The game of Scrabble has been around for decades even though it wasn't nearly as popular when it was first invented as it is today. Nonetheless, the game is now a very recognizable part of American culture.
The game is played on a board made up of 225 squares (15 rows by 15 columns) and can be played by 2 to 4 players. The objective of the game is to have the highest score at the end of the game by making as many words as you can. There are 100 tiles with letters on them, which are used to make the words. Each tile has a letter and a number shown on it. The number represents the point value of that letter. Points range from 1 to 10 with one exception--the blank tiles. There are 2 blank tiles that may be used to represent any letter when making a word, but they are not worth any points. All tiles are kept in the pouch that is included with the game.
The Setup
Before the game begins, two things must be decided. First, all players must agree on a dictionary to be used in the event of challenge. Secondly, the players must determine which one of them will have the first turn. To decide this, each player picks one tile from the pouch and the player with the letter closest to the beginning of the alphabet will get the first turn.
All tiles are returned to the pouch and the pouch is shaken to mix up the tiles. Each player, beginning with the player getting the first turn, selects seven tiles from the pouch and places them on his rack. Once all the players have their tiles, the game is ready to begin.
Game Play
The game is played as follows:
- The first player combines two or more of his letters to form a word. At least two letters must be used since this is the first word being made and you also cannot make a one-letter word. The word is placed on the board either across or down, making sure to place one of the letters on the center square. The center has a bonus of "double word score" which only applies to the first word. The score for the word including the bonus is tallied and added to the first player's total score. To complete the turn, the player selects as many new letters from the pouch as he just played to replace them on the rack. In other words, you should always have 7 tiles on your rack as long as there enough tiles remaining in the pouch.
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Author: Carlo Fazzari