Scrabble Dorks
Matt and I really enjoy playing a game of Scrabble. We've been known to play more than one game in a single day, in fact. What can I say? We're Scrabble dorks. During the spring and summer we only manage to sneak in a game every now and then--frequently on the picnic table while camping. We're too busy with the garden, camping, tie-dye vending, family reunions, birding, and other fun outdoor activities to spend much time around the game board. But, with the start of autumn and winter we are once again in our prime season of game-playing.
We started to keep track of our Scrabble scores in a spreadsheet towards the end of 2008. I can't say we've recorded every score, but its got to be pretty close. We only record games where it is just Matt and I too, for consistency's sake. We took a few moments yesterday morning to update the list as the scraps of paper used as score sheets was really piling up inside the game box. We've now got 113 games recorded and compared some statistics this morning and, I must say, Matt and I are amazingly evenly matched.
We each have won 56 games with one more where we tied. I thought that was quite surprising. I knew we were pretty close in skill level, but to be exactly even-steven in wins and losses was pretty interesting to me. It seems unlikely. Matt has the highest score between the two of us at 430. But, while I might not have as many really high scores my average score is higher than Matt's. But, I've never broken 400. My highest score is 345. Matt has more Bingos than me at 11 to six...but sometimes even a Bingo doesn't guaranteed a victory.
Scrabble is such an interesting game, in my opinion. I know quite a few people who would disagree. When I was younger I thought it was boring as all get out. My mom loved it though, so I played. It has apparently grown on me. Now I think its such an interesting challenge--to stretch my brain to fit this random mish-mash of letters together into something meaningful and worth a lot of points. I learn new words constantly as a result. Two letter words and words that use a 'q' without a 'u' are prime examples of my expanding vocabulary.
Sometimes its hard and other times the words seem to just spell themselves. Some boards are better than others and those first few words played can sometimes make or break the enjoyability of the rest of the game.
Matt has been reading up on Scrabble contests and official Scrabble rules--some of which, by the way, are quite fascinating. (Did you know you're supposed to hold the tile bag up above eye level before drawing replacement letters at the end of the turn?) I don't think we're quite at that level yet, but it has been very interesting and motivating reading. He learned that the most Bingos in a row in a game is seven. That means some Scrabble wordsmith played all seven tiles for seven turns in a row. I don't make a Bingo in one of seven games! But, practice makes perfect!
Fortunately, since Scrabble is Matt's favorite board game we get lots of practice. Maybe one of these days I'll break 400.
We started to keep track of our Scrabble scores in a spreadsheet towards the end of 2008. I can't say we've recorded every score, but its got to be pretty close. We only record games where it is just Matt and I too, for consistency's sake. We took a few moments yesterday morning to update the list as the scraps of paper used as score sheets was really piling up inside the game box. We've now got 113 games recorded and compared some statistics this morning and, I must say, Matt and I are amazingly evenly matched.
We each have won 56 games with one more where we tied. I thought that was quite surprising. I knew we were pretty close in skill level, but to be exactly even-steven in wins and losses was pretty interesting to me. It seems unlikely. Matt has the highest score between the two of us at 430. But, while I might not have as many really high scores my average score is higher than Matt's. But, I've never broken 400. My highest score is 345. Matt has more Bingos than me at 11 to six...but sometimes even a Bingo doesn't guaranteed a victory.
Scrabble is such an interesting game, in my opinion. I know quite a few people who would disagree. When I was younger I thought it was boring as all get out. My mom loved it though, so I played. It has apparently grown on me. Now I think its such an interesting challenge--to stretch my brain to fit this random mish-mash of letters together into something meaningful and worth a lot of points. I learn new words constantly as a result. Two letter words and words that use a 'q' without a 'u' are prime examples of my expanding vocabulary.
Sometimes its hard and other times the words seem to just spell themselves. Some boards are better than others and those first few words played can sometimes make or break the enjoyability of the rest of the game.
Matt has been reading up on Scrabble contests and official Scrabble rules--some of which, by the way, are quite fascinating. (Did you know you're supposed to hold the tile bag up above eye level before drawing replacement letters at the end of the turn?) I don't think we're quite at that level yet, but it has been very interesting and motivating reading. He learned that the most Bingos in a row in a game is seven. That means some Scrabble wordsmith played all seven tiles for seven turns in a row. I don't make a Bingo in one of seven games! But, practice makes perfect!
Fortunately, since Scrabble is Matt's favorite board game we get lots of practice. Maybe one of these days I'll break 400.
I am a Scrabble Dork, too. I've been playing for too many years to count. I don't have a partner to play with so i play against AI on my kindle. (I have a partner; he's not a Scrabble fan, sadly.) It's not as much fun as a human, but it keeps me on my toes. I like your idea of keeping track of your scores!
ReplyDeletePlaying against AI is better than not playing at all, I reckon. I bet it does keep you on your toes. I'm sure glad there are so many other Scrabble dorks out there! I find it fun and I learn new words along the way. Win-win.
Delete