SCRABBLE® - SERIOUS FUN FOR KIDS

(* This section is for adults – if you are not yet an adult, proceed straight to the tutorials, and start LEARNING HOW TO PLAY!)

GETTING STARTED

This information is for parents or teachers who want to provide an exciting extension activity for gifted children (and perhaps don’t know how to play Scrabble themselves).

After working with young Scrabble players for the last decade, I have identified a number of methods for furthering the prowess and focusing the commitment of young Scrabble players. You have been warned…. once you introduce Scrabble to your child, you may find he/she refuses to go to sleep at night until he has had his “fix” of a game or two, or a quick study of the dictionary. Be like a wise friend of mine, and use Scrabble as a reward – for when your child has done his music practice or finished his homework. Make Scrabble tournaments something which have to be earned, by achieving good marks at school or keeping a tidy room. Another parent was most concerned that her child would become “addicted” – I told her she already was … but the strange thing is that this child’s school marks improved once she became serious about Scrabble. School study and Scrabble have a synergistic effect for many children – I believe it is because Scrabble sharpens their brains. They learn to think strategically, develop the discipline to study long lists of words, and train themselves to concentrate intensely for long periods of time.

SPOTTING A POTENTIAL SCRABBLE PLAYER:

The type of child who will be attracted to Scrabble is usually gifted at mathematics and/or music. Scrabble is a game of patterns, calculating probabilities, thinking strategically many moves in advance, analysing your opponent’s play, and generally requires good problem-solving skills. It appears that men are better than women, but please don’t discourage your daughters from playing. Maybe all the best Scrabble players are men, simply because there aren’t enough young girls learning the game when they are young (and while they have superior brain-power and memory to us “older folk”).

Often, a young Scrabble player will be viewed as “nerdish” by others. Don’t let that worry him/her. Once he becomes immersed in the Scrabble scene, he will find himself surrounded by similarly nerdish adults and youth, and will feel accepted and valued for his/her intelligence - instead of being isolated and frequently bullied by his peers. Scrabble can provide a gifted child with a real sense of accomplishment and acceptance.

Scrabble players are usually very intense people, able to focus on one task for hours on end. Many Scrabble players exhibit symptoms of Asperges, and some top players tend even further towards autism.

GETTING STARTED - I am assuming your child is aged 5 or older, has a reasonable vocabulary and can perform basic addition. (I will address the issue of younger children separately).

Buy him/her a proper Scrabble set (NOT the “Junior” version)

Purchase an official Scrabble Word List or Dictionary (contact your local Scrabble Association for information on where to purchase these). Otherwise, there are computer programs which include a full list of playable words. (Note that the list of words playable in North America differs from that played in the rest of the world – which include the North American words, but also British, Australian, and a host of other English words. The current official dictionary is based on Collins Official Word List 2007)

Offline play

There are Scrabble games made for PC, Nintendo DS, Wii or Playstation, which can be played off-line. (UbiSoft is the recommended version – you can even choose to program it to avoid any “rude words”, for the very young players).

Online play

If your child is older, you may be prepared to allow use of the internet - for example, Facebook ScrabbleWorldwide application, or ISC (Internet Scrabble Club) There are many sites to play Scrabble with others, or computers. Some people on the internet are not necessarily nice. However, the “bots” (robots) are always polite.

Tutorials

Before you allow a child play on the internet, please play some face-to-face games with him/her, to ensure that he/she understands the rules and principals of play. The attached SCORING TUTORIAL and BEGINNERS TUTORIAL are great places to start – work through them slowly with him/her. Pay particular attention to the scoring (something which is not learned by using computer versions of the game). Unless one understands how to score correctly and quickly, one cannot calculate which of a range of moves will be the most lucrative.

ENCOURAGING YOUNG PLAYERS (or, what to do once they have learnt the basics)

One major factor which will determine whether your young protege takes up Scrabble as a life-long hobby, is the enjoyment he gleans from playing - and this will be related to whether his friends are also playing Scrabble. If not, then he needs to make new friends in the Scrabble-playing community. Many schools have Scrabble clubs. These are great for beginners. However, once children have grasped the basics, the best way to improve is to subject themselves to the rigors of “adult” tournament play. They will start at the bottom (that is, playing the lowest-rated players). However, they first need to be able to lose a game (or succession of games) without bursting into tears. I recommend that they do not start playing against adults until their average games score is over 250 – or, better still, over 300. They also need to be able to complete games within the time allowed – usually 25 minutes, but in some tournaments, as little as 20 minutes per player. If you can afford a timer, it will help train a child to work within time limits. An old-fashioned analogue clock (used for Chess) is adequate, and some may be obtained second-hand. Digital timers are better – I recommend a (metal-cased) SamTimer, or MiniSam. The pocket Sam model (plastic case) is not as robust, but commensurately cheaper.

If your child does not have a school club, or friends of the same age with whom to compete, maybe he/she has a grandparent who would be prepared to take him/her to tournaments? Many children, including myself as an 8-year-old) have been introduced to the joys of Scrabble by grandparents, who usually have more time and patience than parents.

Each year, there is a World Youth Scrabble Championship for players aged from the age of approximately 9 upwards to 17 (they must be aged under-18 as at the 31st December of that year). Qualifying for this event is determined by the National Scrabble Associations in each country. In most countries, a child who plays consistently and well over a period of two years could reach the standard required to complete in this event.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Much of the basics within the TUTORIALS were written by Graham Wakefield, UK. Whilst I may have been “able” to write these myself, I never found the time. Graham did, and for that I am eternally grateful, since it provided the initial impetus to bring this long-dreamed-of vision (a basic “how to start” manual) to fruition.

Another VIP I need to thank (that is, someone who is a Very Important Person to me) is my youngest son, Alastair - who started playing Scrabble at the age of five, and astounded us with his ability and keen interest. At that stage, the Scrabble set box read “Ages 10 and up” – however, I notice they are no longer limiting this exciting game to “old people” over 10. Alastair has taught us, more than anything, not to impose limits on our children – let them aim high, and they will surprise you with what they can achieve.

SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark of J.W. Spear & Sons, England ( a subsidiary of Mattel Inc.) within Australia and the rest of the world (except North America). Within U.S.A. & Canada, Hasbro Inc (& Hasbro Canada Inc.) own all intellectual property rights to SCRABBLE® Brand Crossword game.