PLAYING SCRABBLE LIKE AN NBA ALL STAR GAME. In her article about Scrabble, Judith Thurman refers to a computer that is a “nitwit who leaves the triple-word scores undefended.” In our family, we now play Scrabble the way the NBA all star game is played. Defense is scorned. Scoring is all. We begin with a new edition of Scrabble, called Superscrabble, which comes with a larger board and spaces for quadrupling word scores and letter scores. A rack will hold nine tiles and so we use nine letters for each turn. But only seven letters are still required for a “bingo” and a 50 point bonus. Sometimes we adopt a custom that a player who needs a particular letter for a satisfying word, can trade for it (for example, “does anybody have a K?”). Consent to a trade is freely given.
Categories
Archives
Recent Comments
- Gary Nuetzel on THE OLDEST FANTASY BASEBALL LEAGUE STARTS ITS 32ND SEASON. (COMMENT).
- Francesca on EATING PEAS WITH A KNIFE.
- avon wilsmore on CHEATING IN CHAMPIONSHIP BRIDGE.
- Anonymous on THE LANGUAGE WEIRDNESS INDEX.
- James Friscia on THE SECOND OLDEST FANTASY BASEBALL LEAGUE.
- Ken Babcock on THE SECOND OLDEST FANTASY BASEBALL LEAGUE.
- Lickity Splitfingers on THE SECOND OLDEST FANTASY BASEBALL LEAGUE.
- Ken Babcock on THE OLDEST FANTASY BASEBALL LEAGUE STARTS ITS 32ND SEASON. (COMMENT).
- David Quemere on THE OLDEST FANTASY BASEBALL LEAGUE STARTS ITS 32ND SEASON. (COMMENT).
- Nicholas Schaefer on THE SECOND OLDEST FANTASY BASEBALL LEAGUE.
Meta
I enjoy playing this variety, and in a way it doesn’t really reduce the challenge at all. I will say that I also really enjoy the style I played while playing one-on-one online with friends while I was in London. That variety is very defensive, and you try to make as many short words at once stacked upon each other, leaving no room for your opponent to maneuver.