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The Octopus Conundrum: Octopuses vs. Octopi vs. Octopodes

A couple of days ago, I had some questions regarding the mighty tentacled beast of our oceans— the octopus. Actually, I was just curious as to what an octopus was, and I found the answer, which was a cephalopod mollusk in the order Octopoda.

How To: Really Connect Your Words with Friends Mobile Account to Facebook

I can't say it's absolutely true, but when it comes to mobile word gaming, there's Scrabble people and then there's Words with Friends people. It feels segregational. Rarely does one play both. At least, that's what I see when it comes to my family and friends.

News: Scrabble Finally Hits Android Devices... But Does It Beat Words with Friends?

Three years ago, Scrabble was one of the very first 500 mobile applications to appear on the new iTunes App Store, allowing iPhone users the chance to kill their Scrabble cravings on the go. It was a smart move for Hasbro and Electronic Arts (EA), but it's been two years and eight months since the Android Market opened for business, and they've just now released an official app for Android smartphones—Scrabble Free.

News: How Controversy Changed SCRABBLE

OSPD1 In 1978, the first SCRABBLE Dictionary was conceived and published by Merriam-Webster, with the help of the National Scrabble Association (NSA). The idea was to include any word that was found in one of the five major dictionaries at the time:

News: 10 Peculiar Game Rules for Competitive Scrabble Tournaments

The 2011 Toronto International Scrabble Open (TOSI) took place last weekend, with former World Champion Adam Logan beating out all of the human competition for the $3,000 grand prize. But when it came time to take on the Quackle program in the Human vs. Computer Showdown, he lost his first two games and won the last two, ultimately losing with a measly 28-point differential of the combined total scores. But he still came out three grand happier.

News: Top 10 Christmas Gift Ideas for the SCRABBLE Enthusiast

The holiday season is here, and if you didn't already pick up a SCRABBLE set during Black Friday or Cyber Monday, then you still have time to buy the perfect gift for your lexical-minded friend. There's sure to be deals out there over the next couple of weeks, you just need to browse the web and search store shelves for the best deal.

Scrabble Bingo of the Day: CABRESTA

Scrabble Bingo of the Day: CABRESTA [n/pl.] A cabresta (also cabestro or cabresto) is simply a lasso, a rope formed with a running noose that's used on ranches and Western plains for catching horse and cattle. Cabresta comes from the Spanish word halter, which refers to the headgear used for leading or tying up livestock and other animals. But halter also used to mean to hang someone by roped noose, which could be how it became popular as a term for a noosed lasso.

Scrabble Challenge #3: Can You Find the Game Killing Triple-Triple?

There are two types of Scrabble players in the world—those who enjoy it and those who love it. I definitely fall into the latter category. Unfortunately, most of my friends don't. I'm lucky to have a few who simply enjoy it from time to time—some are even standing on the edge of Scrabble geekdom, afraid to take that last step. Maybe someday.

News: Scrabble's 2-Letter Words - Defined

Ok, so you've memorized the list of valid 2-letter words, but when challenged after playing one, can you smugly demonstrate your dominating intellect by spouting out the proper definition?

News: The Best Places to Play Scrabble Online

There's nothing better than playing a game of Scrabble, feeling the smooth wooden tiles in your hand and savoring the heavy fumes of cardboard, cheap wood and plastic as you rearrange the letters on your rack into the perfect word. You try to keep a straight face while you watch your opponent sweat, but you can't help but release that diabolical grin of self-admiration as you play the elusive triple-triple. The score's recorded and you feel sorry for your bitter rival, but then you remember y...

How To: Score Big with Simple 2-Letter Words in Scrabble

No matter what word game you're playing, whether it's Scrabble or one of its near-homogeneous counterparts like Lexulous, Wordfeud or Words with Friends, one of the easiest ways to stay on top of your opponent is knowing all of the legal two-letter words you can play. You're not going to win by only playing two-letter words, but there are definitely occasions when the game could slip from your hands by not playing them.

How To: Master SCRABBLE & Win Every Game

SCRABBLE. To some it's just a game, but to me it's life or death. Well, not really, but it feels that way anyway. On a normal weekend, a game becomes much like Jon Thomas' "friendly game of death Scrabble."

News: The Ultimate SCRABBLE Word List Resource

To some, SCRABBLE is just a board game to play during family game night or during a casual get-together. Others think of SCRABBLE as a mere hobby. But with any activity, there will always be fanatics—the ones who would rather sell their soul than stop—the ones with a constant yearning for self-improvement—the merciless.

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.

Scrabble Challenge #4: How Fast Are You at Building Words? Find Out…

A recent study in Canada concluded that competitive Scrabble players are twenty percent faster than non-Scrabble players at identifying real words on a Scrabble rack. In light of this news, this week's challenge is actually just a game of Scrabble Sprint from Pogo.com.

How To: Play and Win Bananagrams – Scrabble's Addictive and Fast-Paced Cousin

Let's face it, not every logophile is addicted to Scrabble. Without the use of a timer, Scrabble can be a pretty slow game. Even in clubs and tournaments where the standard time limit is 25 minutes per person for a two-player game. Now, take away time restrictions and add two other players and you've got a game that could take up to 2 hours! It all really depends on who the competition is.

Scrabble Challenge #20: What Would You Do with a Rack Full of Vowels?

You're currently playing a heated game of Scrabble or Words with Friends. The game is close, too close for comfort. But you're not sweating because you're confident. You play a huge word that puts you in the lead, but then when your letter tiles are drawn...

How To: Play Scrabble

Everyone loves Scrabble, but not everyone knows how to play the game properly. Yes, there is a set up rules that come with each game, but who actually wants to read them? Isn't it better to learn from a more visual approach? This video will teach you the basics of gameplay.

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 #9: Can You Win the Losing Game on the Last Move?

The end game is a very important aspect of playing Scrabble. If you have just a few letters left on your rack and there are none left in the draw bag, but you're currently losing the game, you still might have a chance to win if you play your cards (er… tiles) right. No matter if you're playing a casual game at home with a friend or competing against diehards in club or tournament games, the scoring process at the end provides the same results.

News: The 5 Best Word Game Mobile Apps Besides Scrabble

When you don't have anyone to play with in the flesh, nothing beats a round of competitive online Scrabble. If you're constantly on the move, the Scrabble app developed by Electronic Arts (EA) for Android and iOS mobile devices is probably your favorite way to play. But let's face it—if you love Scrabble, you probably love all types of word games, and if you're on the hunt for that next fun and challenging logological mobile game, I've got a few suggestions for you...

The History of SCRABBLE Boards: Glass, Vintage, Gold... & Star Trek?!?

The game has undergone many transitions over the years, since its days as LEXIKO (1931) to its briefness as CRISS CROSS WORDS to its current and amalgamated, renowned brand of SCRABBLE. There has been many editions of the word board game along that historic metamorphosis, and SCRABBLE has even given in to pop culture, sports memorabilia, and fanaticism.

Scrabble Challenge #16: Finding 6-Letter Words in 7-Letter Words

Being able to spell a seven-letter word on the board is one of the most enjoyable things about playing Scrabble. It's even better when those seven letters are all from your rack, giving you a bingo—those 50 bonus points in addition to your regular score.

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).

Scrabble Challenge #5: Put Your 2-Letter Word Skills to the Test

Two-letter words are one of the most important parts of playing Scrabble. If you don't know all of the small ones, then you're missing out on one of the easiest ways to score big. Check out How to Score Big with 2-Letter Words in Scrabble and memorize all that you can. Definitions are optional, but you won't need them for this challenge.

Scrabble Challenge #17: How Many Words Can You Find in TURKEY?

The big day may be over, but the weekend is still full of Thanksgiving spirit. And so is this week's puzzle. But let's keep it short this time, because we should all be taking this time to play a real game of Scrabble with friends and family. I was thinking of making a puzzle about edible birds in general, but practically every bird is edible, meaning there's a lot of avian-related words. Since the turkey is such a big part of Thanksgiving, let's just stick to that...

Scrabble Challenge #6: What Would Your Opening Move Be?

Now that you have your two-letter words down and have practiced your skills, it's time to move on to another important part of Scrabble gameplay—the opening move. There's a well known adage that states, “The player going first will win 54% of the time—all other things being equal."

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.

SCRABBLE, Sex & Wine: How One Man Gets the Girls in Bed

SCRABBLE may seem like a board game for word nerds only, but believe it or not, SCRABBLE can be used to lure thousands of hot women into your bed... at least that's what Clive Worth claims.

News: SCRABBLE Expert Breaks Record

What's the highest score you ever achieved in one SCRABBLE game? 500? 600? 700?

News: The Many Ways to Play SCRABBLE

If you're like me, you want to play Scrabble all the time. But you can't drag your Scrabble board everywhere, without drawing attention. Not to mention bringing it to work's probably a bad idea.

News: Would You Play CLITORIS Against Your Grandmother?

Comic by xkcd

Scramble with Friends: Zynga's Newly Released Word Game for iOS

Zynga just added another game to their Zynga with Friends series called Scramble with Friends. If you've ever played Boggle, it's basically the same thing, but is dedicated to playing your buddies just like Words with Friends or Hanging with Friends.

How To: Play the classic word board game Scrabble

Yes, this is how to play play the classic word board game Scrabble. If you hate reading instructions and like videos tutorials, this is for you, but somehow I don't think you hate reading instructions, because they're words, and words are your friend.

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.

News: New WESPA Ratings System Launched for World Tournament Scrabble

WESPA, the World English-Language Scrabble Players Association, has released its first major overhaul of the ratings system since inception,. Several known issues faced by the old system have been remedied, with the new system available online through Aardvark. The changes make ratings fairer, particularly for new players in the system.

Scrabble Challenge #11: Would You Pass Up the Opening Move?

In these weekly Scrabble Challenges, so far we've covered two-letter words, double bingos, high scoring moves, triple-triples, last moves, parallel plays, phoneys and opening moves. For this week's puzzle, we're revisiting the strategy for opening moves.

News: Scrabble Dumbs Down Its Game with 3,000 New Words

Remember the firestorm SCRABBLE Trickster caused nine months ago? SCRABBLE enthusiasts across the world were outraged when Mattel created a game that would allow proper nouns to be acceptable words of play. Essentially, it was a dumbed down, youth-friendly version of the classic game they've all come to love. Luckily, it was just a spinoff game—not a replacement. The same can't be said of the new edition of Collins Official SCRABBLE Words.

News: SCRABBLE Hits Casinos

SCRABBLE is taking the world by storm. It's everywhere. You can play it on Facebook, iPhone, iPod, Nintendo DS, PSP, mobile phones... you name it, it's there. And you can even gamble online, like with SCRABBLE Cubes on WorldWinner.

How To: Answer to Scrabble Challenge #20

It's sad to say, but I will no longer be writing up anymore Scrabble Challenges. Frankly, I just don't have the time to make them now. And though they are incredibly fun and "challenging" to conjure up, I'm not sure that people are finding them as useful as I had hoped. But really, it all comes down to time. So, unless I have a future craving for puzzle-making, last week's Scrabble Challenge #20 was the last one.