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Everything Scrabble
Featuring a complete history of the popular board game, an updated handbook for improving Scrabble skills discusses how to maximize scores with bonus squares, make more seven-letter plays, and increase scoring average using two-letter words, and includes a step-by-step guide to board strategy. Original.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 24, 2019
Don't leave home without it
This is the updated and revised edition from 2001, a make-over of the book from 1994. This is a much better book than Edley's The Official Scrabble Puzzle Book from 1997. There are puzzles here as well, but there is just so much more INFORMATION that I would put this book in another league. No aspiring tournament player can afford to be innocent of the knowledge in Everything Scrabble.
Of course authors Edley (three-time national Scrabble champion) and Williams (National Scrabble Association executive director) do NOT tell all. I mean something has to be held in reserve, some tricks and traps and secret knowledge just in case they get the itch to play tournament Scrabble again. In a way I am reminded of poker books rather than chess books. Chess book authors can go ahead and tell all (except for their opening preparations!) because in chess it isn't so much what you know as to what depth and how fast you can calculate. The authors here are more like poker players in that they tell you some of the tricks but they hold back the really esoteric stuff because in Scrabble, knowledge really is power, including knowledge of your opponent.
Scrabble is a game that can be seen as intermediate between poker and chess as far as luck and skill go. Unlike chess there is a clear element of chance involved in any given game--although not as much as in a comparable amount of poker playing. And unlike poker there is a considerable element of calculation needed on any given move. Tournament games run 25 minutes for each player, but there are situations that arise where you could spend half an hour on a play and still not exhaust the possibilities.
Where Scrabble differs from the other two games is in the amount of pure, before-game knowledge needed to play a strong tournament game. This book helps in that department. For example you absolutely need to know all the 96 two-letter words by heart (pages 19 and 20 and again on page 324 for good measure). And don't even think about playing without knowing a whole slew of Q-words, with and without the "u." But what really separates the tournament players from the amateurs is knowledge of a large number of esoteric and unusual Bingo words like (Lord help us) "areolae" or the ever-popular (NOT!) "zooecia." (From the lists in Appendix 4).
The first part of the book is "Getting Better Quickly." This is for beginners and near beginners: using the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary (essential, by the way, for settling disputes and normalizing play); shuffling the tiles in your rack to make words appear; using the twos; introduction to rack management, etc.
Part 2 is called "Advanced Play" and gets deeper into rack management, what to leave for the next turn and what to play, when to exchange tiles; how to spot "phoneys"; and whether to open the game or keep it closed.
Part 3 is devoted to puzzles. Part 4 introduces the reader to the world of Scrabble tournaments and clubs (a nice feature) and Part 5 contains the appendices: word lists, history, trivia and some psychology. There's even a glossary. Very interesting is Chapter 22 with 28 "Examples of Outstanding Scrabble Game Play." Included (Example 27) is an eight-tile overlap play (two words side-by-side eight letters long so that each letter is a hook!). Also included are some psychological plays that turned the game around or almost did. Some insight into actual endgame play is featured.
Some interesting facts: the highest scoring tournament game was the 1,108 points put up by Mark Landsberg (770) and Alan Stern (308) in Los Angeles in 1993. (I just noticed that the numbers don't add up: so Stern's "308" is probably a typo and instead should be "338.") Landsberg's 770 points was also the highest single score in a tournament game. In home games we used to play that you could recycle the blanks if you had the letter in your rack and it was your turn. In those games scoring 700 points happened a time or two. :-) Top single tournament play was BRAZIERS for 311 points by T.A. Sanders in a Tyler, Texas tourney in 1997. (I would like to see how that arose. I presume a corner triple word score was left hanging with a word to hook the "s" to, while running the other way was a single letter at the side of the board allowing the eight-letter play to cover two triple word scores. Obvious tip: never, but never (or only when you absolutely must) should you make a word that leaves a single letter tantalizingly out there along the triple letter score sides of the board. Trust me on this one: that is gambling big time. However, if you're a hundred points down, what the hey. Maybe you can set YOURSELF up!
What this book does NOT contain is any information on how to beat the infamous "Maven" from the computer Scrabble program. If you crank that baby up to "Champion" (a 2100 rating), Maven simply uses her entire vocabulary and "Bingos!" like somebody's Aunt Hilda with twenty cards at the Friday night church fund-raiser.
Okay, is this book worth the plastic? Trust me, it is. Get two, and give one as a present, but only after YOU have read it first!
--Dennis Littrell, author of the mystery novel, “Teddy and Teri”
This is the updated and revised edition from 2001, a make-over of the book from 1994. This is a much better book than Edley's The Official Scrabble Puzzle Book from 1997. There are puzzles here as well, but there is just so much more INFORMATION that I would put this book in another league. No aspiring tournament player can afford to be innocent of the knowledge in Everything Scrabble.
Of course authors Edley (three-time national Scrabble champion) and Williams (National Scrabble Association executive director) do NOT tell all. I mean something has to be held in reserve, some tricks and traps and secret knowledge just in case they get the itch to play tournament Scrabble again. In a way I am reminded of poker books rather than chess books. Chess book authors can go ahead and tell all (except for their opening preparations!) because in chess it isn't so much what you know as to what depth and how fast you can calculate. The authors here are more like poker players in that they tell you some of the tricks but they hold back the really esoteric stuff because in Scrabble, knowledge really is power, including knowledge of your opponent.
Scrabble is a game that can be seen as intermediate between poker and chess as far as luck and skill go. Unlike chess there is a clear element of chance involved in any given game--although not as much as in a comparable amount of poker playing. And unlike poker there is a considerable element of calculation needed on any given move. Tournament games run 25 minutes for each player, but there are situations that arise where you could spend half an hour on a play and still not exhaust the possibilities.
Where Scrabble differs from the other two games is in the amount of pure, before-game knowledge needed to play a strong tournament game. This book helps in that department. For example you absolutely need to know all the 96 two-letter words by heart (pages 19 and 20 and again on page 324 for good measure). And don't even think about playing without knowing a whole slew of Q-words, with and without the "u." But what really separates the tournament players from the amateurs is knowledge of a large number of esoteric and unusual Bingo words like (Lord help us) "areolae" or the ever-popular (NOT!) "zooecia." (From the lists in Appendix 4).
The first part of the book is "Getting Better Quickly." This is for beginners and near beginners: using the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary (essential, by the way, for settling disputes and normalizing play); shuffling the tiles in your rack to make words appear; using the twos; introduction to rack management, etc.
Part 2 is called "Advanced Play" and gets deeper into rack management, what to leave for the next turn and what to play, when to exchange tiles; how to spot "phoneys"; and whether to open the game or keep it closed.
Part 3 is devoted to puzzles. Part 4 introduces the reader to the world of Scrabble tournaments and clubs (a nice feature) and Part 5 contains the appendices: word lists, history, trivia and some psychology. There's even a glossary. Very interesting is Chapter 22 with 28 "Examples of Outstanding Scrabble Game Play." Included (Example 27) is an eight-tile overlap play (two words side-by-side eight letters long so that each letter is a hook!). Also included are some psychological plays that turned the game around or almost did. Some insight into actual endgame play is featured.
Some interesting facts: the highest scoring tournament game was the 1,108 points put up by Mark Landsberg (770) and Alan Stern (308) in Los Angeles in 1993. (I just noticed that the numbers don't add up: so Stern's "308" is probably a typo and instead should be "338.") Landsberg's 770 points was also the highest single score in a tournament game. In home games we used to play that you could recycle the blanks if you had the letter in your rack and it was your turn. In those games scoring 700 points happened a time or two. :-) Top single tournament play was BRAZIERS for 311 points by T.A. Sanders in a Tyler, Texas tourney in 1997. (I would like to see how that arose. I presume a corner triple word score was left hanging with a word to hook the "s" to, while running the other way was a single letter at the side of the board allowing the eight-letter play to cover two triple word scores. Obvious tip: never, but never (or only when you absolutely must) should you make a word that leaves a single letter tantalizingly out there along the triple letter score sides of the board. Trust me on this one: that is gambling big time. However, if you're a hundred points down, what the hey. Maybe you can set YOURSELF up!
What this book does NOT contain is any information on how to beat the infamous "Maven" from the computer Scrabble program. If you crank that baby up to "Champion" (a 2100 rating), Maven simply uses her entire vocabulary and "Bingos!" like somebody's Aunt Hilda with twenty cards at the Friday night church fund-raiser.
Okay, is this book worth the plastic? Trust me, it is. Get two, and give one as a present, but only after YOU have read it first!
--Dennis Littrell, author of the mystery novel, “Teddy and Teri”
May 19, 2008
Read Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis, join your local Scrabble club (or create you local Scrabble club), get an account with the Internet Scrabble Club, play a few hundred games, then read this book. Just don't waste your money if you're not up to the geekiness contained therein.
September 10, 2012
A fairly comprehensive introduction to serious Scrabble playing. Covers lots of ground, however nothing is covered deeply. Good for the beginner or intermediate player looking to improve their game and possibly move onto playing in tournaments.
Currently reading
August 3, 2010useful shit in here
September 1, 2024
If you love Scrabble, really love Scrabble, then this book is a must-have.
Obviously, it contains the usual advices when it comes to seriously improve your game e.g. how to control the board; how to boost your scoring average by simply knowing the allowed 2-3 letter words; how to use power tiles (the blanks, S, J, Q, X and Z) at your best advantage etc. However, it also goes further than that, something that demarks it from other manuals of the sort.
First, it contains very nice exercises to practice your skills. This book is not only a lecturing on 'how to', then, but also and above all about putting learning into practice until you have this 'AH! AH!' moments. The tricks given about rack management, for instance, are absolutely brilliant and definitely changed the way that I personally play! Then, and more to the point, it debunks a few silly myths about Scrabble geeks, such as the view that theirs is merely about learning long lists of intricate words. As the authors rightly put it, it's bogus as anyone can get 25 to 30 points average and per turn, and, even, score bingos/ bonuses merely by using some common sense when handling letters. Put like that, it might sound highly over-optimistic. It's not. Again, it comes down to rack management and a few other tricks regarding 7-8 letter words at least. I for one had never scored a bingo/ bonus before reading this book, despite playing quite often. I have now scored a dozen ever since.
All in all, then, here's a fantastic and very efficient guidebook to have at hand. My only issue was that it's about American English whereas I personally play using British English. Some of the words given were, therefore, useless to me. Having said that, Scrabble is not about memorizing words but about a way of thinking about words. The advices offered, then, remains highly relevant if you truly want to upgrade your game. Highly recommended... if you're a Scrabble geek!
Obviously, it contains the usual advices when it comes to seriously improve your game e.g. how to control the board; how to boost your scoring average by simply knowing the allowed 2-3 letter words; how to use power tiles (the blanks, S, J, Q, X and Z) at your best advantage etc. However, it also goes further than that, something that demarks it from other manuals of the sort.
First, it contains very nice exercises to practice your skills. This book is not only a lecturing on 'how to', then, but also and above all about putting learning into practice until you have this 'AH! AH!' moments. The tricks given about rack management, for instance, are absolutely brilliant and definitely changed the way that I personally play! Then, and more to the point, it debunks a few silly myths about Scrabble geeks, such as the view that theirs is merely about learning long lists of intricate words. As the authors rightly put it, it's bogus as anyone can get 25 to 30 points average and per turn, and, even, score bingos/ bonuses merely by using some common sense when handling letters. Put like that, it might sound highly over-optimistic. It's not. Again, it comes down to rack management and a few other tricks regarding 7-8 letter words at least. I for one had never scored a bingo/ bonus before reading this book, despite playing quite often. I have now scored a dozen ever since.
All in all, then, here's a fantastic and very efficient guidebook to have at hand. My only issue was that it's about American English whereas I personally play using British English. Some of the words given were, therefore, useless to me. Having said that, Scrabble is not about memorizing words but about a way of thinking about words. The advices offered, then, remains highly relevant if you truly want to upgrade your game. Highly recommended... if you're a Scrabble geek!
October 26, 2021
A must-have tutorial for anyone serious about improving their game -- for tournament play, online competitiveness, or friendly matches with friends. Full of tips, tricks, and word lists, this might just double your average word score! It won't memorize 7-letter words for you, but it will help with everything else! The fourth edition is longer than it needs to be, but includes necessary updates, and extra fun.
October 26, 2021
A must-have tutorial for anyone serious about improving their game -- for tournament play, online competitiveness, or friendly matches with friends. Full of tips, tricks, and word lists, this might just double your average word score! It won't memorize 7-letter words for you, but it will help with everything else!
January 27, 2024
Fun book for lovers of the game, not so much of not.
April 4, 2009
Everything Scrabble is an extremely helpful resource, loaded with useful word lists, tips, puzzles, and stories from the world of Scrabble. Especially useful is the first section, aptly titled "Getting Better Quickly." For those of you who, like myself, have played the game casually for years, Everything Scrabble provides strategic observations that will make a big difference even before you learn the 2-letter words and the Q-without-U's. I don't think I'd ever used all seven tiles to play a bingo before reading this book. Afterward I began averaging one per game. It's charming, clear, and essential for the serious player.
January 12, 2019
Very useful for anyone looking to gain skill in the classic word game. Great tips on making bingos, using premium spots to best advantage, and board strategy. Includes word lists of useful J, X, Q and Z words, especially Q without U and words ending in V and C (perv, narc). Favorite tip: Never be so enamored of the big fancy word on your rack that you miss a better scoring 2- or 3-letter word (unless, of course, the big fancy word is a bingo, and you have a place on the board to hook it). The tips and strategies work for Words with Friends, too, with some vocabulary, letter value and board differences. Highly recommended to anyone who loves playing these games and who wants to improve.
November 23, 2009
Scrabble and chess are the only two games I excel at, and though the former is often associated with nerds I enjoy it anyway; I have travelling sets for both. The scrabble set has four sets of pointers for scoring so you don't need pen and paper. I'm good at obscure words, unsurprisingly, and risque ones as well so I have to be careful depending on the players.
October 28, 2007
Great book for anyone who wants to improve their game.
January 17, 2008
Won it in a tournament. Helped me win a few more.
July 26, 2010
A lot of this stuff is common sense, so it's little exercises were a drag and I can find more replete training elsewhere.
May 11, 2012
I am playing a lot of word games right now so I really enjoyed this :)
July 16, 2016
Need this enhancement to better compete with The Wife.
January 19, 2008
Old favorite/crash course for a tournament in Feb.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews