FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: Why should I become a member of the Mumbai Scrabble Club?
Ans: Scrabble helps you improve your word power and vocabulary. You can also enjoy playing this game like any other. The Mumbai Scrabble club enables you to do this under one roof.
Q2: How can I improve my Scrabble skills?
Ans: By practice and observing how others play, you can improve your skills. For this, you may like to play with other members of the club who meet on Saturdays to play Scrabble. For details and timings, you may e-mail mumbaiscrabbleclub@hotmail.com
Q3.How does competitive scrabble differ from scrabble at home ?
Ans:
1) Competitive scrabble is always played one on one.
2) It is always a timed game, the game lasts for 50 minutes. A chess clock is used by regular players to divide the 50 minutes equally between the two players.
3) There is a special book ( THE OFFICIAL SCRABBLE WORDS INTERNATIONAL) which the word judge uses to settle challenges regarding validity of the words played.
Q4.How is a scrabble tournament conducted ?
Ans:
In the first round a random draw decides the match ups. If there are seedings, then the draw may be adjusted to avoid the seeds playing each other in the first round.
Points are awarded as follows, one point for a win, half a point for a tie and zero points for a loss.
After the first round the players are ranked based on points and the SPREAD. The spread is the margin of victory / defeat i.e. the spread can be positive (for a win ) or negative (for a loss). E.g. Player A beats Player B by 125 points then A has a spread of +125 and B – 125.
For the second round the player ranked number 1 after round 1, will play the player ranked number 2, No. 3 will play No. 4 and so on.
After the second and each subsequent round, players are ranked on the basis of points earned and the CUMULATIVE SPREAD (C. S.) which is the total of the spreads of the player in all the previous rounds. E.g. If player A now goes on to win the next game by a margin of 25 points, the CUMULATIVE SPREAD becomes (+ 125) + (+25) = +150. Player A now has 2 points with a C. S. of +150.
Similarly if player B now wins by a margin of 125 points. Player B will now have 1 point after 2 games and a C. S. of zero i.e. ( -125) + ( +125).
Fresh rankings are produced after each round and subsequent match-ups are based on them.
Variations of this basic system are used in longer tournaments.
Q5.Can I just play a few games and go away ?
Ans:
No. Please do not do that. The entire system goes haywire if there are drop – outs. Kindly inform the organisers before the start of the tournament if there is a possibility that you may leave mid-way. It is possible to substitute a player with another player or a volunteer. Obviously such pairs of players are not eligible for the prizes.
Q6.If I lose 2 or 3 games, am I out of the tournament ?
Ans:
No. The system is designed such that after the initial rounds the players land up playing against players of a similar caliber. E.g. a player who has lost 3 out of 3 games and is ranked 21st will play the 22nd ranked player who will also have lost 3 games and will have a lower C. S.
Q7.How does the Advanced Category differ from the Intermediate or the Recreational Category ?
Ans:
In order to play comfortably in the Advanced Category, one should have played in at least two tournaments in the past, in India or abroad. Furthermore, one must be reasonably familiar with the rules of the game and must be capable of keeping the score independently. It helps if one is familiar with the unusual 2 and 3 letter words. The other problem faced by newcomers to the Advanced Category is finishing their games on time especially with a chess clock.
Q8.What is SOWPODS ?
Ans:
SOWPODS is the name given to the lexicon created by the combination of the wordlists used in the United States and the United Kingdom.
It is an anagram of the OSW – Official Scrabble Words published by Chambers ( U.K.) and the OSPD - The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary published by Merriam Webster’s ( U.S.).
The need for a common lexicon was felt at the time of the first World Scrabble Championship in 1987.
Countries like Australia and New Zealand took the lead in using the combined wordlist ( SOWPODS). Initially, it was illegal as it did not have the sanction of the two publishers and the two main manufacturers of Scrabble – Hasbro and Mattel. Chambers has now worked out a deal with Merriam Webster’s to publish the combined lexicon, which they have called the OSWI – Official Scrabble Words International. ( for further details contact www.chambersharrap.com
Currently, the OSWI (previously SOWPODS) is the lexicon used all over the world except in the United States, Canada and Israel.