BOARD GAMES | WINNING AND LOSING
How to Win at Scrabble. Sometimes. Is it Cheating?
This is how I play
Scrabble and Me, History
Years ago, I loved playing Scrabble, back before computers. I had the deluxe edition, with the recessed tile spaces so all tiles stayed in place. No jumbled words as tiles slipped around if you inadvertently bumped the perfectly flat board. Like I said, deluxe edition.
I prided myself on not being overly competitive, I could win or I could lose without much internal fanfare. But I usually won. I had a pretty good vocabulary.
Once, though, there was one of those instances where to my complete surprise, I got to see my naked cutthroat self, and so did everyone else. I had a hissy when my cousin, Claudette, got the word “painty” on a triple-word score. I challenged that word, painty. No such word.
I don’t even think I waited for it to be looked up. I quit then and there. Done.
File that moment under “unbecoming self-revelation.”
NOTE: Yes, painty is a word. (A very stupid word, in my opinion.)
I pretty much stopped playing. Others would pose a game and nah, I wasn’t inclined. More to the point: I wasn’t prepared to see any more unflattering truths about myself.
PJ GETS HER COMEUPPANCE
Years and years later, I was on a tour with a group of people I didn’t know. While traveling, there was time to kill and there was a woman who wanted to play Scrabble. Everyone else turned her down and when she begged me, thrice, I finally broke down.
“Okay,” I told her. “I’ll play.”
So she set the game up and we played. Or I should say, she kicked my butt mercilessly. Never has my humiliation been so complete.
I don’t remember any of the particulars. She was stratospheres beyond my puny abilities. Likely she played Scrabble and won, professionally.
And, mousy thing that she was before I unwittingly agreed to be eviscerated, she turned into quite the pachydermatous foe. (Now, wouldn’t you love to get that word on two triple-word scores? Not likely given that you only have seven tiles.)
In any case, that experience ended my kinship with Scrabble. With prejudice.
Scrabble Rekindled
Fast forward to last year. I had a stint as a caregiver for a lovely Indian woman, Kusum, whose fondest pastime was, guess what? Scrabble. Of course.
Reluctantly, I agreed to play. Her board: Legacy. Bump it and the tiles rearrange themselves.
And the game would go on and on, yawn, until we started using the five-minute timer.
Sometimes I won. Sometimes she won. Sometimes I let her win because I knew it meant a lot to her.
But the thing was, it got me wondering about electronic Scrabble. Surely in this modern age, there must be an online Scrabble application. And sure enough, there is: https://playscrabble.com/
So I started playing online. Against the computer, not against another human.
Then it occurred to me that there’s probably an online word-finder as well and lo, there is: https://scrabble.merriam.com/
So I started using the word finder, plugging my tile values in. Not so surprisingly, it surpassed me in finding a ponderous variety of words, many of which I had been, here-to-fore, unaware.
I became acquainted with all of the Q words that didn’t require a U. Sadly, all words containing C or V require at least three letters. Limiting.
Playing against the computer made me a better player. And the game certainly zipped along.
“Zoey,” my electronic opponent, showed me how to place tiles for maximum points, building from one or two two-letter words, and creating three or more words in but one turn.
So, that’s my trick. I play Scrabble on the computer, against the computer. With the word finder open. To challenge myself, I play the “hard” or sometimes the “master” setting. I haven’t achieved the emotional maturity to try the “grand master” setting. Yet. Even when no one is looking.
If I were playing with another person, I’m sure how I play would be considered cheating. But is it cheating to play with the word-finder open when my opponent is an electronic dictionary? When the game moves forward quickly — let’s face it, “Zoey,” my dictionary opponent, doesn’t dawdle.
Even if it is cheating, I don’t care. Having the handy word-finder open moves the game along. And it opens me to new words. I’ve expanded my vocabulary exponentially.
And there’s still the challenge of finding the highest point placements. And yes, I still lose.
But I’m much more in command of my emotions now. No more hissies.
I’m taking losses in stride. Though, admittedly, I haven’t selected “grand master” as my opponent. Yet.
Thanks for reading.
