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Scrabble rule change allows use of 'OK'

theguardian.com

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Re: Scrabble rule change allows use of 'OK'

#11

Post by blotter_paper »

mistrial9 wrote: post #8

playing a lot of scrabble -- our regular play includes a list of two-letter words on paper, in pencil, nearby to settle disputes (not visible during play). The arguments get heated ! .. (our list is smaller than the official list of two letter words, based on mutual agreement of real-world use). Personal opinion is that the official list is already too broad, and makes the play "muddy." Dictionary exploration is nerd…

> the regular players have a list of two-letter words on paper, in pencil, at hand.

No, this is against the rules. You know what we call a list of words? A dictionary. You aren't allowed to have those open until a word gets challenged. A decade ago I had all the two letter words in the Scrabble dictionary memorized, I doubt I'd still be able to spit them all out.

Re: Scrabble rule change allows use of 'OK'

#13

Post by rhcom2 »

blotter_paper wrote: post #11
mistrial9 wrote: post #8

playing a lot of scrabble -- our regular play includes a list of two-letter words on paper, in pencil, nearby to settle disputes (not visible during play). The arguments get heated ! .. (our list is smaller than the official list of two letter words, based on mutual agreement of real-world use). Personal opinion is that the official list is already too broad, and makes the play "muddy." Dictionary exploration is nerd…

> the regular players have a list of two-letter words on paper, in pencil, at hand. No, this is against the rules. You know what we call a list of words? A dictionary. You aren't allowed to have those open until a word gets challenged. A decade ago I had all the two letter words in the Scrabble dictionary memorized, I doubt I'd still be able to spit them all out.

It's a pretty common house rule for casual players.

Re: Scrabble rule change allows use of 'OK'

#14

Post by erickhill »

jdoliner wrote: post #9

This promises to causes a big shakeup of the Scrabble meta, two letter words are the lifeblood of high-level scrabble play and `K` is a juicy, juicy letter (points wise) to have an extra 2 letter word for.

Indeed. I wonder if Words with Friends (et al) will quickly follow suit?

Re: Scrabble rule change allows use of 'OK'

#15

Post by dmurray »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #10
mistrial9 wrote: post #8

playing a lot of scrabble -- our regular play includes a list of two-letter words on paper, in pencil, nearby to settle disputes (not visible during play). The arguments get heated ! .. (our list is smaller than the official list of two letter words, based on mutual agreement of real-world use). Personal opinion is that the official list is already too broad, and makes the play "muddy." Dictionary exploration is nerd…

How is keeping a handwritten list of words any different than violating the rule against using a dictionary to find words, though? Most of the hardcore Scrabble people I've known would object to that. ("This isn't 'Nam, there are rules.")

I doubt that actual hardcore Scrabble players would care, any more than a hardcore chess player would mind if you kept referring to an index card with a diagram to remind you which way the horsey moves. Of course, they would care about you having access to the entire dictionary, just as a serious chess player would object to you having a collection of chess opening or endgame reference books to hand.

At a beginner level, it's more fun when no one knows the word list perfectly, and you shouldn't allow it.

At a slightly-above-beginner level, say where one player knows the two-letter words and others do not, knowing the two-letter words is such a huge advantage that it's a sensible house rule to level the playing field a little, and likely make it more fun for both.

Re: Scrabble rule change allows use of 'OK'

#16

Post by TimTheTinker »

blotter_paper wrote: post #11
mistrial9 wrote: post #8

playing a lot of scrabble -- our regular play includes a list of two-letter words on paper, in pencil, nearby to settle disputes (not visible during play). The arguments get heated ! .. (our list is smaller than the official list of two letter words, based on mutual agreement of real-world use). Personal opinion is that the official list is already too broad, and makes the play "muddy." Dictionary exploration is nerd…

> the regular players have a list of two-letter words on paper, in pencil, at hand. No, this is against the rules. You know what we call a list of words? A dictionary. You aren't allowed to have those open until a word gets challenged. A decade ago I had all the two letter words in the Scrabble dictionary memorized, I doubt I'd still be able to spit them all out.

OP said it wasn't visible during play, only as a quick reference when resolving disputes -- quicker than hunting through a full-size dictionary.

> No, this is against the rules.

It wasn't, but even if it was, that's only the official rules. We can choose to play by different rules.

Re: Scrabble rule change allows use of 'OK'

#18

Post by alreadyaword »

glitchc wrote: post #5

Next: KO

KO is already a valid word in international (English language) tournament play.

Personally, I am sad about this. Serious scrabble play is largely about rack management - i.e. trying to get a set of tiles that you can play all at once for a 50 point bonus (bingo). That means dumping tiles that make it harder to score a bingo (duplicates, difficult letters) while taking into consideration the likelihood of drawing better tiles given what's been played and what letters your opponent is dumping (signalling what's in their rack). Most turns are about maximizing the points from non-bingos while putting together a good rack, and that frequently means playing words parallel to what's already on the board to double-up on a premium tile.

The 2006 OSPD addition of "ZA" and "QI" really changed the game, and not in a good way. Q-sticks (sticking your opponent with an unplayable Q) were a staple of end-game play, especially but are now basically obsolete.

OK rankles especially as an initialism. There will be (very nerdy) riots if a 2 letter 'V' word is ever added.

Re: Scrabble rule change allows use of 'OK'

#19

Post by vkou »

dmurray wrote: post #15
CamperBob2 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is keeping a handwritten list of words any different than violating the rule against using a dictionary to find words, though? Most of the hardcore Scrabble people I've known would object to that. ("This isn't 'Nam, there are rules.")

I doubt that actual hardcore Scrabble players would care, any more than a hardcore chess player would mind if you kept referring to an index card with a diagram to remind you which way the horsey moves. Of course, they would care about you having access to the entire dictionary, just as a serious chess player would object to you having a collection of chess opening or endgame reference books to hand. At a beginner le…

A serious chess player would play timed games, and if you want to spend your time leafing through a dead tree book... It's your time to waste.

Re: Scrabble rule change allows use of 'OK'

#20

Post by sdegutis »

gerry_shaw wrote: post #17

The addition of ze (gender-neutral pronoun) is even better than OK.

You'd think Scrabble would want to stay neutral with politically charged words like this so as not to offend any potential customers and instead ultimately gain more purchases and fewer boycotts. Especially a word like ze which would not exist if we parents had been doing our jobs correctly.
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