The Center Star The Game Starts here December 2005 Issue 6
NEWS FLASH- DAVID ear Readers, as I type this WIEGAND WINS NSC IN RENO! it is 2am on a dark and snowy night. What Dthoughts come to mind as I sit here at my desk, trembling with anticipation while I prepare myself to hack and chop and ruthlessly libel much of our small community, other than – how small shall we chop, how ruthless can we be, and what in hell were they thinking when they put that picture of Madonna on this month’s issue of Rolling Stone magazine? Well, I’m thinking about the death of a newsletter, of course. We made it through a full year of The Center Star with this final issue and if those cards and letters (checks) don’t keep coming, this will be our last issue. Sure, some of you may be thinking, finally , but maybe a few of you are interested in stringing out this lowbrow humor for yet another year.
RENO, NV - Although initial reports have yet to be So far a whopping 26 of you have renewed your confirmed from NSA headquarters, reliable sources for subscriptions. Only 129 more to go! Yes, December is a The Star report that Dave Wiegand is your 2005 wretched time of year, we know. A joyous wretchedosity, National Scrabble champion. Wiegand won the last to be sure, but a time when budgets are stretched thinner three games in a best-of-five final to defeat Panupol than usual, and we barely have time to polish our boards, Sujjakyakorn of Thailand 3-2 in Reno, Nevada. The pull on our snow boots and get our harried selves to club Star will keep you posted on any late breaking news once a week, let alone renew subscriptions to flailing regarding this three month old event. newsletters. But if you are considering renewing your subscription to The Star , this is a really great time to do that. If we don’t hear from more of you by the middle of Location Chosen for NSC 2006 January I will return the checks I have here, clean out my desk at TCS headquarters, give notice to the brave and GREENPORT, NY – R-E-S-P-E-C-T - Scrabble is what competent staff (Grob has been slacking for the last six it meant to me. Detroit will be the site of the 2006 months and was going to be canned anyway) and pack it National Scrabble Open, the Star has learned. The in. Motor City will host the prestigious event for the first time in its history, after Hurricane Katrina left the initial Of course, we’d love to torture all of you for another year, but if that doesn’t work out, that’s okay too. It was a great choice of New Orleans untenable. Detroit will also host year. Thanks to all of you who have encouraged and the 2006 Super Bowl, giving the Motor City two jewels supported us these last 12 months. If we don’t meet in the same year. again on these pages in February, I look forward to meeting you across the board soon. The news caught several Detroiters by surprise. “I honestly didn’t think we had a chance because I steph. didn’t know we had a Major League franchise,” said Scott Pianowski of Royal Oak, a Detroit suburb. NSA officials had considered Orlando, Seattle and Phoenix before settling on Detroit. NSA president John Williams, who will announce the choice in the next issue of The Scrabble News , refused comment. Sources for The Star say no decision has been made on whether to make Detroit a permanent host in alternating years with Reno for the NSC.
An estimated 800 Scrabblers will attend the 2006 national tournament, pumping upwards of $50,000 into the Detroit economy.
Lancaster County PA Club Votes Down New Dictionary
By Joe Gaspard
By Jim Kramer
The following 6-letter racks are unistems; only one letter can be added to each stem to form a 7-letter word. The letters to be added to each stem will form a little wish from The Center Star to you.
ELNOOT __
In a surprising move, Club 1641 in Lancaster County AINRRS __ has chosen not to adopt the new dictionary. Club director Jacob Ammon defended the decision, stating AEELNW __ “We do not recognize that the language is changing.” EEFNOT __ This unique club is nestled in the rolling farmland of Eastern Pennsylvania. The club meeting is in an old town hall and the horse-drawn buggies begin arriving DEEGLO __ just before dusk. The club membership settles in slowly and a kerosene lamp lights each table. The ENOOTY __ players, all males and all Pennsylvania Dutch, are dressed in black slacks and colorful handmade shirts. AEGIRY __ While the players set up their sand timers, the women bring in the baked goods and then settle into the CEINNT __ background and sew intricate quilts. EENRTW __ Mr. Ammon states that it really shouldn’t be a surprise that they will not be using the new dictionary. It was answers on page 11 only recently that they adopted the 1941 Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary as their official word source, replacing the 1755 Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary.
“A few years back,” recalls Mr. Ammon, “a young, good looking constable from Philadelphia came to a club session. He had drawn many E’s and after trying FREEBEE and PEEWEE, he became angry and left. He was a nice fella, but he sure had a temper on him.”
Mr. Ammon won all his games that night. As the players and their wives got into their buggies for the ride home, Mr. Ammon looked at this reporter’s Honda Civic and gently chided, “Get a horse.”
Richard Lauder
Ask The Stars.
Joey Mallick, ME Grob (before children) Rob Robinsky, MN Sam Kantimathi, CA
Q. We have an interesting mix of experts on our panel this issue. Joey, you were once hailed as the wunderkind of the expert division when you started playing at such a young age. How long have you been playing at the expert level and how much do you think your game has improved or changed over the years? Rob, you reached a high expert rating in a very short amount of time and you're also a youngster. Tell us how you went from a zero rating to 1875 in two years. How do you study? What were some of the thoughts going through your head when you were first allowed to play in division one because your rating allowed you to do so? Hey, Grob, what are you doing here? Sam, you are a vet. Tell us how long you've been playing tournament Scrabble. How do you study? How long did it take you to get to an expert rating and did you do so quickly? How much has your game improved over the last five years?
Joey: My fifth career tournament was in Waltham back on March 27 th , 1998. This was the first time I played in the expert division. It was still division 2, as Waltham has the famed Premier division 1. Back then I thought it was such an honor to defeat anybody at the expert level since I didn't know how I measured up to them, and I often played scared, assuming they knew ten times what I did.
Rob: First things first, I prefer the term "whippersnapper.” I feel it's edgier, and as we both know image is everything in Scrabble. It took me two years to reach 1800. I was rated 1585 after a year, but hit a bit of a plateau there -- I was almost rated high enough to play up a division, but in order to get there I needed to have a very strong tournament at the intermediate level, which never really came. It wasn't until I went to visit my friend James Leong in Vancouver and played in their tournament that I broke that fabled 1600 barrier. After that, I was able to play a couple of division 1 tourneys (in the Twin Cities and in Sioux Falls, SD), though I didn't really belong with my competitors. It showed in the results too, unfortunately. I never felt that I truly belonged in Division 1 until I won a Bayside, Queens tourney this past May. I went 8-1, and my rating rose to nearly 1750. It was the first time that I'd consistently played a complete game (word knowledge, board control, situational awareness, etc.). Since then I've been trying to solidify my game, which has given me a bit more rating that I'm not sure I deserve yet.
Sam: I am not a vet, though I did cure my cat’s hiccups once. Oh, you meant the other vet? No on that one too, I’m a lover, not a fighter. I’ve been playing tournament Scrabble for 24 years and I use a self-written computer program to study. I probably rose the fastest to division one status of any player in the history of the game. Within weeks of learning to play the game, Darrell Day hounded me until I agreed to be driven by him to a Dallas tournament. I placed in my very first tourney, in the expert division. I came home happy. A bit later I won Houston and Dallas top divisions back-to-back, to start a 40+ first places career, including championships in seven different countries: USA, UK,Thailand, New Zealand, Canada, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
Grob: I didn't realize Sam was a veterinarian. Any chance I can get some discounted flea medication for my cat with my next order of Sam Tiles? please see Ask The Stars next page
Ask The Stars.
Q. Tell us about your favorite tournament to play in and why it is your favorite.
Joey: Geez, I can only choose one? If you'll allow me, I'd like to call it a three way tie between the following tournaments. The Martin Luther King Reno tournament, because I've won more than a total of $4000 at those tournaments, and I win about 7 percent more games there than everywhere else. All Nationals, because I get to see everyone. Eventually I hope to say, because I won more than 50 bucks at one. I should also include all the Twin Cities tournaments because you're from there. Seriously though, I love the atmosphere out in the Midwest, and I have some of the best hosts put me up each time I attend.
Rob: At this point in my Scrabble odyssey, there are a lot more tournaments that I haven't played than those I have. Of the ones I've experienced, I can't make up my mind between two -- the Twin Cities and Vancouver. Hands down, the best part of competitive Scrabble for me so far has been the camaraderie and community I've experienced. Since I go to school in Saint Paul, Club 42 in Minneapolis is pretty much my "home" club, and there are people here I absolutely love to be around. In a broader sense, everyone here has made me feel welcome, which has spilled over into the local tournaments as well. It felt much the same in Vancouver when I was there. In addition, Vancouver rescued me from the Minnesota winter. It was a lovely two and a half days, let me tell you, 50 degrees with light rain never felt so good.
Sam: The Twin Cities. For the same reason I pilgrimage to Norway every summer: Blonde, Nordic chicks. Oh, and world-class competition and good directing.
Grob: The Nationals, of course. Scrabble, Scrabble and more Scrabble. And then there's also the side benefits of more eats, more booze, and more babes, all of which leads to more self-flagellation. I mean this in a good way.
Q. Do you know all of your threes?
Joey: All but TWO. I haven't looked that one up yet.
Rob: I think so. I don't really see the individual three on the board, it's more a "this is acceptable, that is not" issue for me. I haven't short-circuited too much, thankfully. As long as I can keep myself from forgetting that TAL is only good in Spanish, I think I’ll be okay.
Sam: Hell, I know all my three times threes! Scrabble News featured a couple of my nines in their Find the Best Play column, both receiving the highest 5-star rating.
Grob: I think so. At the very least I know I'm fortunate to play in a division where my opponents assume that I know all my threes and won't try to slip anything by me.
please see Ask The Stars page 11
Xpsetnjui!jo!GvstXpsetnjui!jo!Gvst!!!! by
Chase Armosch
It was just another boring Friday evening and I was reading my local alternative newspaper to see if any new art gallery openings were in town. Somehow, my eye strayed inadvertently to the Domination ads and I was immediately captivated by one listing in particular:
Mistress Dawna All fetishes offered Specializing in: Bondage, Discipline, Scrabble
This was a joke. It had to be. But then, I had to know. Straight away, I rang up the number in the ad and the phone was answered by a voice that dripped like acid-laced honey.
M/D: Yes? Me: Hi, I…um, well. The thing is…what I…okay…see… M/D: You want a game of Scrabble, don’t you? Me: How did you know? M/D: I always know. Be here at nine. Precisely.
She gave me her address and I immediately began going over my fours to make fives. A Scrabble dominatrix? The idea was absurd. I would soon teach her a lesson and then I would pick up some White Castles and a Cherry Coke Slurpee on my way home. On the drive to her house I went over my five vowel bingos and as I stood on her porch watching my second hand sweep towards nine precisely, I vowed to be especially conscious of clock management. Even before I could knock, the door swept open and I was aware of a shadowy figure in front of me. I entered just as she disappeared through a curtain on the far side of the foyer. That same bewitching voice came back through the thick fabric. “Disrobe,” she said. “Then join me.” Disrobe? Well, she wasn’t going to intimidate me that easily. As I pulled off my shoes and socks, I reminded myself that this would be no different than Frisky Fridays at the Port Huron Club. When I entered the next room, she was already sitting at a table with a Scrabble board in front of her. I had expected to find a wildly exotic looking woman dressed in leather and chains, but instead her hair was unwashed, she had no make-up on, and she wore a Spaniel Club of Minnesota sweatshirt. I sat down and as we drew tiles, I looked her up and down, commenting, “You know, I’m not exactly sure why you call yourself a Scrabble dominatrix.” When her gaze flickered up at me I felt as if she was somehow looking into the very back of my soul. “Then let me tell you why. Because I’m going to dominate you, humiliate you, and you’re going to come back for more.” And with that she put down her opening play of SUCCUBI. That shook me a little, especially as I had nothing worth playing on my rack. I traded, and a heartbeat later she played CIBORIUM, her eyes never straying from me, her fingers laying down the tiles as if by rote memory. “You know,” I said, trying to regain some equilibrium, “you’re not too bad. You should play in a tournament sometime.” “Why should I?” she responded gently. “All the best players come to me eventually.” “They do?” I was incredulous. “Like who?” “Well,” she mused, “Wiegand can play a decent game once in awhile. Cappelletto’s not bad, but he shakes like a leaf every time he comes here, oh, and I whip Cree’s ass every month or so.” “Really? At Scrabble?” “With Cree? No, he’s just into being whipped. Strap a saddle on that boy, hum a few bars of “Git Along Little Dogie,” and he’s the happiest Texan you’ve ever seen.” That sounded legit to me and I had the dawning apprehension that I was in way over my head. I had the odd sensation of sinking in warm velvet, and the strange thing was, I didn’t mind at all. Deciding to fish, I fumbled down
please see Wordsmith in Furs on next page
The Star’s resident soothsayer, Grobadamus , has looked into his crystal ball to find the following revelations:
2006 – Cheryl Cadieux, draws her 100,000 th vowel at a tournament in Port Huron. With a tear in her eye, Stella says, “This is why I’ve kept track all this time.” Stella adds that a complete list of her draws can be viewed on her website.
2010 – Electronic boards with automatic scoring are mandated by the NSA for use in all future sanctioned tournaments. Players have the option to keep score on their own during the first year of the changeover, and nothing prevents Glenn Dunlop from still asking “What is the REAL score?”
2009 – George Bush is elected to a third term as President of the United States one year after the Supreme Court rules the twenty-second Amendment to be unconstitutional. "This job is hard work but I'm happy to do it," Bush says.
2017 – Minnesota hosts its first “Seven Days and Seven Nights” 100-game tournament. “Anything worth doing is worth overdoing,” says pioneering director Stephanie Steele. The tournament is also the first to offer on-site divorce counseling, led by attorney Janice Kaye.
2018 –With the release of TWL V there is no longer the need for separate SOWPOD tournaments. All words in the Oxford English dictionaries are now also in TWL with the exception of FEEDINGS and SLAYINGS. “We’re working with the editors at Webster’s and are waiting to hear (about total assimilation),” says dictionary chair Jim Pate.
2020 – CPG and OSPD listservs merge. The merger dissolves two days later, after a poster calls the “This Day in History” feature “Fucking stupid.”
2022 – Joe Edley moves into Washington Square Park.
2028 – Carol Ravichandran directs her 300 th tournament around a bowling theme.
2280 – Peace comes to the Middle East.
2376 – Peace comes to ISC when it’s realized that it’s been a full year since anyone has accused another player of cheating.
Wordmsith in Furs , continued from previous page the word PAR to the R already on the board. Her left eyebrow arched up for barely a moment before she played POURPARLER. And it was at that moment that something broke inside me. I felt a sudden lightness, as if an invisible burden had been lifted from me. She was clearly an opponent far beyond anyone I had ever played. She was a Scrabble savant, seeing every possibility almost instantly. I wasn’t going to beat her. I was never going to beat her. And that was the glorious epiphany that rose and swelled within me. I no longer had to worry about winning or losing. I no longer had to sweat through a challenge, count tiles, or watch the clock. I could simply play, because the outcome of the game was never in doubt. And so we played on. I would put down words, but I was really more interested in her moves. They were elegant, concise, perfect. More than once, hot tears of joy streamed unashamed down my cheeks at the sheer genius of her play. When I looked up at her near the end of the game, she was beyond question the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. More than a woman, she was a goddess, a temptress, an unreachable icon to spend a lifetime reaching towards. The final score was 683-142. I had done well after all. I gazed at the scoresheet, feeling empty yet fulfilled, free and yet utterly captivated. When she rose from the table I realized she was leaving. But as she reached the doorway I managed to croak out a few desperate words. “I have to see you again.” She turned, the faintest smile playing on her lips. “I know,” she said. And then, like a dreamy shadow within a shadowy dream, she was gone.
…….…….withwith Melissa Hello dear Scrabble Friends, and welcome to the special Holiday Edition of Making it With Melissa ! December is upon us, and with it comes the busy season of Christmas parties, Christmas presents, Christmas songs, and Christmas dinners. After scouring my back issues of Better Homes & Gardens, I have discovered that there is another holiday in December, called “Hanukah.” This holiday might be a fun alternative for you if you are getting tired of the usual red and green color scheme of Christmas, or if you are pressed for time: we know from the song that there are 12 Days of Christmas, but there are only 8 days of Hanukah!
No matter which holiday you decide to celebrate, you will no doubt be looking for original gift ideas for your loved ones. Get out those old Scrabble tiles and glue guns, because I have the perfect item for anyone on your list! With all the holiday entertaining, everyone needs more hand towels for the powder room, and I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t want their towels lovingly personalized with Scrabble tiles!
Here’s what you will need for your craft:
-Two towels for each gift set, red and green for Christmas, or blue and white for Hanukah -1 ½ inch-wide ribbons in contrasting colors, with thread to match -A set of Scrabble tiles -A hot glue gun
First, cut the ribbon to the width of the hand towels and stitch onto each towel, about 2 inches from the end. In the middle third of the ribbon, arrange your tiles into a holiday-appropriate word, such as PEACE, LOVE, or SHALOM. When they are in the position you like, use your hot glue gun to attach them to the ribbon.
Don’t worry about the tiles not being water-proof. Remember, no one actually uses the charming hand towels laid out in the powder room. These will be lovely for guests to look at while they are shaking their hands dry and wiping them on their pants.
Enjoy your holidays, and until next time, Happy Tiles to All!
DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES? MINNESOTA. JANUARY. BABY, IT’S COLD OUTSIDE, BUT CAN YOU STAND THE HEAT IN THIS TOURNAMENT ROOM? THE TWIN CITIES REDEYE TOURNAMENT
A sanctioned, marathon tournament PRESENTED WITH SPECIAL PERMISSION FROM THE NSA 24 GAMES IN 37 HOURS! BECOME A PART OF SCRABBLE® HISTORY Join us for this record breaking event- th th January 14 & 15 , 2006 details are posted at the NSA & Club 42 website http://www.bachster.com/scrabble/tourneys/ contact Stephanie Steele at [email protected] for more info.
Bartender: Other than Scrabble, it doesn’t sound like much of a place.
Customer: You play Scrabble?
Does your club host wild orgiastic parties and/or tournaments? Do you have a hot rivalry going with a Bartender: Yes. I’m an English major at club near you? What does your club do when the NSA Washington University, one of the top isn’t looking? Maybe you are just a motley crew of universities in the Midwest. Does game-playing geeks who don’t even have an official Indianapolis have a university? club to attend. The Star welcomes dark tales of local camaraderie and addiction. Greg Edwards, formerly of Customer: Yes sir it does. IUPUI (pronounced St. Louis shares with our readers the beginnings of this ooey-pooey). Midwest rivalry. Bartender: (Laughing) OOEY-POOEY! Let’s play Scrabble. By Greg Edwards And so the Indy-St Louis Scrabble rivalry was born. Each spring since 1962, Scrabblers from Indianapolis St. Louis. 1961. A visitor named and St Louis have met in Effingham, Illinois (on a Percy Green walks into a bar. Saturday of course) to compete in the Effing He orders a sarsaparilla. The Challenge. The player with the best record for the conversation went something winning side takes home the Effing Cup. The Effing like this: Cup is one of the most prized trophies of its kind. Actually it’s the only trophy of its kind. And for good reason. Its simple design includes a plastic arch over a Matchbox Indy race car sitting atop a can of ham, affixed to a Scrabble mug. Metallic gold spray paint Bartender: Sarsparilla? Boy don’t you know where completes the design. Not once in the 45 year history you are? You’re in St Louis, Missouri, of the Effing Challenge has the Effing Cup crossed the the town that beer built. Round these Indiana state line. There have been close calls for the parts we drink Busch, Bud, or Michelob. St. Louis contingent. That very first year at the bar, Now what’ll it be? Percy Green’s final rack was BBNOORU. He needed a bingo to win. Percy saw the bingo and had a place to Customer: Well, sir, I’m from Indiana. In Indiana we play it but couldn’t bring himself to play such a vile do not drink alcohol. We do not dance. word. The tile gods haven’t smiled on Percy’s And we do not schedule Scrabble successors since. tournaments on the Sabbath.
Bartender: We pray on Sundays too – if the Cardinals are playing. Otherwise we may go to The Arch, Forest Park, our world famous zoo, or down a few Buds over a barbeque. What do you do for fun in Indianapolis?
Customer: Once a year people come to our city to watch cars drive around an oval track very fast. And a psychic told me we will be home to an NBA team years from now that will employ players who beat up basketball fans in other cities. We also enjoy lively games of Scrabble. The Greenport K-9 club meets every Thursday night at Sparky’s place.
YOU JUST MIGHT BE A Top Ten Signs TOURNAMENT You're A DIRECTOR IFIF---- Scrabble
By Carol Ravichandran Addict By Amanda Hubble
Your voice can carry the distance of two football 10. You now consult Lexpert instead of Spellcheck for fields without a microphone. every e-mail.
You know how to spell shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. 9. You have at least three people programmed in your cell phone who are over 80 years old and are not They know you by name at Copy Max. related to you.
You go to Nationals and people come up to you 8. You see Danny Kidd more often than your real kid. and say, "You play in tournaments, too?" 7. Your custom carrying case costs more than your Your alarm clock goes off on Saturday morning custom board. and you try to remember if you are running a tournament on that particular day that month. 6. You finished analyzing your anagrams game before cutting the cake at your wedding. You can make a split second decision on who should get the last tile in the bag but it takes you 5. Your dogs are named Waterzooi and Zyzzyva. 1/2 hour in the morning to decide what to wear to work. 4. Your children are named Willywaw and Cazique.
Your spouse no longer bats an eye when that 3. You refuse to go to the 24-game Redeye tournament 11:59PM call comes in for that last minute because there is no after-hours playing room. registration. 2. When someone mentions the Hardest Working Man You promise to be good for the rest of the in Show Business, you assume they're talking about year if your divisions could come out even. Stefan Fatsis.
You remember the name of everyone who has ever 1. When filling out forms, you list Sherrie Saint John as played at one of your tournaments over the years your emergency contact. but your spouse's nomenclature escapes you from time to time.
You go to your niece's wedding reception in June and spend all your time eyeing the room to see how many tables you could squeeze into the hall for a 2-day Swiss in January.
Moxbib Flashback
Not so long ago, if you wanted to know what happened at a tournament you actually had to be there. Today, Evan Berofsky, Albert Hahn, Sherry Saint John and others fill our need to know right now on the listservs, and we who have internet access no longer have to wait three months for the next issue of the Scrabble News. The likes of these reporters, as fine as they are, all owe a debt of gratitude to the pioneers of tournament chronicles: The Steiner Brothers. Here then, in memory of Otis Steiner, is another Moxbib Memory, circa 1992.
On The Road with The Steiner Brothers By Otis and Waldo “Spud” Steiner
“If you don’t have anything good to say about someone, come sit by me.” ~Alice Roosevelt Longworth
Guides to fine dining abound, and every Scrabble player knows where to find a decent meal on the road (except in Marion, Indiana). However, if anything can ruin a good meal, it’s the poor choice of dining companions. We don’t ask much of the people with whom we go to dinner, just that they don’t disgust us, put us to sleep or skip on the check. Unfortunately, even these minimum requirements are not met by a goodly number of our alleged peers. For once we won’t mention names, but, in general, it’s a good idea to avoid taking lunch with anyone who has ever won the NASO or published a Scrabble newsletter. There are exceptions, but go try to find one.
Following is our list of the best people in Scrabble to go out with. Any similarity to this list and the list of Scrabble’s best cleavages is purely coincidental. Not.
1. Helaine Garren – The Voodoo Queen of Portland. Does interesting things with bottle rockets and wayward youths.
2. Richie Lund – Cross between Steven Seagal and Mr. T. Snappy dresser. An attention span measured in nanoseconds.
3. Bill Wade – “The only bad thing about Scrabble is that you have to play with Scrabble players.” A man with an attitude. We like that.
4. Dee Jackson – More attitude than Bill Wade and with less reason.
5. Ed Halper – His presence is guaranteed to keep Joe Edley away from our table. That’s enough for us.
6. Norma Fisher – Bea Arthur look-alike with a classier accent. Can dish the dirt in three languages: Kiwi, Aussie and ‘Merican.
7. Cynthia Pughsley – World’s greatest collection of Stu Goldman stories (the ones Stu won’t tell you himself). Not for the squeamish.
8. Brian “Nature Boy” Cappelletto – Killer impressions of all the Scrabble geeks. Much better than dining with the real thing.
9. Polly DuBois – As long as she isn’t wearing a lobster bib. Everything you always wanted to know about sexual diseases and dysfunctions. And more.
10. Joe Weinike – We don’t know Joe that well, but we hear good things. Someday we may let him buy us lunch .
Ask The Stars continued from page 4
Q. If you had to choose between playing in a tournament with a weak division one and a $5,000 first prize or a strong division one with a $500 first prize, which tournament would you sign up for? Let's say they both take place on some Hawaiian Island, so location is not an issue.
Joey: The fact that such a situation will never occur makes this a lot easier to answer. I'd have to choose the tougher opposition for the smaller prize. Attendance to me is much more of a factor than money, although if you inflated that $5,000 to $50,000 and the location to South Portland, ME, I'd have to reconsider.
Rob: I would much rather play the stronger field. I enjoy the challenge of playing people much better than I am. That, and I firmly believe that playing a tournament with the expressed idea of playing a weaker field to win money only leads to disaster.
Grob: What is second prize worth, and assuming it's on some Hawaiian island do I have to pay my way back to the mainland? Do I even have to come back? Seriously, the best way to improve in this game is by playing strong competition. Then again, if the 5k tournament is still division one- how weak could it be?
Sam: Strong division with little or no prize money. Easily. One of the things I am most proud of is the number of times I have qualified for Boston Premier, usually restricted to the top dozen players by ratings but the prize money is just a few hundred dollars. Nelson, New Zealand tourney, Nigel Richards took me over to the Director's table to tell me I had dibs on the prizes. The CD holder (value about two bucks) has been sitting proudly in my office for the last six years, while the $25,000 plus I have earned in prize money has been pissed away quickly.
Q. Lots of experts believe Scrabble is a math game and not a word game. What is your position here?
Joey: No question it's both. One of my weaknesses, which I anticipate will become an eventual strength, is debating whether or not to challenge a questionable word or try playing a questionable word. If that happens early on, it can get to your mind and haunt you throughout a game. With that said, I'd even go as far as to say it's more of a mental game than a math game or a word game.
Rob: I think that the actual execution of playing Scrabble can be refined almost exclusively to math. Probabilities, patterns, spatial geometry, nearly every strategy in Scrabble is rooted in math. I feel that the essence of Scrabble as a word game in some ways serves as the foundation of introducing math into Scrabble strategy. It's certainly possible to play excellent Scrabble in the absence of English-based context, just look at the level of play at the WSC, and at how many players don't speak English as a primary language. But for many people, everyday word knowledge is the beginning of probability analysis in the game.
Sam: I was quoted in a syndicated story about me that ran in many newspapers that I consider Scrabble as a strategy, math, and word game. In that order. Don't get me wrong: I love words and their etymology. After his very first game against me in my Wichita apartment, Darrell Day phoned Chris Cree in Dallas: "This new guy plays G-H-E-R-A- O-E-D against me, and as I was grabbing the OSPD to look up the challenge, he proceeds to tell me what it means!"
Grob: My position can be stated best as E=MC2/TWL
This original work of art by Stef Lenk ([email protected] ) perfectly summarizes a year of publishing our snarky little rag. Much like the game itself, putting together The Star every other month has been a mix of laughs and migraines. A year ago today I barely knew how to open a document in Word, let alone how to Insert, chop&hack (which is actually an option on my toolbar now). We’ve come a long way since last February and there are lots of people I’d like to thank for mucking about on this endeavor with me. I can’t name you all individually, but let me kill a lot of Scrabble addicts with one stone and thank my club mates in Club 42, Minneapolis . We happen to have one of the biggest and best and nicest group of talented players in the world and so many of you have supported the newsletter in numerous ways, the pats on the back, the slave labor, and yeah, the checks. You’re the best our community has to offer, and I’m grateful to knock knees with you every week at The Bridge Center. My St. Paul peeps, Janice, Judy , Rob & Walt , who are there every Tuesday with an encouraging glass of Chardonnay and wicked sense of humors. Joe Gaspard , who has taken every scrap of an idea for an article I’ve thrown at him (usually at 2AM with a deadline of ‘yesterday’) and turned it into solid satire, and Melissa Routzahn who not only contributes, but guest edited our August issue, and, oddly, sounds as if she might be up for doing this again at some time. And, of course, thanks to all of you, Dear Readers, and players, for writing the checks and the articles and the thank-you notes, and yeah, for actually reading this. Your support and involvement have been the driving force behind every issue. I wish we could all get together and raise a glass in celebration, but at least let me say to all of you, here, Cheers . Finally I’d like to thank my co- editor, Steve Grob , for agreeing to step off that ledge with me a year ago. We had no idea what we were doing when we decided to start an alternative Scrabble newsletter, and we still don’t, but I know I wouldn’t have started any of it without him by my side saying, “We might get sued for that, but yeah, print it.” So here’s to a dicey and libelous year, it has been fun. Yours, now and always, steph.
From:
TO: The Center Star Stephanie Steele 27 Summit Court St. Paul, MN 55102
The Center Star is a bimonthly newsletter of mass confusion edited by Steve Grob and Stephanie Steele. Please send submissions, suggestions and fan mail to Stephanie Steele at [email protected] or 27 Summit Court, St. Paul, MN 55102. All complaints should be sent to the Complaint Department located in Parts Unknown, MI. Subscription rates are $18 a year, $3 an issue. The Center Star is in no way affiliated with the National Scrabble Association, Hasbro, or any of their subsidiaries. Scrabble® is a registered trademark of The Hasbro Corporation .