The New Book Is Here!

Harold and I consider ourselves to be "Scrabble Aficionados".   That's fancy talk for "we really like to play Scrabble and think we're pretty good at it"!  We play Scrabble almost every night, mostly in the winter and late fall.   Of course we use the Official Scrabble Dictionary as our authority.  Since 2008 we have been using the 5th Edition dictionary, but we just found out there is a 6th Edition, so we ordered that and it came the other day in the mail. 
     We make a big deal out of playing Scrabble.  Quite often we have a "Scrabble supper", which means we set out cheese and crackers or chips and dip or veggies or some other simple supper.  Sometimes we just have popcorn and cider or water.   But we always have to have some kind of Scrabble food - helps us to think, ya know!  In the summer and spring we are too busy with outdoor chores and gardening, so Scrabble takes a back seat then.   We have learned so many new words and all the weird words, too.   Nobody likes to play Scrabble with us anymore - we have outplayed everybody.   But Harold and I can still challenge each other.   It's fair to say we each win about 50% of the time!
     So during the long winter evenings we put on some music or listen to old time radio shows, get out the snacks and get down to the business of playing Scrabble.  We are using the old game I bought in 1978.  It is on a turntable which makes it great for holding the letters in place.  Years ago my kids sat on the board - thinking they were using it for a "sit and spin" toy (remember that toy fad from the 70's?) - and put a big crack in the middle of the board.   But it still works and that's all that counts.   The crack is a reminder that kids will be kids, I guess.   In the 41 years I've had this Scrabble board, I wonder how many games were played on it?  I have sewed many cloth bags for the letters over the years, and we have gone through several official dictionaries.   Amazingly enough, we have never lost a letter tile!
     Anyone for a challenge against us?

Our new official Scrabble authority!

Lots of new words to learn!  The new Scrabble dictionary is thicker than the old one - plenty of new words.

Here's the crack in the middle of the board that my kids caused back in the 1970's, when they tried to make a "sit and spin" toy out of the board.

The game begins - it's my turn next after Harold started the game.  I don't have very good letters!  All I could make was 'hats'.

As the game progresses, things get harder!  Not many places to make good plays without setting up opportunities for the other guy!  The object is to ensure that you don't make it easy for your opponent to use the triple word feature.