English-language Scrabble

English-language Scrabble is the original version of the popular word-based board game invented in 1938 by US architect Alfred Mosher Butts who based the game on the letter distribution in The New York Times in English.

The Scrabble variant most popular in English is standard match play, where two players compete over a series of games. Duplicate Scrabble is not popular in English, and High score Scrabble is no longer practised.

Although English is a worldwide language, the official list of allowable words and some tournament rules change between territories.

The main Scrabble associations in North America are the National Scrabble Association (NSA) and North American SCRABBLE Players Association (NASPA). NASPA is starting to sanction official clubs and tournaments in 2009, taking this role over from NSA. The NSA will continue to coordinate activities such as the school Scrabble program, literacy fundraisers and casual Scrabble clubs.

Tournaments range from one day tournaments that are composed of only 6 or 7 games, to the National SCRABBLE Championship, which lasts 5 days and 31 games. The NSA maintains a ratings system based on wins, ties and losses, with ratings ranging from just over 2000 to under 300. Larger tournaments can also carry significant prize money. The official dictionary is the Official Tournament and Club Word List. When a player challenges a word he considers to be invalid, if the word is invalid it is removed from the board with a score of zero. However if the word is valid, the player who challenged the word loses his turn.

Scrabble clubs are also run that meet on a regular basis, usually weekly or biweekly at the same venue. Players usually play a smaller number of games than they would play at a tournament.

Match play Scrabble is also practised at tournament at club level in the UK. Tournaments follow a similar structure to American ones, usually at least 6 games but weekend tournaments where players play 12 to 16 games are not uncommon. The official Scrabble association the Association of British Scrabble players sanctions official tournaments with official ratings, ratings range from about 200 to about 60. The official dictionary is called SOWPODS. In contrast to American tournaments, players do not lose a move if they challenge a valid word, which in general means more words are challenged.

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