English-language
Scrabble
''Scrabble'' is a word game in which two to four players score points by placing tiles, each bearing a single letter, onto a Board game, game board divided into a 15×15 grid of squares. The tiles must form words that, in crossword fashion, re ...
is the original version of the popular word-based
board game
A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the ...
invented in 1938 by US architect
Alfred Mosher Butts, who based the game on
English letter distribution in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. The Scrabble variant most popular in English is standard match play, where two players compete over a series of games.
Duplicate Scrabble is not popular in English, and
High score Scrabble is no longer practised.
Although English is a worldwide language, the official list of allowable words and some tournament rules differ between territories.
North America
The preeminent Scrabble association in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
is
NASPA Games (formerly North American Scrabble Players Association), which has sanctioned official clubs and tournaments since 2009, taking this role over from the
National Scrabble Association.
Tournaments range from one-day tournaments of less than 10 rounds to the
North American Scrabble Championship, which lasts 5 days and 31 rounds. Larger tournaments can also carry significant prize money. The official lexicon is the
NASPA Word List. When a player challenges a word, if the word is not in the lexicon it is removed from the board with a score of zero. If the word is in the lexicon, the player who challenged the word loses a turn.
Scrabble clubs meet on a regular basis, usually weekly or biweekly at the same venue. Players usually play a smaller number of games than they would play at a tournament.
United Kingdom
Match-play Scrabble is also practised at tournaments and clubs in the UK. Tournaments follow a similar structure to American ones, usually at least six games. Weekend tournaments where players play 12 to 16 games are not uncommon. The
Association of British Scrabble Players sanctions official tournaments with official ratings, which range from about 200 to about 50. The official lexicon is
Collins Scrabble Words (CSW19). In contrast to American tournaments, players do not lose a turn if they challenge a valid word. Instead the other player gains points, usually five per challenged word. This means more words are challenged than in North American play.
Hong Kong
There are only Scrabble competitions for primary and secondary school students in Hong Kong. Inter-School competitions are held by companies and organisations such as
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...
and Broadlearning. In May 2015, Hong Kong Student Scrabble Players Association organised the Inter-School Scrabble Championship. Some schools also organise invitational Scrabble competitions every year.
Smaller countries
Many countries have small English-language Scrabble associations. 23 countries have been represented at the
World Scrabble Championship
The World Scrabble Championship (WSC) is played to determine the world champion in competitive English-language Scrabble. It was held in every odd year from 1991 to 2013; from 2013 onwards, it became an annual event.
The most successful player i ...
, including some where English is not an official language, such as
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
,
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
and
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. Other countries that do not use the
Latin script
The Latin script, also known as the Roman script, is a writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae in Magna Graecia. The Gree ...
also may play in English if the language is not suitable for Scrabble, such as
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.
The largest tournament in the world, by number of players, is Thailand's English-language
Brand's Crossword Game King's Cup, which draws as many as 8,000 players.
Records
* High game (OSPD) – 830 by Michael Cresta (MA), October 12, 2006. Cresta defeated Wayne Yorra 830–490.
[830-point Game at the Lexington Scrabble Club]
/ref>[830! How a carpenter got the highest Scrabble score ever. - By Stefan Fatsis - Slate Magazine]
/ref>
* High game (OSW) – 793 by Peter Preston (UK), 1999.[Tournament records - All-time best]
/ref> BEZIQUE 124 Sally Martin [
*Highest single play (OSPD) – QUIXOTRY 365 by Michael Cresta (MA), 2006.]
Notes
External links
NASPA GamesAssociation of British Scrabble Players
{{DEFAULTSORT:English Language Scrabble
Scrabble by language