SCRABBLE Features

How To: Get an Official SCRABBLE Rating to Play in Tournaments

Many new players wonder how one actually gets a rating in SCRABBLE. Now, we're talking about an official rating, not one you would get on SCRABBLE Beta or with the ISC WordBiz player — I mean an "Official SCRABBLE Rating". A rating that allows you to play in the National SCRABBLE Championship (NSC), which is held once every year (sometimes two).

News: Winning with 3-Letter Words

If you think you're a Scrabble genius because you have all the two-letter words memorized, you're sorely wrong. To be a Scrabble genius, you have to know practically "every" word acceptable in Scrabble, so I'm guessing there's not too many Scrabble geniuses out there, because it's an impossible feat.

Scrabble Challenge #7: Can You Solve This Bingo Parallel Play for 150+ Points?

If you haven't noticed yet, I've started dishing out some "Scrabble Bingo of the Day" articles that showcase interesting and somewhat unusual seven-letter words (or longer) that could give you an extra 50-point bonus on the board, as long as you empty your rack. So, for this week's Scrabble Challenge you'll have to get your brain in gear, because it's a tough one based of high-scoring bingo plays.

New Game by Hasbro: Electronic SCRABBLE Flash

Nope, this isn't a flash game version of SCRABBLE. There's already one of those (and a multitude of imitations) for the Apple iPhone, iPod, and Facebook. This is an electronic game, and it's not a "handheld" game like the SCRABBLE Pocket Pogo Touch Screen Game (pictured right). It's an entirely new way to play everybody's favorite word game, and it's called SCRABBLE Flash (BOGGLE Flash outside of the U.S. and Canada).

News: Winning with 2-Letter Words

When your opponent throws down "AA", you tell them no abbreviations, but alas... it's not. They build "ZA" on the board for 64 points, and you say it's slang, but it's in the dictionary. Next is "EF", and you let them know that spelling out letters is not allowed and ridiculous... but it's totally legit.

Scrabble Challenge #18: Can You Win at Scrabble Rack Attack?

As touched upon in the past, knowing all of the possible words you can play is key to being a better Scrabble player. If you don't have the vocabulary, then you can't compete against the best of the best, and you'll never even get the chance to spar against professionals such as Nigel Richards, Joe Edley, Andrew Fisher, and Wayne Kelly.

Word Nerds Unite: Planning a SCRABBLE-Themed Wedding

Wedding themes are no rarity, but a SCRABBLE wedding? I never would have guessed, until I came across "10 Ways to Incorporate Scrabble Into Your Wedding" at CasaSugar. Now, I'm one of the biggest SCRABBLE nerds out there, but I could never see myself getting hitched amongst SCRABBLE tiles and SCRABBLE cakes and SCRABBLE cuff links. I'd also be afraid that none of my guests would actually come if they knew SCRABBLE was the theme. Hell, it's hard enough to get any of my friends to play a simple...

Scrabble Challenge #12: Can You Unscramble the Derivative Words?

Last week's challenge brought up a good question (thanks Lisa) regarding the functionality of the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, 4th Edition, both online and in print form. The word TACTICAL was the answer to the first puzzle in that challenge, but when you search for the word directly in the print version, it can't be found. Likewise, when you search the online dictionary on Hasbro's site, you won't find it either. Go ahead, try it. You won't find it looking for TACTICAL specifically.

News: W.E.L.D.E.R. Blends Bejeweled, Boggle and Scrabble into Word-Building Addiction

There are tons of mobile apps out there for the gaming logophile, but there's a new word building game taking over iPhones and iPads, and it not only wants you to have fun, it wants you to fight back in the "war against words". It's the Word Examination Laboratory for Dynamic Extraction and Reassessment. But you can just call it W.E.L.D.E.R. Since its release earlier this month, W.E.L.D.E.R. has developed quite a following with its addicting mesh of Bejeweled, Boggle and Scrabble gameplay. It...

Scrabble Bingo of the Day: FINNESKO

Scrabble Bingo of the Day: * FINNESKO [n/pl.] A finnesko is a boot made of tanned reindeer skin, with the reindeer's fur on the outside. It's an especially good, warm boot for subarctic regions. These boots originate from the Sami, indigenous people from the cultural region of Sápmi, located across four countries in the Arctic Circle; Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. This area is also referred to as Fennoscandia.