsman.com/arts/x651392450/Scrabble-champ-takes-on-several-Andoverites-at-once_______________________________________________________________________________California Bingo-ingThe Lake Forest (CA) Patch (03/04/2011) interviewedmembers of NASPA Club #350 at the club’s weeklymeeting at an Arby’s in Lake Forest:• Club director Gary Moss advises newmembers to bring a “thick skin” to what will bea very different level of SCRABBLE® thanplayed in the living room.• Rachel Knapp describes her best play ofSQUARED for 173 points.• Gretchen Cowan enjoys the friendships shehas made but does not hesitate to be“merciless” when needed.http://lakeforest-ca.patch.com/articles/each-week-ascrabble-battle-at-a-lake-forest-restaurant?ncid=M255 33

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W SQi-Qat-ZaGrant Barrett, host of A Way With Words on NPR, finds that now that he’s playing Word WithFriends and WordFeud on his phone, he is using words he would never use in the “normal” world.Help Grant to expand his SCRABBLE® vocabulary by challenging him to a game – search for theuser name grantbarrett.http://www.waywordradio.org/qi-qat-za/_______________________________________________________________________________See Jesse TodayWeatherman Al Roker interviewed Portland (OR) SCRABBLE® player and Biggest Losercontestant Jesse Wornum on the March 1, 2011, episode of NBC’s Today Show. Both gentlemenagreed that they were looking “fly.” Note that Jesse or Al could be FLYEST# in Collins but not inOTCWL2.http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/41847251#41847251 or http://www.hulu.com/watch/220042/nbc-today-show-%E2%80%98loser%E2%80%99-parents-gain-weight-for-kids?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+HuluRecentlyAddedVideos+(Hulu+-+Recently+added+videos_______________________________________________________________________________Back Home Again in IndianaEastern Greene County (IN) sent six teams to the Indiana School SCRABBLE® Championships inIndianapolis on March 5, 2011. One team placed third in the competition while another team, new tothe state competition, won an award for overall best sportsmanship.Players wore matching T-shirts with the saying “The nice thing about team work is that you alwayshave others on your side.”Between 50 and 70 Eastern Greene students participate in SCRABBLE® Club, which meets weeklyafter school for an hour.Greene County Daily World (03/08/2011) http://gcdailyworld.com/story/1709021.html34

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W SLuck of the IrishStudents from 23 schools in Karachi, Pakistan, competed at the Inter-school SCRABBLE® Championshipwhere students from St. Patrick’s school dominated the competition. Muhammad Jahazaib Khan wasundefeated in seven games to capture first place while fellow students Shehroz Zamir and Yusuf Baqirfinished second and third.The Pakistan SCRABBLE® Association plans to send the top eight students to the World YouthSCRABBLE® Championship in Malaysia later this year.http://tribune.com.pk/story/124876/st-patricks-claim-inter-school-scrabble-tournament/______________________________________________________________________________________Big Love of SCRABBLE®In Episode 52 - "Exorcism" - of the HBO series, Big Love, the family takes a break from polygamy to play agame of SCRABBLE®.http://render.cdn.hbo.com/big-love/episodes/5/52-exorcism/synopsis.html#/big-love/episodes/5/52-exorcism/synopsis.html_________________________________________________________________________Tales of TilesTiles abound in Humboldt County (CA) where both mah jongg and SCRABBLE® are popular activities.Times-Standard reporter Darlene Marlow, a mah jongg enthusiast, interviewed her husband Terry Marlow,who founded the Redwood Coast SCRABBLE® Club ten years ago, and other club members about club andtournament play.Be advised that Terry has been known to play a phony and then challenge it off when his unwitting opponentslaps an 'S' on the phony.Times-Standard (03/22/2011)http://www.times-standard.com/ci_17671078?source=most_emailed 35

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W SOh, Canada!Canadian SCRABBLE® players and directors John Robertson and Andy Saunders appeared on daytimetoronto, a popular lifestyle magazine program, on March 7, 2011. John and Andy planned to promoteNASPA, the Toronto SCRABBLE® club and upcoming tournaments, as well as “peace, love, motherhoodand brotherhood” if time permitted.______________________________________________________________________________________Bejeezus--Dave Won AgainAs reported in the Mail Tribune (03/28/2011), Dave Wiegand won the West Coast World ChampionshipWord List Challenge in Ashland (OR) for the third consecutive year. Dave scored 142 points for BEJEEZUSon his way to a 17-3 record in the tournament held on March 25-27, 2011."I play Scrabble as often as I can," Dave said. "I would rather do that all the time, but I can't make a living atthat."http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110328/NEWS/103280307______________________________________________________________________________________SCRABBLE® FundraisersSCRABBLE® tournaments and events as fundraisers are in the news:• Sussex County (NJ) Literacy Volunteers - Approximately 72 players participated in the semiannualSCRABBLE® tournament on February 26, 2011 at Sussex County Community College. The eventraised over $1,500 and featured a SCRABBLE® cake created by volunteer Emily Davidson."Our SCRABBLE® Tournament is a 'friendraiser’ as well as a fundraiser,” said LVSC Board memberPeter Struble. “It helps get our message out. That’s how we get more volunteers and students;through friends, family and, of course, the libraries.”The Advertiser-News (03/02/2011) http://www.strausnews.com/articles/2011/03/03/advertiser_news/news/8.txt• Frontier College - On March 2, 2011, the Design Exchange in Toronto (ON) will be filled with seniorexecutives from 50 companies at Frontier College's seventh annual SCRABBLE® CorporateChallenge, presented by TMX Group. Teams compete for the chance to open the Toronto StockExchange and display the TMX cup at their office for the next year. Since 2005, the event has raisedover $1 million for Frontier College, which provides literacy programs for Canadians through anetwork of thousands of volunteers. http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2011/28/c6156.html36

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W S• Thunder Bay (ON) Literacy Group - Approximately 70 playersparticipated in the 13th annual SCRABBLE® Magic tournament onFebruary 26, 2011. The event raised over $8,000 to support theefforts of the Thunder Bay Literacy Group. Returning participantsMorgan Cadene and his mother, Beverly, continued their rivalryacross the board as a tribute to Morgan's father who passed awaya few years ago.tbsnewswatch.com (02/27/2011) http://www.tbnewswatch.com/entertainment/134329/Word-warriors• Grand Island (NE) Literacy Council – The Literacy Council of Grand Island held a teamSCRABBLE® tournament on February 27, 2011. NTV’s Steve White, who served as master ofceremonies, deemed the competition “cut throat” – merely “competitive” according to one of theplayers.The twelve teams kept the word judges busy. When QIappeared on three boards at the same time, the judges realizedthat the dictionary on hand was out of date and used aSmartphone to check its validity at the SCRABBLE® website(http://www.hasbro.com/scrabble/en_US/). With a uniqueinterpretation of the rules, the judges did not allow a team toplay BA twice in the same game.Nebraska.tv (02/28/2011) http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=14158518 and theindependent.com (02/28/2011)http://www.theindependent.com/articles/2011/02/27/news/local/doc4d6b2112768fb812940123.txt• Morgantown (WV) Literacy Volunteers - The Monongalia and Preston County LiteracyVolunteers hosted the 6th annual "Spellebration" team SCRABBLE® tournament on February 27,2011. Thirteen teams competed to raise around $1200 and promote awareness of the programsoffered by the Literacy Volunteers.WVNS-TV (02/27/2011) http://www.wvnstv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=95045 andCharleston Daily Mail (02/28/2011) http://www.dailymail.com/ap/ApTopStories/201102280480• Buffalo (NY) Literacy Volunteers – WIVB TV Channel 4 covered the sixth annual SCRABBLE® Festat the Buffalo and Erie County Central Library on March 13, 2011. Admission fees benefit LiteracyVolunteers in Buffalo where 1 out of 3 people cannot read at a functional level.WIVB TV Channel 4 (03/13/2011)http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/local/words-were-flyingfor-worthy-causeBuffalo SCRABBLE® players Tina Cur and AdelePeltier faced off twice during the competition. Tina wonthe first match (403 - 397) while in the rematch for thechampionship, Adele scored the victory (384 - 315) andwon a large print SCRABBLE® dictionary and acollection of short stories by Mark Twain.The Buffalo News (03/14/2011) http://galleries.buffalonews.com/photo.php?gname=gallery_1300078032.txt&item=4 37

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W S38• Literacy Volunteers of Roanoke Valley (VA) – Russ Merrittfrom the Literacy Volunteers of Roanoke Valley promoted thesixth annual SCRABBLE® tournament scheduled for March 24,2011.• Literacy Volunteers of Greater New Haven (CT) - On March 29, 2011, the city of Meriden defendedits title and the right to host next year's SCRABBLE® tournamentand fundraiser in a competition with the city of Wallingford.About 250 people took part in this year's tournament, including ateam with Meriden's mayor, Michael S. Rohde. The mayor'steam played QUIXOTIC twice during the competition and hadthe highest point total of any team (1089).Record-Journal (03/29/2011)http://www.myrecordjournal.com/meriden/article_275bd378-5a77-11e0-9340-001cc4c002e0.html_________________________________________________________________________SCRABBLE® Down UnderABC Central Victoria (Australia) Radio visited the Bendigo SCRABBLE® Club and interviewed RuthFewings, who founded the club back in 1981.The club meets every two weeks on Thursday afternoons and awardsprizes yearly for the highest winning percentage, highest average,and highest word played.As in North America, new players are often taken aback by the factthat players do not use “real” words but instead play words like QIand QAT.http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/03/11/3161354.htm______________________________________________________________________________________Comfort FoodAs reported by Zagat, New York City (NY)SCRABBLE® player Ira Freehof reopened the45 th Street location of the Comfort Diner onMarch 7, 2011. That’s great news to lovers ofgreat food and SCRABBLE® players who everattended or wanted to attend a Big AppleTournament.WDJB7 Television (03/15/2011)http://www.wdbj7.com/news/wdbj7-story-scrabbletournament-31511,0,4861389.storyhttp://www.zagat.com/buzz/comfort-diner-returnsto-manhattanSee if you can spot Ira in a commercial for theStaten Island location at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6uSIajUE28&feature=player_embedded.

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W SFONT-astic!A Brigham Young University student, Andrew Capener, created a concept SCRABBLE® set last year aspart of a packaging design course. Each tile uses a different font in the concept board.If the set were marketed, Capener envisions Hasbro luring customers into buying additional font sets: "Ienvisioned the SCRABBLE® font sets as being affordably tempting, leaving type-loving Scrabbleoholicspowerless."http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663322/the-worlds-most-beautiful-scrabble-set 39

Diane’s DEFALTSBy Diane FirstmanD I A N E ’ S D E F A L T SDiane Firstman published her first book of DEFALTS, Generous to aDEFALT: Vol. 1-3, in 2006. Since then, she has published a secondvolume of her humorous alternative definitions to common (and notso-common)words--DEFALTS Vol. 4--and selected DEFALTS haveappeared in SCRABBLE® News and on the online SCRABBLE®discussion groups crossword-games-pro (cgp) and OSPD. TheLast Word is pleased to offer the following selection of DEFALTS.ALFAQUIN: one of five alpha males born at the same time (though they can't ALL be THE alphamale, can they?)ALKYLATE: personnel folder notation of a consistently tardy alcoholic employeeALLSPICE: ill-conceived music supergroup combining The Allman Brothers and The Spice GirlsALUMROOT: cheering on your alma mater at HomecomingAMMONITE: 1) extremely dangerous promotional giveaway at a sporting event; 2) counterpart toGUNITEANISOLES: shoes for JewsANTEROOM: place in which one plays cardsANTIFOAM: 1) being against those foam "fingers" worn by some fans at sporting events; 2) asevere dislike of root beer or lattesANTILOGS: treehuggers and others opposed to the timber/logging industryANTIMINE: 1) a person with no need for material possessions; 2) an extremely philanthropic personDiane Firstman is a lifelong New Yorker and has been playing SCRABBLE® competitively since1994. When not thinking up DEFALTS, she attends crossword puzzle tourneys and writes on theNew York Yankees for www.bronxbanterblog.com. She is adept at math, can reach items on topshelves in supermarkets, and does a dead-on impression of a sea lion. The collected “DEFALTS”are available at http://stores.lulu.com/dianagram.40

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 Joan Mocine 41

One Up! Cup for AprilBy Timothy CataldoO N E U P ! C U P F O R A P R I LSince we're well aware that the brainiacs in the crowd love a real challenge, and to ultimatelyconquer the rest of the world with their big dictionaries and high IQs, we've come up with what we'recalling the One Up! Cup. Every month we'll post a “game situation” and ask the word heads to sendin their best answer for the next play.We've decided that since there will be no “perfect” or “right” solution, necessarily, we will randomlypick a winner from what we think are the most deserving. Being fastest and first is all well and good,but we want you to be a bit creative, and to show some originality and cheek, too. Send your bestguess (one entry per person, please) to One Up! Cup. The winner will receive a One Up! and havehis or her name put in the drawing for the grand prize at the end of the year, which will be a $250 giftcertificate to Uppityshirts.com. (For rules on playing One Up! click here.)Here's April's challenge:Note: 'Uppity' tile is wild and can be used as any letter._______________________________________________________________________________The winner for March is Jeff 'Scrabbleman':Hi Timothy,I'm Jeff Kastner, an Expert-rated Scrabble player from Phoenix, AZ who also contributes two wordgame columns every month to The Last Word newsletter.I like your game and want to submit my entry to your March contest. The word, appropriatelyenough, is AFTERWORDS which is stolen from the root word: STOWER. AFTERWORDS refers to42

O N E U P ! C U P F O R A P R I Lconcluding commentary, as in books. It is the opposite of FOREWORDS. These two words shouldnot be confused with AFTERWARDS and FORWARDS which both mean something else.As creative and fitting as this submission is, your rules state that for scoring purposes, the first letterof every word found is eliminated before adding up the points. In the case of AFTERWORDS, thatwould mean that the A or uppity tile, would be eliminated, thus losing a 4-point opportunity.Therefore the best scoring play instead of AFTERWORDS, would be its own anagram, namelyFORWARDEST! It's an acceptable Scrabble word meaning: being the most advanced.So, please accept these entries as a twin anagrammatical pair, one for its aesthetics and relevance,and its mate for highest scoring.Cheers,Jeff KastnerMr. Kastner brought up a good point, so we've modified the rules slightly to read: "...one letter fromeach word isn't counted..." instead of "the first letter..."This was the challenge for March: 43

M Y F I R S T C O L L I N S E X P E R I E N C EMy First Collins ExperienceBy Gene TyszkaSince there has been so much information (and misinformation) over the OWL vs. SOWPODSissue; I thought it prudent to find out on my own.My reason for trying Collins (which is how it is now referred to – not SOWPODS) is fairly simple.I have grown tired of constantly trying to open the board against the players at my level whoconsistently play mostly 2-5 letter words (with the occasional obvious SATINE bingo) INSTEAD OFACTUALLY PLAYING THE GAME.In a nutshell, I prefer offense over defense. If you are going to beat me, beat me with your wordknowledge, not your ability to block the board with 2-3 letter plays.The first thing I looked at was to see if Collins was going to offer me more opportunity to play a moreopen game. I immediately saw the 2-letter words that offered more hooking plays. I saw CH, DA, DI,EA, EE, FY, GI, GU, IO, JA, KO, KY, NY, OB, OO, OU, PO, ST, TE, UG, UR, YU, and ZO. I saw 23new hooks (more if you actually do the analysis). Now when my opponent plays CIAO to try to blockthat last bingo lane, I at least have an opportunity to play a 7-letter bingo starting with H (makingCH).Then there are all the hooks to the 2-letter words that will offer me more opportunity. Words like CHthat take an A, E, or O (front hook); or an A, or E (back hook) really started to pique my interest(remember OPEN game). This told me that my chances of playing an open game have increaseddramatically.To step back in time for a moment …. When the NSA held a vote (10 years ago?), I was a staunchNO vote for changing to SOWPODS, and have remained that way until the “blocking blue-hairs”started getting the best of me in the last 6 months. LOLStepping forward in time … to the WPC in Dallas 2010, the Causeway 2010, and 2010 Tournamentof Champions. I have always been impressed with my friend Nigel Richards and his ability tochange between lexicons (TWL and SOWPODS) with such ease. I know I will never have thatability, nor will I ever spend the time to achieve expert status. However, (through those tournaments)I found myself following Nigel’s progress and looking at the games and the difference from the NorthAmerican game.I then started looking at the annotated games of various Collins (SOWPODS) tournaments; andspecifically followed how the board developed (open vs. closed) through the game. I found thatgames were mostly open. Obviously, I’m not an expert player; but I immediately recognized the onething that I was looking for: AN OPEN BOARD.Based upon that little bit of information, I then took the opportunity to see if I could convince any ofmy home-club members (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada) to at least try Collins. The opportunitywould allow for use of the cheat sheets (2s & 3s, 4s, vowel & Q dumps, and the highest probability7s & 8s), as well as the 5-point challenge rule.Five of my club mates came forward to try Collins (ratings 830, 934, 1432, 1456, and 1706).44

M Y F I R S T C O L L I N S E X P E R I E N C EHere is a small history of my 2 games (I left early so as to make the play even for game 3).Game 1 …. Opponent (rated 1400+) – and we are both using the cheat sheet.I made a big blunder (my own mistake) in that I failed to realize that if I played a phony (and it waschallenged off) that I would LOSE MY TURN. I (quite stupidly) lost my turn when I tried a phonybingo, got challenged and lost my turn. All along I thought I would lose 5 points, and get my turnagain (how wrong I was). My opponent bingoed three times in the game, and I lost 563 to 237.Ouch. Suddenly I was thinking to myself: What the hell have you got yourself into?The only Collins words that I remember from game 1 are JUD and DOO. I stopped word- and tiletrackingbecause I was a bit flustered with my loss of turn(s).However, my first game did tell me that I was going to have to rethink my North American “doublechallengerule mentality” and the playing of phony words (yes, I have been known to play a few). Iimmediately thought to myself that I would benefit from knowing a word (and playing it), and wouldalso benefit from challenging a word I did not know (what’s 5 points to a 1086 rated player).Now, let me clarify that thinking. If I challenge a good word from my opponent, I still get my turn, butI lose 5 points. BUT I STILL GET MY TURN. It also made me think twice about playing a phony.With the North American double-challenge rule, my opponent could slam down another bingo, andsuddenly I was relegated to watching myself lose because my opponent’s next play would be tostart shutting down the board (it’s so common in TWL). Or I could continue being an idiot and tryother phonies and lose more turns. (See my 563 – 237 game above).Did I learn from my stupidity – you betcha!My second-ever Collins game was against a 1700+ rated player who had the cheat sheet (butrefused to use it). I will admit I did draw 9 of the 11 premium tiles, so it was a better game for me. Iwon 445 – 325. However, I did manage to tile- and word-track the entire game. There were severalmore Collins plays from both players in the game. QORMA (52) (through an M) instead of anexchange by my opponent, KOHA (26), BITO (18), and AGIA (14), which cleaned up my rack andavoided an exchange.Game 2 was definitely much more fun for me. I can honestly say that with a bit of study on my part, Iwill like Collins much more. The first game did manage to block the board a bit, but game 2 waswide open. I liked that most of all. I liked the fact that I had to think a lot more about my plays, and Ihad the option of challenging with a less severe penalty (5 point vs. loss of turn).So here you have a 1086-rated player who has decided to play Collins. Am I going to go back andforth between the two lexicons? Not likely. Basically, I think I am now convinced that I can nowPLAY A MORE OPEN GAME playing Collins.Lastly, I will address the debate of recent CGP posts (regarding what does or doesn’t constitute aword). To me as a lower-rated player; I REALLY DON’T CARE. All you word purists can have youropinion, and I can have mine. Neither of us is wrong. Let’s leave it at that.I just want to play, and if it means playing Collins to play open boards, then so be it. I have at leastfulfilled my 2011 New Year’s resolution (to try Collins). 45

M Y F I R S T C O L L I N S E X P E R I E N C EThere is also another personal reason for trying Collins. My wife (who doesn’t play) wants to dosome travelling when I retire (sooner than later, I hope). If I can combine that with some play outsideof North America, I’ll be one happy camper.Thank you if you have taken the time to read this far. I hope maybe I have spurred your interest in atleast trying Collins. Then you can decide for yourself, (not relying on the PRO or ANTI groups),using your best judgment.Gene Tyszka is a manufacturer of digital timers, round & fold-up game boards, and non-tipping tileracks. He can be contacted through his website at www.adjudicator3000.com.46

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, all ninecolumns 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, I use lettersto replace the numbers. These letters are part of a “Keyword” which I’ve scrambled below. I’ve also provideda clue to help you find the correct anagram. Once you’ve unscrambled the Keyword, one of the rows orcolumns will contain all of its 9 letters in the proper order.This week’s “Scrambled” Keyword: HIPBOYRAGClue:This long-running TV series uses film clips and interviews to document the lives of the famous andinfamous.SOLUTION on the page after next.Word-Finder Challenge:Here’s an additional test of your anagramming ability. Your object is to find as many words as possiblethat end in the letter “Y”, using only the 9 letters of this month’s (Scrambled) Keyword: HIPBOYRAG.Words can be of any length, from 2 to 9 letters, and must be OWL2 acceptable. Each letter of the Keywordmay be used only once within any word you find. So, for instance, BAY is acceptable, but not YAY. 47

S C R A B - D O K UPar Scores for this month’s Word-Finder Challenge:20 Words (Novice); 25 Words (Intermediate); 30 Words (Advanced)Once you’ve compiled your list, check out my SOLUTION on the next page.See you next month with another Scrab-doku puzzle and Word-Finder Challenge! …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 Phoenix SCRABBLE® Club champion as well as the 2008 and 2009Scottsdale SCRABBLE® Club champ. His chess, Sudoku, and word puzzles appear weekly in TheJewish Press newspaper and on its website. He has recently begun hosting the Internet programWho’s on the Show?, where one of his first interviews was with directors Larry Rand and BarbaraVan Alen: http://whosontheshow.com/shows.html48

SOLUTIONS C R A B - D O K UWord-Finder ListKeyword (Unscrambled): BIOGRAPHY (33 words Total)ABYAHOYAIRYAYBAYBIOGRAPHYBOGYBOYBRAYBYGABYGAPYGAYGOBYGORYGRAPYGRAYGRIPYHARPYHAYHOAGYHOARYHOYORBYORGYOYPAYPOGYPORGYPRAYPRYRAYROPY 49

W H O ’ S A F R A I D ?Who’s Afraid of Facebook SCRABBLE®?A Beginner’s Guide to Playing Scrabble on FacebookBy Martie Lownsberry, a Total NewbieThis article first appeared in the fantastic online newsletter Word Buff (www.word-buff.com) and isreprinted here with permission. To access the original article, go to http://www.word-buff.com/facebook-scrabble.html.Facebook Scrabble — now, where to begin? Let's start out by assuming that there are otherpeople like me — lots of other people like me — who can email using a computer, and perhapseven IM (um... 'Instant Message', if you're wondering) with friends but, when it come to navigatingthe web or any of those social sites you're at a complete loss as to how to even get started.You've heard of people being socially challenged? Well, I am and I am sure there are many otherslike me who are Social Network challenged. That being said, I also love playing Scrabble, which myhusband doesn't. So, a friend suggested that I try playing Scrabble on Facebook. According to her, itis fun and gives you an opportunity to play with friends or make new friends who also love Scrabble.Deciding I had nothing to lose, except perhaps my patience and maybe my mind, I decided to give ita try. First, I wanted to know a little bit about the Facebook version of Scrabble and whether or not itwas actually popular on there.History of Facebook ScrabbleIt turns out that Facebook Scrabble wasn't always Facebook Scrabble. You see, rather like me,Hasbro wasn't quite ready for social networking, and so someone else invented a Scrabble-likegame (and I mean identical to Scrabble, or close enough) for the Facebook site.This game was called Scrabulous and was an instant online success. It soon had hundreds ofthousands of players online having a great time challenging one another or just playing a friendlygame here and there.This really annoyed Hasbro, and they insisted that Facebook cease and desist using this Scrabble"rip off game." To make a long story short, in the end Hasbro won the dispute and agreed to furnishFacebook users with an authentic version of Facebook Scrabble to replace Scrabulous, which wastaken off the site.It took a while to work out the bugs, but Hasbro's version of Facebook Scrabble is now working wellwith over 677,800 users — more than enough for me to find someone to play with whenever I'mhungry for a game. So I decided to give it a shot.What To Do FirstIn order to start playing Scrabble on Facebook the first thing you have to do is to get a Facebookaccount. This is pretty easy. Just go to www.Facebook.com and the first thing you should see, if youdon't already have an account, is a "Sign up for Facebook" message. Under the big heading click onthe smaller one that says 'sign up'.50

W H O ’ S A F R A I D ?You will then be transferred to a page that not only tells you exactly how to sign up for your account,but will give a lot of good information about the general site that will make you feel a little less lost.Once you are signed into your account you can either go straight to the Facebook Scrabble app oryou can spend some time searching for friends who are on Facebook so that you can play withthem.Adding Friends To Play Scrabble WithIf you want to add friends to play Facebook Scrabble with, or just to connect with, there is a searchbox at the top of your home page. Just type in a friend's name and if they are a Facebook membertheir profile will appear, and you then can click the button that indicates that you want to add themas a friend. You then have to wait until they accept your friend request (which is usually the nexttime they sign into their Facebook account). You can add as many friends as you want.Once you have a few friends lined up, or even if you don't, you can now start playing Facebookscrabble. At least, that is what I thought. I spent about 5 minutes looking over my homepageexpecting to see the word "games" that I could then click on and have a drop-down menu of all theFacebook games, and from there I could simply click on "Scrabble" and start playing. That was notto be.In fact, I could not find anything that seemed to be directly related to games at all!So, I went back to the Web and did another search, and to my surprise, I discovered that I neededto use the apps feature in order to play Scrabble.What is this Facebook Scrabble App & How Do I Find It?If you are wondering what an app is, it simply means application (i.e. a software program).Facebook has hundreds of different applications for games and a number of other things.There are two ways to find the Facebook Scrabble game app. The easiest is to simply type into thesearch box 'Scrabble app' and hit enter. It will take you directly to all the apps for the Scrabblegame. If you live in Canada or the U.S., you will want to click on the one that says Scrabble US orHasbro. Everyone else uses the Scrabble Worldwide app.You can also use the application directory that is found on the left-hand side of the bottom of yourhomepage. Click on the directory and you will be taken to a page that lists all the different types ofFacebook apps. From the left-hand corner click on ‘Games,’ and when the games page comes upclick on ‘Scrabble.’You should then be taken to a red board. Look at the bottom of the board and you will see where itsays “create a game” and “public game.” Now you are ready to choose the type of game you wantto play.Help, I Can't load Facebook Scrabble!If you are unable to load the Facebook Scrabble app, it is probably because your apps are blockedon your Facebook account. Don't panic as this is an easy fix!Go to the top tool bar and click on ‘settings’ and check and see if you have any blocked apps.Simply take the block off and you should be able to access the Scrabble game. 51

W H O ’ S A F R A I D ?Playing Facebook Scrabble With Friends & StrangersIf you want to play with people you know who are also on Facebook, click "create a game." You thenneed to click on the circle for “private game.”Next you need to name your game (e.g. Tom's Scrabble with Friends), list who you want to playwith, select your dictionary, the number of people you want to play with, the game speed, a briefdescription (e.g. Just a little word game with friends), and then hit start. Notices will be sent to yourfriends and they can accept and your game can start.If you want to play with strangers, you can either create your own public game of Scrabble or join apublic game. I found it easier starting out just to join a public game. To use the public game appsimply click on ‘public game’ and choose the dictionary, number of players, and skill range; thenclick ‘search’ and choose from any of the public games that come up. If all the games have startedhit search again as oftentimes new public games will appear.If there are no public games at the level you want you can either create your own public game usingthe create button and choosing public game over private or you can redo your search in the publicgame forum. By leaving all of the choices, you are likely to find at least one or two games.The Problem With Player LevelsThe problem with choosing the players’ levels is that there are no guidelines for the numbers. Youreally have no idea where the beginner level ends and the advanced level begins. You simplychoose numbers at random and hope someone else has chosen that number range. After severaltries, I just left it alone and played with players from all different levels.Checking Out The Facebook Scrabble RulesIf you want to review the game rules for playing Scrabble on Facebook, click on the question markat the top of the red square. The rules are pretty much the same as for all Scrabble games, but alittle review never hurt anyone.Playing Scrabble On FacebookOnce you have your set number of opponents, you are ready to play a game of Scrabble.Remember that a game could take several days to complete, depending how fast a game youchoose and how quick players are to respond.Quick Guide To Loading Your Facebook Scrabble ApplicationNow that you can see that getting ready to play Scrabble on Facebook isn't so scary, here is a quickguide to help you accomplish getting set up in a few minutes...• Open your free Facebook account.• Add friends if you wish -- use the search at the top of your home page to find your friends.• Type in ‘play Scrabble’ in the search bar and the Scrabble apps page should come up.• Click on the appropriate app, either the one for the United States and Canada or Worldwide.• Chose either ‘create a game’ or ‘public game’ and fill in or choose the appropriate selections.52

W H O ’ S A F R A I D ?• If you choose ‘create a game,’ hit ‘start.’ If you choose ‘public game,’ hit ‘search’ and thenclick on a game.• If you have trouble loading the app, check your settings to make sure you don't have itblocked.• Once everyone is ready to play, you can begin a game.The Game Is On: Actually Playing Scrabble On FacebookOK, so you have already gathered that I am less than a quick study when it comes to socialwebsites and their applications. Nevertheless, I was all set up and ready to play Scrabble in underten minutes. This proves that the entire setup is easy.Finding A GameHaving played various games on Pogo, I guess I was a little spoiled. I was used to clicking on agame and immediately being able to play. So, I was excited to get started and instantly clicked onthe ‘public game’ button to search. To my delight, I discovered that even at 3:00 in the morning,there were games available!However, to my dismay, all the games had already started. By 4 am, there was a new opening, so Itried again and got into play. The Game is on, I thought! To my amazement, the person who createdthe game wanted to play right through, so we played a quick game of Scrabble in about 45 minutes.I lost, but hey, it was my effort, and my opponent was a real whiz at the game.So, I thought I would share my experience with you.My First Facebook Scrabble GameA new Scrabble game box will appear on your screen quickly followed by 7 letters. These are yourtiles.You point and click to move the letters onto the game board. You then drag the letters to the spaceyou want to play them and simply drop them on the space. You then click on ‘play’ to end your turn,and your score automatically is recorded.When your turn comes around again, a red flag will appear on the bottom right side of your screenor on your Facebook toolbar. Click on your Facebook window and lay down your next word. Thiscould happen almost immediately or take hours.The rest of the play is like a classic Scrabble game. The game ends when all the letters have beencleared from the draw pile and one person has cleared all their letters or when no more points canbe scored.Unless you are playing with friends, play can be incredibly slow, so you may want to have severalgames going at the same time.Helpful Hints: 53

W H O ’ S A F R A I D ?Here are a few helpful hints that may help you to score those bigger scores.• Take your time with your words. Facebook is meant to be played over a long period of time,so there is no rush to get that word up. Take your time deciding what word to play and whereto play it to your best advantage.• Look up words you are not sure of before trying them. Facebook offers a dictionary, so if youare not sure how to spell a word, go ahead and look it up before trying it out. Others are doingthe same thing. You can also use the dictionary to figure out how to use those weird letters.• When inviting friends to play, use the rankings to find someone close to your own skill level.This will help you improve your game without feeling overwhelmed.Now that you are all set to play, go ahead, get started and maybe I'll see you on FacebookScrabble!What's Your Take OnFacebook Scrabble?Do you know something about Facebook Scrabble that hasn't been covered in this littleintroduction?• Do you have a great tip that makes playing Scrabble on Facebook a more fun experience?• Perhaps you know a cool group of Facebook Scrabble players you'd like to tell beginnersabout?• Or maybe you're just a Facebook Scrabble junkie and you'd like to chat about your addiction?Whatever the case. This is the place!A Brief Summary of Your Tip or CommentClick here to see the rest of the form and complete your submission.What Other Visitors Are Saying About Facebook ScrabbleClick below to read and comment on other visitors posts about playing Scrabble on Facebook...Better Scrabble SourceIf you want to play in real time you should consider the Internet Scrabble Club (ISC).The Internet Scrabble Club is the premier Web location to both ...Dragging the Tiles.You don't have to drag the tiles. It is much easier to click on the square where you want your word tobegin -- click again if you want to play it vertically ...54

W H O ’ S A F R A I D ?Placing tiles on boardInstead of clicking and dragging, you can click the square you want the first tile to be on, click itagain if you want to go down rather than across, then ...Using the dictionary...Using a dictionary to check words before or after you play them or checking the validity of anopponents word(s) greatly undermines the integrity of the ...Disconnections!Don't get too hooked on your rating because, especially if you try to play several people at the sametime, disconnections are not uncommon and you just ...Click here to write your own. 55

B O O K R E V I E WThe Official Kids’ Guide to WinningSCRABBLE® by Bradley RobbinsReviewed by Cornelia GuestFour years ago I got a call from parents in New Hampshire wanting to entertheir 10-year-old son in one of my School SCRABBLE® tournaments. Theboy had never played in a tournament before, but was “quite good” atSCRABBLE®. That boy, Bradley Robbins, came to my tournament and wonhis division-- the beginning of a remarkable rise by the 2010 National SchoolSCRABBLE® Champion. Since that day, Bradley has accomplished morethan any other player his age, setting records along the way:2008: Won Division 4 at National SCRABBLE® Championship--youngest player to ever win adivision at Nationals.Won 7 sanctioned tournaments in a row (10 counting School SCRABBLE® tourneys).Broke 1200 rating.2009: Broke 1500 rating.Won Division 2 at Cape Cod Tournament.2010: Won National School SCRABBLE® Championship with partner Evan McCarthy.Won New England School SCRABBLE® Championship with partner Danny Meeker.Won Division 1 at Delaware “Festivus” Early Bird Tournament.Earned 1600 “expert” rating--youngest player to do so since Adam Logan in 1987.2011: Won “Terror of the Tiles” School SCRABBLE Tournament with partner NicholasVasquez.Now Bradley has shown that he is not only phenomenal at SCRABBLE®, he’s also a top-notchwriter. In The Official Kids’ Guide to Winning SCRABBLE®, Bradley introduces kids to the world oftournament SCRABBLE® and shows them what they can do to be successful--and have fun.Besides basic good playing strategy and study tips, Bradley discusses important topics likesportsmanship. Win or lose, Bradley is always gracious, and he points out how important that canbe. He also suggests ways Youth Players can show their appreciation to their parents. “I have anarrangement with my parents that I contribute ten percent of my winnings toward expenses....I feelgood doing it, and my willingness to contribute helps my parents know that I don’t take for grantedwhat they provide for me.”Bradley guides readers through the transition from School SCRABBLE®, which involves teamworkand cooperation, to open play, where kids are playing solo, usually against adults. He points outthat many adults don’t like being beaten by kids--but get used to it!I strongly recommend this book for all School SCRABBLE® players--and for kids of all agesbreaking into the tournament SCRABBLE® world.http://www.officialkidsguidetoscrabble.com/shop/page/1?sessid=CIQlo7xsfDaqgFILUI8T2MSybyhoUAXB8VxW21qBubYxBjm17iKLbUDdvWj7W8u9&shop_param=56

The WordsmithT H E W O R D S M I T HSome calculated studyBy Chris SinacolaPublic universities in Massachusetts announced recently that, beginning in the fall of 2016, enteringfreshmen at any of the state’s universities will be required to have had four years of high schoolmathematics.When this item was first reported on our newspaper’s website, I regret to report that the reporterwrote: “Public universities will require students to take four years of high school math beginning withthe class that enters in the fall of 2016…”I immediately wondered aloud why our state universities are teaching high school mathematics.Shouldn’t college freshmen have already had these courses? Isn’t college a place for highereducation? Doesn’t a high school diploma mean anything, anymore?I soon realized that the reporter had meant to write that public universities will require students tohave taken four years of high school math before being admitted.The difference between a decent high school diploma and years of remediation thus turns out tohinge on a reporter’s ability to use the pluperfect tense.Language is communication, after all, and clarity in one ensures clarity in the other – or, at the veryleast, increases the odds.Somewhat reassured by the realization that Algebra I won’t be cluttering up college curricula, Inonetheless got to thinking about the rush-hour radio chatter I had heard that same morning, inwhich the hosts were lamenting the results of a street survey that showed that most Americans don’tknow very much about their own nation, the Constitution, or our history. Even a question such as “Inwhat year was the War of 1812?” drew a quizzical “1910?”The bottom line is a familiar lament: Education is not what it once was – if, indeed, it ever was whatolder folks on the cusp of curmudgeon-hood like to think of it as once having been.This being a piece on SCRABBLE®, I ought to state my thesis: Better education leads to betterSCRABBLE®. I have that thought a lot, but never so much as in the early spring when I ampreparing for the Boston Area Tournament.I recognize, of course, that the 2,500 or so serious SCRABBLE® players in North America, alongwith their counterparts around the globe, already hail from the better educational zip codes, so tospeak. As a general rule, people who excel at word games have had a solid education, whetherbecause of better schooling, a caring parent, or being a brilliant autodidact. But whatever thereason, somewhere along the line they had the opportunity to fall deeply in love with the language. 57

T H E W O R D S M I T HNonetheless, even the most highly educated and fortunate players stumble over certain words,forget whether a word takes an S or not, leave phony words unchallenged, or challenge acceptableones.I daresay that if our educational systems were more rigorous – if, for example, we had all had evena glimmer of the educational regime of the English poet John Milton – we’d be veritable wordwizards every one, and a major revision to the SCRABBLE® world’s rating systems would berequired.Milton, just for the record, had by age 15 read most anything of substance by all the classical Greekand Roman authors, and could write poems in English, Latin, Greek and Italian. By the time hefinished school, he had command of Hebrew, French and Spanish, as well. He added a knowledgeof Old English in his 40s. And he wrote some of the world’s immortal poetry.But enough fantasizing. American schools – even the best public, private and parochial schools –can’t duplicate such a curriculum, and even if they could, there are not sufficient hours in any day orfunds in any treasury to carry out such a plan on any but the smallest scale.That shouldn’t stop each of us from trying, in some very modest way, to improve our game playthrough a deeper appreciation for the language.I presume, for starters, that you are a player who studies, even if in only an occasional manner. Youlack time, perhaps, to prepare thousands of flashcards, or commit thousands of specialized words tomemory. But you play a lot of SCRABBLE®, and try to remember the unusual and unfamiliar wordsplayed against you. You do a bit of anagramming. You write down words you meet in the course ofyour reading, and try to look them up later on.I have found that even that much dedication will yield rich dividends, provided you are willing to do abit of research. It isn’t necessary to actually read all those authors and classic words, to know thefine details of chemistry and particle physics, to climb mountains, extract DNA, and fire an 85-mphfastball. It’s sufficient to read about these things, to have a curious and far-ranging mind, and tobecome what I like to call trivia-contest ready.Here are a few examples of the technique.A flashcard crops up: CEIIRST. Hm, you’ve seen that one, and you may well have played it. Amoment’s thought yields the answer: ERISTIC. But then doubt creeps in. It ends in C, so it is mostlikely an adjective, and if so, it may well not take an S. There again, that’s no guarantee. There’sAEROBICS and TETANICS and many others.Happily, you have previously looked up ERISTIC in a finer dictionary, and learned that while it isindeed an adjective meaning “of or pertaining to controversy or disputation,” it is also a noun,meaning “one give to disputation, a controversialist.” That alone might have sufficed to fix in yourmemory that the word takes an S, but, if not, it might help to have read that the Eristics werephilosophers of the Megarian school, founded by one Euclid of Megara, one of Socrates’ pupils –and not the same Euclid whose “Elements” formed the foundation of geometry.58

T H E W O R D S M I T HOr perhaps, on an otherwise nondescript evening, while you are immersed in a game at your club,your opponent plays WAMES, the plural of a word meaning the belly. You hold ABEGMNO, whichcontains no bingos, but combines with S and Y to form three eight-letter words. Happily, you knowthis, and see that you can play GAMBE(S)ON.You are very happy to score well, and perhaps this play is your key to victory, but, win or lose, youhave, even if unknowingly, just played essentially the same word as your opponent. ForGAMBESON, a type of military tunic popular in the 14 th century and thereabouts, derives, ultimately,from the Old Teutonic word wamba, which is closely related to the word womb, and is the root ofWAME, as well. Both words, in short, are wrapped up with the belly, if you will.Not knowing this does not constitute a tragedy, I grant you, but not to draw out such connectionswhen they occur is to miss one of the great beauties of a game that blindly spits out perhaps abillion word associations across real-space and cyberspace SCRABBLE® boards each day as we2,500 or so happy few, joined by many thousands of others (those whom we too often and unjustlydismiss as “tile pushers” or worse), batter our collective heads against the bulwarks of our greatcommon language.Or perhaps, like me, you have a very smart child or children living in your house, and one day,having observed that their grasp of mathematics and yours have been heading in distinctly oppositedirections for some time, rather like some asymptotic function at an indefinable point x, you decide itwould be a good idea to watch some lectures on calculus.But being a hopeless word fan, your notepad soon fills up not with formulae, but with words such asQUARTICS, NONNEGATIVE and LIMACON.Perhaps, someday, you get to play one or more of them, thereby justifying the time you spentwrestling with limits and integrals.There is no real downside here, for I firmly believe that any and all learning has some utility, beautyand value for its own sake. Whether it contributes to your SCRABBLE® rating is far less importantthan whether it enhances your life and sense of self-worth.There is, I warn you, the possibility that if, like me, you really do have a very smart and somewhatsassy child living in your house, she will observe your efforts and casually remark “When you get toequations with three variables and need some help, let me know!” (Mine actually said quite a bitmore than that, but I forget the exact words.)Finally, there are few better ways to build one’s vocabulary than to read, widely and deeply. I oftensuggest that certain players – propriety and kindness prohibit naming any, of course – would benefitgreatly if they were to play less SCRABBLE® and spend at least some of that time reading, or atleast opening a dictionary other than the one tailored to our game. Assuming, of course, theirpurposes in playing are more than social. If not, it’s hardly any of my business.Anyway, the aforementioned smart and sassy child, along with each of her siblings, has adopted thehabit (probably from desperation) of giving me a book for Christmas each year, and it usually takes 59

T H E W O R D S M I T Hme from one yuletide to the next to get through these offerings, with some inevitably heading to thelibrary stacks to be read at a date to be determined.This year, I am more or less on schedule to finish Ramachandra Guha’s magisterial history of Indiasince 1947 before spring completely springs. It has been delightful to see so many familiar wordsthat come into English from Hindi and other languages of the Asia subcontinent, including DAK,RAJ, BUNGALOW, LATHI, SWARAJ, POORI, TANDOORI, TALUK and many others. It helps, too,that my entire family is so enamored of Indian cuisine that I eagerly look up each new Indian word Imeet in hopes that it is edible.Now, while I may have met it previously, I have been seeing a rather longer word of late,SATYAGRAHA, over and over in Guha’s book. It comes from the Sanskrit and means, roughly, “soulforce” or “holding to truth.” It became popular, as you might have supposed, through the nonviolencemovement pioneered by Mahatma Gandhi. A satyagraha is any act of determined, nonviolentresistance to evil, or perceived evil. And the pages of India’s modern history are chockfull ofexamples.Of course, SATYAGRAHA is 10 letters long, and I can’t claim to have played more than a handful of10-letter words at SCRABBLE®. Assuming I am not likely to play this word through any combinationof disconnected tiles, I’ll hope to someday see SAT, YAG or RAH sitting out in the open while I justhappen to hold AAAGHRY, AAAHRST or AAAGSTY, respectively.That’s a lot of As.And if you’ve stuck with this arguably overlong column to the end, I can almost guarantee that you’llbe getting a lot of As at SCRABBLE®. At the very least, you’re not likely to forget that ERISTICtakes an S, that you can find cool words in mathematics, or that Sanskrit has produced someterrifically long words that are full of vowels – even if you forget how to spell them.That wasn’t too hard, was it? Easier than four years of high school math, anyway.Chris Sinacola is director of NASPA Club #600 in Worcester, Massachusetts.60

Word Trivia QuizBy Siri TillekeratneW O R D T R I V I A Q U I ZThe following unusual words whose meanings are given were first adopted in the OSPD in 2006.What are the words?1. Hinged at the top and swinging upwards2. Meat prepared according to Islamic law3. A skateboarding course4. An Islamic financial arrangement5. Hazardous material6. A facility to receive and distribute communication signals7. An English structure8. To greet by pressing noses together9. A promiscuous woman10. Use a vacuum cleaner11. Eyelid swellingsANSWERS ON THE NEXT PAGESiri Tillekeratne is a director of the Calgary NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #374 and a former Directorof the Year. 61

W O R D T R I V I A Q U I ZANSWERS1. Hinged at the top and swinging upwards GULLWING only2. Meat prepared according to Islamic law HALAL/s = HALLAL only3. A skateboarding course HALFPIPE/S4. An Islamic financial arrangement HAWALA/S5. Hazardous material HAZMAT/S6. A facility to receive and distribute communication signals HEADEND/S7. An English structure HENGE/S8. To greet by pressing noses together HONGI/ES/ED/IING9. A promiscuous woman HOOCHIE/S10. Use a vacuum cleaner HOOVER/S/ED/ING11. Eyelid swellings HORDEOLA onlySiri Tillekeratne is a director of the Calgary NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #374 and a former Directorof the Year.62

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:The Queen’s ConfessionBy Victoria HoltVictoria Holt was one of myfavorite authors when Iwas younger. A masterstoryteller, she wouldconsistently weave a storythat would have the readerturning the pages. Thiswork of historical fiction isone of her best. Rivetingfrom beginning to end, thisfictional autobiographicalaccount of the life of Marie Antoinette is superb.Written in the first person, with little dialogue, itis the rumination of a life that was to endtragically. Pampered, spoiled, and fun-loving,the beautiful Maria Antonia of Austriametamorphosed into Marie Antoinette ofFrance upon her marriage to the Dauphin, whowould eventually become King of France, theineffectual, but benign, Louis XVI.This is her story, grounded in historical fact andset within the framework of history. This work offiction about the life of Marie Antoinette, asseen through her own eyes, is fascinating, as itcaptures the flavor of those uncertain times andthe events that led to the French Revolutionand the end of the monarchy in France. It is areflection on how Marie Antoinette's ownbehavior influenced the fate of France.Indulging in the excesses of the day, sheinitially gave little thought as to how her actionsmight affect the people of France or themonarchy. By the time she realized that heractions and excesses had widespread politicalramifications, it was too late, and the fates ofshe and her husband were sealed. No amountof personal regret could change it.This book will be enjoyed by those who enjoygood, well-written historical fiction. It is littlewonder that in its day this book spent twomonths on the New York Times Best SellerList. It is simply historical fiction at its best.The Queen’s Confession is available atAmazon.com.Non-fiction:So Many Books, So Little TimeBy Sara NelsenWhen I first heard aboutthis book, I was intriguedby its premise, as I nevergo anywhere without atleast one or two books inmy bag and am aconfirmed book lover andavid reader. If I go onvacation, I pack a bag justfor the dozen or so booksthat I simply must takealong with me. I am mostcomfortable when I amsurrounded by books. In fact, I look forward toretirement, so that I will have more time to 63

L I N D A ’ S L I B R A R Yread. I simply love to read! I cannot imagine a world without books and, quite frankly, I have neverunderstood people who say that they do not care to read.So, this book seemed to be right up my alley. Well, the author does not disappoint, as she takes thereader along with her on her very personal journey. Her goal, not an overly ambitious one, is a booka week for fifty-two weeks. She does not necessarily stick to her list of books, and she meandersalong, changing course in midstream sometimes, as many of us so often do. Yet, she always keepsup an entertaining discourse on the book that she is reading or has read, remarking upon its placein her world. She interweaves snippets of her personal life with her thoughts on those books thatshe reads. She talks about authors and the impact that some of their work has had on her, as wellas her reading likes and dislikes.The author writes in a light and breezy conversational tone, so that, at times, it almost seems as ifone old friend were talking to another about some books she had enjoyed. I was delighted todiscover that we liked many of the same books for many of the same reasons. Within the pages ofthis book, I also happily discovered some new titles that piqued my interest. Moreover, the author,knowing how insatiable some book lovers are, even appends three lists at the end of her book,which lists consist of books she had planned to read during that year of reading, books she actuallydid read but did not discuss in her book, and books in her must-read pile. What book lover is notfamiliar with that ubiquitous must-read pile of books! Anyway, I did enjoy perusing through her lists,looking for books of interest.This book is a light-hearted sojourn into the world of reading and books that is meant to be a sharingof a wonderful passion. It is a funny and charming work of non-fiction. I thank the author for sharingher thoughts and insights, as I very much enjoyed reading them. It is, as always, a pleasure to comeacross such an enthusiastic fellow book lover.So Many Books, So Little Time 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 been a criminal prosecutor for nearly 25 years.64

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.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.)Also, before running a quiz,you might want to first pressControl and scroll with themouse to enlarge the screenso that you can more easilyview the jumbles. (Thanks toLarry Rand and MoniqueKornell.)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. 65

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 tournamentplayers and directors only, hasthe largest membership of anyonline tournamentSCRABBLE® discussion group.Most important events andchanges in the SCRABBLE®world are discussed on cgp.Admission is by approval only.Details can be found in theNASPA TournamentSCRABBLE® Newsletter #1.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.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. Alsohas a Yahoo user group youcan join as a support option.TOURNEYMANJeff Widergren’s software formanaging tournaments.TSHJohn Chew’s software formanagaing tournaments,recently updated with newfeatures.66

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.EVERYTHINGSCRABBLE®, 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.)S C R A B B L E R E S O U R C E STHE 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.) 67

A P R I L T O U R N A M E N T C A L E N D A RAPRIL TOURNAMENTSTwin Cities Open MN 4/1-3Moose Jaw SK CAN 4/2-3NE School SCRABBLE® ChampionshipsRidgefield CT (School SCRABBLE®) 4/2Berkeley CA 4/3Laguna Woods CA 4/3Philadelphia PA 4/3Akron OH (LCT) 4/7Boston Area Tournament MA 4/8-10San Diego CA 4/8-10Baton Rouge LA 4/9Edmonton AB CAN 4/9-10Fenton MI 4/9-10Lubbock TX 4/9Spring Lake Park MN 4/9National School SCRABBLE® ChampionshipsOrlando FL 4/15-16Bayside NY 4/16Coeur D’Alene ID (TCC) 4/16-17Danville IL 4/16-17Oklahoma City OK 4/16-17Pinellas Park FL 4/16Richfield OH 4/16Guelph ON CAN 4/17Mountain View CA 4/17Gatlinburg TN 4/22-24Seattle WA 4/23Austin TX 4/30Berlin NJ 4/30Fort Lauderdale FL 4/30Memphis TN 4/30Sioux Falls SD 4/30-5/1Ottowa ON CAN 4/30-5/1South Lyon MI 4/30Winnipeg MB CAN 4/30-5/1WESTBerkeley CA 4/3Laguna Woods CA 4/3San Diego CA 4/8-10Coeur D’Alene ID 4/16-17Mountain View CA 4/17Seattle WA 4/23MIDWESTTwin Cities Open MN 4/1-3Akron OH 4/7Fenton MI 4/9-10Spring Lake Park MN 4/9Danville IL 4/16-17Oklahoma City OK 4/16-17Richfield OH 4/16South Lyon MI 4/30NORTHEASTNE School SCRABBLE® ChampionshipsRidgefield CT 4/2Philadelphia PA 4/3Boston Area Tournament MA 4/8-10Bayside NY 4/16Berlin NJ 4/30SOUTHBaton Rouge LA 4/9National School SCRABBLE®Championships Orlando FL 4/15-16Pinellas Park FL 4/16Gatlinburg TN 4/22-24Fort Lauderdale FL 4/30Memphis TN 4/30SOUTHWESTLubbock TX 4/9Austin TX 4/30Sioux Falls SD 4/30-5/1CANADAMoose Jaw SK 4/2-3Edmonton AB 4/9-10Guelph ON 4/17Ottowa ON 4/30-5/1Winnipeg MB 4/30-5/168

S E Q U O I A C L U BMAY TOURNAMENTSBerkeley CA 5/1Laguna Woods CA 5/1Victoria BC CAN 5/1Calgary AB CAN (TCC) 5/7-8Dallas TX 5/7Norwalk CT 5/7TransAtlantic Cruise (WGPO) 5/7-22Twin Cities MN 5/7Utica NY 5/7York PA 5/7Guelph ON CAN 5/8Independence OH (LCT) 5/10Portland OR 5/13-15Bayside NY 5/14Hudson OH 5/14-15Portsmouth NH 5/14-15Saskatoon SK CAN 5/14-15Valens ON CAN (TCC) 5/14Mountain View CA (WGPO) 5/15Austin TX 5/21Kelowna BC CAN 5/21-23Laguna Woods CA 5/21-22Linden MI (WGPO) 5/21Pinellas Park FL 5/21Tucson AZ 5/21Ridgefield CT (School SCRABBLE®) 5/22Campbell CA (WGPO) 5/28-30College Park (Atlanta) GA 5/28-30Cote St. Luc/Montreal QC CAN 5/28-29Fort Lauderdale FL 5/28-30Houston TX 5/28-30Skokie IL 5/28-30Philadelphia PA 5/29WESTBerkeley CA 5/1Laguna Woods CA 5/1Portland OR 5/13-15Mountain View CA 5/15Laguna Woods CA 5/21-22Campbell CA 5/28-30MIDWESTTwin Cities MN 5/7Independence OH 5/10Hudson OH 5/14-15Linden MI 5/21Skokie IL 5/28-30NORTHEASTRidgefield CT School SCRABBLE® 5/22Norwalk CT 5/7Utica NY 5/7York PA 5/7Bayside NY 5/14Portsmouth NH 5/14-15Philadelphia PA 5/29SOUTHPinellas Park FL 5/21College Park (Atlanta) GA 5/28-30Fort Lauderdale FL 5/28-30SOUTHWESTDallas TX 5/7Austin TX 5/21Tucson AZ 5/21Houston TX 5/28-30CANADAVictoria BC CAN 5/1Calgary AB CAN 5/7-8Guelph ON CAN 5/8Saskatoon SK CAN 5/14-15Valens ON CAN 5/14Kelowna BC CAN 5/21-23Cote St. Luc/Montreal QC CAN 5/28-29INTERNATIONALTransAtlantic Cruise 5/7-22 69

ArchivesA R C H I V E STo download previous issues of The Last Word click here.70