Secrets of a Scrabble Goddess

The first year I played at the Literacy Council Scrabble Tournament, someone handed my mom and I a little green sticker before the games started. “Scrabble Goddess” the sticker read. Mom probably deserved it more than I did.  She has a vocabulary twice the size of mine. And if she happens to not know a word, she can usually figure it out by entomology. She took Latin in high school. Root words are easy for her. Either way it puts me at a distinct disadvantage when playing Scrabble with her. In any case, we are both lovers of words, books, and Scrabble. Goddesses, I don’t about, but I sure wanted to live up to that title.

When we first heard about the Literacy Council Scrabble tournament, it changed our game. I was a volunteer Literacy Council tutor then. It was the first year of the Literacy Council Scrabble fundraiser (2005) and there was something intriguing about the rules of the game. For the fundraiser, the Literacy Council was offering team play. Four people work together to build the highest scoring board possible. Instead of choosing your next letters out of a little velvet bag, ALL the letters are face up. Playing on teams gave Mom and me, plus my brother and his girlfriend, a chance to join forces, create strategies and make spectacular words.

Maybe playing in the tournament for 13 years doesn’t make me a Scrabble Goddess, but we have won a couple times over the year. So I’m giving away my secrets, a few anyway. Why? Because I want everyone to have as much fun at the Literacy Council Scrabble Tournament as my family has over the years.
Here are three secrets for scoring big at the Literacy Council tournament

1. Knowing the list of two-letter words is essential, especially right at the end, when the timer is ready to buzz and you still have a handful of miscellaneous letters to play. Placing the letter O under a J that’s next to an X going horizontally, earns your team at least 18 points. If you happen to get that O on a premium square, it can really add up.
2. There are eight squares you must use. How ever you can, stretch your words out to the Triple Word Score squares in the corners and along the edge. It’s the only way you’ll have a chance of racking up more points than the other teams.
3. For each round, designate a score keeper. The score in Team Scrabble is kept as you go, not at the end. This person will be the one to stay organized, while the others on the team are feverishly thinking up words and placing them on the board. The score keeper can also watch the time.

I’m encouraging the Scrabble Goddess in everyone to register to play this year at the 13th Annual Scrabble Tournament. It’s for a good cause, there are some wonderful prizes thanks to local businesses, great food thanks to the local Altrusa group, and it’s just plain fun to play board games in the middle of winter. Call or go online to register. 419-223-0252 https://www.limaliteracy.net/scrabble.html