SCRABBLE

Beyond!

Becomea Family Champ &

COURSE DESCRIPTION Play better, maybe become family champ! Learn which tiles to play, which to hold See scoring “Hot Spots” on the board Find “bingos” using all 7 tiles- 50 extra pts Learn strategy- offense & defense Chances to play open instructional games If interested, play competitively 1 on 1 Learn about Asheville Scrabble Club Local, regional, national tournament info

INSTRUCTOR JACOB COHEN

Retired teacher and principal Co-Director of the Asheville Scrabble Club Playing competitively since 2009 Webmeister & statistician of club’s website

www.ashevillescrabble.com

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

Everything Scrabble, 3rd edition by Joe Edley and

John D. Williams Jr. ISBN: 978-1-4165-6175-0 $16.99

(this course is adapted from this excellent reference)

Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, 4th edition,

Merriam-Webster ISBN: 978-0877799290 $7.50

Optional:

Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and

Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players

ISBN: 0-14-200226-7 $16.99

COURSE PLANWeek 1 Course Overview Glossary

Week 2 Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, 4th ed. (OSPD4) Define what you mean by a “definition” Q without U words; short Q words Words with no vwls Board orientation and notation

Week 3 Finding and using “Hot Spots” on the board

Course Plan

Week 4 Demo Game: Mark Schmidt, Brett Haughney,

expert players, Asheville Scrabble Club

Week 5 Cheat Sheet Scrabble Guy Teaches the 2s in 5 Minutes! Move Tiles on Your Rack- useful letter combos Tile Order of Usefulness Rack Management

Course PlanWeek 6 Bingos Strategy- Offense and Defense Phoneys- if & when to play them

Week 7 After you are the family champ… Club and Tournament Play Asheville Scrabble Club website

Week 8 Demo Game: Mark & Brett have a rematch

EACH WEEK WE WILL HAVE

Scrabble Babble (Scrabble topics for the day) ~40”babble verb- divulge “secrets”

Scrabble Dabble (word play- build Scrabble skills) ~15”

dabble verb- work with in a non-serious manner

Scrabble Babel (break time- no Scrabble!) ~10”babel noun- confusion of voices and other sounds

Scrabble Scrabble (play Scrabble w/each other) ~55”scrabble verb- to grope about frantically (looking for words)

and, at the same time, some of you may choose to:

Scrabble Rabble (play an open instructional game) ~55”

rabble noun- disorderly crowd of people (arguing about strategy!)

QUESTIONS Why did you choose this class?

Want to increase your scoring average?

Want to learn which are the best tiles to hold onto?

Want to find the best scoring spots on the board?

Want to learn offensive and defensive strategy?

Want to be your family champ?

Want to find out about club and tournament play?

GLOSSARYAlphagram- alphabetic arrangement of letters;

Ex: AIJNORT is alphagram for JANITORAnagram- word spelled with exact same letters as

another word. Ex: KITCHEN, THICKENBingo- use all 7 letters on rack; score 50 extra pointsBingo-friendly tiles- ERS?, AL?, AERST, CANISTERBlank- indicated as ?, most valuable tile-versatileBlock- play word to stop opponent’s possible big score“Challenge!”- announce to check if word is acceptableClosed Board- few or no places to play bingos/hi scoresDump- low-scoring play; gets rid of poor letter comboEndgame- strategic play when fewer than 8 tiles in bagExchange- use turn to trade in 1-7 tiles; need 7 in bag

GLOSSARYExtension- add 2+ letters to a word on board;

(often to TWS); Ex: CON-QUEST, QUEST-IONFishing- playing off or trading 1-2 tiles looking for bingo“Hold!”- announced when considering a challengeHook- add letter to front/back of word to make new one;

Ex: HARD + Y = HARDY; C + HARD = CHARDHot Spots- TLS-TLS, DLS-DWS, TLS-DWS, TWS-DLS,

DWS-DWS, TWS-TWS; all places for high scoresLeave- group of tiles left on rack after play, before drawOpen Board- many places to play bingos/hi score playsOSPD- Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, 4th ed.Parallel Play- Ex: M A R L A T E (LATE, MA, AT, & RE all score)

GLOSSARYPhoney- unacceptable word (not found in OSPD); may

stay on board if unchallenged; some played deliberately (like bluffing in poker)

Power Tiles- ten most valuable- 2 ?s, 4 Ss, J, Q, X, ZRack Balancing- leaving letters on rack that will help

score well on next turn; good ratio of cons/vowelsStems- 6 & 7-letter bingo-friendly combos to add 1 letter

Ex: SATIRE (add 1 letter to make 70 words); NASTIER (add 1 letter to make 69 words)

TWL- Tournament and Club Word List- list of acceptablewords (all OSPD, plus about 200 offensive words); not used in schools or by most living room players;no definitions provided

SCRABBLE DABBLE1 _ HONG2 _ AGON3 _ IMID4 _ ANTA5 _ VIES6 _ BACK7 _ VARY8 _ FOUL9 _ PRIG10 _ EGER

11 _ PERM12 _ HIDE13 _ PALS14 _ AGMA15 _ HOST16 _ AGUE17 _ IWIS18 _ KING19 _ PLAT20 _ LAKY

21 _ NOME22 _ OMIT23 _ HILI24 _ HEIR25 _ PICE26 _ LAID27 _ DEAL28 _ RIAL29 _ RIMY30 _ ROOD

HOOK WORDS- Each of these 4-letter words is found in the OSPD4. Add a letter in front of each

one to make a common 5-letter word.

SCRABBLE DABBLE1 _ EYED2 _ FIRE3 _ FOOT4 _ CONS5 _ GAPE6 _ LOBE7 _ GREE8 _ MAGE9 _ HEAP10 _ HEFT

11 _ LEFT12 _ LIEN13 _ GLOW14 _ LOFT15 _ LORY16 _ LUNT17 _ HANT18 _ MELL19 _ RUTH20 _ NAVE

21 _ RUSK22 _ MIRK23 _ TROP24 _ VAIL25 _ BONY26 _ VERY27 _ APSE28 _ VOWS29 _ WEAK30 _ WELT

HOOK WORDS- Each of these 4-letter words is found in the OSPD4. Add a letter in front of each

one to make a common 5-letter word.

OSPDOFFICIAL SCRABBLE PLAYERS DICTIONARY

Disagreements about which words were “good”

1975 OSPD, 1st edition published

Words had to be found in 2 of 5 popular dictionaries

2-8 letters and their longer inflections; Ex: UNLIKELIEST

100,000+ words; no pronunciations; short definitions

2nd ed 1991; 3rd ed 1995; 4th ed 2005 (currently used)

Dictionary committee considers additions/deletions

DEFINITIONS

Where do you draw the line on completeness?

OSPD4 has only minimal definitions; Ex: a mineral

Tournament & Club Word List (TWL)- no definitions

Some people learn definitions to remember the words

Others care only that a word is acceptable

People play even though they don’t speak English!

OSPDOFFICIAL SCRABBLE PLAYERS DICTIONARY

Only 1 definition provided; often an uncommon usageEx: IMP- v. to graft feathers onto a bird’s wing

RE and UN sections; 100s of undefined words

Unless an –ING word listed as noun, then no pluralEx: PLAY v. –S, -ED, -ING;

FLYING n., FLYINGS

Word or inflection in boldface, then it is acceptableFOCUS, FOCUSING, FOCUSES, FOCUSSED, FOCUSSING, FOCUSSES

OSPDOFFICIAL SCRABBLE PLAYERS DICTIONARY

Not all verbs can add ER to make a noun; Ex: PLAY / PLAYER, BAKE / BAKER; PART / but no PARTER * * means a phoney (non-acceptable word)

Foreign words generally not acceptable, yet, some seem foreign; acceptable if no English equivalentEx: currency, titles, etc. PESETA, XU, SAHIB, QAID

Some words boldfaced more than once; adj. & verbEx: adj. BRITTLE, BRITTLER, BRITTLEST

v. BRITTLES, BRITTLING, BRITTLES

Q WITHOUT U WORDS

Strange?, Yes!; Good?, Absolutely! & very useful!

MBAQANGA n pl –S a South African dance musicQABALA n pl-S cabala (an occult or secret doctrine)QABALAH n pl –S same as QABALAQADI n pl –S a Muslim judgeQAID n pl –S variation of CAID, a Muslim leaderQANAT n pl –S a system of underground tunnels and

wells in the Middle EastQAT n pl –S variation of KAT, an evergreen shrubQI n pl –S the vital force that in Chinese thought is

inherent in all things

QINDAR n pl –DARS or –DARKA variation of QINTAR, a monetary unit in AlbaniaQINTAR n pl –S see aboveSHEQEL n pl SHEQALIM, SHEQELS, an ancient unit of weightTRANQ n pl –S variation of TRANK (i.e. tranquilizer)QOPH n pl –S variation of KOPH, a letter of the Hebrew alphabetQWERTY n pl –S a standard keyboardFAQIR n pl –S variation of FAKIR, a Hindu ascetic

Also of note: BUQSHA, BUQSHAS,BURQA, BURQAS, QIVIUT. QIVIUTS, SUQ, SUQS, UMIAQ, UMIAQS

SHORT Q WORDSQAT SUQS QUAIS QUERY QUOIN

QIS AQUAE QUAKE QUEST QUOIT

QUA AQUAS QUAKY QUEUE QUOLL

SUQ BURQA QUALE QUEYS QUOTA

AQUA EQUAL QUALM QUICK QUOTE

QADI EQUID QUANT QUIDS QUOTH

QAID EQUIP QUARE QUIET QURSH

SHORT Q WORDSQATS FAQIR QUARK QUIFF ROQUE

QOPH FIQUE QUART QUILL SQUAB

QUAD MAQUI QUASH QUILT SQUAD

QUAG PIQUE QUASI QUINS SQUAT

QUAI QADIS QUASS QUINT SQUAW QUAY QAIDS QUATE QUIPS SQUEG QUEY QANAT QUAYS QUIPU SQUIB

SHORT Q WordsQUID QOPHS QUBIT QUIRE SQUID QUIN QUACK QUEAN QUIRK TOQUE QUIP QUADS QUEEN QUIRT TRANQ QUIT QUAFF QUEER QUITE TUQUE

QUIZ QUAGS QUELL QUITS UMIAQ

QUOD QUAIL QUERN QUODS USQUE

WORDS WITH NO VWLS

BRR interj used to indicate that one feels coldBRRR interj see BRR CRWTH n pl –S an ancient stringed musical instrumentCWM n pl –S a deep steep-walled basinHM interj used to express thoughtful considerationHMM interj see HMMM interj used to express assent or satisfactionNTH adv pertaining to an indefinitely large ordinal numberPFFT interj used to express a sudden ending PHPHT interj see PHTPHT interj used as an expression of mild anger or annoyance

WORDS WITH NO VWLS

PSST interj used to attract someone’s attentionPST interj see PSSTSH interj used to urge silenceSHH interj see SHTSK v -ED, -ING, -S to utter an expression of annoyanceTSKTSK v -ED, -ING, -S to tsk

BoardNotation

Center square 8H or H8

If word is horizontal,

list number first

If word isvertical,

list letter first

NotationExamples

WATCH, 8D

HALTER, E7

Give position from first

letter of word

SCRABBLE DABBLE1 _ ACTOR2 _ ADIOS3 _ AGLET4 _ AIVER5 _ ALARY6 _ ALDER7 _ ALIGN8 _ ALOES9 _ AMBIT10 _ AMENT

11 _ ANTIS12 _ APTLY13 _ ARBOR14 _ ARGLE15 _ ARGON16 _ ARSON17 _ ASCOT18 _ ATMAN19 _ AWFUL20 _ BATED

21 _ BLEST22 _ BORTS23 _ CRAWL24 _ CURVY25 _ DRIFT26 _ EAGER27 _ EAGLE28 _ EBBED29 _ EDUCT30 _ EGRET

HOOK WORDS- Each of these 5-letter words is found in the OSPD4. Add a letter in front of each

one to make a common 6-letter word.

SCRABBLE DABBLE1 _ ELECT2 _ EMBER3 _ ENURE4 _ ERROR5 _ EVERT6 _ EXIST7 _ GREED8 _ HADED9 _ HOOEY10 _ HORAL

11 _ HOSEN12 _ HUBBY13 _ HYING14 _ INDOW15 _ IRADE16 _ KETCH17 _ LAPSE18 _ LINGY19 _ LIVES20 _ LOGAN

21 _ LORAL22 _ OSMIC23 _ OVINE24 _ QUATE25 _ RALLY26 _ RAYON27 _ RIFLE28 _ RIGID29 _ SABLE30 _ UNSET

HOOK WORDS- Each of these 5-letter words is found in the OSPD4. Add a letter in front of each

one to make a common 6-letter word.

Finding “Hot Spots” on the Board

As a novice tournament player, I once asked an expert,

“What’s the difference between a novice and an expert?

“The novice finds words on his rack to play on the board”.

“The expert finds the best spots on the board,

and, then, finds the words on her rack to fit.”

“Hot Spots” are what experts find and play.

PremiumSquares

61/225 squares

DLS light blue

TLS dark blue

DWS light red

TWS dark red

design symmetry

by architect/creator,

Alfred Butts

PremiumSquares

“Hot Spots”

Parallel Play

TLS-TLS

DLS-DWS

TLS-DWS

DLS-TWS

DWS-DWS

TWS-TWS

Parallel Play

Look at 8L

Your rack

includes

DEFN

Parallel Play

play

FEND

at 8L

to score

72 points

TLS-TLSdark blue-dark blue

columnsB, F, J, N

rows2, 6, 10, 14

“Hot Spots”play highpoint tiles

F, H, J, K, Q,V, W ,X, Y, Zalso B, C, M, P

TLS-TLSdark blue-dark blue

BEBOP 23 pts

HONED21 pts

WELCH29 pts

PRETZEL44 pts

DLS-DWSlight blue-light red

columnsC, D, L, M

rows3, 4, 12, 13

2 DLS-DWSpossible on

same columnsand rows

DLS-DWSlight blue-light red

YOWIE46 pts

GRAPH30 pts

EXCITE51pts

2 DLS-DWSlight blue-light red

NOURISH30 pts

FREEDOM36 pts

JOURNAL46 pts

TLS-DWSdark blue-light red

columnsB, N

rows2, 14

30+ points with F, H, V, W, Y

70+ points withwith Q, Z

TLS-DWSdark blue-light red

BEADY38 pts

PORCH40 pts

KLUTZ56 pts

DLS-TWSlight blue-dark red

columnsA, O

rows1, 15

from TWS at H1, 8A,

and to TWS atH15, 8O

DLS-TWSlight blue-dark red

MARKS42 pts

BUSHEL45 pts

HALF / AH51 pts

QUERY81 pts

DWS-DWSlight red-light red

Horizontally5E to 5K

11E to 11K

VerticallyE5 to K5

E11 to K11

4 x value of tiles!

DWS-DWSlight red-light red

Can occur as early as 2nd play of game

Be carefulhow you

place your first word, even if it’s

a bingo

DWS-DWSlight red-light red

Vertically

E5 to E11QUEENLY

76 pts

K5 to K11PETTING

40 pts

E & T are easy to play thru

DWS-DWSlight red-light red

Be alert tohow an S

can be addedto your

opening playto take

advantage of DWS-DWS“Hot Spot”

box

DWS-DWSlight red-light red

Horizontally

5E to 5KHOWLING

56 pts

11E to 11KPEASANT

96 pts

TWS-TWSdark red-dark red

columns A , O

rows 1, 15

Worth 9 x value of tiles!

Typically122-140 pts(includes 50 pt bingo bonus)

TWS-TWSdark red-dark red

board isset up for

TWS-TWS in 2

locations

A8-A15

O1-O8

TWS-TWSdark red-dark red

RELATION132 pts

ADEQUATE302 pts!

Q is on DLS,then 9 x,+ 50 pts for bingo

SCRABBLE DABBLE1 _ AGNATE2 _ ANTRUM3 _ ARMFUL4 _ ARRANT5 _ AUDING6 _ ENFOLD7 _ ETHANE8 _ GAINST9 _ LATTEN10 _ STOUND

11 _ LEANLY12 _ LIABLE13 _ LISTEN14 _ LOWERY15 _ LUMPEN16 _ MARTEN17 _ MONGST18 _ NEATEN19 _ OFTEST20 _ VENUES

HOOK WORDS- Each of these 6-letter words is found in the OSPD4. Add a letter in front of each one to make a common 7-letter word (a BINGO).

SCRABBLE DABBLE1 _ OXTAIL2 _ PENDED3 _ RECKED4 _ REPAID5 _ RACKET6 _ RATIFY7 _ PRAISE8 _ REASON9 _ REFACE10 _ PREACH

11 _ RIDENT12 _ ROUBLE13 _ RUDELY14 _ RUMPLE15 _ SCENDS16 _ SPOUSE17 _ LAYOFF18 _ THEISM19 _ OOLOGY20 _ VERBID

HOOK WORDS- Each of these 6-letter words is found In the OSPD4. Add a letter in front of each one to make a common 7-letter word (a BINGO).

SCRABBLE DABBLE1 CHAY2 POLY3 SIMP4 BLAW5 BAHT6 ALEC7 CAPH8 CAKY9 MARC10 YALD

11 ORAD12 EGAL13 KOTO14 EPHA15 WONK16 LAZE17 FIAR18 AGIN19 GAOL20 HANT

21 LATH22 HILA23 PIAL24 IMAM25 VINA26 MOLA27 PALY28 MYNA29 PRAM30 NONA

ANAGRAMS- Each of these uncommon 4-letter words is found in the OSPD4.

Find a common word anagram for each one.

SCRABBLE DABBLE1 AWRY2 DOBY3 BENE4 BREE5 BONK6 CEIL7 POCO8 EDDY9 DELF10 OHED

11 OYER12 NEIF13 FROE14 KEPI15 HYTE16 METH17 PLIE18 LWEI19 NEUK20 FILO

ANAGRAMS- Each of these uncommon 4-letter words is found in the OSPD4.

Find a common word anagram for each one.

CHEAT SHEET

CHEAT SHEET

2-Letter words 3-Letter words Short J, Q, X, Z words 2-Letter words and their hooks Vowel dumps I dumps U dumps High-probability bingo stems

Scrabble Guy Teaches the 2s

in 5 Minutes!

LEARN THE TWOS

MOVE TILES ON YOUR RACK

2-Letter CombosB: BL, BR, MB, RBC: CH, CK, CL, CR, CT, NC, RC, SCD: DG, DL, DR, LD, ND, RDF: FL, FR, LF, RFG: GH, GL, GN, GR, DG, LG, NG, RGH: CH, GH, PH, SH, TH, WHK: KL, KN, CK, LK, NK, RK, SKL: LD, LF, LG, LK, LM, LP, LS, LT, LV BL, CL, DL, FL, GL, KL, PL, RL, SL, TL, WLM: MB, MP, LM, RM, SMN: NC, ND, NG, NK, NS, NT, GN, KN, RN, SN, WN

MOVE TILES ON YOUR RACK

P: PH, PL, PR, PT, LP, MP, RP, SPS: SC, SH, SK, SL, SM, SN, SP, ST, SW, LS, NS, PS, RST: TH, TL, TR, TW, CT, FT, LT, NT, RT, STV: LV, RVW: WH, WL, WN, WR, SW, TW

3-Letter CombosCHR, CKL, GHT, LCH, LTH, NCH, NDL, NGL, NKL, NTH, RCH, RDL, RGL, RST, RTH, SCH, SCR, SHR, SPL, SPR, STR, TCH, THR

MOVE TILES ON YOUR RACK

Common Prefixes ANTE-, ANTI-, AUTO-, BE-, BIO-, BY-, CO-, COM-, CON-, DE-, DIS-, DOWN-, DYS-, EM-, EN-, EPI-, EX-, FOR-, FORE-, IM-, IN-, INTER-, ISO, MEGA-, MID-, MIS-, MONO-, NEO-, NON-, OB-, OFF-, ON-, OUT-, OVER-, PAR-, PER-, POST-, PRE-, PRO-, RE-, SEMI-, SIDE-, SUB-, SUPER-, TELE-, TOP-, TRI-, UN-, UNDER-, UP-Common Suffixes-ABLE, -AGE, -AL, -ALLY, -ANCE, -ARY, -ASE, -DOM, -ENCE, -FUL, -IBLE, -IDE, -IER, -IES, -IEST, -IFY, -ILE, -INE, -ION, -IOUS, -ISE, -ISH, -ISM, -IST, -ITE, -ITIC, -ITY, -IVE, -IZE, -LESS, -LIKE, -LING, -LY, -NESS, -OR, -OSE, -OUS, -ROOM, -SHIP, -SIDE, -SION, -TION

TILE ORDER OF USEFULNESS AND MNEMONIC CHEER

BLANKety-BLANK, SEX Z RAH, North Carolina, DiM, TIcKLe, POY,JeFf BiG, WU V Q!

? SEX Z RAH N C DM

TIKL POY JF BG WU V Q

RACK MANAGEMENT

UNBALANCED RACK=

CAN EARN BAD LUCK

RACK MANAGEMENT

Don’t duplicate any letter on rack, except E & S

Keep about same # vowels/cons in your leave

Hold as few high-point tiles as possible in leave

Learn and use vowel dumps to improve rack

Consider exchange if bingo unlikely in 3-4 turns

SCRABBLE DABBLE1 AAHED2 DAMAR3 MALAR4 BALDY5 RABID6 TUBAE7 BIALI8 CAGER9 CHELA10 CHARE

11 MACLE12 ECLAT13 COMAE14 GAMIC15 MOCHA16 NATCH17 ORACH18 MALIC19 TAROC20 MUSCA

21 LAMED22 DRAVE23 HYDRA24 VIAND25 AROID26 PAVID27 MONAD28 EGRET29 ENATE30 FLEAM

ANAGRAMS- Each of these uncommon 5-letter words is found in the OSPD4.

Find a common word anagram for each one.

SCRABBLE DABBLE1 NAEVI2 ANOLE3 UVEAL4 YAMEN5 TRAVE6 TAWER7 IMAGO8 TONGA9 GOWAN10 THRAW

11 LARUM12 BEDEL13 BERME14 BOSUN15 LUDIC16 SODIC17 PUDIC18 TEUCH19 CIVET20 VOCES

21 LICHI22 ONTIC23 RUNIC24 CUTIN25 MONDE26 FONDU27 IMIDO28 REIFY29 GOFER30 FLYTE

ANAGRAMS- Each of these uncommon 5-letter words is found in the OSPD4.

Find a common word anagram for each one.

BINGOS

50 extra pts- use all 7 tiles to make 7+ letter words

Key to high scores- experts play 2-3 per game

Look for common beginnings- AB, AD, AIR, ANTI,

BE, BI, COM, CON, DE, DIS, EM, EN EX, FORE,

HAND, HEAD, IM, IN, ISO, MID, MIS, NON, OUT,

OVER, POST, PRE, RE, SEA, SUB, TRI, UN, UP

BINGOS

Look for common endings- ABLE, AGE, AL, ANCE, ANE, ANT,

ARY, ATE, DOM, EAU, ED, EE, ENCE, ENT, ER, EST, FISH,

FORM, FUL, GHT, GRAM, HOOD, IA, IAL, IBLE, IC, ICAL, IER,

IES, IEST, IFY, ILE, ILY, INE, ING, ION, ISE, ISH, ISM, IST, ITE,

ITY, IUM, IVE, IZE, LAND, LESS, LET, LIKE, LOGY, LY, MAN,

MEN, MENT, NESS, OID, OSE, OUGH, OUS, OUT, SHIP, SES,

SIS, SOME, TURE, WARD, WEED, WISE, WOOD, WORM

BINGOS

Study high-probability bingo stems

Mnemonics to remember letters to add to stem

Club website Bingoes page- excellent resource

ASC Co-Director Bill Snoddy’s Bingo Slide Shows

Bingoes

STRATEGYOffense Balance your rack equal vowels/consonants Letters in CANISTER are most bingo-friendly Consider your “leave” as well as your play Premium square combos for big scores Parallel plays for maximum scores Use S and blank preciously; they are most versatile Find your best play, then find a better one Find alternate place to play in case you get blocked Play words with hooks for future plays High probability bingo stems and mnemonics Open up bingo lanes especially when behind Consider playing phoneys End game considerations

PHONEYS AND WHEN TO PLAY THEM

Common in club and tournament play Ethical? comparable to bluffing in poker When you have little to lose- way behind in game When you want to test opponent’s word knowledge When opponent just lost a challenge- gun shy When you have many good plays- risk higher score When you want to improve your leave When you want higher point spread- tournaments Caution- player may challenge own phoney

if you, mistakenly, add an S to the phoney to make a new word

OPEN BOARDmany scoring options

S on QUIRE & playvertical word thru TWS

play from TWS H1-4

if you have IN, hook toG row 13, build bingo

high pt tile at 14J-Nex: JIBED 62 pts

DWS-DWS thru E 5G

15 L-O, FLEX 54 pts

CLOSED BOARDfew scoring options

any rows/columns open for large scores?

bingo lane column I if have S for BRINGS

lane H1-8 for an INGbingo, opens rows 1-5

TIME or TIMED at F7 for 26-28 pts

Ahead?- keep it closedBehind?- open it up

BOARD SUMMARYfar ahead? (70+ pts)- close down board,

even for fewer pts if you can block opponent

far behind? (70+ pts)- keep board open to bingo, and high plays with J, Q, X, Z

you and opponent about even? (within about 30 pts)consider openings you give opponent

versus your rack leave

keep board open if you have bingo-friendly tiles

keep board more closed if you have poor letters

STRATEGYDefense Avoid placing vowels next to premium squares Answer opponent’s big play with equal scoring “Shut down” board when ahead Block plays with C and V (no 2-letter words with them) Shut down bingo lanes Avoid opening up “Hot Spots” Consider + & - of challenging a phoney High probability bingo stems and mnemonics-

helps you recognize rack and its bingoes or not Consider when to exchange tiles Consider tracking which tiles have been played Watch opponent carefully for behavioral tipoffs End game considerations

SCRABBLE DABBLE1 BISNAGA2 CATALOS3 VEDALIA4 DRAYAGE5 ANAPEST6 DOGBANE7 AMBONES8 ECHNIDA9 CUMARIN10 OCTANOL

11 AVODIRE12 OVERSAD13 TEREFAH14 HALTERE15 FINAGLE16 REFUTAL17 RIVAGES18 MUTAGEN19 NEGATON20 PREWRAP

21 NILGHAI22 NILGHAU23 SAINTLY24 SAVIOUR25 BIOGENY26 TUBULIN27 RESTYLE28 MITOGEN29 WETTISH30 NIVEOUS

ANAGRAMS- Each of these uncommon 7-letter words is found in the OSPD4.

Find a common word anagram for each one. All have either a common beginning or ending.

SCRABBLE DABBLE1 B _ SC _ _ T2 _ LM _ N _ C3 R _ _ DW _ Y4 H _ _ RS _ Y5 V _ N _ LL _6 _ N _ T _ MY7 T _ BL _ _ D8 C _ R _ F _ L9 C _ H _ _ TS10 M _ S _ C _ L

11 CR _ N _ _ M12 M _ _ LB _ X13 S _ _ S _ CK14 PL _ G _ _ D15 R _ T _ ND _16 _ ST _ _ ND17 _ NF _ D _ L18 P _ _ NF _ L19 N _ M _ R _ L20 F _ RT _ L _

FILL-INS- Seeing consonants in their correct position in a word can lead to finding the word.

Using only vowels (no Ys) find the common words.

SCRABBLE DABBLE1 ACDHINSW2 AABEHLPT3 AENOOPST4 AADDEMRY5 ACEEHLOS6 IIMSSTUW7 ABDEKORY8 DHIKNOOW9 EEFNORTU10 BEHINOSW

11 EHKMOORW12 ABDHIRTY13 AEEHNRWY14 AADILORR15 EHLLNSTU16 AEFORSTW17 ABELOPTT18 ABDEGOPR19 EFLORSUY20 AEEFLLRW

21 CEHNSTTU22 ABEMMNOO23 EFOOPSTT24 AADDEHMN25 AABBELLS26 HMMOORSU27 ADEINRVY28 AILNOPTY29 ACEHOSSW30 EEGHISST

ANAGRAMS- Each of these alphagrams can be rearranged to make a common 8-letter word.

All are compound words. It may help to use tiles.

SCRABBLE DABBLE1 ACEGMNR _ _ _ ACING2 EGILOPR _ _ _ AMBLE3 ACMORUV _ _ _ AMENT4 EILNTUV _ _ _ AMINS5 EGHMNOR _ _ _ ANTIC6 CDEILNW _ _ _ ANGER7 AEGIORT _ _ _ BORNE8 CEFILNP _ _ _ CITED9 ABELMRU _ _ _ DOWNS10 ACGINPT _ _ _ EATER

FRONT EXTENSIONS- Sometimes you can extend a 5-letter opening play into the TWS. Find the

8-letter word by adding 3 more letters from the rack.

AFTER YOU BECOME FAMILY CHAMP…

No one wants to play you anymore!

Yet, you still have the Scrabble jones!

You’re not sure you want to become "serious"

Yet, you wonder how competitive you’d be

That’s why we have Asheville Scrabble Club!

And, tournaments everywhere, even cruises!

Club Play & Tournaments

Asheville A-1 "Autumn Leaves" Scrabble Tournament

“100 Tiles”http://the100project.org/100-tiles/

WHAT TO EXPECT ATASHEVILLE SCRABBLE CLUB

Equipment provided: boards, tiles, racks, clocks, score sheets

Clocks give = time for both players; quickly becomes automatic

We help you with competitive play so you’ll keep playing with us

Cheat Sheet first 3 times, free challenges vs. advanced players

Zyzzyva Word Judge used to decide if a word is acceptable

Knowing a word’s definition unnecessary; but, helpful to some

No dues first 6 months; $20 year thereafter, or $2 per meeting

North American Scrabble Players Association (NASPA)

ASHEVILLE SCRABBLE CLUB WEBSITE

www.ashevillescrabble.com Home/News

Where We Play

Asheville Scrabblog

Club Players

New to Our Club?

Stats

Bingoes

Tournaments

Study Aids

Resources

Directors

Questions/Contact

SCRABBLE DABBLE1 P _ _ T _ _ I _2 V _ _ C _ _ I _3 B _ _ _ A _ _ E4 _ A _ E _ D _ _5 _ _ _ _ I _ ET6 _ U _ I _ _ _ Y7 _ _ U _ _ HE _8 _ O _ _ TI _ _9 F _ _ ME _ _ _10 P _ _ _ A _ _ E

TOUGH FILL-INS- Use this rack to make common words.

A C L N O R W

SCRABBLE DABBLE1 DEIIINV _ _ _ _ _ POWER2 EHLMORS _ _ _ _ _ WEIGHT3 CDEGIST _ _ _ _ _ SHIRT4 AECNNOT _ _ _ SULTAN _5 AGHILMT _ _ _ _ _ _ DUALITY6 BEILMNT _ _ _ _ _ COLOR7 IKMOPRT _ _ _ _ _ EWE _ _8 AENRSTW _ _ _TURBAN _ _9 BDELMTU _ _ _ AIRMEN _10 AENRTUW _ _ OPERA _ _ _

TOUGH FRONT EXTENSIONS- Extend the words in right column by adding letters

from one of the racks in the left column. The racks are not paired with the words opposite them .

QUESTIONS Are you glad you chose this class?

Has your scoring average increased?

Have you learned which are best tiles to hold onto?

Do you know the best scoring spots on the board?

Have you learned offensive and defensive strategy?

Are you now or will you be your family champ?

Are you interested in club and tournament play?