Are you attending your first Scrabble Tournament? If so, read on

What to expect at your first tournament...

The most important thing is to try and enjoy yourself and meet new friends. We are a friendly bunch of nerds and you will always be welcomed with a smile (and probably some sort of comment like “I cannot get any decent letters, how about you?”). That being said, your first event can be a bit of a shock.

I've done a few really popular blogs for Scrabble beginners, check out the list HERE.

If you have never played Scrabble with a clock, try and get a practice game before the tournament starts. If you are arriving only a few minutes before the event is due to start, when you register ask the person at the desk to get someone to show you how it works. You will probably struggle during your first few games, but don’t worry you will get the hang of it and most opponents will remind you about it. Ideally, if you are local to where the tournament is happening or staying the night before, make your way down to the bar and you WILL find some Scrabble players about, explain you are new and they will help you out. Remember I said we were a friendly bunch, yes some of us will – SHOCK HORROR – be in the bar having a laugh. So do join us.

You might find the day tiring. YES, REALLY. Be prepared, it’s a long day. Ever play 6-8 games of Scrabble in a day?. And even though you might do that on a computer or tablet, it’s different playing in real time, there’s a lot going on. So, to help, make sure to take a break between games, even though it’s tempting to just sit and wait for your next game, get up, wander around, maybe go outside. Also, if you’ve ever had trouble with your back it’s really important to get up for that walk, sitting in the one position for many hours can get painful. Lots of people bring a cushion. If you had a bad game and made some mistakes don’t worry too much, shake yourself off prepare for the next game.

So, generally, how does it work? Well sometimes there are a few groups, other times all players are in one group. We use a computer program to determine which player plays whom. The program matches players by their performance. It also tracks who has already played whom and will engineer pairings to avoid playing the same people. (this is called repeat pairings). This is normally turned off for the last 2-3 games. Normally the first 3 games are random and then after this, players have “found” their place and performance pairings start. But, you needn’t worry about any of this. The moral of the story is that there will be a sheet of paper put up on the wall detailing who you will be playing and who goes first (the computer gives all players an equal number of starts during the event also)

There are only two things to consider. Whether you win or lose and by how many points (spread). These are then accumulated over the whole event. For example...

Game 1 – WIN by 73 points....................1/0/+73

Game 2 – LOSE by 124 points.................1/1/-51

Game 3 - WIN by 3 points.......................2/1/-48 

Therefore your cumulative result is 2 wins, 1 loss and a spread of -48 points

In game 4 you will be paired with another player who has a similar cumulative result as you.

The governing body for Scrabble in Ireland is WESPA. Full rules are HERE

Order of play

There is a lot going on during the game but keep this order of play in mind. This might seem a bit pedantic but it makes things easier and you get into a routine. It also helps when it comes time to challenge a word. You can do one of 2 things, play a word or exchange.

1.       Play your word

2.       Announce Score

3.       Press clock

4.       Record Score

5.       Draw replacement tiles (always have 7 tiles on your rack)

6.       Tile track if desired

Or

1.       Check to ensure there are at least 7 tiles in the bag

2.       Declare you are going to exchange and how many tiles you are going to exchange.

3.       Place the tiles you are going to exchange to one side (NOT in bag)

4.       Hit clock to indicate end of turn.

5.       Draw replacement tiles and place face down

6.       Return other tiles to bag

    

Tile Draw

Tile drawing etiquette. It is customary to draw your tiles in a manner that makes it very clear you are not cheating. Whatever you do, don’t have the tile bag below eye level as your opponent “might” think you are looking in the bag at the tiles.

1.       Hold the bag above the board, above eye level

2.       Draw tiles one at a time placing them in plain view on the table

3.       Count how many tiles you are taking

4.       Try not to overdraw*. (*see below)

5.       Only place all drawn tiles on the rack when you are happy you have pulled the correct amount.

Overdraw.

It happens at every tournament that someone overdraws. YES, every event, so don’t feel bad. If you are not sure what to do, stop the clock and ask the TD about the ruling. In fact if you are not sure of anything, ask your opponent or ask the TD. Don’t be afraid to ask, it’s the only way to learn.

(This is where point 5 of tile drawing comes in useful.)

(WESPA Rules V3)

What to do when your opponent plays a word you don’t know.

If you have never played in an event, don’t be surprised to see some players scoring 400 and even 500 points against you. Remember they are playing for decades and know lots of really crazy words like ATONIES. But, if you don’t know a word; challenge it. This is how we do it...

1.       Wait until opponent presses timer. This indicates the end of their turn. If they forget to hit the clock, as soon as they reach INSIDE the tile bag remind them to press the clock.

2.       Announce you intention to challenge the word CLEARLY and stop the clock.

3.       Declare which word(s) you are challenging. Some players chose to write down the words on a slip of paper.

4.       Both players cover the tiles on their rack (or turn them over) and proceed to check the word.

5.       The challenger types in the word on the device

6.       The other players hits button to check.

7.       If the word is ok, no harm, no foul. Play continues

8.       If the word is wrong it is removed from the board and player loses turn.

9.       Restart the clock

If you type the word in incorrectly on the device or when you return to the board & realise you spelled the word wrong (e.g. you checked TRAELED but the word on the board was TRAILED) you can recheck the word.

Other things to note

During the game when a blank is played, declare what the blank is CLEARLY and make a note on the result sheet. Later in the game this might be important if both players think it was something else

At the end of the game, both players agree the score and fill in the result sheet

Once the scoresheet is filled out & signed hand it up

When the game is over, leave the playing room if you want to talk

Here is an example of a completed scoresheet; 

The first blank was a Q and the second an X.

John (player no 23) beat Mary (player no 21).

John scored 350 and Mary scored 325.

The spread was 25 points.

Both players signed the sheet indicating they agree with the result.

Well peeps, that’s it. I hope I haven’t scared you off and we will see you at a tourney soon.

Live Long and Prosper and may the tile faires be with you.

John The Captain Ryan