Scrabble Squabble

[Mozart]

Wordy Avalonians,


All of you have played “Scrabble”, right? It’s a classic, iconic game. I’ve been playing it lately with my friends, and needless to say, I’ve been kicking ass with it. *grin*.


[Edit: After typing that out in my word doc, I got my head handed to me on a platter by my ex-GF, who nearly DOUBLED the total score that I did in our last game on her B-day just now ... pride goes before the fall, eh?]


But there’s one effing rule that buggers the hell out of me and it’s this one…



H. Bonus Squares Score on One Turn Only


The letter premium squares (light and dark blue) and the word premium squares (pink and red) apply only to the turn in which they are originally covered by a word. In all subsequent turns, letters on those squares count only at face value.



http://scrabble-assoc.com/build/rules/rules2.html#ra2h


Now, my question is why in the flying eff do they allow these kinds of double/triple squares to be counted JUST ONCE?


Isn’t it just as imaginative to add on any word(s) and letter(s) to any double/triple-score square(s) that’s already covered for additional doubles and triples?


I mean, why in the flying eff does the “official” company rules allow just ONE double and triple? Wouldn’t it be more exciting if one could score the doubles and triples repeatedly?


I mean, this parsimonious, anal-retentive, ass-puckering rule really buggers me.


Jeez. It’s symptomatic of corporate anal-retentiveness of the idea of goddamn scarcity, as opposed to abundance that is the true rule in life, right? Y'think?


Hell, I know that this issue is a silly, little one, but it just is symptomatic of eff’n corporations. In my house those damn double/triple scores would be (when I get my OWN house!) counted EVERY time someone creates words off those damn squares.


Eff corporations! Eff their anal-retentive, ass-puckering rules!


You know what? I'm going to petition the effing president of the US, the sanctimonious Pope, the evil-assed queen, the pompous prime ministers of countries and God Itsssself -- not to mention Hasbro and Mattel, the two corporations that own Scrabble -- and have this anal-retentive rule changed to allow any opportunistic player to repeatedly double/triple up letter/word scores on any added word(s) and letter(s) to any double/triple-score square(s) that had once been played.


I'm going to raise funds, millions of dollars, make this my life mission and end this scarcity and poverty of points in Scrabble!


/rant


~Mozart

[bram]

Well, Moz, this is a serious problem. Can I suggest you declare a universal rule change and state that whenever the game is played within your own private empire, the extra points can be acrued each time letters are added?

However, a word of caution- this may lead to scores escalating like crazy. If it leads to Anarchy, it will be on your head................

[mosquito]

Presumably you get awarded the double/triple bonus for using your skill to place your word on thooe squares. Simply coming along later and using a particular letter doesn't in itsself require any extra talent. If, as you suggest, the bonus score should be allowed to count on subsequent turns, you'd end up in the situation where someone would simply put a letter or two next to the high-scoring letter as a way of getting a good score for a basically crappy word, similar to what happens when an "X" or "Z" appears.

You could try Bram's suggestion and see what happens ......

[TelosianEmbrace]

Dearest Mozart, I enjoy the game of scrabble immensely, and have done for many years.

What strikes me, initially, is your use of the word eff. This euphemism is slang and simply would not be allowed anywhere near a scrabble board. There are other little 'gems' in your rant such as the use of 'Itsssself'. Not only is this a blatant misspelling, and perhaps irreverently and intentionally so, but it is also a terrible waste of four s's in one word. If I were to ever see four s's being used in one go on a scrabble board, I would probably faint from the shock.

On a slightly more serious note, if you have managed to draw the parallels between the seemingly arbitrary rules in scrabble and the restrictive control of corporations, then you are truly doing slightly better than my learned self, and for that I take my hat off to you!

[Tony]

I totally agree with you. Kathie and I play scrabble every night, and making up our own rules is part of the fun! :cool:

[Hawkwind]

Well, I’m glad to see at least someone on this forum is devoting their energies toward something non-trivial and worthwhile. I mean, amid all this talk on earthquake machines, coronal mass ejections, the machinations of some supposed dark cabal and all the other mindless fluff that tends to get bandied about on this forum, it’s refreshing to finally run across a subject that really matters. Thanks for your contribution, Mozart.

Let’s see- double letter score on the M= 6 pts, plus 1 pt each for S-A-R-A-S and 3 pts for the C= 14 pts, times two for the double word = 28 pts for “sarcasm”. Your turn.

[Hermite]

I just HAD to join this discussion. I adore Scrabble and I side with Mariposafe on the scoring issue. I lost my Scrabble partner back in '04 and as a hermite, have not found another. There used to be a lovely version on the internet and I enjoyed playing it for many months. Then those evil corporations came and shut it down because they believe they own all the rights to peoples' enjoyment. Evil jerks.

So, Mozart, I stand behind you in your mission. FREE SCRABBLE!!

[araucaria]

I used to play scrabble as a kid with my bedridden aunt (MS) : we never played to this rule and made some nice scores. We also had another game called Keyword I think, basically the same but with extra points for making a given word drawn from a pack.

No need to squabble over rules when you can squabble over dictionaries :)

I say, do what you like as long as you are not playing Monopoly, an excruciating game with an interminable end-game that plays out very like the 21st century world. It’s getting time when the ones who long ago lost interest need to clear the table for some food :)

[modwiz]

What the eff, Mozart? Do you effing have to effing use the eff word in every effing post you make? Jebus effing christ. What the eff is this thread about?

BTW, how is your diet going, brother? I hope you are obtaining your goals. :thumb:

[westhill]

Letters and numbers!! I love scrabble. I think it's better than chess.
My favorite moment is when I beat the C3R1A1P3 out of an old boyfriend
who never lost. Our first and last game.