Tag Archives: Scrabble games

We Did It! Now on to 2000 Games!

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Those who have been following my blog for awhile know that my husband and I are Scrabble addicts.

Confessions of a Scrabble Addict!

We have actually got out of bed at 3 am, played a game and then went back to bed!

We began keeping score in 2008. We have the score books from all these years. My husband keeps score and he keeps tab of the total of games we each win – by how many points and even the seven-letter words we play.

At the beginning of 2020 we realized we were close to playing 1000 games – so we set a goal of doing just that. And with the year it has been cooped up at home – it was a good thing to keep us from going crazy!

We have the official Scrabble dictionary and after several challenges by me, my husband uses it a lot to make sure he is spelling the word correctly so I don’t challenge him again.

Being totally crazy, we even have a list of all the three-letter words in the dictionary – and we allow ourselves to use the list to help us make more points.

As we began the last game of 2020 I was one game ahead of my husband and I wanted to win this game and end this 1000 game stretch ahead. However, it did not start out too good for me. These were the letters I had – no vowels.

My husband’s hand was not much better. He had no vowels also but he did have a “y” which he could use. After playing the word “sty” I had to take a “0” for my first turn because I could not do anything with these letters. So – the game did not start off in my favor.

I gained the lead quickly and when we were about two-thirds done, I was ahead 487 to 434. However, it game turned to his favor when he was able to spell a seven-letter word which gave him 50 extra points and he won the game with a score of 711 to my 692.

So – after 1000 games in 12 years we ended all tied.

We each have won 498 games and we have four tied games.

A friend told me she found it hard to believe we were tied after all these games. She said she thought one of us was letting the other one win. Clearly she is not a very close friend because if she were, she would know we are too competitive for that.

Since it took us 12 years to reach 1000 games, I seriously doubt we will ever see 2000, but we can have fun continuing to challenge each other – and keep our old brains active.

My husband fell earlier this year and was rushed to the hospital for surgery following a brain bleed. I worried if he would still be able to compete with me in Scrabble. The doctors told us that one of the possible side effects of this injury was damage to his ability to speak or read and communicate. It was such a blessing to see that he recovered quickly and could keep me on my toes. We both think getting right back to Scrabble was a big help in that recovery.

I’m Back With a Miracle Man!

Well – I did want to end ahead of him – but such is life. I’ll just have to put on my big girl pants and go on.

Can We Make It to 1000?

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Those of you who have followed my blog for awhile know that my husband and I are avid Scrabble players. We are very competitive and have kept a record of our scores since 2008. I tell my story in:

Confessions of a Scrabble Addict!

We have been known to wake up at 4 am and, not being able to go back to sleep, get up and play a game of Scrabble before heading back to bed. Since we play with a Super Scrabble board which has twice the number of tiles for a normal game and a much larger board, it can take us two to three hours to play a game It doesn’t help that we are so competitive and often take minutes to find the right word.

Currently we are at game number 928. We want to make it to 1000 games by the end of the year. Since there are only 78 days left in the year this means we can only skip six days without a game.

Since we are retired and winter is fast coming to our home in Michigan, I think we can make it.

Right now in our 928 games I have won 464, my husband has won 460 with four ties. Recently a friend said she did not think we could have that many ties or be that close in games won and suggested that one of us was letting the other win. Obviously while she is a friend she is not a close friend. Otherwise she would know how competitive we are and how we would NEVER let the other one win.

Questions:

When we reach that milestone who will be ahead in the total number of games won?

What should the winner of the most games receive as a prize?

What should the loser of the most games have to do for ending up behind?

Any ideas? I would love to have your input on these questions.

He May Regret the Rule He Made

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Those of you who follow my blog know that my husband and I are Scrabble addicts.  We are very competitive and our final scores are often very close.

Recently I beat my husband by just 15 points.  He decided he wanted to add the scores again to make sure no mistake had been made.  While I was more than glad to do this, I said to be fair if we were going to check the scores of this game, we would need to check those games where I lost by just 15 points.

So I agreed with his new rule.  Going forward any game where there was a difference of 20 points or less, we would add up the scores again.

He may regret making that rule.

This week we played a game and when it ended he was ahead of me by just five points.  I insisted he check the scores again.

To his great disappointment he found that he had made an addiction mistake in his score giving him ten more points than he should have.

By subtracting those ten points, I now won the game by just five points.

So be careful what you want to change – it may turn against you.

(And I’m still laughing at this!)

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800 Games and Still Counting

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If you follow my blog you know my husband and I are avid Scrabble players.  Very competitive, we started keeping a record of the scores of our games in 2008.  We laugh that we are actually addicted to the game.

My Addiction has Returned

Thankfully we are evenly matched.  It would be no fun if one of us was much better than the other.  We go back and forth on winning the games.  Usually we are never more than one or two games apart.  A few years ago my husband actually pushed way ahead of me with a seven game lead.  I was so discouraged as I did not know how I would ever catch up with him again.  (Do you think losing too many games of Scrabble to your husband would be good grounds for a divorce?)

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Some of our kids bought us a Super Scrabble board a few years ago.  The board has more squares to play on and twice the number of letter tiles as the regular Scrabble game.  We have used it so much that it is falling apart.  We have it taped together but have agreed for our Christmas gift we will purchase a new one next month.  We also need a good Scrabble dictionary as our present one is falling apart.

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This week we played our 800th game.  After eleven years that is roughly 73 games a year or 6 games a month.  Since I did not retire until 2013 we are actually playing more games each month now.  Winter finds us playing more games as we hate going out in the snow and cold.  Summer finds us making road trips so the games take a back seat for a few weeks.

When we played that 800th game I was two games ahead of my husband and he was really hoping to win the game.  I beat him and that put me three games ahead for the eleven years we have kept score.

He threatened to never play again.  But he was only joking as I often whine when I get behind more than two games that I do not want to play any more.

In the 800 games played we have actually tied three games.  When I told one friend of how close our games are she felt one of us was just being nice and letting the other one win to keep our scores close.  However, she clearly does not know us.  We are very competitive and would never willingly let the other one win.

scrabble

I am thankful that my husband and I share this common love.  Along with giving us hours of enjoyment, we figure at our age (71 and 79) it may very well help keep our minds sharp.  When we get to 1000 games we are going to have a party! (If we continue at this pace, that means we will be 74 and 82.  Who wants to bet me we will still be going strong in three years?)

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Do you and your family play board games?

What games do you like?

Are you addicted to any games?

Are you a good loser?  Good winner?

 

 

My Addiction Cost Me 27 Days in 2017

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I am addicted.  I have made my confession before.  Confessions of a Scrabble Addict!

I have tried hard to overcome it but I have not been able to do so as I reported in  My Addiction has Returned.

And now this year it has taken 27 days of my life.

We played 216 games in 2017.  It takes us about 3 hours to play a game.  So that amounts to 27 days playing scrabble.

We play on a super scrabble board which has twice the letters of regular scrabble and an expanded board.

We also take forever to take a turn because we are so competitive and try to either play a seven letter word which gives us 50 extra points or find a place on the board to give us triple or quadruple points.

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Winning with us is like a seesaw.  I get a couple of games ahead, then he comes backs, ties me and pulls ahead two or three games.  The most anyone of us has been ahead is five games.  When I get that many games behind, the adrenalin kicks in and I HAVE to catch up.

 

Keeping scores since 2008 we ended this year with a tie.  We each won 107 games with two tied games.  In the ten years of keeping score, I have won one more game than he has.  One more game in ten years.  What a tight contest!

So into the New Year we go!  Suspect mounts!

Will he be able to win more games than me in 2018?

Will I pull ahead even more?

For those who follow my blog and are tired of hearing about scrabble (which proves my addiction) I promise no more posts on this subject for a while (at least I promise I will try).

So just a few scrabble jokes to end this blog and start another attempt to overcome my addiction.

  • In Russia when a baby is born, the parents play a game of scrabble and the letters they pick up is the name of their child.
  • Scrabble is all fun and games until someone loses an “i”
  • the dreaded Old MacDonald rack – eieiooo
  • I accidentally swallowed some scrabble tiles.  My next movement could spell disaster.

International Scrabble Day

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Scrabble

Now here’s a holiday to celebrate!

Today is National Scrabble Day and what better way to celebrate than to try to beat my husband in a game of Scrabble.  I have shared before that I am an addict.  Confessions of a Scrabble Addict!  There are groups for those trying to overcome addiction to drugs or alcohol but there is nothing to help those of us who cannot stop trying to make words out of every sign, every book title, every thing we see in writing.  So I guess I am stuck with my addiction.   My Addiction has Returned

Today lets me know I am not alone!

There are apparently many more out there who love Scrabble.  There is an International Scrabble Club created and run by the player known as Carol (real name Florin Gheorghe), who lives in Romania.  There is a World Scrabble Championship which is held every year with players from more than 30 countries.  This championship is the most prestigious title in competitive English language Scrabble.   Contestants come from more than 30 countries to compete.  The 2017 North American Scrabble Championship is scheduled to take place in New Orleans.

Serious Competition

While we will never make it to the national championship, we keep up a tough competition between us.   Many of our games are very close but last January was one for the books.  When the game ended I was one point ahead of my husband.  However, because I had one tile that I had not played, its point value had to be taken from me and added to my husband’s score.  That gave him the game with one point ahead of me.  Needless to say, I was NOT a happy camper.

We also compete to see who can get the highest score in a game.  So far, my husband holds that title with a game played back in May 2015 with 961 points.  Yes we do keep records of our scores.  I told you we are addicts.

Another area where we compete is to see who can play all seven tiles in one turn.  For years I was way behind my husband.  But slowly I have learned to do as he does and keep shuffling my tiles around to see what words I can make.  Of course, this takes time so we have to be patient with each other.  Some of the crazy words we have come up with over the years include unbonnet and yaupings.  He loves to keep reminding me that twice he has had a game where he played all seven tiles five different times.

We have become familiar with the Greek, Hebrew and Arabic alphabet as those words are allowed in Scrabble.  There are 105 playable two-letters words in a regulation Scrabble game, according to the Official Scrabble players’ dictionary and we have memorized most of those.

So for my fellow Scrabble lovers

Scrabble joke

 

 

 

Confessions of a Scrabble Addict!

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My name is Barbara and I am a Scrabble addict!

  • I must confess that I am constantly looking for new words to use in a game.  When I read a book I am on the outlook for new words.  As I glance through a magazine, my eyes just seem to latch on to new words in the articles or the advertisements.
  • During the commercials when I watch TV or wait at a restaurant for my food – or any other time I find myself waiting – I often write out a long word or a greeting such as “Merry Christmas” – then see how many words I can make from the longer word or greeting.  (My husband gets tired of finding these lists of words everywhere – in the desk drawer where we keep our mail – on the computer desk – on the end table next to my recliner.  I tell him I will stop – but I can’t seem to help myself.)
  • I actually “read” the dictionary looking for new words.
  • All my other hobbies take a back seat to the game – reading, writing, watching TV.  None of these are as important as getting my husband to join me in a game of scrabble.

I need help!  But……..

My husband is an addict too!

  • He also reads the dictionary learning new words.  He loves to take words he already knows and search to see how the plural or past tense would be spelled.
  • He recently started making a list of all the new words we find and use in our games.

Our daughter thinks we are nuts!

We take our Scrabble games seriously.  We have kept score of every game we have played since 2008.  Even the games we play with family or friends is entered in our book.

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We may have gone too far this winter!

With the cold weather we have been indoors more than usual the past few weeks and I think our Scrabble addiction has gotten out of hand.  My husband is now keeping a record of our average scores for each month.  We are in a serious contest to see who wins the most games for each month.

We play only Super Scrabble!

The regular size Scrabble board is 15″ x 15″ but we use the larger Super Scrabble board.  It is 21″ x 21″, has quadruple letters and words and twice the number of tiles as the regular Scrabble board.  Since we constantly try to increase our scores and take this so seriously, our games can last for two to three hours.  (But we are retired, it is cold outside, so who cares?)

Come on spring!

We really need warm weather to return so that we can regain some sanity and move on to other interests before our addiction overtakes us completely.

If you are addicted to Scrabble too, let me know.  We could start a Scrabble Anonymous Club.