cuuuutest first date.
we played scrabble.









hehe. i lost. twice...but it was fun.

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Celebrities who play Scrabble
It's fun to see which celebrities play Scrabble.

Funny, I didn't know Kareem gave up basketball for Scrabble.

With the World Scrabble Championships imminently underway, I took a peek at the players and I'm disappointed that my third cousin, Steven Gruzd isn't representing South Africa this year (perhaps Scrabble does run in the family, although I've still got a long way to go). The last time he competed at the World's in London he placed 6th. He's probably too busy with work and fatherhood these days.

This year I'm rooting for my favourite young players I've met IRL:

Representing Canada, all-round nice guy Dean Saldanha.
Representing USA, young whiz kid Jason Katz-Brown.
Representing USA, John O'Laughlin, my roommate in San Diego at the 2002 NSC.
My pick to win it all has got to be transplanted Canadian living in London Adam Logan.

I once played Adam Logan in a speed Scrabble (3-minute) game and he got down four bingos in his first six turns. The man is a machine!

Feel free to follow along with the live coverage. Yeah, I'm a Word Nerd. Can't you tell?

iLifer

Current Mood: anxious

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tomorrow night's Scrabble
If you're in Toronto (or know anyone who is) and like to play Scrabble, check this out:

Tomorrow it's supposed to be mostly sunny and 28 degrees, so it looks like we'll be fortunate enough to be playing on the patio again this late in the year. Last week it got a little too windy or chilly for some of us, so games were taken inside to the cozy tables and couches later on in the night.

Last week's "Celebration" Theme Word prize entries included the words BEST, DEBUT, FRAT, FRIVOL, JIG, REELECT and STAG — all reasons to celebrate! But the popular vote went to the three-letter word JIG, which is what the dynamic duo of Dale and Scott did when they made off with the bar swag courtesy of our fine hosts at Kilgour's Bar Meets Grill (509 Bloor St. W., between Spadina and Bathurst).

Which just goes to show ya that you don't need to be a genius and play five bingos a game to win something. Not at Scrabble in the City.

I try to match people by their relative Scrabble prowess or lack thereof. It's totally okay if you totally suck. There's usually a "cheat sheet" around with all the acceptable two- and three-letter words on it. You are free to use it while playing for as long as you like. We get newcomers each week. The club's been going on for over two years now.

If you haven't joined us yet, give us a try tomorrow (Monday) night starting at 7PM. We generally play two or three games before taking a vote, after which I announce the prize winners. Some stick around for a few more games. Some Scrabble players have so much fun, they often keep playing past midnight.... ;o)

If you decide to come tomorrow night, bring a sweater or light jacket, as we might get to play outside on the patio all night at least one last time. Theme Prize TBA. Come join us for a casual night of games, drinks, words and fun!

iLifer/Wordfreak

(cross-posted to relevant groups)

Current Mood: contemplative

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New Guy
Hi. Brand new member here. Can't believe it took me this long to locate y'all. I am a Scrabble Junkie of the highest sort. I've consumed the OSPD3 front to back. I've read "Word Freak," parts of it twice. I play about 15 games in person a week, another four or five online. And I'm threatening to join the Austin Scrabble Club (I'm in TX).

So I'm curious what everyone's greatest all-time score and/or single play is.

Mine was a 517-289 game versus my regular playing partner. It was a freak game, with three bingoes and me drawing all the S's, both blanks, and the J, X, and Z. My greatest single play had to be going out, while trailing by about 50, with the bingo DJINNIS to win. I'd read about the play in "Word Freak" and when the spot opened up to play it, on a TWS no less, I was, to put it mildly, happy.

Thanks.

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hi, my name is dan...
...and i'm a scrabble junky. i've been playing since as long as i can remember, but recently moved from interest to obsession. i've been having weekly games with my friends coleclou and nick. lately we've been experimenting with double-word scrabble, wherein you can only play a turn if you can make two or more words at once, until you have less than seven tiles at the end of the game. umm... so yeah. i've noticed i mention scrabble a lot in my posts, so i figured i oughta hook up with some communities. i'm joining scrabblejunkies, scrabbleplayers, scrabblers, and triplewordscore (i'm cross-posting). so hi, everyone!

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Found it!
The word is EKE!

doh. I misplaced a letter in my head somewhere, but it goes like this:

eke ( P ) Pronunciation Key (k)
tr.v. eked, ek·ing, ekes
To supplement with great effort. Used with out: eked out an income by working two jobs.
To get with great effort or strain. Used with out: eke a bare existence from farming in an arid area.
To make (a supply) last by practicing strict economy. Used with out.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Middle English eken, to increase, from Old English can. See aug- in Indo-European Roots.]


So, we'll have that one for the next time.

I guess we can't use continental descriptions..? ala "American or Indonesian"... that's a pity. I knew we could use soviet though, because it's a type of legislative body, not a country or place name.

Also.. the word I was going for on the VY thing was "vie"... which is spelled in the present participle as "vying." blech. Sucks. My fault.

Oh well. Until next we meet, scrabble queen!

Current Mood: geeky

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Just checking
...

Current Mood: busy

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Scrabble babble
Hello. My name is Brad, and I'm a scrabblejunky.

I toss text tiles with Halcyone and Taneka on a regular basis, and it feels Go-o-o-o-o-o0d.

Current Mood: tired

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