bentheguard: did anyone there try to use KWYJIBO?

Well played, you magnificent bastard.

167 offensive words?

it is obvious that the word "THROUGH" was invented by scrabble players

For starters, there are the 120,000 or so words. Compare that to the standard working vocabulary of around 20,000 words

And there's the problem you see. Like the zillion and one standard chess openings that must be memorised, these games have been reduced to glorified versions of "Who's Spent Longest Memorising Lists Of Words."

<yawn>

/went on holiday once with a friend who sat on a beach memorising lists of 3 letter words for scrabble.

Cupboardy

i have a feeling that the highest scoring words in scrabble tournaments don't actually exist outside of scrabble tournaments.

And there's the problem you see. Like the zillion and one standard chess openings that must be memorised, these games have been reduced to glorified versions of "Who's Spent Longest Memorising Lists Of Words."

In a way, isn't that pretty much what scrabble has been since the day it was created?

Here are some 10-point letters for you:




I once dated this girl who loved to play Scrabble. She was completely cutthroat; she'd work towards using all her letters up so she could strike you down with 50-point bonuses. It was no fun at all. I learned very quickly why nobody would play Scrabble with her.

glorified versions of "Who's Spent Longest Memorising Lists Of Words."

It's more nuanced than that, I believe. Scrabble is, fundamentally, a math game. It's all about odds.

QUIETY? Sounds perfectly cromulent to me.

QUAHOGS
20 at triple word plus 50 for clearing. All riiiight.
/Quagmire

me not good with game word

How embarrassing, I just tried to make my co-workers laugh but not a single one of them raised their eyes from their computer screens. I feel like a right turd.

Ooh, sorry, were we talking about something? ah, scrabble...

In a way, isn't that pretty much what scrabble has been since the day it was created?

No. Before people started taking it way too seriously, it mainly tested how good a vocabulary you've picked up in your normal life. I firmly believe you shouldn't be allowed to play a word in scrabble, unless you've come across it outside the context of a dictionary.

How about UFIA?

gwowen
No. Before people started taking it way too seriously, it mainly tested how good a vocabulary you've picked up in your normal life. I firmly believe you shouldn't be allowed to play a word in scrabble, unless you've come across it outside the context of a dictionary.

I agree, and I'll do you one better. If someone asks you to play Scrabble with them, ask them the following question: "Have you ever read an official Scrabble dictionary for the purpose of stocking up on Scrabble words?"

If the answer is "Yes," offer to play cards instead. ;)

Me lose Scrabble? That's unpossible!

gwowen

After thinking about it some more, I see what you are saying. No longer having an extensive vocabulary gives you the upperhand to people that just memorize words. They should add a new rule where you can challenge people to give the definition of the word they just used.

I love the jingling sound when you shake the bag of tiles.

a dink, dink, dinkle.

Scrabble is teh ghey. Boggle is teh c00l.

ZOQUO

"Not only is Dad insisting that this is an actual word, he is demanding that we use it in every day conversation."

/really obscure Family Ties reference.

Well.... it's ALSO a test of how well you play the game itself - which is what it reduces to when played by players with perfect vocabulary.

When played by computers - it's a game of chance.

There are 167 words not included in the "Official" scrabble dictionary due to being offensive. I found it buried in his scrabble FAQ, now I HAVE studied a scrabble dictionary - to improve my blasphemy :)

Scrabble is teh ghey. Boggle is teh c00l.

/KWONE is not a word.

There are games that I just won't play with certain people anymore. The biggest one is Trivial Pursuit. I'm very hesitant to play that game under any circumstances because you usually get at least one or two people who continually whine and biatch during play. You hear alot of "God, he gets all the easy ones" or "This game isn't fair - I can't land on a blue square to save my life." You know what? Chance is part of the game. Everyone's going to get easy questions and luck is part of which ones you get to answer. I don't mind getting beat in any game as long as the person I'm playing is a good sport.

I've never come across anyone who's memorized words for scrabble, but then again, I don't play that game much.

I once scored 212 points with one word.

My dad always wanted to play with custom rules that allowed you to casually browse through an unabriged dictionary prior to your turn. I never could convince him that doing that pretty much ruined the game.

Scrabble dictionary is stupid.

Sometimes I'll get drunk with my friends and we'll play dirty word scrabble. You make up the dirty word and as long as you have a good definition for it, it counts.

Oog not good with word game.

I love Scrabble and the crazy syzygia of graphemes.

Bart: Kwyjibo. A big dumb balding north american ape. with no chin.

Marge: and a short temper.

Homer: Why you little!

Bart: Uh oh, Kwyjibo on the loose!

What about Duke-tastic?

No one's using that either?

What a Duke-tastrophe!

/paraphrased, o'course

Mmmmm... quixotic....

A friend of mine lost a spelling bee in 6th grade because the lady calling out the words had a really bad Southern drawl.

She asked him to spell Y-E-A-R-N, but he spelled it U-R-I-N-E.

best three letter word ever: ort.

RaoulDuke

That's not better than "cwm"

szmike - After I ZOQUO, I USHNU.

First thing I thougt of, too.

gwowen

"I firmly believe you shouldn't be allowed to play a word in scrabble, unless you've come across it outside the context of a dictionary."

One of the spupidest things I've ever heard. Imagine trying to enforce your silly rule... A scrabble dictionary costs six bucks. If the word is in there, it's a good play. If it's not in there, it's not a good play. Simple, fair. Why does that bother people? If they know more words and play them competently they'll beat you on average. Um, isn't that kind of the way it should be?

/jipijapa

I think we now know the true reason for the iraq war...

Bush: 125 points, MISUNDERESTIMATE

Saddam: that not a real word georgie!

Bush: is too, ya filthy savage

Saddam: you idiot! how is my English better than yours?!

Bush: that's it! bring it on.

Kangaroo, Try as hard as I might, I cannot concieve of a sentence in which yearn and urine could be interchanged. Given that spelling bee S.o.p is for the caller to use the word in a sentence, I call shenanigans on your friends story.

Is spupidest in the scrabble dictionary?

Given that spelling bee S.o.p is for the caller to use the word in a sentence

Most sixth graders, the kind who don't spend hundreds of hours training for Scripts-Howard, don't ask for context clues. They just try to spell the thing.

I played scrabble once with a roomate in college. He claimed you couldn't use "obscene" words.

I think he dropped out of college and went back to New Jersey. I hope he's divorced and paying a lot in child support while the cancer slowly eats his bones.

/he had a hideous fiance who would come over and bang him while I was there.
//really hideously nasty.
///And they kind of looked alike.

One of the spupidest things I've ever heard. Imagine trying to enforce your silly rule

Well... no. The stupid thing was assume that I meant it literally. Of course it's not enforceable...

Scrabble should be a test of vocabulary, not a test of how well you've prepared for a game of scrabble. Memorizing a scrabble dictionary is as antithetical to the original spirit of the game as going through the cards and memorising all the answers in Trivial Pursuit. And it kills the game stone-dead.