3. Subterfuge
There are lots of creative ways to cheat at Scrabble. The one that really gets my goat is braille, in which players try to predict what letter they’re getting by feeling the grooves on the tile while digging around in the bag. Aside from the fact that this is tile molestation, it’s just embarrassing. I’ve also seen people try to get away with easy-to-miss 2-letter phonies, like LE, RA, or TU. Phonies in general annoy me, but 2-letter ones are especially loathsome. If you’re going to play by those rules, you should just stick to Text Twist.
2. Dictionary Whining
There are lots of words in the Scrabble dictionary that shouldn’t be there, but there’s no use complaining about it. Are you John D. Williams? I didn’t think so. Thus, you have no authority whatsoever. Instead of complaining, you can find easy ways to remember these dumb words. For example, “AA” is a type of lava. You can remember this because that is the sound you make if you touch hot lava. Meanwhile, “AARRGHH” (another acceptable word) is the sound you make when you touch really hot lava.
1. Staircasing
One of saddest things to see on a board is a staircase formation of tiles taking up one half of the board, while the other half remains frustratingly empty. This often occurs when people get bad tiles and have no choice but to keep stacking them upon other tiles to make 2-letter words. Or, they’re scared to open up bingo lanes or triple-word paths. Do you want to know something truly liberating? It’s funner to play with someone who isn’t afraid to forge new board territory, even if that means your opponent can score a triple-word.
