Club Play Information

BASIC COMMON SENSE RULES FOR SCRABBLE® CLUB 581

  1. Club 581 members who have membership in the NSA are asked to pay a grand total of $1.00 per week as dues. This amount offsets club expenses such as copying game score sheets and game summary cards. Additionally, dues go toward the purchase of stamps to use in sending out the newsletter, tournament supplies and other expenses
  2. Those club members who do not attend regularly but still desire to get the newsletter might consider tossing a couple of bucks a month into the treasury to pay for postage. This is merely a suggestion and not a requirement.
  3. Regular visitors to the club who are members of the NSA are asked to play $1.00 dues for the same reasons as above. Regular visitors who are not members of the NSA are not required to pay any dues.
  4. Occasional visitors who are NSA members or non-members are exempt from paying dues. What's the difference between a regular visitor and an occasional visitor? You be the judge of that. We are not going to split hairs over a dollar.
  5. PLEASE REMEMBER that the system of starting games on the hour (beginning at 7:00 p.m.) has worked well for us. If you arrive after 7:00 and there is no one to play with, please be cognizant of others who are already playing. Many players, understandably, do not like to be bothered while they are playing. Likewise, many players do not like having anyone look over their shoulder while they are playing as it makes them nervous. The best thing you can do is park yourself somewhere and get your board set up for the next round. Using common sense is not a difficult concept even if you are hard headed and talk too much.
  6. If you arrive after a round has started and there is someone available to play, feel free to play a game if you are sure you can finish by the hour. Otherwise we end up like we used to with everyone finishing at different times. This makes pairings for the next round very frustrating...and one can end up playing the same person over and over. Or, just play a practice game until the next round begins. Again, use common sense in making these decisions.
  7. Another unpopular practice is standing around with an open dictionary looking up words during a game that others are playing. That can be irritating for the players. A dictionary should not be on the table or open during games anyway unless there is a word challenged and the preference is to use the OWL over the computer word adjudicator.
  8. Be sure and bring your boards and timers with you every week. For the most part, we have enough equipment to go around. Still, there have been times lately when we have run short of both boards and timers.
  9. The bonus pot rules were explained in a recent newsletter. If you no longer have that newsletter, see Mike for a copy of it.
  10. When listing your bingos on your game summary card, please indicate if the bingo is a phoney. If you are unsure then chick it out in either the Official Word List or on the computer adjudicator.
  11. Thee was a subject taken by everyone in school way back there in the dark ages. It was called arithmetic. Basically it involved learning how to add and subtract numbers. Absolutely nothing to do with rocket science. If players would please double check their figures on their game summary cards it would make doing the stats less time consuming. AND, please make sure you and your opponent write down the same game scores. It is amazing how often summary cards have different results listed for the same games.
  12. Jason's Deli is letting us use their facility as a place for the club to meet. Any business we give them is no doubt appreciated. However, by no means are club members required to eat there. It is entirely the player's choice. Also, while we think we are not real messy, we do our share of creating work for the busboy to do. Anything you want to put in the specimen cup on the table for tips would be a nice gesture on your part.
  13. Remember that the enjoyment of playing Scrabble® is why we have a club. No one should be judging your playing ability except yourself. Everyone likes to win but, as in any game, there are winners and losers. Try to keep the perspective in mind when you play. Anyway, the biggest winners in any club where games are played will be those placers who may consistently lose...yet keep returning. Why? Because for them winning and losing are not nearly as important as playing and having fun. Think about it.

BONUS POT CLARIFICATION

There seems to have been some confusion over the rules regarding how the weekly bonus pot is conducted. Since its inception three years ago, there have been just three basic rules and a fourth rule was added later:

The bonus pot is purely optional. By no means are you required to participate. If there are any questions, please do not hesitate to ask Mike.

NEW PLAYERS

If you are a new player, you are welcome to use word lists to help. Someone at the club will surely have a word list or two you can borrow. These lists have all the valid Scrabble® 2- and 3-letter words, as well as other interesting lists such as vowel-dumps and 'U'-less 'Q' words. Use the word lists as you wish or until you are too big for your britches. (David!?)

ABOUT PLAYING

The rules for National Scrabble® Association club and tournament play are similar to the rules used by most "home players." However, there are some important differences:

Word Acceptability

The Official Tournament and Club Word List (OWL) is the sole reference for deciding acceptability of base words of nine or fewer letters and their inflected forms in all tournaments and most clubs. The Official Long Words List (LWL) includes all acceptable 10-15 letter words NOT already in the Official Tournament and Club Word List. The Official Long Words List has been compiled and created by the Dictionary Committee of the National Association. As of June 16, 2003, this list will become the ONLY acceptable official long word list for use at sanctioned National Association Clubs and Tournaments. Players and Directors may order it as a spiral-bound book from NSA Word Gear, Inc. for $15. The LWL can also be downloaded from the main NSA Page.

Timers

While three-minute timers are sometimes used in novice events, chess clocks are the preferred timing tool. Each side is allotted 25 minutes on the chess clock to play the entire game. When your time is used up, shown by a fallen flag on analog clocks or minus sign to the left of the time displayed on digital clocks, the game does not automatically end, and the player whose time has expired does not automatically lose. 10 points per extra minute or part thereof used by the overtime player are deducted from that player's score.

Ending a Turn

The routine for ending a turn is strictly enforced as it also determines when a challenge may be made. These things must be done in the order in which they are listed: 1) place tiles on board, 2) announce score of the play, [and the letter represented by any blank played on the turn, also writing it down legibly where opponent can see it], 3) start opponent's clock, 4) write down the cumulative score, 5) draw new tiles.

Challenging a Play

A challenge may NOT be made UNTIL the player has STARTED the opponent's CLOCK. A challenge may NOT be made AFTER the player has TAKEN at least one NEW TILE completely OUT of the BAG. So you should always pay careful attention to all new words formed when your opponent announces his score for the play and starts your clock. If you are considering challenging, but have not yet decided, say "HOLD" before opponent draws tiles. You then have a full minute (your clock continues to run) to think about it before opponent is allowed to see new tiles. If you have said "hold," your right to challenge extends beyond the drawing of the new tiles until you either challenge, or make your next move. Once you have decided to challenge, neutralize the clock, and say "challenge" loud enough for the word judge to hear you, and raise your hand so you don't have to keep yelling it out if challenges are being judged at other boards first.

Adjudicating a Challenged Play

One player loses their turn every time a challenge is made. Either the play is acceptable and challenger loses the turn, or the play is not acceptable and the player takes back their tiles and play passes to the challenger. When multiple words are formed on one play, a challenger should always indicate to the word judge every word formed on the play. When multiple words are indicated in a challenge, only one ruling is given by the word judge: such a play is ruled ACCEPTABLE ONLY if ALL words formed and INDICATED by the challenger are valid, and the play is ruled UNACCEPTABLE if ANY of the INDICATED words is not valid.

Keeping Score

Both players are required to keep a written record of the cumulative score throughout the game.

House Rules

Contrived "house rules" such as recycling blanks or free exchange when you have 3 of a kind do not exist in organized play. If you didn't see it written in the rules your set came with, we don't do it. No games are played with more than two racks. Rated competition is one player vs. one opponent. Some club games or unofficial tourneys are played with partners consulting on one rack against one other rack.

Exchanging Tiles

Any turn can be used to EXCHANGE tiles, as long as there are AT LEAST 7 tiles IN THE BAG. Any turn can be "passed." Passing does not change the board or your rack. Exchange, pass, or lost challenge all score zero.

Ending the Game

At the end of the game, the player going out adds double the value of opponent's remaining tiles, opponent does not subtract them. Time penalties are only subtracted from the overtime player, not added to opponent.

Distractions

The only things that constitute appropriate talk during the game are announcements of or requests to verify score, blank labeling, "hold," "challenge," or "pass." NEVER PRONOUNCE a WORD PLAYED.