Scrabble To Allow Proper Nouns

Hogwash McFly writes "The rules of the popular word game Scrabble are soon to allow proper nouns. Mattel, the maker of the game, hopes the changes made for a new edition, released this July, will 'add a new dimension' to Scrabble and 'introduce an element of popular culture into the game.' With this rule change, the company hopes to target younger fans and families, although they will continue to sell the traditional version where 'Beyonce' and 'Facebook' are not permitted words." Nobody is listening to my suggestion to penalize by one tile any player who has memorized every two-letter English word.

Comments

Hmm

[TheSpoom]

Wouldn't this mean you could claim that any name that has been given to anyone is a valid word?

Re:Hmm

[eln]

That was my thought as well. With all the weird names and alternate spellings people give their kids these days, pretty much any random combination of letters could be successfully argued as being a valid word. Personally, I think I'll stick with the old rules.

Re:Hmm

[kyrio]

They'll likely have a Scrabble Pop Culture Edition "dictionary".

Re:Hmm

[WarlockSquire]

just partner with apple, and create an app that tells you whether a word is valid.
why leave it to question when there's money to be made providing the answer?

Re:Hmm

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, there's appealing to the masses and then there's making it so your product no longer makes any sense. They've obvious chosen the Michael Bay approach.

Re:Hmm

[tomhudson]

In the article, they admit that there are no "hard and fast rules". Gee, talk about dumbing down the game - Scrabble to cater to semi-literates. Like they even know what a proper noun is ...

Re:Hmm

[sortius_nod]

I'm going to start using qwyjibo as often as I can...

Re:Hmm

[gandhi_2]

Just start a sourceforge project for every random hand of letters you always get stuck with.

qwyjibo would make a great python framework or something.

Re:Hmm

[Hatta]

Yes. This will never fly. I will not play Scrabble with such rules.

And if you're too lazy to memorize the 2 letter words, that's just your disadvantage.

Re:Hmm

[Jazz-Masta]

I'm going to start using qwyjibo as often as I can...

Why not, it's a perfectly cromulent word.

Re:Hmm

[NEDHead]

any combination of letters starting with a lower case i should work

Re:Hmm

[PsyciatricHelp]

I don't get it. Other than electronic versions and people who like to go by written rules to the letter how does this change the game at all. Most people don't read the rules. is this new version gonna cost extra? I know some families who have been playing allowing proper nouns for years. My family plays with a dictionary on hand to use whenever with no penalties. So other than new programing How does this change anything?

Re:Hmm

[somersault]

Crap - no vowels again! Oh well.. I name this table fhzbgyn. That's a 7 letter word, across two triple word scores! Sweet :D

Re:Hmm

[TheRaven64]

The rules that I always used (from a version of the game that's a decade or so older than me) state no foreign words either, which eliminates a number of the words in the official word list. We play with a real dictionary, and if the word isn't in that or is but is marked as a proper noun, then you can't use it. The official word list has contained words that the rules say shouldn't be allowed for a long time.

Re:Hmm

[MadKeithV]

Jhusd'hui.
Pronounced exactly like you spell it.

Re:Hmm

[HipToday]

Such an attitude at the clinic will get you quoned by your doctor.

Re:Hmm

[stonewallred]

You can bet your ass it won't be allowed in NSA rated games.

Re:Hmm

[stonewallred]

need 8 letter word to hit two 3x squares.

Re:Hmm

[Asmor]

I'm going to start using qwyjibo as often as I can...

Why not, it's a perfectly cromulent word.

I've never heard of it. Clearly I need to embiggen my vocabulary.

Re:Hmm

[Shining Celebi]

And if you're too lazy to memorize the 2 letter words, that's just your disadvantage.

My problem with two letter words is when you have someone who abuses them, you quickly end up with a nigh-unplayable board.

Re:Hmm

[JDHannan]

it is *NOT* a perfectly cromulent word.  The word is "Kwyjibo"

Embiggen your minds here, people

Re:Hmm

[uberjack]

You've embiggened me with your wisdom

Re:Hmm

[xaxa]

My problem with two letter words is when you have someone who abuses them, you quickly end up with a nigh-unplayable board.

I think that's more likely to happen when one of the players has a weak(er) vocabulary, regardless of whether two letter words are "abused". Short words in general block up the board, and weak players are tempted to block good locations. Strong players are less likely to block off their opponent, instead playing their own good word.

Re:Hmm

[somersault]

7 is my pet name for 8.

Re:Hmm

[Anonymous Coward]

Whoa, what a coincidence! I named my first child Qwyjibo! Twins, actually -- her brother is Xqdux.

Re:Hmm

[gemada]

it's kwijibo!!

Re:Hmm

[Heem]

Sometimes we'd play that you could use the name of anything or anybody that you could see in the room. so "Sony" would be ok as would "Bill" "William" .. whatever - but you'd have to be able to point it out in the room.

Re:Hmm

[FunkSoulBrother]

How do you define a foreign word?

Is QINTAR (Albanian money) foriegn?
how about PANINI (Italian sandwich)?
BAGUETTE? (French)
BURQA? (Arabic)

Re:Hmm

[Belial6]

It's worse than that. They don't even have to rationalize that it is the name of a person. They can just make up a short story right there on the spot, and name it with whatever random sting of characters they have, and they have now created a perfectly valid proper noun that is completely within the spirit of the new rules.

E.G.

Zxggrta: The story of a boy playing Scrabble

There once was a boy playing scrabble. He didn't have any real words in his tiles, so he decided to write a short story called "Zxggrta". Since he wrote the story, "Zxggrta" is now a valid word in Scrabble.

The End

Re:Hmm

[EL_mal0]

And, interestingly enough, Kwyjibo is a cromulent proper noun. The Kwyjibo iron oxide-Cu-Au deposit can be found in eastern Canada; here's a map showing its location.

Re:Hmm

[blueg3]

The English language includes a number of words and phrases of foreign origin -- some of them unchanged from their original form. In Scrabble, "foreign words" does not refer simply to any word that is derived from a foreign language (even if the English and foreign words are identical), but rather to foreign words that are also not in English.

Re:Hmm

[Somebody Is Using My]

I've always preferred jozxyqk myself. Erm, I mean, I prefer to use it in Scrabble. I'd hate to have to use it in real life.

It's a perfectly valid word. It's the sound you get when you get your sexual organs trapped in something. I saw it used on TV so it must be real!

Re:Hmm

[jellomizer]

Of course you can play scrabble with whatever rules you want. There is no penalty to playing a game with agreed rules. The official rules are just so if you play with a different group you can have the same baseline.

If the people who will play scrabble with you wants to play by the rules and you act like an arrogant prick , they will probably not play the game or other games with you. Remember most of the time the reasons that Geeks are not popular isn't because they are smarter then everyone else, but because they are just a jerk.

Re:Hmm

[ArsonSmith]

Me: Hold on a sec....

root@computer: # hostname zxquvib
root@zxquvib: #

Me: My computer's name is zxquvib (points to computer)

Re:Hmm

[brismith1966]

XQZJFFH _is_ the name of my dog, you insensitive clod! I don't think I've ever found a "new, improved" version of a board game that was better than the original. Except for Boggle Deluxe.

Re:Hmm

[Anonymous Coward]

+4 Insightful? Of course it does if you want to be an asshole. Scrabble isn't exactly a serious game, I think most people will have the integrity to not to cheat at it.

Re:Hmm

[veganboyjosh]

If you have 7 tiles in your hand and you must connect to one that's on the board, that makes 8.

Re:Hmm

[ArundelCastle]

They've obvious chosen the Michael Bay approach.

I'll pay extra to watch people's Scrabble boards explode when they get a triple word score.

c..e..i..l..i..n..g..c..a..t**BOOM**

Re:Hmm

[ricosalomar]

It must be in the official Scrabble dictionary to be a word.
This is why Scrabble sucks, IMO. It's entirely arbitrary.
Non-English words are not allowed, unless they are arbitrarily in the book.
I would suggest that including "Popular Culture" words in the book are a way to sell more books. You wouldn't want to play with a game whose current events stopped at Dexies Midnight Runners, would you?

Re:Hmm

[guyminuslife]

I still think that's ambiguous.

For instance, nouveau riche is a French phrase imported into English. Webster's has it listed, but my spellchecker cries bloody murder when it sees me type it. That's two words; Webster's has an entry for nouveau but not for riche. So is riche an English word?

Webster's has anime as a Japanese import, but not otaku or hentai, both of which are also widely used in the English-speaking world.

Queso may be the Spanish word for cheese, but around these parts we use it as an English word to refer specifically to molten nacho cheese, as in chili con queso. Speaking of which, the word nacho is a relatively recent import, and while Webster's doesn't list chili con queso, it does list chili con carne.

I would probably have a lot more to work with, too, if we were speaking a different language, besides English, because so many neologisms in our language make their way around the globe.

Re:Hmm

[Hatta]

Fine with me. I wouldn't want to play Scrabble with anyone who would want to use proper nouns anyway. Does that make me a jerk? Probably, but I'm ok with that. I'd rather just not play than play a fundamentally broken game.

Re:Hmm

[Hurricane78]

I think it’s called the MS Bob approach. ;)
It’s what you get, when you mix up “elegant“, “emergent“ or “efficient” with “simple”, and listen to the loud dumb clients to make the thing useless for everyone with half a brain, while telling the intelligent critics that the dumb would not get it. Some people really think they could make more money that way...

Re:Hmm

[Tanktalus]

Webster's has anime as a Japanese import, but not otaku or hentai, both of which are also widely used in the English-speaking world.

I'm not sure your English-speaking world and my English-speaking world have much overlap if "otaku" (which I've never heard of before now) and "hentai" are "widely-used".

Re:Hmm

[joebok]

For our family, if it is in the dictionary (the one pulled off the shelf at game time and put on the table for all to see) and not a proper noun, then it counts. That dictionary is pretty old - I'd bet it has baguette but maybe not burqa. You play your tiles and take your chances...

Re:Hmm

[QRDeNameland]

Some decades after a maternity ward Scrabble game:

"Sir, could please give your full name for the court?"

"Qfuhbix Triplewordscore Inyourface Jones"

Re:Hmm

[DrVomact]

Yeah, but you might need more than just one word, even if it's very useful. I'm going to memorize every pharmaceutical brand name that has ever been trademarked. Then I'll write a filter that eliminates common names that everyone already knows (like Dzerzhinsky) and run the telephone directories of every major city in the world through it, and memorize what's left.

Umm...actually that's what I would do if I had something remotely resembling a memory for names.

Re:Hmm

[BrokenHalo]

nouveau riche is a French phrase imported into English. Webster's has it listed, but my spellchecker cries bloody murder when it sees me type it.

Under my house rules, if you could somehow succeed in getting "nouveau riche" on the board legitimately, that would be awarded a bonus "coolness" point. Yes, it is not an English phrase, but it has been adopted for long enough to make it into the English language and who knows how many dictionaries. If we were to insist on only words of anglo-saxon origin, that would take a lot of the fun out of both the game and the English language. After all, I have never seen "kowtow" disqualified.

Re:Hmm

[DrVomact]

It's worse than that. They don't even have to rationalize that it is the name of a person. They can just make up a short story right there on the spot, and name it with whatever random sting of characters they have, and they have now created a perfectly valid proper noun that is completely within the spirit of the new rules...

Yep—too bad I don't have any mod points, or I'd mod you up. What is and what is not a "name" is a philosophical dispute with a very long history. Mattel has stepped into a morass that is far deeper than they know.

Re:Hmm

[Reece400]

Personally when I'm playing scrabble, If it's not in my paper dictionary from 1952, it doesn't count. If it is, it's all good. The best thing you can do is to mutually decide one place you will check words BEFORE you start playing.

Re:Hmm

[blueg3]

Oh, of course it's ambiguous. It's just that the rule that "no foreign words are allowed" does not mean that the official word list, which contains words of foreign origin, doesn't abide by that rule. Regardless of where you draw the line, there are plenty of foreign-origin words that are permitted in Scrabble.

Of course, your exposure to various words may vary. People here know of "chili con carne", but nobody refers to "chili con queso" and few people know "otaku". Since you can buy insipid "queso cheese" in the supermarket, though, it would probably count as English.

Re:Hmm

[PRMan]

Wouldn't that be...Qwyjibo? (It's a proper noun, after all.)

Re:Hmm

[ElSupreme]

Yeah I play with a dictionary from the mid eighties. So a lot of tech words are out. I remember a big ho-ha about 'internet'. Makes the game fun though.

Oh and 'internet' is now handwritten into the dictionary.

Re:Hmm

[PRMan]

That's why the Official Scrabble Dictionaries have a rule that the word must follow the official rules in 3 of the top 9 selling English dictionaries.

It may be marked as "foreign" in your dicitonary, but if it's not in 3 other ones, it counts.

Re:Hmm

[Mirlas]

So, the game of Scrabble now consists of, "on each player's turn, put all seven tiles down on the board, in any order and add up the score." That's so much simpler than the old version. I can't wait!

Re:Hmm

[Joey Vegetables]

It's a perfectly acceptable alternative spelling of the proper noun "Fizzbin," which does not exist yet, but will a couple hundred years from now, when it will be used to describe a fictional card game which will be invented by Captain Kirk.

Re:Hmm

[PRMan]

That's what my family refers to as "defense".

Re:Hmm

[Ecuador]

Wait, you meant cromoulent? Oh, perhaps that was US English?

Re:Hmm

[QJimbo]

Did someone just say my name?

Re:Hmm

[Jarik C-Bol]

huh, i always thought that sound was "NEEEAAAAAAAAGH!"

Re:Hmm

[Jarik C-Bol]

you realize that 'nacho' is short for Ignacio, which is a proper name? kind of hilarious in this context really.

Re:Hmm

[TheLink]

> Mattel has stepped into a morass that is far deeper than they know.

I doubt these new rules will be used in Scrabble competitions.

And they won't cause big problems to most people who understand the unwritten rules of playing games _socially_.

Basically when people play games socially, people will either agree to play according to a set of rules upfront, or they'll accept what the "house rules" are even if they aren't completely aware of all the "house rules".

The general assumption is that the participants will behave reasonably because:
a) they want to continue playing with each other.
and/or
b) they want to win AND have the other person admit that it was won fair and square - makes the victory sweeter for them :).

So the new rules are only a problem when you are playing with people like that stereotypical nerdy kid who keeps insisting on his really stretched interpretations of AD&D rules[1].

In which case you just don't play with them.

[1] Yes hackers do like stretching/bypassing the limits, but IMO there's not much point "winning" in games/life if nobody wants to play with you.

Re:Hmm

[Anonymous Coward]

Define "a real dictionary." For some of us, only the OED would qualify...

Re:Hmm

[FunkSoulBrother]

INTERNET still isn't good in North American tournament scrabble (but is good in international play). INTRANET is good in both. So yeah, the whole thing is a little flawed.

Re:Hmm

[thetoadwarrior]

I'd recommend kwyjibo personally.

Re:Hmm

[djh2400]

I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to call your bluff on this one. I could find "cromulent" at dictionary.com, but with "embiggen" you're just being silly.

Re:Hmm

[CAIMLAS]

In all likelihood, yes.

Sorry, this is going to make Scrabble suck. IMO, it's bad enough with all the "scrabble words" which lack definition. Scrabble appeals to a more intellectual player with a large(r) vocabulary. Allowing proper nouns not only floods the game with the hundreds of thousands of (potentially unverifiable) products out there (past and present) but also the name of every person and place on the planet. What a gong show.

Of course, you can always play by the old/proper rules. :)

And if you want a fun/stupid "letters into words with little tiles" game, give Bananagrams a try. It's an awesome drinking game - either to play or to watch, as it devolves pretty quickly into a bunch of insults and racial/sexist slurs (even from some of the more 'liberal'/reverse-racist type folks).

Re:Hmm

[Anonymous Coward]

Which is why he said "7 letter word", not "I have 7 letters in my hand."

Re:Hmm

[Rei]

That's funny. I named mine my son "Robert');DROP TABLE STUDENTS;--"

Re:Hmm

[Rei]

Are they in the dictionary?
No?
Then they don't count, as always.

Re:Hmm

[ari_j]

I've always viewed making up words to win at Scrabble as a bit of a challenge and a perfectly valid way to play the game. If you can convince the other players that checking the dictionary to challenge your word is a bad idea, such as by making up an etymology and definition that fits the etymology. Allowing proper nouns would be like letting people choose which cards they want to draw in draw poker.

Re:Hmm

[Anonymous Coward]

Why are you playing games with assholes? When I play board games it's usually with friends - while we play to win, we don't play competitively. Most rules discussions can be settled on the spot because it isn't like it really matters; we discuss it as people and move on.

Re:Hmm

[JohnBailey]

I think it's called the MS Bob approach. ;)
It's what you get, when you mix up "elegant", "emergent" or "efficient" with "simple", and listen to the loud dumb clients to make the thing useless for everyone with half a brain, while telling the intelligent critics that the dumb would not get it. Some people really think they could make more money that way...

Ahh.. The Apple strategy..

Re:Hmm

[sskinnider]

What is the price of having your word published in the Apple App?

Re:Hmm

[Zencyde]

I'd give head for mod points right now.

Re:Hmm

[wgoodman]

Unless you make a 2 letter word as well:

            ISLANDS
SHIT

Re:Hmm

[wgoodman]

blegh.
the in preview and the spacing once posted are completely different.

Re:Hmm

[Anonymous Coward]

thank you for the correction, and if it's an ikea table with a vintage looking vernier then it's technically called a fhzbgynx

Re:Hmm

[Anonymous Coward]

The rules that I always used (from a version of the game that's a decade or so older than me) state no foreign words either, which eliminates a number of the words in the official word list. We play with a real dictionary, and if the word isn't in that or is but is marked as a proper noun, then you can't use it. The official word list has contained words that the rules say shouldn't be allowed for a long time.

Raven, how do you handle word extensions though?
i.e. the dictionary has "cart" - noun - the 2 wheeled thing, but it doesn't have "carter" - one who carts (like a rickshaw driver) or carting - the act of using a cart to move stuff from place to place.

Much less the "do"->"undo" ->"reundo" chains...

Re:Hmm

[julesh]

No, RTFA. Only a subset of proper nouns is allowed. One without a defined set of rules, i.e. you can't tell whether any specific noun is allowed without looking it up. It's just a ruse to sell more word lists.

Re:Hmm

[The Archon V2.0]

And, interestingly enough, Kwyjibo is a cromulent proper noun. The Kwyjibo iron oxide-Cu-Au deposit can be found in eastern Canada; here's a map showing its location.

Though the non-proper nouns on that thing are pretty snappy too. Orogen? Skarn? I've likely been stuck with those letter combos in the past.

Re:Hmm

[Nyder]

It's worse than that. They don't even have to rationalize that it is the name of a person. They can just make up a short story right there on the spot, and name it with whatever random sting of characters they have, and they have now created a perfectly valid proper noun that is completely within the spirit of the new rules.

E.G.

Zxggrta: The story of a boy playing Scrabble

There once was a boy playing scrabble. He didn't have any real words in his tiles, so he decided to write a short story called "Zxggrta". Since he wrote the story, "Zxggrta" is now a valid word in Scrabble.

The End

Except when the word is challenged, your going to have a hard time proving it's a word. noun or not.

Re:Hmm

[Random Destruction]

Both 'embiggen' and 'cromulent' were coined in the simpsons episode Lisa the Iconoclast

Re:Hmm

[Belial6]

No your not, your going to just write it down like I did, and it is proven. That is how proper nouns work.

Re:Hmm

[gregor-e]

You could use sites like BabyZoink as an authoritative source.

Re:Hmm

[electrons_are_brave]

It's difficult to imagine what the arbiter would be - at the moment, most people play "in case of disagreement it must be in the dictionary". How will this work if I claim Ffwyn (as a welsh name - real or not)?

Re:Hmm

[Amorya]

Is it in the dictionary?

Re:Hmm

[Lunzo]

I thought Internet was a proper noun. It's the name of the "network of networks". It should still be out if you ask me.

Re:Hmm

[Anonymous Coward]

Do they have the word "douche" in the OED?

Re:Hmm

[Le Marteau]

Not a "serious game"? It can be a serious as people want to make it, complete with chess clocks and tournament rules.

> I think most people will have the integrity to not to cheat at it.

You have obviously never played it... um... "seriously".

It is not "cheating" to play a word you know is not in the dictionary, any more than it is "cheating" to bet big on a poor hand in poker. A big part of the game is getting your opponent to challenge true words (and thus lose a turn) or not challenge false words.

Re:Hmm

[MacWiz]

Maybe I didn't scroll down far enough, but this would almost seem to draw acronymns into play. Many proper nouns are multiple words, which should disqualify them, but IBM, NBC, CBS, EMI, etc, function as names, especially when people do not know what those letters stand for.

Personally, I think this change is not in the best interests of the game, which I always looked at as a tool to develop your vocabulary. This makes it easier to avoid learning new words.

Re:Hmm

[grim-one]

Results 1 - 10 of about 379,000 for Kwyjibo. (0.44 seconds) - Google

Re:Hmm

[grim-one]

Whoops, should be: Results 1 - 10 of about 30,600 for qwyjibo. (0.25 seconds)

Re:Hmm

[cc1984_]

Do they have the word "douche" in the OED?

I was going to be all witty and say that you'd get no points as "douche" is a foreign word. Unfortunately, it's been in the English language since the 17th Century, so congratulations! 12 points to you!

Re:Hmm

[noidentity]

You could just name every one of your turns in the game. "I'm going to name this turn Haikemck. 50 points."

Re:Hmm

[Anonymous Coward]

you could use your 7 letters to expand an existing letter so that it cover 2 triple word spots.

Say for instance some player has put a vertical word so that the first letter is at the top of the board and not over a triple word spot. If you had the right tiles, you could place them on the left and right of that letter so it covers 2 triple word spots.

AC

mhm.

[Pojut]

Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, triple word score. Suck it.

Re:mhm.

[Merls the Sneaky]

I can taste the curry!

Re:mhm.

[courteaudotbiz]

Bah, I'm sure that my name will beat you: Zhiwoumxy Quujosva. Placed all my 7 letters, +70. Placed Z and X on triple letter squares, +60. Completed 2 other words with them, +60. And so on...

Re:mhm.

[CTalkobt]

Bah, I'm sure that my name will beat you: Zhiwoumxy Quujosva. Placed all my 7 letters, +70. Placed Z and X on triple letter squares, +60. Completed 2 other words with them, +60. And so on...

Uh, how many U's are there in the game?

Re:mhm.

[clone53421]

theres only 1 of me, u slly goose (2 bd scrbble stll doesnt allow 1-ltr wrds)

Re:mhm.

[theeddie55]

Bah, I'm sure that my name will beat you: Zhiwoumxy Quujosva. Placed all my 7 letters, +70. Placed Z and X on triple letter squares, +60. Completed 2 other words with them, +60. And so on...

Uh, how many U's are there in the game?

4 generally, unless you've lost some, i'd be more worried about how he placed his Z and X both on tripple letter scores when there are no tripple letter scores that far apart, or where he got the + 70 when you get 50 points for using all your letters.

Re:mhm.

[Thelasko]

Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, triple word score. Suck it.

Only a quijibo would use a Simpsons reference in a game of Scrabble.

Re:mhm.

[Pojut]

Apu's name is a perfectly cromulent choice for Scrabble!

Re:mhm.

[Tawnos]

There are 4

Re:mhm.

[Stupid McStupidson]

Nasha...Nahssss.....Not gonna work here anymore!

Re:mhm.

[xaxa]

Quixotry scored this guy 365 points in one turn in a real game.

If you want to fix the board you could set up some long words leading above three triple word scores, and with only seven letters left to make 8 words (one horizontal across the board, seven vertical leading to bonus squares). You could probably score thousands (x27 for the horizontal play, three x3s for the verticals, 2x27 for the double letter squares, plus the other vertical words, etc). Example: 2118 in this Italian game.

Re:mhm.

[CTalkobt]

So where's the other 1? He only used 3...

Re:mhm.

[Mr Z]

I remember reading somewhere that the theoretic highest scoring play in North American Scrabble is "OXYPHENBUTAZONE" across 3 triples. Yipe.

Re:mhm.

[Tawnos]

They're only worth 1 point, why bother?

Re:mhm.

[Anonymous Coward]

Ironically, now I have to play Scrabble because that guy took my job

Re:mhm.

[Anonymous Coward]

too bad you only have 7 letters to work with...try finding a way to break it down

Re:mhm.

[FiloEleven]

Really? I would have thought there were at least 53421 of you...

Re:mhm.

[clone53421]

No... I am a unique and beautiful snowflake.

Re:mhm.

[stillnotelf]

When Scrabulous was still popular on Facebook, the list of highest scoring games on the service all contained this. It was "games" set up between one person with two accounts; almost all "turns" were passes as he mined for the letters he wanted...

Re:mhm.

[Anonymous Coward]

If you managed to get that name onto the board in a game of Scrabble without cheating then you deserve to win.

Noooo!

[courteaudotbiz]

Leave Scrabble as it is right now! The fun of this game is that it is hard to make words. Please, do not make it easier to play it...

I just hope that tournaments will still implement plain old rules!

Acronyms

[LordHatrus]

I'm waiting till they start to allow acronyms, so that we geeks can win with our multitude of TLAs.

Re:Acronyms

[Imagix]

Forget acronyms... next up, l33t speak!

Re:Acronyms

[hyades1]

FU

Sorry...couldn't resist. I tried. I really tried.

Re:Acronyms

[Xoltri]

I had an acronym for acronym battle with my RN wife and she blew me away, so be careful!

Re:Acronyms

[wiredog]

Sorry man, the USA DoD has the geeks beat when it comes to TLAs and FLEAs.

Re:Acronyms

[steelfood]

Not a TLA.

Re:Acronyms

[ArsonSmith]

It is a Two Letter Acronym. I don't know what you're talking about.

Re:Acronyms

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll wait for the Scrabble Chinese edition.

Re:Acronyms

[fuo]

Agreed. I was very upset when my play of XOR was successfully challenged :(

Re:Acronyms

[robot256]

NASA-speak frequently involves sentences consisting entirely of articles, prepositions, and acronyms. Half our "words" turn out to be backronyms, and some nested acronyms (acronyms for strings of acronyms) are easily four or five levels deep.

Re:Acronyms

[Anonymous Coward]

Shouldn't that be FY?

Re:Acronyms

[zach_the_lizard]

You'll have to wait for the SQL. /rimshot

Re:Acronyms

[Hurricane78]

How about FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU. Just lay down all the Us you got. ^^

Re:Acronyms

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, something based solely on IT acronyms would be pretty cool!

Re:Acronyms

[bertoelcon]

If you play with non-geeks you could probably make up some acronyms on the spot using buzzwords too.

Re:Acronyms

[Abstrackt]

I'm waiting till they start to allow acronyms, so that we geeks can win with our multitude of TLAs.

If this ever happened my first TLA would be WTF.

Re:Acronyms

[CAIMLAS]

Give Bananagrams a try. It's like scrabble, but unstructured. "Anything goes" if you make up your own rules.

Re:Acronyms

[julesh]

You'll have to wait for the SQL. /rimshot

Despite standard practice, I always read "SQL" as "squeal". In this case, it's just so appropriate...

Re:Acronyms

[Anonymous Coward]

That has been around for a while.

Re:Acronyms

[Anonymous Coward]

Forget acronyms... next up, l33t speak!

Scrabble has added number tiles??

Rule change?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why would a rule change like that require a completely separate version of the game?

Oh - that's right - more sales.

Nevermind.

Sigh

[Dyinobal]

So now it's scrabble for idiots. Maybe next we can have Jeopardy change to multiple choice.

Re:Sigh

[dummondwhu]

Not only that, but if people really want to use proper nouns, then what's to stop them currently? Because it's not written on the rules paper? Scrabble is about vocabulary, not about knowledge of popular culture.

Most surprising to me is that I even care, but the more I think about it, the more I do. Come on, Mattel!

Re:Sigh

[Kell Bengal]

Most people who want to use proper nouns already do. However, do you notice how suddenly everyone is talking about Scrabble (TM). Could it be they're just trying to stir up controversy to increase their head-space and sell more boxes of Old Faithful (TM) before New and Inferior (TM) becomes the norm?

I don't think they really care that people see it as a case of watering down an intellectual challenge into a pop-cultural pissing match. All news is good news and they're only in it for the money.

Re:Sigh

[uxbn_kuribo]

Jeopardy has already dumbed itself down over the years to cater to the "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" crowd.

Re:Sigh

[biryokumaru]

Could it be they're just trying to stir up controversy to increase their head-space and sell more boxes of Old Faithful (TM) before New and Inferior (TM) becomes the norm?

Ah, yes. The rarely seen New Coke fallacy.

Re:Sigh

[Chris Mattern]

Maybe next we can have Jeopardy change to multiple choice.

I believe it was called "Who Want to Be a Millionaire?"

Re:Sigh

[socsoc]

There are some variations of Jeopardy that already are multiple choice. Like on a gaming console or PC...

Re:Sigh

[Dorkmaster Flek]

Why do you say that? It seems to me that Jeopardy is the one game show where you actually have to be extremely knowledgeable if you want to win any kind of money. It took them years to even double the old dollar values just to adjust for inflation. Compare answering the (multiple choice) $1000 question in Millionaire vs. a Jeopardy $1000 question in the first round. Not even close.

Re:Sigh

[clone53421]

This answer:

4chan.org IS A COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY KNOWN FOR POSTING THESE ON THE NET, USUALLY IN .JPEG OR .GIF FORM

The question: “What are images?”

Filter error: Don't use so many caps. It's like YELLING.

Re:Sigh

[Dorkmaster Flek]

Well to me, that shows perhaps an out of date mentality about what is common knowledge and what isn't about tech-related topics. However, that's an anomaly from what I've seen of the show over the years.

Re:Sigh

[bickerdyke]

who are you to decide that?

what keeps us from turning it into a game about Pop culture by only allowing proper nouns?

Re:Sigh

[ElectricTurtle]

It's not a fallacy. There is no proof one way or the other. It is still possible that New Coke was a conspiracy, there are just different camps of people. You want to believe the Coke execs, that's fine. There are many who don't, including me. I think it was one of the earliest triumphs of psychological marketing. Mr Keoughs' quote in the very article you cite alludes to it. As far as I'm concerned, anything they learned after the fact could have, in somebody's mind in the Coke boardroom, have been a predicted result. Somebody there could have been intelligent enough to have known what would happen. Maybe it was a fortuitous mistake, but I'm too cynical to but it. Either way is possible, so there is no fallacy.

(And since this established a precedented effect, changing something like Scrabble or Monopoly would be expected to maybe reproduce it. Too bad you never step into the same river twice, especially in the collective consciousness generations later.)

Re:Sigh

[ElectricTurtle]

Ahem... I meant 'too cynical to buy it'

Re:Sigh

[delinear]

Scrabble has always been more about memorising letter combinations than learning or vocabulary. Sure, as an amateur a large vocabulary might help, but the best players tend to learn useful words by rote without really needing to understand what they mean. All they've done is allowed people who remember more contemporary letter combinations to play along; really it's no different to the various flavours of Trivial Pursuit centred around pop culture.

I always thought that the rule ought to be every word played should be accompanied by a description of what the word means or how it should be used, and that this too could be challenged. That way people would have to understand the words they played and the game would favour vocabulary over memory. It seems Mattel preferred to go the other way and dumb down rather than create a better tool for learning.

Re:Sigh

[dummondwhu]

There's nothing stopping you, that's the point.

And what do you mean, who am I to decide it? I didn't decide anything other than to like the way Scrabble has been played for my entire life. Am I wrong for wanting it to stay that way? Who are you to decide that proper nouns should be allowed?

Re:Sigh

[Anonymous Coward]

What is B, Alex?

Re:Sigh

[shadowrat]

no kidding. my brothers and i play the variant where players use their fingers to flick tiles at the heads of opposing players. Scoring is based on the tile values with multipliers for entering orifaces.

I don't recal reading this in the scrabble book, but it hasn't kept us from playing it.

We also enjoy the variant of pool where you just shoot the balls back and forth as fast as you can with your hands. The first guy to get his fingers caught between 2 looses.

Re:Sigh

[Anonymous Coward]

Ha! Already done - Jeopardy for the PS3 is multiple choice, way to ruin a game...

Re:Sigh

[Idbar]

Maybe next we can have Jeopardy change to multiple choice.

Isn't that called "Who want's to be millionaire"?

Re:Sigh

[Anonymous Coward]

Already did. It's called "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"

Re:Sigh

[earthbound kid]

I play Scrabble on my iPhone and am quite often annoyed to find that the computer won't accept perfectly ordinary things like "quo" as in "status quo" but will accept bullshit like "xi" and so on. Any loosening of the dictionary on the electronic version would be welcome.

The other place where this matters is Scrabble tournaments, but those people are insane.

Nooooooo

[mjwalshe]

DO NOT WANT!

Re:Nooooooo

[Merls the Sneaky]

Then don't buy it, or buy it and play the original rules.

Re:Nooooooo

[mjwalshe]

some things are an abomination :-) bit like the way they took DND 3.5 and turned it into a combat game.

Though given the hyper nerdness of scrable players this will make a Apple vs MS vs Linux Flame way seem tame.

Dumbing things down

[m93]

....one of the chief things that is causing our country to fail. As an avid boardgamer, I am offended and disgusted.

Re:Dumbing things down

[hoggoth]

In related news, Parker Bros is releasing a new edition of RISK that uses a single coin instead of 5 dice. Heads you win, tails you lose.

Re:Dumbing things down

[warchildx]

Heads you win, tails you lose.

Heads "I" win, tails you lose. - Fixed that for you. makes the game that much funner.

Re:Dumbing things down

[TheCycoONE]

When there are 2 defenders there's a possibility both players lose one so you'd need a 3 sided die

But...
3 attackers - 2 defenders (37.2% both, 33.6% one)
3 attackers - 1 defender (66.0%)
2 attackers - 2 defenders (22.8% both, 32.4% one)
2 attackers - 1 defender (57.9%)
1 attacker - 1 defender (41.7%)

are all different odds... so really you need two weighted three sided die, and three weighted coins (which incidentally brings us back up to 5 items, but at least no one needs to figure out which die have the most dots)

Re:Dumbing things down

[Vectormatic]

to tie in to this, how does everyone play risk? do you declare the number of defenders before or after the attacker roles? I've done some simulation on the subject, and it impacts the attack/defense balance rather hard, futzing with this rule can make the game go from 'defense has the advantage' to 'attacker rapes defense' iirc

Re:Dumbing things down

[hoggoth]

Comedian: "I just flew in from Chicago... and boy are my arms tired! hahaha"
TheCycoONE: "Given the average mass of a resident of Chicago, and comparing it to the minuscule amount of lift that could be generated from human arms, even with vigorous flapping motions, we can extrapolate the following formulas to show the improbability of this occurrence..."

Re:Dumbing things down

[PolygamousRanchKid]

Younger fans and families are dumbing things down:

With this rule change, the company hopes to target younger fans and families

So giving credit, where credit it due, younger fans and families are responsible for dumbing down.

But Mattel's game designers seem to be already dumbed down themselves:

Mattel, the maker of the game, hopes the changes made for a new edition, released this July, will "add a new dimension" to Scrabble

They don't understand, "adding a new dimension" means 3-D, like in "Avatar" or "Clash of the Cretins."

Come on, you lazy ass Mattel game designers! Get off your asses, and bring on a 3-D Hologram Scrabble Director's Cut Edition! . . . non-dumbed down . . .

Re:Dumbing things down

[hoggoth]

wtf? declaring AFTER you see the dice results?

We go one better. We allow an infinite level of 'undo's on any move. After an attack, either player can decide that attack or even the entire turn didn't count and the board is rolled back to a previous state. The benefit of this is we play really sharp games with few sub-optimal moves. The downside is we've never yet finished a game.

Re:Dumbing things down

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, avid boardgamers just *hate* when the number of people that can hold a game with them increases.

Re:Dumbing things down

[blackraven14250]

Good thing this is Mattel, and not Hasbro. That means it's everywhere other than the US and Canada that gets the dumbed-down rules booklet.

Re:Dumbing things down

[Pastis]

> In related news, Parker Bros is releasing a new
> edition of RISK that uses a single coin (*)
> instead of 5 dice. Heads you win, tails you lose.

(*) coin sold separately. Suggested retail price: 14.99$ the cent.

Re:Dumbing things down

[delinear]

Bring on the Secret Agent Laser Obstacle Scrabble!

Re:Dumbing things down

[bazorg]

Can't wait for you to read this: http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1608968&cid=31747966

and then kick yourself out of your lawn.

Re:Dumbing things down

[xaxa]

I had a "3D Scrabble", called Upwords. It's better than Scrabble if you're playing with children, since they can spot patterns (cart - tart - tang - slang) while you make new words. It's too restrictive otherwise.

Re:Dumbing things down

[Johnny Mnemonic]

Wow, that would save a lot of time. Risk: speed edition!

Re:Dumbing things down

[Anonymous Coward]

What country do you live in? According to another post in this thread, Mattel controls the Scrabble brand only outside of the United States and Canada.

Re:Dumbing things down

[Gabrosin]

You're definitely doing it wrong. In our version of the game, any armies you eliminate when conquering a country reappear at the end of the turn as "insurgents". Each turn thereafter, the occupier of the country removes one of the insurgents, rolls 1d6, and loses that many of his own armies. And every time you move more units into a territory with insurgents, that many more insurgents appear to oppose you.

Funny, our game's been going for a few months now and no one has attacked anyone yet...

Re:Dumbing things down

[Anonymous Coward]

Best... "whoosh"... ever!

Re:Dumbing things down

[hoggoth]

You're not the only one playing with those rules; But unfortunately we don't seem to see the pattern yet and just keep sending in more troops.

memorizing alphabetized letter lists

[peter303]

One of my MIT classmates said his technique to becoming world scrabble champ was to create alphabetized letter lists out of allowed words and memorize them. I dont know whether to believe him.

Re:memorizing alphabetized letter lists

[aicrules]

He really just uses scrabulizer.com

Re:memorizing alphabetized letter lists

[famebait]

Should have memorized definitions in stead. Especially of the word "game".

Re:memorizing alphabetized letter lists

[LordLimecat]

A good house rule we use is you must be able to define and/or use the word in a sentence. If we then look the questionable word up, even if it is in the dictionary, it may be denied if your definition was way off.

Re:memorizing alphabetized letter lists

[stonewallred]

actually you want to memorize 6 letter stems, then go to five and 4 letter stems if you want to be competitive. bingos win games, and even the best players have trouble locking a board up against equally skilled players. but strategy will almost always beat word knowledge. I play against people on-line and in RL who use either an electronic scrabble dictionary (franklin mint edition from way back) or websites. And unless they have a bunch of time it still does not help them win. You only have 25 minutes before you start getting hit with a 10 pt per minute or fraction of a minute penalty in tournament rules. I love beating the idiots who use websites, because they nerdrage and accuse me of cheating when they are the ones cheating and losing.

Re:memorizing alphabetized letter lists

[TobinLathrop]

Believe him.
I no longer play in tournaments and was never all that good. But that is exactly what all expert players do. Make various word lists and memorize them.

At that level it is a math game not a word game. There are Thai expert players that have a very basic grasp of English but know for sure the string of letters ANTSIER is a valid play. Definitions do not matter as they clutter the brain space needed to know the word itself.

Allowing proper names. I dunno. The word list is disgustingly long as it is and there could be trademark/copyright/something issues in using stuff like FACEBOOK as an allowable play outside of the kitchen table.

Re:memorizing alphabetized letter lists

[Von Helmet]

The BBC, BBC4 specifically, had a show about Scrabble champions. The link should give you enough to go on if you want to find somewhere to download the show. Anyway, it was very interesting to see how soulless the game became once you got to the championship levels - it was all about memorising huge lists of words. There was no care for vocabulary or the use of words, it was just memory and anagrams. It was very far removed from the game that most of us play.

As opposed to....

[codeButcher]

.... IMproper nouns.

Minor correction

[JonStewartMill]

"Mattel, the makers of the game, hope the changes made for a new edition, released this July, will "add a new dimension" to Scrabble and "dumb the game down so it can be enjoyed by a generation of near-illiterates". "

Re:Minor correction

[0xdeadbeef]

Scrabble, now for stupid people!

Re:Minor correction

[Anonymous Coward]

It's the Scrabble Tea Party Edition! Me fail English? Unpossible.

lower-case-f-acebook is a word....

[Anonymous Coward]

But... a facebook is a directory of faces and names for cramming before a social event.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/facebook

And Facebook was named after facebook.

It's an optional ruleset, folks.

[Anonymous Coward]

Nothing more than that. Don't want to allow 'SUBARU' then don't play the ridiculous proper name rules. The tournament & club play word list has been forked from the mainstream "official" word list for years now.

Nothing to see here, move on.

I am waiting for the match between...

[linzeal]

I am eagerly awaiting the matchups between people that listen to celebrity gossip and kids who play video games. Literature professors and Philosophy of Science majors should be fun too. Seriously, there are so many different fields with famous figures, creative works with dozens of 100's of characters and even worse think of Pokemon. I am not fucking accepting a Pokemon character as a valid word, no way.

Re:I am waiting for the match between...

[Anonymous Coward]

Protip: Words are what you make of them.

Re:I am waiting for the match between...

[CraftyJack]

I am not fucking accepting a Pokemon character as a valid word, no way.

Yeah, but "qat" is perfectly fine.

Re:I am waiting for the match between...

[ShakaUVM]

>>Literature professors and Philosophy of Science majors should be fun too.

I get really annoyed when I play Scrabble because I use words like 'qualia', which is a perfectly legal word, but isn't in the official Scrabble dictionary when it got challenged by my non-philosophy-loving friends. I note that it's in the online dictionary now, though.

Losing qualia on a double/triple is one of the reasons why I nerdrage whenever I think about playing the stupid game.

Re:I am waiting for the match between...

[Bertie]

A QAT is fine too?

"Penalize" by one tile?

[Tetsujin]

So let me get this straight - if I memorize all the 2-letter words, then I can get my 50 point "bingo" bonus on a six tile play instead of seven? Sign me up for that!

(I do agree that it's a bit of a problem when people study the game to the point that they learn useless vocabulary just for the sake of laying down five or six two-letter words in a single play... Though I think this sort of problem is unavoidable. Whatever the conditions of the game, people will find ways to exploit them. Mario Kart penalizes whoever's leading the race, hence smart players trail the leader until the end of the race... I think a better solution to the two-letter problem might be to just print all the two-letter words on a handy reference card and give copies to all players.)

Re:"Penalize" by one tile?

[Monkeedude1212]

I think a better solution to the two-letter problem might be to just print all the two-letter words on a handy reference card and give copies to all players.)

As is done on Scrabble's online site! Who'd a thunk!

I am not an avid Scrabbler in that I don't go to tournaments or anything like that, but I do pull it out every other weekend to play with either the girlfriend or room mates. Sometimes we don't limit ourselves to the dictionary, in fact, last November we had a "Computer Science Terms" Scrabble, where you would get double the points if you listed a popular Computer entity (Java, or Linux), regular points for computer based acronyms, (HTML), but you had to be able to explain items the other players haven't heard of, which would be immediately followed by a google or a wikipedia of the subject. And if there was a miss-spelling or innaccuracy in the explanation, the player would lose points.

And when we're feeling adventurous, me and the girlfriend like to play "Naughty Scrabble" where you get bonus points for dirty words. I know, we're so sinful!

Re:"Penalize" by one tile?

[Jerf]

We play with a House Rule whereby all players are simply given the list of two-letter words. We have no intention of ever competing in a tournament, and this is nearly equivalent to memorizing them.

It actually moves things along. There's enough valid two-letter words that it makes legal moves where there didn't used to be, and now we far more rarely have the problem where the entire board is basically consumed, everybody still has tiles, and there's "nowhere" left to play. Now the play board ends up more compact and we more rarely end up with "nowhere" to move.

I recommend it.

Re:"Penalize" by one tile?

[Anonymous Coward]

or not give points for two letter words

Re:"Penalize" by one tile?

[Tetsujin]

or not give points for two letter words

That could also be a good rule - but of course, someone who knows a bunch of two-letter words would still have an advantage, as this allows you to play one word parallel to another. (Even if you don't get points for it, it still gives you more places to play.)

Re:"Penalize" by one tile?

[Tetsujin]

I do pull it out every other weekend to play with either the girlfriend or room mates.

Good plan, I'm sure keeping a regular schedule like that is great for keeping people from getting frustrated.

Re:"Penalize" by one tile?

[FunkSoulBrother]

I think a better solution to the two-letter problem might be to just print all the two-letter words on a handy reference card and give copies to all players.)

This is what most competitive tournament players do when a newbie shows up at club. It encourages learning the game, and we can still beat them as they really don't know how to properly utilize all that information until they've learned some strategy as well.

The cheat sheet we give out has all the 2 and 3-letter words, and all the 4 letters words which contain Q J X and Z. Also a bunch of words which are mostly vowels: "vowel dumps", that are useful to know.

Most competitive players will have 75%+ of that list memorized, but I'd wager only a few hundred people in the country could recite it from memory flawlessly. (not me, I'm still learning my threes!)

Hasbro and Mattel

[tepples]

For one thing, the article is about the Mattel version. Hasbro sells Scrabble crossword game in the United States and Canada, while arch-rival Mattel controls it everywhere else, so North Americans need not worry. For another, the article states that Mattel is making the proper name rule optional: "It will continue to sell a board with the original rules."

Re:Hasbro and Mattel

[Monkeedude1212]

Has it come across anyone people that they could have been playing by these rules all along?

I don't see why this affects anything at all.

Re:Hasbro and Mattel

[hansamurai]

They have an advertising campaign now:

Now with Proper Nouns! Sponsored by Pepsi.

Re:Hasbro and Mattel

[bickerdyke]

"Keep selling a board with the original rules" is not exactly the definition of an optional rule. It's rather taking advantage of the people who never realized that ALL rules are more or less optional.

It shouldn't take the players more than 3 minutes to decide if proper nouns are allowed or not. Sure as hell they shouldn't have to buy a different board for that!

if we're lucky, we might get theleaflet with the "classic" rules as an "expansion set" for half the price of a complete game....

OTOH:
Hasn't everyone overthrown this rule with "Counts if google has more than 1000000 hits for it" anyway?

Re:Hasbro and Mattel

[blackraven14250]

OH MY GOD!

Do you seriously mean to say that Americans are going to be the ones that don't have the dumbed-down version of Scrabble???

Re:Hasbro and Mattel

[Anonymous Coward]

Hasbro sells Scrabble crossword game in the United States and Canada, while arch-rival Mattel controls it everywhere else, so North Americans need not worry.
 
Psst! When you next play Trivial pursuit, stay away from "Geography". Mexicans are North Americans too.
 
Well, you *almost* got it right. Maybe you only lived in the U.S. until you were 5.

Re:Hasbro and Mattel

[nine-times]

Sure as hell they shouldn't have to buy a different board for that!

That part confused me as well. Don't people just play by whatever rules they want to anyway? I know I've played games of Scrabble where one of the rules is "even made-up words are allowed if they're funny enough." We also used to play Monopoly where bank robberies were allowed under certain circumstances.

Re:Hasbro and Mattel

[tool462]

Yes, but only because most Americans think Scrabble is just a high-fiber version of Alphabits cereal.

Re:Hasbro and Mattel

[amoeba1911]

That's exactly what I was wondering, the change to their game makes no difference at all. It's still the same game, same rules. It would be like William-Sonoma declaring that their new enhanced cereal bowls can also be used as pasta bowls.
The rules of the game don't dictate what words are allowed, the official word list does... and there are already two major word lists: TWL and SOWPODS. All they're doing is adding yet another word list.
Hasbro hasn't made an innovation in decades. The only asset they have is the name Scrabble and a few other names. They're almost as bad as "The Tetris Company" whose only asset is the name "Tetris".

Re:Hasbro and Mattel

[gooman]

My thoughts exactly.

I know a family that allows proper nouns and common foreign words (dictionary words only), but only if they are five or more letters long. Weird rule, I know. They wanted to encourage their children to learn to spell.

I prefer the original rules, but I see no harm in having house rules if it gets people playing. It seems the concern here is having new, dumbed-down rules officially sanctioned. Just wait until they accept text message spellings, then we're doomed.

Re:Hasbro and Mattel

[Anonymous Coward]

Do you seriously mean to say that Americans are going to be the ones that don't have the dumbed-down version of Scrabble???

Oh yeah! Suck it Europe!

Re:Hasbro and Mattel

[Anonymous Coward]

Your comments on Hasbro seem to have no basis in reality. A quick perusal of their wikipedia page would help you.

Re:Hasbro and Mattel

[Anonymous Coward]

OH MY GOD!

Do you seriously mean to say that Americans are going to be the ones that don't have the dumbed-down version of Scrabble???

Barbie is an American. Apparently, so were those Bratz...

Re:Hasbro and Mattel

[oatworm]

What?! Everybody knows that Scrabble is a mixture of pork scrap broth and cornmeal! Only an illiterate European would dare suggest otherwise! Now go take your spotted dick, your groaty dick, your faggots and peas, your toad in the hole, and your jellied eels somewhere else, you ne'er-do-well Tory-worshiping anarcho-monarchist! Yeah!

Re:Hasbro and Mattel

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a trap!

Was this really necessary?

[f3rret]

Well like the topic says, did we really need a patch for Scrabble?

I mean it's not like there is something built into the game that prevents people from using house rules , nor is there (far as I am aware) any professional Scrabble scene so it is not like there is any great need for an official revision of the Scrabble rules.

Re:Was this really necessary?

[Anonymous Coward]

nor is there (far as I am aware) any professional Scrabble scene

I was going to post a link to the professional scrabble association just to show you how wrong you are, but Google says their web site is malware infected.

So consider yourself informed!

Re:Was this really necessary?

[Jer]

nor is there (far as I am aware) any professional Scrabble scene so it is not like there is any great need for an official revision of the Scrabble rules.

Don't know what you mean by "professional Scrabble scene" but there are a good number of Scrabble tournaments around the world. I doubt the folks in the Scrabble tournaments play Scrabble as their only job, but there are cash prizes.

I don't know what the tournaments will do with this rule. My guess is that they will ditch it - it would be too hard to adjudicate in a tournament setting, I'd think.

Re:Was this really necessary?

[stonewallred]

There are about 100 people who make a living playing professional level scrabble. None of them are rich, but they can usually make 500 or so bucks a weekend most weekends, with a few scattered tourneys netting them 1-5k throughout the year and the wold tourney can net them 50k the last time I checked. I stopped play competitively when I saw moving from being ranked in the high 400s was going to take a lot more time and effort than I was willing to expend. I now only play tourneys if they are within a couple hours of my house, and I know none of the top 200 or so players in the world are not going to show up. That way I can reasonably expect to either win it all or place in the money. I played a two time winner of the world tourney once, and in 8 games he beat me by at least 100 points a game. Once by 200 and some change. But people who are not in the top 200 rankings are beatable by anyone who is in the top 500. The difference between a 500 ranked and a 100 ranked is the equivalent to the difference between a top fuel funny car and a 1968 VW bug on a 1/4 mile strip.

Re:Was this really necessary?

[delinear]

Well I presume the noun would still need to be in the dictionary as a point of reference for challenges, which would still require the ability to spell said word. With that limit imposed there's no reason this couldn't work at tournaments, but without the latest teeny pop boy bands in the dictionary, I don't see how this would attract a younger audience - more likely just frustrate them as all their supposedly allowed words get rejected. The alternative, that it doesn't have to be a dictionary word, is just unthinkable from an adjudication perspective, literally any combination of letters could be allowed.

Re:Was this really necessary?

[FunkSoulBrother]

If you played competitive scrabble, you should know that no one makes a living doing it, its for the love of the game. There is basically no sponsor money, and most tourneys are buy-ins (like poker). Those top 100 could if Coke and Redbull felt like dumping a million (or ten!) into prize money, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

Heck, Joel Sherman is one of the top players in the world, and he's been playing almost every weekend since the 80's, and he's only amassed a few hundred thousand in prize money. You can't count on winning Worlds or Nationals every year, there is too much parity at the top.

Unless by "living" you mean "enough to eke out half the rent in a shitty apartment with a roommate".

Re:Was this really necessary?

[Anonymous Coward]

Unless by "living" you mean "enough to eke out half the rent in a shitty apartment with a roommate".

An large number of people do define that as living. An even larger number would define it as luxury.

irritating scrabble players

[SuperBanana]

Nobody is listening to my suggestion penalize any player who has memorized every 2 letter english word by 1 tile.

Yep, though you mean "every 2 letter word in the Scrabble Dictionary."

It's basically cheating. If you are a talented scrabble player, you should be better able to use the tiles you have, not memorize crutches.

Re:irritating scrabble players

[clone53421]

If you are a talented scrabble player, you should be better able to use the tiles you have, not memorize crutches.

Right! And this is why any English-speaking Scrabble player should be penaltized! Memorizing the English language is basically cheating at Scrabble.

Wait, what?

Re:irritating scrabble players

[etymxris]

Well the issue is that there are many words no one will ever come across in their entire life except on a scrabble board. I immediately lost interest in scrabble as soon as I realized winning was a measure of memorizing disused words.

Re:irritating scrabble players

[delinear]

Well the issue is that there are many words no one will ever come across in their entire life except on a scrabble board. I immediately lost interest in scrabble as soon as I realized winning was a measure of memorizing disused words.

I was the same with latin. Seriously, though, why should the length of the word factor if you're being awarded for memorising obscure words? The two letter words really only give an advantage in a close end-game, and many of the more useful ones aren't so obscure that you won't either know them already or pick them up after a couple of games. It's just a learning curve, once you've passed that, the person playing consistently longer words will almost always win (so long as their strategy with regards to tile placement doesn't suck totally), so that in itself penalises two word play.

Re:irritating scrabble players

[FunkSoulBrother]

Yep, though you mean "every 2 letter word in the Scrabble Dictionary."

It's basically cheating. If you are a talented scrabble player, you should be better able to use the tiles you have, not memorize crutches.

Yup, and damn that football team for actually studying passing and running plays! They sit there with video cameras breaking things down! It's basically cheating! They should just all run around randomly hope the Quarterback throws to them.

Penalize by one tile...

[clone53421]

Would a 1-tile penalty really be that much of a disadvantage to someone who’s trying to make 2-letter words?

Re:Penalize by one tile...

[Anonymous Coward]

You obviously haven't had the opportunity to smite someone by placing "Z" next to two "O"s or "A"s (or one of each!) on top of a double-letter or double-word scoring tile for 40 points.

scrabble to allow LOL and OMG

[OrangeTide]

Now considered part of online and texting culture, Mattel has decided to allow "words" such as LOL, OMG, and BFF.
To play this enhanced game, Mattel hopes to sell new copies of the game worldwide. Also slated for late 2010 is a version with exclamation points and other punctuation.
A Mattel representative presenting the new variants on the classic brand, "We have not decided if you earn points or lose points for excessive punctuation. LOL!!11!"

Re:scrabble to allow LOL and OMG

[clone53421]

A Mattel representative presenting the new variants on the classic brand, "We have not decided if you earn points or lose points for excessive punctuation. LOL!!11!"

Actually, there will be two generally-opposing scoring categories: “coolness” and “utility”. Now, players can choose how they want to be a winner according to their personal style and preference!

Although long words using uncommon letters are considered “uncool”, they have greater “utility”; whereas “LOL!!11!” has a negative “utility” score but would be scored very highly for “coolness”.

Coming to stores soon...

Re:scrabble to allow LOL and OMG

[steelfood]

Don't forget numerical digits; you can't spell "LOL!!11!" without "1".

Re:scrabble to allow LOL and OMG

[Hurricane78]

Bah. I KNOW that loud dumb people complaining, and their greed smelling some profit, made that one happen. So I’m going to do the same.
I’m going to write tons of loud and dumb letters over years, on how they should also allow math and symbols.

And when they finally change it, I’ll lay down:
OMGWTFBBQ!!!1!1one(lim (x->0) ((sin x)/x))

QUAD word score on every second letter, baby! Yeah!

Re:scrabble to allow LOL and OMG

[DeskLazer]

I thought part of the rules were to not allow acronyms?

I guess the proper name thing could throw that thing off...think about being able to put things like USA, UN, QAR, etc.

Re:scrabble to allow LOL and OMG

[Anonymous Coward]

OMG - a lolcatz vurshun of Scrabbl would be sooo awsum!

Can't wait for the "any language allowed" version.

[Rhaban]

The french version of scrabble has a value of 10 for the W and Y letters, because they are in very few words. If only I was allowed tu use english words....

(And german words. The german language is full of letters never found in any other language).

Two-letter words

[Anonymous Coward]

Nobody is listening to my suggestion penalize any player who has memorized every 2 letter english word by 1 tile.

Personally, I prefer the opposite solution: just provide everyone playing with a complete list of two-letter words and let them consult it as they play.

I guess I don't know much about Scrabble

[DIplomatic]

I guess I don't know much about Scrabble. Do you really need to buy a new version of the game to allow proper nouns? Is there more to it than Mattel saying "Btdubs, in case you hadn't made a house rule about this already, it's okay to use proper nouns."

We've created some custom 'modifier tiles'

[Anonymous Coward]

They're played by stacking them under the normal tiles and extend the rules. So far, we've got 2 new modifiers..

1. 'Lewis and Clark' --- allows words to continue past the edge of the board

2. 'Dan Quayle' --- lets you misspell words (so long as it's sensible --- potatoe for potato works, znqbrflx for aardvark doesn't)

Since these tiles could be so powerful, we penalized them by halving the total score for any words created using them...

We also experimented with various punctuation tiles; hyphens and apostrophes, but didn't really feel that they enhanced the pleasure of the game at all....

Re:We've created some custom 'modifier tiles'

[clone53421]

Those are actually cool modifications...

Does the “Lewis and Clark” tile have to be played on the board, or can it itself be placed off the board? Does one “Lewis and Clark” tile open a new gateway to the frontier so that subsequent words can follow it by playing off the first one (assuming they can’t also span the edge of the board)? Would Lewis and Clark have been successful in their expedition without the guidance of Sacajawea, and should this be woven into the game in some manner?

I like the name of the “Dan Quayle” tile, but I also think that its play should also require a subsequent Google of the word; if the search results indicate “Did you mean ____” with the correct spelling of the word then the word is permitted, otherwise you remove the tiles and forfeit both the tiles and your turn. (Forfeited tiles should be returned to the tile bag and thoroughly mixed in. Or the rules might say that the “Dan Quayle” tile itself is out of play permanently... I’m not sure which would be better.)

But how about these, for a few more semi-serious ideas:

“Google top hit” — If played under any word, the word is then looked up in Google. If there are more than 1,000,000 hits for that exact word, its point score is doubled after all other modifiers (including double- or triple-word scores) are applied; if less than 1,000,000 hits, its score is dropped by 50%. Any sequence of letters would be allowed, and those exact letters would be searched in Google, with the exception that if the word was also played on a “Dan Quayle” tile, the “Did you mean” link should be followed and the larger of the two sets of search results should be used (in the rare case that the misspelled word has more Google hits).

“Wikipedia 7 degrees of separation” — The word must be looked up on Wikipedia. If no Wikipedia article exists for that word, the tiles are removed and both the tiles and the turn are forfeit with no points. If the article does exist, the player who placed the word has 7 clicks to reach the Wikipedia article for either Jesus Christ or Adolf Hitler (player’s choice, but must be announced prior to the first click). If the player succeeds, the point value of the word (after any other modifiers are applied) is doubled; if not, cut by 50%. Disambiguation pages count as a click.

lolspeak allowed?

[Itninja]

I wonder how long before lolspeak will be accepted. I know my daughter would love to put 'kthxbai' as a real word.

FTW

[crispi]

1) Change your name via Deed-Poll to the letters left in your rack.
2) Place letters on board
3) ???
4) Profit!

Mic

[Anonymous Coward]

Isn't it absurd? They are going so sell two versions of the game with only one difference in the rules? Or I am missing something?

And scrubs too

[tepples]

It's basically cheating.

Scrub.

If you are a talented scrabble player, you should be better able to use the tiles you have

And you are better able to use the tiles you have if you know which combinations of those tiles are a legal play.

Silly

[CopaceticOpus]

They're selling two different versions of the game? Is the new version the same as the old, with the word "not" whited out in one section of the rulebook?

This should sell well among those people who believe that the rulebooks that come with games are legally enforceable. I've been playing Uno with homespun rules for years, so I guess I'm the type of guy who likes to live on the edge.

Re:Silly

[Anonymous Coward]

I've been playing Uno with homespun rules for years, so I guess I'm the type of guy who likes to live on the edge.

Bet you were shooting horse when playing too.

Re:Silly

[Anonymous Coward]

They're selling two different versions of the game? Is the new version the same as the old, with the word "not" whited out in one section of the rulebook?

This should sell well among those people who believe that the rulebooks that come with games are legally enforceable. I've been playing Uno with homespun rules for years, so I guess I'm the type of guy who likes to live on the edge.

Maybe someone will call 911, because you play with new rule version, but you have only old rule version :-)

Re:Silly

[TheJediGeek]

You'll get sued for playing the "Non-Pronoun" rules with the "Pronoun" version of the game. Since you purchased the "Pronoun" version, you are only licensed to play that version of the game. If you wish to play using the "Non-Pronoun" rules, you must purchase that version of the game.

Is it scary that this actually sounds possible?

Re:Silly

[CopaceticOpus]

I never shot horse while playing Uno, but I've shot horse just before playing Uno. I've shot pig and dog too. Tried hippopotamus once, but the game goes on too long.

Wow

[kenp2002]

Score 1 for the Idiocracy. Doesn't that undermind the whole fundamental of Scrabble in spelling (yes as in spelling) words correctly and scoring points for doing so?

Re:Wow

[mic47]

I believed all my life, that scrabble is not about spelling, but about finding the right words. But my native language is different and spelling is not a big problem for the most of the people.

OMGWTFBBQ

[Anonymous Coward]

The Game.

Re:OMGWTFBBQ

[Tim C]

Dammit! You made me lose!

Stupid

[Lord Bitman]

The reason this rule was there in the first place was to prevent two things:
  1) "No really! aQrzzxxq! My best friend when I was six!"
  2) "No really! aQrzzxxq! I've got the birth certificate right here, and I'll show it to you as soon as I get back from the hospital!"

Re:Stupid

[radja]

3) No really, aQrzzxxq is brand of peanut butter in Upper Mongolia.

silly? yes, but brand names are allowed, and these need not be english brand names. It could be an Upper Mongolian brand, a dutch name or a tunesian company.

Scrabble is pattern matching

[AlpineR]

Scrabble is not a language game. It's not about being well-read and knowing the definition of many words. It's about memorizing a list of acceptable patterns and applying those patterns to score points while denying points to your opponent.

Allowing proper nouns actually makes the game harder since it produces a much longer list to memorize and much more difficulty in preventing your opponent from scoring. So this optional rules change pleases the newbies ("Wow, that's so much easier!") and challenges the non-snobby pros ("Crap, I've got 50,000 names to memorize and evaluate.")

Scrabble is produced by Hasbro

[Anonymous Coward]

So why does Mattel get to rewrite the rules to Scrabble which is owned and produced by Hasbro? http://www.hasbro.com/scrabble/en_US/ My guess is that someone at the BBC didn't do their research.

Re:Scrabble is produced by Hasbro

[JustOK]

and yet, it turns out, they did, you didn't.

Re:Scrabble is produced by Hasbro

[Gamethyme]

Hasbro only produces Scrabble in North America. Mattel has the rest of the world. There is, because of this, some discussion as to whether or not the rules change will apply in North America or not.

Re:Can't wait for the "any language allowed" versi

[Errol backfiring]

Yes, an UTF-8 version would be nice!
I once made a "The Hague" version for a friend of mine, with all kinds of accents that beautify the The Hague dialect. Off course, I also invented some new rules, such as "Wat je leg mot je je bek ùit kunne krège" (You must be able to pronounce what you lay down) and off course all illnesses gave extra points.

I wonder how a German Scrabble works with...

[Anonymous Coward]

... Hottentottenstottertrottelmutterlattengitterkotterbeutelrattenattentäter

Chuck Norris would appear and fight till death with Bruce Lee, and the world explodes with a Death Star laser beam.

One name to rule them all.

[a whoabot]

Dubhaltach_Mac_Fhirbhisigh

QQ

[Anonymous Coward]

QQ

Doesn't need an official 'rule change'

[daveewart]

If you want to play and allow proper nouns, then you don't need an official 'rule change' to do so. You just say to your fellow players "Hey, chaps, shall we allow proper nouns, then?"

And if the new 'offical rules' say that proper nouns are allowed, then you don't have to go along with it. You say to your fellow players "Hey, chaps, let's play Old School Scrabble: no proper nouns!"

Surely people do this all the time, where you have your own House Rules?

Re:Doesn't need an official 'rule change'

[wjousts]

NO! You must obey the written rules! Or the whole world will descend into chaos!

Re:Doesn't need an official 'rule change'

[jittles]

Surely people do this all the time, where you have your own House Rules?

This is pure heresy. We should burn you at the stake. Scrabble pieces make great kindling...

George Ohr

[Anonymous Coward]

Now we can use such gems as the names of George Ohr's children: Leo, Clo, Lio, Oto, Flo, Zio, Ojo and Geo.

'PEDOBEAR'

[Average_Joe_Sixpack]

= 4 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 4 + 1 + 1 + 1
= 15 x 3 (triple word score applied once)
= 45 + 35 point bonus
= 80

Re:'PEDOBEAR'

[julesh]

= 4 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 4 + 1 + 1 + 1
= 15 x 3 (triple word score applied once)
= 45 + 35 point bonus
= 80

Except you don't count the tile that was already there, so it scores at most 14 x 3 = 42. But the bonus is 50 points, not 35, so you get 92 points, actually.

Re:'PEDOBEAR'

[Tim C]

What? Of course you count the tile that was already there. You're right that the bonus is 50 points though.

Re:Can't wait for the "any language allowed" versi

[NewbieProgrammerMan]

And german words.

Yeah but you'd need an extra 5-gallon bucket full of tiles if you're gonna allow people to use German words.

House Rules

[Baby Duck]

Always play with House Rules

1. 1. No foreign units. Especially not foreign currencies.
2. 2. No "spellings" of "letters". Example: Why is "en" in the Scrabble Dictionary as a "spelling" of the pronounciation of the letter "n" ??!?
3. 3. Despite #2, spellings of Greek letters are allowed (example: "alpha") since they are used in so many disciplines
4. 4. No abbreviations! No to "amp", "ref", "ex", etc. Or while we are at it, "etc" itself.
5. 5. No Old English or Middle English words or spelling variants

Re:House Rules

[Anonymous Coward]

Why is "en" in the Scrabble Dictionary as a "spelling" of the pronounciation of the letter "n"

En and em are both printers' units of measure. That's why they are in the dictionary.

Re:House Rules

[Anonymous Coward]

your rules suck

Re:House Rules

[clone53421]

Example: Why is "en" in the Scrabble Dictionary as a "spelling" of the pronounciation of the letter "n" ??!?

Because they’re dumb, but is a valid word, just as “inch”, “mile”, “quart”, or any other unit is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/En_(typography). Even per your rule #1, it would still be a valid unit.

Re:House Rules

[Anonymous Coward]

1. 6. Players must know the definition of the words they use.

Re:House Rules

[keytoe]

No "spellings" of "letters". Example: Why is "en" in the Scrabble Dictionary as a "spelling" of the pronounciation of the letter "n" ??!?

For the record, 'em' and 'en' are typography terms. Granted, they are derived from the 'spelling' of letters, but they're honest-to-god words at this point.

Re:House Rules

[onemorechip]

"En" is a typographical unit.

Re:House Rules

[steelfood]

Your house rules are pretty much the actual rules of the game, with maybe the exception of #2. But you don't really need #3. If you're playing English Scrabble, the spellings of foreign letters (in this case, they're not even latin letters) that have become words in the English langauge should be perfectly acceptable. E.g., alpha also means first or top, beta means in test or unfinished, delta means change or river delta, omega means last. But something like psi shouldn't be a valid word, nor rho, as neither has an English definition.

As for en, it actually is an English word with a meaning other than the letter "N". Of course, the meaning is derived from the letter (it came from the width of the letter "n" being half that of the letter "m"), but that's not relevant in determining whether it's an actual word or not.

Hm, weird... The original post in the "reply" page has a second list of numbers next to the first. It's also in the preview page.

Re:House Rules

[Anonymous Coward]

I have to agree about the two letter word thing. The absolute most boring game of Scrabble I ever played was with a person who insisted on using practically nothing but two letter words in an attempt to lock up the board. It really sucks because if you look at the Scrabble dictionary, just about every two letter vowel-consonant combination is a legal word. "Ph", "Aa", "Ka", "Do", "Re", "Mi", "Fa", "So", "La", and "Ti" are all legal Scabble words. It's total BS, and is the main reason I completely lost interest in playing.

Re:House Rules

[Anonymous Coward]

We play an advanced 'house rules' game where vowels are not permitted.
We've still not finished the game we started Xmas 1998 come to think of it.

Re:House Rules

[a whoabot]

I'm sure there's different versions but here: Rules for the American/Canadian version of scrabble. Note:

Before the game begins, all players should agree upon the dictionary that they will use, in case of a challenge. All words labeled as a part of speech (including those listed of foreign origin, and as archaic, obsolete, colloquial, slang, etc.) are permitted with the exception of the following: words always capitalized, abbreviations, prefixes and suffixes standing alone, words requiring a hyphen or an apostrophe.

That throws out his rules 1, 2, 5, and some of his 4, depending on the dictionary used.

Re:House Rules

[Anonymous Coward]

And "amp," while can be short for "amplifier" or "ampere," is in such common usage (and never abbreviated, as in "This amp. goes to 11." "Think we're gonna blow a 50-amp. fuse.") that it should be considered a word on its own.

Re:House Rules

[IronChef]

Sometimes, it's fun to allow one category of proper nouns into the game... car companies or something like that. But allowing all proper nouns as a new default setting?

The horror... the horror!

Re:House Rules

[Anonymous Coward]

This is the single best house rule.

Re:House Rules

[apoc.famine]

Heh, we always make pretty crazy house rules. Examples:

Names of fantasy novel characters allowed.

No words shorter than 4 letters.

Words spelled as per a specific accent.(caah, for the Boston run...)

But our favorite: Backwards scrabble, with a 1 minute timer. All words must be spelled backwards, correctly.

Fuck the official rules - we're not out to win the national championship - we're out to have fun!

Re:House Rules

[xandroid]

PH isn't. But MM and SH are...

I think the silliest is SI, which is French for "re" in "do re mi..."

Re:House Rules

[thermopile]

A more fun way to play is to have the list of 2 letter words printed out and available to everyone.

Here is a sample but there are many others on the internet. Use The Google.

The cool thing about this is that it levels the playing field for all, AND it expands the board by allowing you to make neat plays that you might not otherwise have been able to.

Re:House Rules

[skywire]

1. No foreign units. Especially not foreign currencies.

You're missing the point. The question that decides whether a certain word is allowable is whether it is in the English language, not whether it had a foreign origin. Admittedly, there are difficult cases. But your arbitrary rules miss that crucial point.

  2. No "spellings" of "letters". Example: Why is "en" in the Scrabble Dictionary as a "spelling" of the pronounciation of the letter "n" ??!?

Duh. It's in the dictionary because, whether you realize it or not, it has been an English word for hundreds of years.

  3. Despite #2, spellings of Greek letters are allowed (example: "alpha") since they are used in so many disciplines

Here you are beginning to see the light: "used in so many disciplines" is your way of saying "is an English word"

  4. No abbreviations! No to "amp", "ref", "ex", etc. Or while we are at it, "etc" itself.

Actually, abbreviations as such are not allowed. But of course English words that originated as abbreviations are allowed. For example, "ref" has entered common English usage. It is now a full-fledged word on its own. If you consult the Scrabble dictionary, you'll find that "etc." is not there. It couldn't be in any case, since it contains punctuation.

  5. No Old English or Middle English words or spelling variants

English spelling was not standardized until recently. You will not find various OE or ME spellings of modern words in the Scrabble dictionary. You will find some variant spellings, but those are variants in modern usage.

Re:House Rules

[gawaino]

1. 1. No foreign units. Especially not foreign currencies.

Been burned by "xu"? or was it "hryvna"?

Re:House Rules

[Anonymous Coward]

Why is "vee" a word? The same reason "green" is. Sure, you could just put V and let the reader figure out that you are refering to the letter, just as you could put a swatch of green paint on the page. However, we've generally decided it's easier to have names for these things (especially when speaking), and names are words. I can't believe you fail to use the names of the letters of our alphabet quite often (try reading unpronounceable acronyms without them).

Re:House Rules

[Anonymous Coward]

"En" and "em" are typographical units. 1 em = 2 en. 1 em = the width of a character at the current point size.

Maybe you just need to expand your vocabulary a bit before striking down words?

Re:House Rules

[Anonymous Coward]

Si was also the seventh English solfa until the 19th century.

Re:House Rules

[quinto2000]

Or...you can just accept the Scrabble rules, which rely on lexicographers to determine the acceptability of a word. I'm not sure why you think you're better at determining what a "word" is than the committees of lexicographers who edit dictionaries. The original Scrabble rules are simple and avoid arbitrary classifications. Should we also eliminate rarely used scientific or medical words? Notes on the musical scale, which have english names? (do, re, mi, etc.) Is laser acceptable (light amplification by stimulated emission of radar)? Usage is what determines acceptability of something as a "word" in the English language, and determines inclusion in a dictionary.

Basically what you are saying, is that it's hard for you to remember these words. Part of the fun of Scrabble is in expanding your vocabulary. Accept the challenge instead of limiting yourself. There's already a clear, concise Scrabble word list. Use it.

By the way, ETC* is not acceptable, because it's not a word--it's an abbreviation without its own pronunciation. Amp, ref, and ex are all commonly used English words, so I'm not sure why they offend you. How often do you really say "amperage" or "ampere" rather than amp?

Re:House Rules

[Anonymous Coward]

4. No abbreviations! No to "amp", "ref", "ex", etc. Or while we are at it, "etc" itself.

Or '(omni)bus', 'p(e)ram(bulator)', 'piano(forte)', 'stereo(phonic)', (in)flu(enza)' , 'radio(gram)', '(poly)vinyl, ?

I'm not saying that you're not free to make up any rules you want, but they need to be able to be applied objectively (or objectively enough for everyone to agree). I prefer 'is it in this big book that lists lots of words'. (Although maybe I need to play with more agreeable people).

Re:House Rules

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh.

Re:House Rules

[Anonymous Coward]

int. Expr. surprise, pain, frustration, entreaty, disappointment, sorrow, relief, hesitation, disdain, doubt, etc. (freq. w. other ints., as oh damn!, oh my!, oh no!, oh well!, etc). Also (poet. & rhet.), (a) preceding a vocative in address and apostrophe, (b) introducing an emphatic statement or declaration, (c) expr. a wish for a thing or that a thing might be the case. M16.

Re:House Rules

[Von Helmet]

My family were quite free and easy about words - if it was in common usage it was fine. My dad's epic vocabulary was generally used instead of a dictionary. The one house rule we did have was that blanks could be swapped and re-circulated: At the start of your turn, if there was a blank on the board and you had the letter it represented in your hand, you could swap them and take the blank into your hand.

Potentially any word or even letter combination...

[DABANSHEE]

..can be a proper noun without breaking any traditional English language grammar constraints in regard what can be classified as a proper noun. Well that's the way I see it.

This is ridiculous....

[Anonymous Coward]

When I was younger I set about learning new vocabulary words just so I could beat my father at Scrabble. It's a great way to teach new words to kids. This rule, on the other hand, throws that completely out the window.

So I assume the're no need for prior use

[DABANSHEE]

as a proper noun for a letter combination to qualify as a proper noun, well at the vary least in practice anyway ( one could just say 'my pot plant has that name' if a opponent object's to the relevant letter combination.)

Really?

[wjousts]

Do they really think the only reason the kids aren't playing Scrabble is because they can play 'Beyonce' and 'Facebook' on the board? Really?

Socialist Redistribution of Proper Nouns

[BigMeanBear]

Now Obama wants to take all of your registered trademarks and redistribute them to Mattel!

Ooh, they're printing a new bit of paper!

[Peter Cooper]

Wow, big deal. All they need to do to "change the rules" is to print a slightly different paper to slip inside the box. WTF would they need to "make" two separate editions? Hardly anyone seriously plays 100% by the official rules anyway so it seems a load of bullshit. You could just agree with your partner to follow this rule without buying a new set. This is just PR bullshit.

Re:Ooh, they're printing a new bit of paper!

[Anonymous Coward]

Could it be that the letter distribution will also change? If you make the rules looser, adding K's and Y's makes sense. (And I can't wait to hear about the world record of combined Scrabble score broken by a couple of Polish players.)

Re:Ooh, they're printing a new bit of paper!

[Akaihiryuu]

Wait until some company tries to say that people are violating their "intellectual property" by not following the rules in the box, and try to start suing people for it. I have so little faith in humanity that I fully expect to see this.

Re:Ooh, they're printing a new bit of paper!

[Ecuador]

I am sure that something horribly wrong like an elephant stampede through your living room would occur if you decided to play regular scrabble with the new rules instead of shelling out for the "new version".

Re:Ooh, they're printing a new bit of paper!

[TSPhoenix]

But for digital versions I can see it making a difference. For instance will Facebook Scrabble use the old or new rules?

Re:Ooh, they're printing a new bit of paper!

[Anonymous Coward]

Obviously you've never enjoyed a full bodied Scrabble "discussion" about the validity of words, not as bad as those discussions one can find in a game of Risk, but still often life threatening!

Re:Ooh, they're printing a new bit of paper!

[Anonymous Coward]

The new edition has more capital letters to start all those proper nouns... wait... something doesn't feel right.

Just you wait

[Shivetya]

until they take the armies out of Risk!

More Sales!

[Anonymous Coward]

Excellant, they expect people to buy separate versions of the game with this minor rule change. Couldn't possibly have been handled with a single line in an "optional rules" section...

Re:Can't wait for the "any language allowed" versi

[corbettw]

The french version of scrabble has a value of 10 for the W and Y letters, because they are in very few words. If only I was allowed tu use english words....

Why? How would any English words help you?

Re:Can't wait for the "any language allowed" versi

[clone53421]

For those who missed the joke, “why” would be a 24-point word.

Great!

[onemorechip]

I'll be first in line for the upgrade!

How bad it is depends on how they're implementing

[Chris Mattern]

It's not terribly clear from the article. If you are still limited to words in your dictionary of reference, then it's not that bad. If your dictionary is not the final arbiter now, then its horrible, because then you can no longer definitively determine if a word is allowed or not, which makes playing the game seriously basically impossible.

So in order

[rossdee]

to use the new rules, you will have to buy the new version of the game
2) ????
3) Profit!

Mousemate

[Aphonia]

In a few years we'll have http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycM844Bfzsk , though imo this is quite silly.

Forked, not Changed

[skywire]

There will be two vastly different games: Scrabble and Scrabble for Dummies. The new "Dummies" game will be chiefly a 'social influence' party game.

In other news...

[dpiven]

NASCAR permits right turns.

Which dictionary do I use?

[clintonmonk]

But if it's a board game, don't you make up the rules?

Quijibo for the win

[Anonymous Coward]

Oddly, this rule would have to allow this now crompulent word. Others like it, maybe not.

Re:Quijibo for the win

[oodaloop]

Crompulent is not a very cromulent word. Maybe you should embiggen your vocabulary.

What is dweezil worth?

[avandesande]

What would Dweezil (Frank Zappa's son) be worth if you used all seven letters and managed to put it on a triple word score....

Here is the MIT link

[peter303]

MIT Scrabble Champ

Play Tiles In Any Direction For Improved Gameplay

[idealego]

Allowing people to make words in any direction (up, down, left, right, but not diagonally) is what I do to add another dimension to the gameplay. This doesn't change the game much but adds another level of strategy.

Give it a shot.

The inevitable protest humor

[Anonymous Coward]

Furious Scrabblers march, carrying signs using only words from the current dictionary in protest! They manfully resist the urge to keep a running tally of their score after every word!

Our reporter on the street said she's never seen so many seven-lettered words with X, Q and Z on protest signs before!

Yeah, there's better headlines, but I was pressed for time.

Highest possibe score

[mdsolar]

The highest possible word score is for Oxyphenbutazone at 1780 points http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxyphenbutazone but now one could name one's child to beat this. Secretly giving your child the middle name ZQXJKWH to have a potential 148 point opening move would beat out the record MUZJIKS at 126 (U blank) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrabble#Records

Re:Can't wait for the "any language allowed" versi

[FunkSoulBrother]

For those who missed the joke, "why" would be a 24-point word.

WHY should be a 24-point play, or damn near close most of the time, if you are using your tiles at all effectively.

It's a trap

[houghi]

What this is, is so people who have the old version must buy the new version, or what? Will there be a different number of letters in the new set, or just a re-print of the manual?

So what if I was already playing it that way? Will I be arrested? And if I play it by the old rules, will the Scrabble Police put me in jail? I assume that they would try to convince the court I violated their laws.

So just relax and play the game by whatever rules YOU decide are most fun for the group of people you play with.

So what?

[jc42]

It's not at all uncommon for a group of players to define their own rules. I was once in a game that required only place names, defined as any name recognized by any of the popular online map sites (and Google Earth). I saw people play a game that only permitted words that alternated consonants and vowels. I've been in Scrabble games that required only obscene words, defined liberally, in that any of several online dictionaries included a sexual of excretory definition.

If this change is made to the official rules (i.e., those included in new Scrabble sets), I can imagine people deciding to play "Scrabble Classic" and not allow proper nouns.

Possibly the most unusual Scrabble I've played was with some friends who had a Russian Scrabble set. They mixed the tiles with the English set, and played with both. The rules were that a tile that looked like a letter in either language could be used in both languages. So the Russian S, which looks like a Roman C, could be used as either (or both for intersecting words. The H tiles could all be used for both its Russian meaning (N) and as an English H. For example, HOBO is also a Russian word (short-form accusative neuter "new"). And so on. They gave double credit for words that were valid in both languages. For example, HOBO is also a Russian word (short-form accusative neuter "new"). But that's difficult to do with longer words, so it wasn't much of a benefit. They used the score on the tile, so the Russian H tile is only 1 point, even if used as an English H. It was fun, even if I didn't win too often due to my smaller Russian vocabulary.

The company may be able to publish a set of rules and declare them "official", but that doesn't necessarily affect the people actually playing.

Re:Can't wait for the "any language allowed" versi

[clone53421]

I said a 24-point word, not a 24-point play. I.e. 24 points before any letter or word bonuses are added... ;)

Tried the common sense rules?

[hrdo]

I and my friends usually play by the "common sense rules"; by allowing common proper nouns such as Slashdot and Kalashnikov we have a lot more fun... and when we disagree on something we just fight over it untill somebody wins or we're out of beer. No need for a dictionary there, right? :-)

Character Set Refresh

[weazzle]

Interesting how they are marketing this. They adjust one section of the rules, and I am sure plenty of people will end up purchasing the new version that "supports propper nouns." I think they stand to make more money by extending the character set to include the hyphen, apostrophe and period. This would add support for hyphenations (e.g., Billy-Joe), contractions and abbreviations. This would be a more compelling reason to buy. Otherwise it is tempting to go the cheaper router of just ignoring the rules.

Calvin Ball Scrabble!

[FlopEJoe]

Can Calvin Ball Scrabble be far behind? I used my knight on the triple word square, blocking your field goal, so you have to wear a mask and sing the "I'm sorry," song!

Re:Calvin Ball Scrabble!

[ceoyoyo]

Ah, but my rook is checking your "qat" which nullifies your bunt so the penalty reverses and transmogrifies. You have to sing the I'm Sorry song while touching the flags in alphabetical order. Twice.

In fashion

[flibuste]

So Scrabble didn't resist the push to dumb the rules down to the simplest so they can make more money rather than provide a game which might provide a glimpse of education to the unwashed masses.

Can't say it's not the trend unfortunately but what exactly is Scrabble going to be if you can just put any word on the board? Proper nouns are usually made up....there's no reference such as a dictionary, so basically, it's Free For All Scrabble:

Next edition will be "random Scrabble": pick up letters, throw them in random order on the board, count points where the letters land. Win.

I can also sum up my post as follows

- (1) Make game

- (2) Dumb it down to oblivion

- (3) ?????

- (4) PROFIT!!!

Re:In fashion

[julesh]

I can also sum up my post as follows

- (1) Make game
- (2) Dumb it down to oblivion
- (3) ?????
- (4) PROFIT!!!

Well, it worked for World of Warcraft...

Thread getting a bit repetitive...

[BrokenHalo]

Putting cromulent words to one side and getting back to the topic, I still prefer "house" rules where the player is awarded bonus points for cool or non-trivial words, and deducted for cases where blatant two-letter high-scorers like the highly dubious "QI" are used. Not easily enforceable at any "serious competition" level, but from the point of view of a game played for entertainment (which is what Scrabble is for), it works.

But allowing proper nouns can only lead to abuses like an old Luck & Flaw sketch I remember where Colonel Gaddafi wins the game using different spellings of his own name. And Shakespeare also comes to mind...

Re:Thread getting a bit repetitive...

[bkr1_2k]

Just out of curiosity, what makes "qi" a dubious word, in your opinion? Just because it's an alternate spelling of chi, depending upon what you look at as the original, or is it something else? Or am I thinking of the wrong word?

Re:Thread getting a bit repetitive...

[BrokenHalo]

What makes it dubious - rather, I should say formerly made it so - is the fact that the word has only comparatively recently become commonly used in English. There is that little rule that says (IIRC) that "Generally speaking in an English-language game of Scrabble, foreign words cannot be placed on the Scrabble board".

There is that huge grey area that generally accepts foreign words that have been absorbed (like chagrin or kowtow) but others (Insha'Allah!) are definitely out of bounds.

Only one Q, X or Z

[mdsolar]

There are only single Qs, Xse or Zs in scrabble and only two blanks so your example does not work.

Scrabble already went to hell

[Dwedit]

Scrabble already went to hell the moment QI was considered a word. And with other words like XI, XU, ZA being valid as well, it just turned inside out.

Where's the popular culture extended character set

[abareasol]

I'm not buying unless I can use Ke$ha.

"facebook" is a common noun

[JeffTL]

I get the writer's point, but a facebook is something not unlike a yearbook, and really the ancestor of the proper-noun Facebook. Not in every dictionary as it is a limited use term, but it has been out there for a long time.

Qzxywr

[ittybad]

Of Course Qzxywr is a word... It's my goldfish's name.

Guess they're sick of 30+ years of whiners...

[meerling]

It's a word, why can't I use it?

Next up, Scrabble Phoneme Edition. If you can make the sound, it's in! Phhhhtttt gets recognized as valid, though you'll have to use blank tiles to spell it...

Self Esteem

[Belial6]

This is perfect! We can all play this with our children to help build their self esteem, and promote their understanding that everyone is just as smart as everyone else.

Re:Self Esteem

[Culture20]

This is perfect! We can all play this with our children to help build their self esteem, and promote their understanding that everyone is just as smart as everyone else.

I zagreef mylliwig zoporeqlhegnu flartleflarg Hunj completely. Mod parent pocginnssirndokssneekfbk!

Re:Self Esteem

[lxs]

Don't knock that approach. the satisfaction of seeing he hurt and puzzled looks on their faces when they enter the real world more than makes up for the permanent scarring of their tender little emo souls.

Call me when ...

[PPH]

... "Meh" is legal.

Comics

[Anonymous Coward]

Mxyzptlk = 35 points
Superman = 12 points

A paralell case

[ascari]

A recent development at slashdot: quite obviously they've changed the rules so that "stuff that matters" is no longer a requirement.

It's no longer Scrabble, so don't call it that!

[Anonymous Coward]

I used to play Scrabble with people who did not want to use all of the Tournament Rules - not a good idea. There are reasons for the 3 minute limit: have you ever played w/someone who took 30 minutes to form a word on the board?! It's beyond frustrating! Time to enforce the rules! The best reply was that now we should make Jeopardy a multiple choice game, haha! Also, "en" is not the pronunciation of the letter "n" - well it is - but it's also a printer's measure: en and em, I believe. Anywho...I will NOT be playing ANY Scrabble game that allows proper nouns, it's blasphemy! Horrible! As pointed out, there is NO WAY to have any limits or control on what is put on the board, since technically anything goes - who can prove that this is not the name of someone or something? Ridiculous - what is the matter w/these people?!?! Either you like Scrabble and play it - or you don't. "Dumbing down" the rules is not going to attract anyone to the game - I guess we can allow "alternative spelling" as well, I mean what's to prevent "tonite," "lite," and all those other awful media-inspired bastardizations of proper spelling?

Re:It's no longer Scrabble, so don't call it that!

[HikingStick]

Dude, just come to an agreement on the time before you start playing. I've played many games where people have taken their time developing words. Typically, its when I'm playing with two or three other people and we are enjoying conversation while we are playing the game. It makes the game far less intimidating to those unfamiliar with it, and those not gifted with a large vocabulary and excellent spelling skills.

PR stunt

[Anonymous Coward]

For "Scrabble Trickster". http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-20001840-52.html

What a load of crap.

[Ralph Spoilsport]

When are TLA's going to be legal?

Then any three letters could be a word, as long as it has a real meaning.

Ugh. Idiocracy, indeed.

Video game references for the wind

[Anonymous Coward]

Morrowind has some classics:

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Arkngthunch-Sturdumz

Continue to sell the traditional version?

[pclminion]

They'll continue selling the traditional version. Uh, what are they saying here? That you need to own two copies of the game if you want to play by two different sets of rules? Have we lost our minds today?

New Rule at Chez Bemopolis

[Bemopolis]

If you're over at my house, and we're playing Scrabble, and you try to fucking play "YouTube", I'm going to punch you straight in the cock.
And I'm going to film it.
And I'm going to upload the clip to YouTube.

Calvin & Hobbes

[blue_teeth]

Calvin: Ha! I've got a great word and it's on a "Double word score"
Hobbes: "ZQFMGB" isn't a word! It doesn't even have a vowel!
Calvin: It is so a word! It's a worm found in New Guinea! Everyone knows that!
Hobbes: I'm looking it up.
Calvin: You do, and I'll look up that 12-letter word you played with all the Xs and Js!
Hobbes: What's your score for ZQFMGB?
Calvin: 957.

"Scrabble for the Unimaginative"

[thewils]

This could be the name of the new version of this popular game.

Feh

[Anonymous Coward]

more from the "Math is hard!" crowd, I guess.

Finally...

[BigSes]

I can get credit for Lrrr and Ndnd!

Re:What is dweezil worth?

[julesh]

What would Dweezil (Frank Zappa's son) be worth if you used all seven letters and managed to put it on a triple word score....

The scenario you propose is impossible. To use all seven letters you need an eight letter word (except in the first turn). If Dweezil were played in the first turn, starting with the 'D' in the middle square (which aligns the 'Z' on a double-letter square), the score is:

D:2
W:4
E:1
E:1
Z:10x2 = 20
I:1
L:1

Total: 30 x 2 (double word score from centre tile) = 60 points.

There are better starts, but that's not a bad one.

Re:What is dweezil worth?

[julesh]

Total: 30 x 2 (double word score from centre tile) = 60 points.

Ahem. 60 points + 50 bonus points = 110 points.

Scrabble ProTip

[billcopc]

Protip: if you're a no-talent half-witted parasitic culture-poaching 21st century idiocrat, just pick any game OTHER THAN SCRABBLE!

The whole point of a word game like Scrabble is to exercise and expand your vocabulary. I hope the box comes lined with anthrax, it's an abomination.

Educated people have Scrabble, imbeciles have the Ouija board. That's how it's always been, and how it should always be.

Foreign Language Scrabble

[RivenAleem]

I've always found it's a whole lot more fun to play scrabble in non-English languages.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppx6KzSP42U

(hope you understand some Polish)

Whaaat??

[nukenerd]

I (and my usual opponents - who I rate fairly strong) frequently play defensively. If there is a triple square close but I can't reach it I will place a word to foul it up for the others, even if I could have scored more elsewhere. OTOH my mother plays for long words (not necessarily high scoring) and gets trounced.

Your "strong players" would soon get trounced here too. It's like claiming that a strong football [soccer] player is one who just gives the ball a big kick up the field and uses no tactics.

New Version called Scrabble Trickster

[Anonymous Coward]

New reports say that the "new version" called Scrabble Trickster will not be sold or marketed in the US. I'm thankful for that...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/06/AR2010040603847.html

logo

[Dr.Ruud]

. . . . M
. S c r a b b l e
. . . . t
. . . . t


etc.

Geography

[StikyPad]

I think geographical proper nouns should be valid -- countries, cities, etc. -- although maybe limited to those with official spellings in the Latin alphabet.