DC Scrabble Club

NASPA Club 171

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Miscellaneous Stuff


    Scrabble tableAffordable luxury
    This swank table and matching chair set is the ultimate in coolness for playing Scrabble. The table supports the basic Scrabble set (as shown), the deluxe rotating board, and even custom boards. It is reconfigurable to support 2 or 4 players in either 4-handed (as shown) or 2-on-2 team play. Note the little tails on the back ends of the ergonomic chairs. Those aren't manufacturing defects! They're called AACEILNST. Available in walnut, teak and SamTimerTM-color finishes.


    clockIt's Geek o'clock
    I used to find that there were never enough hours in the day to work, sleep and play Scrabble. Then I discovered a brilliant new way to divide the day up so that it is always Scrabble time. Instead of a 12-hour clock, each 12-hour period is divided up into 26 sections. Imagine the thrill of telling your friends, "I'll see you at S1 o'clock" or "Scrabble Club meets every Tuesday from K5 o'clock until half past X8, when they kick us out of the center." Try running your next club tournament with this clock (and the matching Scrabclock wristwatches (not pictured)) and be the envy of other directors everywhere.


    scuplture
    An alternative Q-stick
    If you're like me, you seem to keep acquiring set after incomplete-set of ProTiles that just sit spilt onto the floor gathering dust. You don't have to keep experimenting with putting your extra tiles in the oven to determine the temperature at which they melt, Shrinky Dink style. Instead, try this fun idea: Identify a slow member of your club (or paralyze a fast moving one with some ourari) and cover them with glue. Then, using a step-ladder, dump 6-8 sets of tiles onto them, covering them with an even layer of tiles. After the glue hardens, you'll have your own piece of Pop Art schlock.





    Mathable
    A more mathematical game
    Here's a fun game from the Francophone world called Mathable. I haven't read the rules, 'cause they are in French and I do not speak it, but I'm guessing the idea is to memorize long lists of arbitrary number sequences. For example 35-23-4 might be a valid play, but 34-54-35-32 might not be. Imagine the possibilities: Sequences that end in 1-43-53, All the 5 odd-numbered 8 sequences, Top 1000 most likely "55" 7s, 5s with the 10-point power tiles (22, 38, 86, and 92). All the plays with only prime numbers (in base 13). I'm already salivating at the idea of compiling the numbericon for this game!



    big scrabble set

    Large-format version of the popular Scrabble game
    Club 171 would benefit tremendously from the purchase of 2-3 of these large sets. There is no better way to play the game than from an aerie 50-100 feet above the board. The one disadvantage is that tiles must be placed on one's own time, which means the 25 minutes alloted per game can make large-format Scrable quite challenging. Note the clever plays of DANK and FIDDLES on the board. Hmm. **Recommended by 4 out of 5 cardiologists**



    anthropomorphized Scrabble tile

    Living Scrabble tiles
    Here is an example of the increasingly common anthropomorphized Scrabble tile that is used to promote the game. As you can see, this guy is a blank, so is no doubt given to self-aggrandizement and delusions of grandeur. However, it is likley no coincidence that he stands beside the word "BAIL".



    Chinese Scrabble

    Difficult Decisions
    Chinese Scrabble presents certain complexities that English language Scrabble does not, although the blank presents much greater possibilites.



    anthropomorphized

    A draw of Q?????? ?
    This unusual Scrabble variant appears to make use of a large number of blanks, indicated by the asterixes. I suspect that this lowers the difficulty level of the game considerably. For example, this board proudly displays such power plays as **J, HI*P*MUS and WALLF*.



    hard scrabble




    Fun reading
    On the otherhand, this masterful and sublime text covers strategy for much more difficult variants of the game, such as the large-format version depicted above and a version with 25 I's and no E's. I'm told that "a patch of land" is a clever illusion to triple-triple word score spots.









    Russian ScrabbleScrabblski
    Here's a Russian knockoff called "Find Word". It's advertised as a "developing game for children and adults". Given the fact that the tiles seem to have no points values, I am guessing that this game favors players adroit in scoring bingos with the 50-point bonus, or else retains the communist ideal of everyone being equal at zero. I am puzzled by the brilliant red object in the center of the image. At first, I thought it was a half of a pair of dice but upon further inspection, I think that it is kryptonite.