Scrabble secrets revealed: Word game champion explains how to make sure you ALWAYS win
- - Wordplay expert Barry Grossman's book titled 101 Ways to Win at Scrabble
- - He explains the best tips to exploit the words of other players'
- - It details the highest-scoring and rare word prefixes and suffixes
- - And gives some key words that are worth remembering
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It may seem some people are just naturally better at word games than others, but it's not all down to luck - there are some tricks you can use to steal points from your opponents.
According to UK Scrabble expert and Countdown champion Barry Grossman, there are at least 100 different tips players can use to win, or at least boost their overall score.
These include how to remember unusual words, why two-letter words, especially involving the 'X' tile, are so important and when it is acceptable to use proper nouns, which are usually banned.
World Scrabble Championship in Warsaw. According to UK Scrabble expert Barry Grossman, there are at least 100 different ways
players can win, or at least boost their score. These include how to remember unusual words, why two-letter words are so important and when it is acceptable to use proper nouns
THE BEST WORDS TO LEARN
Grossman suggests the more words in a person's vocabulary, the better, and knowing the more rare and unusual words can benefit the most in Scrabble.
For example:
Epopoeia - an epic poem
Psst - a word used to capture someone's attention inconspicuously
Brrr - used to signify being cold
Barry - another word for a blunder
Euoi - cry of Bacchic frenzy
Qat - a variant spelling of the word khat, which is an evergreen shrub
Jiao - a monetary unit in China
In his book, 101 Ways to Win at Scrabble, Grossman explains that although proper nouns aren't generally accepted, there are some exceptions.
For example, his own name Barry can be used as another word for a blunder or mistake. It is Australian slang.
Equally 'danny' and plural 'dannies', is acceptable to describe a child's hand.
Elsewhere in his book, Grossman explains that two-letter words are important because they can be used to get rid of tiles towards the end of the game, but they can also be used to connect words.
He goes on to say the 'X' tile, worth eight points in the game, either preceded or succeeded by a vowel gives a high-scoring combination for a low number of tiles used. These include 'ax', 'ex', 'xi' and 'xu'.
Many dictionaries now have a page detailing all the accepted two-letter words, described as the 'glue' of Scrabble including jo, es and ta. Equally, there are a host of three-letter words, such as iff, roc, and ulu that can be useful.
Grossman's book adds that there are a handful of four-letter words that don't contain any vowels that are also accepted in Scrabble.
These include psst, pfft, brrr and grrl - although Grossman points out that only these spellings are accepted, and extra 'F's, 'R's and 'S' can't be added.
Another way to steal points from the words already placed on the board by opponents, as listed in Grossman's book, is to take advantage of prefixes and suffixes.
These included 'ed', 'ing' and adding the letter S to the end of words, yet Grossman adds the suffix 'ish' is rare and equally effective, especially on words such as pixyish.
Elsewhere in his book, Grossman explains two-letter words are important because they can be used to get rid of tiles towards the end
of the game, and to connect other words. Described as the 'glue' of Scrabble, these include jo, es and ta. Equally, three-letter words,
such as iff, roc, and ulu can be useful
The letter 'S' and the blank tile should be used sparingly, according to Grossman's book. An S, for example, should only be used when adding it increases the overall score by around five points, otherwise it's a 'waste'.
Another key thing to remember is that the letter 'Q' doesn't always need to be followed by a 'U'. In the two-letter list the word QI is 'a variant of chi'. While Qat (a variant spelling of the word khat; an evergreen shrub), Qaid (a Muslim chief) and sheqalim (the plural of sheqel, the currency of Israel) are examples of longer words where this technique can be used.
Grossman suggests the more words in a person's vocabulary, the better they are at Scrabble, and knowing the more rare and unusual words can benefit the most.
He doesn't insist players learn the dictionary, but it is worthwhile familiarising themselves with some of these unusual words, or words that use unusual letter combinations including epopoeia, an epic poem, and tchick, a clicking sound.
For words that are difficult to spell, Grossman suggests creating a mnemonic to help players remember them, such as 'John Is Always Out' for the word jiao, a monetary unit in China.
Ultimately, Grossman claims that sometimes tiles need to be swapped, which means that player misses a go, but they may get a better selection of letters and a higher score as a result.
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