What’s different between club and tournament play and
casual play?
Club and tournament rules differ from the standard
rules found in the box. The most noticeable differences are:
- Games are played one-on-one.
- Both players keep
score.
- Games are timed using a
chess clock.
- Players may
challenge words.
- Words must appear in specific references (The
Official Tournament and Club Word List [OTCWL] or The Long List
[LL]) to be
considered valid.
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What’s different between
club and tournament rules and
the rules that come inside the box?
Club and tournament rules have evolved to ensure a
fair and consistent experience, and eliminate or mitigate many
conflicts. Players are penalized in certain situations:
- Exceeding time limit: player loses 10 points per
minute.
- Overdrawing: opponent selects tiles to return to
bag.
- Losing a
challenge: player loses turn if s/he
played a phony; the challenger loses turn if words are valid.
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What kind of specialty equipment to do you use?
Many players have custom boards, usually Deluxe
SCRABBLE® sets affixed to round, lazy-Susan turntables. Players also use
Protiles, digital or analog
chess clocks, personalized tile bags and
board covers, cymbal bags (for round custom boards) and other carrying
bags, custom score
sheets longer racks.
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How many tournaments are held each year?
There are approx. 170 sanctioned tournaments held each
year in North America.
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How much does it cost to participate?
Entry fees vary based on tournament format, expenses,
and projected prize pot, and range from approx. $20 to $100 per person.
Players may incur incidentals (accommodations, meals, travel, etc.).
Some tournament fees are bundled with accommodations, and start at $100.
Tournament players may also invest (one-time) an average of $250 on specialty equipment, and
must be members of the NSA ($18/yr).
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How much can I win?
Prizes vary from tournament to tournament based on the
entry fee, tournament format, number of participants, number of
divisions, tournament expenses, etc. Prizes range from $25 to more than
$1000 for first place in the expert division at larger tournaments.
Hasbro awards $80k-$100k in total prizes at the biannual National
SCRABBLE® Championships, open to all members, with a top prize of
$25,000 for first place in the expert division. Hasbro also has
sponsored an invitational tournament with a top prize of $50,000.
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I score 350 points a game. Does that make me an
expert?
Not necessarily, since the number of total points
scored in a game is dependent on the relative skill of your opponent,
and a little luck. A better metric is average points per turn.
High-level experts tend to score an average of 35 points per turn or
more, while intermediates score in the range of 25-30 points per turn.
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How many points to expert players score?
Check out the records in
Statistics.
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What’s a bingo?
A bingo is a play that uses all 7 letters on
a players rack, earning a 50 point bonus. See the
Glossary for the definitions of SCRABBLE®
related terms.
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What does a 1500 rating mean?
See
Rating.
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That’s not really a word, is it?
Yes, they are all real words. The Official
Tournament and Club Word List (OTCWL)
and The Long List (LL)
combined hold more than 170,000 words compiled from popular American
English dictionaries. Some of the most frequently played words are the
most unusual, because they are easy ways to get rid of difficult
combinations of letters. E.g., one way to play the Q without U is QAT
(a Middle-Eastern shrub).
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How many people play SCRABBLE®?
Approx. 3,000 of the 10,000
NSA members in North
America compete in tournaments.
