A "newbie" is someone who is new at Scrabble® club. A newbie may have been a very competitive at-home player, or may just be starting to play the game.
We have several ways of helping newbies get acclimated if they wish. These aids may be used or not. Some of these are:
 | Using a "Newcomers Starting Sheet" during games until the newbie has won three games. This sheet has lists of short words acceptable in the Official Tournament and Club Word List, affectionately know as the "OWL". |
| Getting free challenges until the newbie has won three games. By this we mean that if you challenge someone unsuccessfully, you will not lose your turn. Also, if you are challenged and lose your word, you may replay without penalty. |
| Playing without losing 10 points per minute if you go overtime on your clock during the first month of play. However, if a game goes overlong, the director may call an end to the game in order that the club session may progress smoothly. |
Did you say "clock"?
That's right! We play tournament-style Scrabble®, which means players use a clock during their games to help keep things moving along, and to help practice for tournament play.
We use a chess clock, which is actually two individual timers, only one of which is running at any point in time. Each player is allowed 25 minutes. Your timer runs when it's your turn. When you complete your turn, you press a button which stops your timer and starts your opponent's timer. The clock can also be paused, or neutralized, for special situations like challenging, checking the score, questions for the director, and at the end of the game. If you happen to use more than the allotted 25 minutes, an overtime penalty of 10 points is subtracted from your final score for each additional minute or fraction of a minute used. This penalty DOES NOT apply to newcomers during their first month who are unfamiliar timed play.
As mentioned above, we use the Official Tournament and Club Word List, or "OWL". This word list includes acceptable words up to 9 letters in length. Longer words are checked in The Long List. The OWL is available only to members of the NSA, and it and the TLL are available through your club director or can be ordered from the National Scrabble® Association if you have joined.
The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary 4rd edition (OSPD4), is sold in major bookstores throughout North America and contains most of the words (and some extra ones) used in organized play. It includes brief meanings. We don't use it for official adjudications, but it's great for finding definitions.
What if your opponent plays a word you think is not really a word? Can you challenge it? How?
You may challenge any word or words made on the current play. You stop the clock, say "Challenge" and go to the computer with your opponent to look up the play. If an adjudication computer is not available, you just raise your hand and say "Challenge!" A director or other capable person will hasten to your side to rule on the play, deem it acceptable or unacceptable after consultation with the Official Club and Tournament Word List. If you are still not satisfied with the ruling, you may request a second opinion, in which case another adjudicator will check the word. In a tournament situation, you will fill out a challenge slip containing the challenged words to either take to the computer or hand to the word judge.
Almost all of us got thrashed at first! We do have several things that can help you prepare and study. Please check the "Preparation" and "Links" pages for suggestions.
We are a small, casual club, and while we tend to pair players of similar skill, all players who come regularly will play every other player from time to time. We promise to make you feel welcome, regardless of how much or how little Scrabble® you've played - we love helping others enjoy playing as much as we do!
Since we are a National Scrabble® Association sanctioned club, we use the rules provided by the NSA.
Our Top Ten List is found here.
Comprehensive rules directors use in club and tournaments are found on the NSA web page.