Communication occurs within and between species through many verbal and non-verbal means. One fundamental piece of our good human fortune rests in the building blocks of language, the syllables, the words, the sentences, the thought-flow. It is exhilarating to have this privilege of not only learning words and language, but also articulating such in clear and attractive ways to yourself and others. It is not surprising the word games like Scrabble, Boggle and variants have been created and have flourished. The foundation of their popularity is our love of words, and the social interactions that arise from a few games of Scrabble in one’s family room, on the patio, in a tent or on a plane or train. There is always that element of competition in the word game……and bragging rights to high scores.
But what of the times you are alone, through no fault of your own, and you get an urge for a game of Scrabble. Well, I have discovered two treasures that make the enjoyment of Scrabble at least as great for a single person as a group. In fact, playing Scrabble solo has many features that are difficult to replicate with groups. Playing Scrabble alone streamlines the game…..no choosing as to who goes first, no debate over the veracity of words, no pause between plays and refills, no turning of the board, no scoring. The challenge of trying to fill the board on your own is like building a new master pattern of words you like or discover. It is your own creation! And it goes fast, so you always have time to play again, often back-to-back.
The second treasure that has entered our Scrabble lives is the scoreless game for two, or more. So, my wife and I often will play a game in the evening or on weekends. we always had scored until recently. Our family is not shy about its interest in words and literary things, and there was always a pride in who among the parents and children ruled the Scrabble board…..a shifting dominance over time as the young minds expanded and the older minds involuted. Yet, when we took a new approach to Scrabble, scoreless, a new game emerged. All of the advantages of the solo game came alive, and the evolution of the word matrix was more spontaneous, original and rich. Scoreless Scrabble means you think about words, not scoring on certain board squares. The words come quicker and are more elaborate in their diversity and quality. The focus turns to the words, not the scores. We have been amazed by this version of Scrabble for its freshness and shared enjoyment in each other’s words. Thus, instead of ruing the great word of the other Scrabble player at the table, one celebrates each word as part of a joint construction. Call it community-minded Scrabble if you like.
Occasional reversions to scoring are great variants to ensure that we still know how to rack up points, but solo and dual scoreless Scrabble is here to stay in our household. For the love of words, try it.