SERIOUS SCRABBLE DISPUTE seeks immediate resolution :)

Friendly game of Scrabble between two amateurs turned heated and I need to know who was right on this one; experts, your advice is duly requested:

"HERO" is on the board, going downward, e.g.

H
E
R
O

and I added an "N" for HERON, and in the same turn, added ANA going to the right as such:

H
E
R
O
N A N A

---

Is linking a hook and a parellel word in this fashion a legal (and crafty!) maneuver, or as my opponent says, CHEATING, "taking two turns at once?"

So angry was I that the game was immediately left unfinished.

Inquiring minds need to know; as an apology will no doubt be issued by the offending party.

1 Response

Hooks are definitely legal moves in Scrabble. You had every right to be angry! Parallel words are also completely legal.

On the Hasbro Scrabble website (and in the actual board game instructions), they state that new words may be formed by:

Adding one or more letters to a word or letters already on the board.
Placing a word at right angles to a word already on the board. The new word must use one of the letters already on the board or must add a letter to it. (See Turns 2, 3 and 4 below.)
Placing a complete word parallel to a word already played so that adjacent letters also form complete words. (See Turn 5 below.)

You can also see some examples of "hooking" in How to Master SCRABBLE, in Step 5: Board Placement Concepts.

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