Thank you Pidge for throwing out the first question. Pidge Asked:
Bev and I have a constant debate over the use of the 2 and 3 letter word list in scrabble. According to the rules, these words are completely legitimate and great for your scores, however, I believe they are absurd and ridiculous to use in a friendly game. In a tournament, you should absolutely use them, but in a non-competition game amongst friends, they take away from the game.
Here are some good examples of the absurdity of what is allowable in competitive play: AA, AE, MI, MM (what kind of a word is that?!), UH, OUD, HEH, BRR, HM...the list goes on. These are not in my mind real words. Debate...
MM, I just ate a warm chocolate chip cookie. UH, my initial reaction to this question was to say "HEH, this is an easy one." But the more I pondered it, I had to stop and think, HM, maybe there is more to this question than I first thought. BRR, it suddenly got cold in here. MI,MI,MI, sorry had to prep my voice.
One rule of thumb might be, if you can use the word in a sentence then it should be allowed in Scrabble.
I don't know from competitive tournament Scrabble, but I think it's a bit strange that the official rules would allow words that are not in the dictionary to be counted. The way we have always played is the word must be in the dictionary, although I don't recall anyone ever actually checking.
One of my rules is, if you can come up with a reasonably agreeable definition for a word, then most people will allow it. (except maybe Carol.) But I digress. We are talking about 2 & 3 letter words here. Personally I feel the 2 & 3 letter words are the life blood of the game. Because most of the time that is all I can come up with when I play. I will admit though the "words" you gave as examples would never have occurred to me as acceptable in Scrabble. But, if the official rules state that they are acceptable, then I think you have to allow them.
If you are about to play a "non-competitive game amongst friends" (like there is such a thing.) Then I would suggest declaring, and agreeing, before the game starts that 2 & 3 letter words will not be allowed. If I were a regular player of the game, and was not involved in tournament play, then I would prefer to leave those words out and force the players (friends?) to think, and develop real words to keep the game more interesting. High score is not everything. (This coming from someone who has never been the high scorer.)
This is What Mack Thinks!
OH, this is interesting, my spellcheck only flagged AE, OUD, & HEH.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
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This is part of my issue with the whole thing. The "Official Scrabble Players Dictionary" includes such words which i would never in my life use in a sentence, nor do I agree that they are "real" words. However, the rules are in place and at least they are clear, so how can I say its not legal when the official rules say it is?! I just think they are a horrible addition to the friendly game (although I agree, most friendly games are by no means non-competitive). Tough call I think. In the interest of letting her reply for herself, I'm going to send Bev the link and look forward to hearing her defense of the subject.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Steven, if you can provide a definition of the two or three letter word, you can use it. I'm not talking about skimming a list of two and three letter words during play to try and use them, but if you learn a few of them and know what they mean, you should be able to use them. It's all part of playing creatively and progressing as a player. That's what Bev thinks!
ReplyDeleteInteresting topic. I have to agree with Kathleen. I have been playing on the computer and it too allows words that I would not allow during a "friendly" game.
ReplyDeleteI love those 2 letter words! They can generate good points!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the question and the comments. Awsome debate. Keep it going.
ReplyDeleteI agree this may not be a solvable question, as it will come down to opinion. and you know what they say opinions are like.
Talk about sitting on the fence. With every response I am thinking "Good Point, I agree with that". Too much for my small mind to ponder. Ow, I think I need an Aspirin.
ReplyDelete"Ow" good word
ReplyDeletein a 'friendly game', you wouldn't have access to a word list unless you've written it down! i always thought searching for words wasn't allowed, so i never understood why they put those lists in online games.
ReplyDeleteexCEPT! i suppose it does keep the scrabble traffic flowin'!
I was just playing scrabble on the computer and it told google was not a word. Scrabble needs to update their dictionary. Searching for words is not allowed which surprises me as to the words they (meaning whoever wrote the Scrabble dictionary)allow. It totally aggravates me, yet I continue to play.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to keep playing. it makes you THINK.
ReplyDeleteBut I think Bev and Kathleen bring it to a different level than we are used to at Carol's house.
32 points for a 2 letter word?
But only if the music is not on.