scrabble word study
Feb. 1st, 2006 01:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kismet09So at least one of the people in my class is hardcore, tournament-bound, so I figured I should provide some info on word study. Below is what I've figured out that I've done (be warned - much geekery follows). Anything any of you would add?
Scrabble Word Study: My Strategy
This is just to give you an idea of one study method. Other people probably do it differently (and much more effectively) than I do.
1. Learn all 101 2-letter words. You should have these down cold. They’re especially important for knowing how to hook your words on to other words on the board. For example, if RAPIER was the only word the board and you found the word EPOXY on your rack,you could play EPOXY over RAPIER and earn 41 points without using any bonus squares. If you hadn’t known ER, PA, OP, XI and YE, you would’ve missed a great play. According to the experts, knowing these words and how to use them will automatically raise your average score 30-50 points. Maybe even more with the recent addition of QI and ZA. To learn these, I mostly just memorized them. I wrote them down alphabetically, stared at them, learned the definitions (more or less) and intentionally practiced trying to see them and play them in games.
2. Learn the 3 letter words that can be formed from the 2 letter words by adding a letter (the 2- to make 3-letter word list). To build on the earlier example, playing DEFAMES/ERA/PAM/OPE/XIS would earn 88 points, versus playing DEFAMES/RAPIERS for 72.
To learn these, I used someone’s list off of the internet, showing front and back hooks to each of the 2 letter words. In the margins, I jotted down just the words that I didn’t know. If there were a lot of obscure words that could be formed from a 2, I’d try to think of a mnemonic to remember them. For example, AE can form GAE, HAE, KAE, MAE, NAE, SAE, TAE and WAE. A possible mnemonic for the GHKMNSTW front hooks is KNiGHT SWaM (although I use “GHK-MNSTW,” which, when said out loud, just stuck in my head). You can find similar lists of mnemonics on the web, but I like to try to come up with my own, since I tend to remember them better.
3. Learn the 3 letter words. There were 972 three letter words in the OWL1. One was removed (EMF) and 40 were added to the OWL2, for 1,012. When working on the 3s, in addition to the strategy above, I do the following:
a. Work with the list at-a-glance. I use a copy of the list, in very small font, all on one piece of paper. I highlight the words that I don’t know, or think I might challenge if I saw them played. I highlight rather than crossing words out as I think that I know them. I tend to forget some of the words that I think that I know, and it’s nice to see them on the page when I haven’t worked with the list for awhile.
b. Work with the list with definitions. The Scrabble dictionary (OSPD) provides the more obscure definitions of common words, which has been compiled into a list that I found online (and updated with the OWL2 words). This has helped me learn parts of speech, which helps to be aware of inflections (e.g., DEW has the definition “to wet with dew,” which makes it a verb – I wouldn’t have known DEWED and DEWING were good without this definition).
c. Work with the list of 3- make 4-letter word list. Just like the 2- make 3-letter word list, this is helpful in starting to learn some of the obscure four letter words, and the hooks for some of the words you might see on the board more often than others.
4. Learn the top five bingo stems: SATINE, SATIRE, RETINA, ARSINE and SENIOR. Bingo stems are combinations of 6 letters that combine with many single letters to form bingos. Wordgeeks have run stats to see which stems are the most useful, in terms of how many letters combine with a stem, and how likely you are to find the stem on your rack.
a. Again, I learned these mostly by rote memorization. I write the stem at the top of a page, write the letters alphabetically down the side, and then try to fill in as many words as I can for each stem. After working for a bit, I look for the ones I’ve missed, make a note of them, and move to the next list.
b. I also work on these by talking through the lists out loud (with my very patient significant other, who quizzes me); and I know some of the definitions of the really weird looking words, mostly because they’re interesting to me.
…and that’s about as far as I’ve gotten in my study regimen, which is why I’m not yet an expert-level player. Here’s what I’m theoretically working on right now:
5. Learn the Q without U words. There aren’t that many, but I’m lazy and I don’t actually study them, but I do pick them up as I play, and am remembering them more often. I know QI, QAT, QAID, QOPH, FAQIR, QANAT and TRANQ, and try to make do with that, or put the Q back in the bag.
6. Learn the 4 and 5 letter JQXZ words. They’re useful for high-scoring, non-bingo plays.
7. Become familiar with the four-letter words. Again, I work from the 3- make 4-letter word list, and stare at the list of all of the words (which fits on 3 or 4 sheets of paper).
8. Work on additional bingo lists. I chose stems that I came across a lot on my rack and noticed, and I worked on stems that I thought I was less likely to find words in (often, in my case, those that involved the letters D and S in combination). I also use the list of 1000 most probable bingos, and a couple of seven-letter stem lists (so that if I had, for example, STAINER on my rack and there was an open A on the board, I’d know ANTISERA, RATANIES and SEATRAIN).
STUDY TOOLS
LeXpert http://www.carolravi.com/ScrWeb/LeXpert/Default.aspx - generate word lists, make flash cards, quiz yourself, watch a slide show of the words you’re working on. The program is free, flexible, and a good study break from typing papers and such.
Jumbletime http://www.jumbletime.com – java-based web quiz program with an ever-growing collection of specialty lists (sexy sixes, OUT- words, 5-vowel-8's, basic bingos, etc.) with which to practice your anagramming skill.
Scrabble FAQ http://home.teleport.com/~stevena/scrabble/contents.html - links to word lists, other study programs, books, and other resources.
Read - there are a number of strategy guides and puzzle books on the market. I like Everything Scrabble (Edley) and The Art of Scrabble (Fisher, Webb) for strategy, and The Complete Wordbook for Game Players (Baron) for word lists.
Play! – one of the best ways to practice is by playing!
Internet Scrabble Club: http://isc.ro – A lot of National Scrabble Association members play here. Realtime games with real people or computers. Provides a rating so that you know how you’re doing compared with others.
Pixie Pit: http://thepixiepit.co.uk/scrabble/ - Plays are emailed to you when it’s your turn. You can play with friends, or put out a call for a game with someone else.
Local Scrabble Club: http://www.wolfberg.net/scrabble/massachusetts/ - find a group that suits you! I play at Lexington on a semi-regular basis.
Scrabble Word Study: My Strategy
This is just to give you an idea of one study method. Other people probably do it differently (and much more effectively) than I do.
1. Learn all 101 2-letter words. You should have these down cold. They’re especially important for knowing how to hook your words on to other words on the board. For example, if RAPIER was the only word the board and you found the word EPOXY on your rack,you could play EPOXY over RAPIER and earn 41 points without using any bonus squares. If you hadn’t known ER, PA, OP, XI and YE, you would’ve missed a great play. According to the experts, knowing these words and how to use them will automatically raise your average score 30-50 points. Maybe even more with the recent addition of QI and ZA. To learn these, I mostly just memorized them. I wrote them down alphabetically, stared at them, learned the definitions (more or less) and intentionally practiced trying to see them and play them in games.
2. Learn the 3 letter words that can be formed from the 2 letter words by adding a letter (the 2- to make 3-letter word list). To build on the earlier example, playing DEFAMES/ERA/PAM/OPE/XIS would earn 88 points, versus playing DEFAMES/RAPIERS for 72.
To learn these, I used someone’s list off of the internet, showing front and back hooks to each of the 2 letter words. In the margins, I jotted down just the words that I didn’t know. If there were a lot of obscure words that could be formed from a 2, I’d try to think of a mnemonic to remember them. For example, AE can form GAE, HAE, KAE, MAE, NAE, SAE, TAE and WAE. A possible mnemonic for the GHKMNSTW front hooks is KNiGHT SWaM (although I use “GHK-MNSTW,” which, when said out loud, just stuck in my head). You can find similar lists of mnemonics on the web, but I like to try to come up with my own, since I tend to remember them better.
3. Learn the 3 letter words. There were 972 three letter words in the OWL1. One was removed (EMF) and 40 were added to the OWL2, for 1,012. When working on the 3s, in addition to the strategy above, I do the following:
a. Work with the list at-a-glance. I use a copy of the list, in very small font, all on one piece of paper. I highlight the words that I don’t know, or think I might challenge if I saw them played. I highlight rather than crossing words out as I think that I know them. I tend to forget some of the words that I think that I know, and it’s nice to see them on the page when I haven’t worked with the list for awhile.
b. Work with the list with definitions. The Scrabble dictionary (OSPD) provides the more obscure definitions of common words, which has been compiled into a list that I found online (and updated with the OWL2 words). This has helped me learn parts of speech, which helps to be aware of inflections (e.g., DEW has the definition “to wet with dew,” which makes it a verb – I wouldn’t have known DEWED and DEWING were good without this definition).
c. Work with the list of 3- make 4-letter word list. Just like the 2- make 3-letter word list, this is helpful in starting to learn some of the obscure four letter words, and the hooks for some of the words you might see on the board more often than others.
4. Learn the top five bingo stems: SATINE, SATIRE, RETINA, ARSINE and SENIOR. Bingo stems are combinations of 6 letters that combine with many single letters to form bingos. Wordgeeks have run stats to see which stems are the most useful, in terms of how many letters combine with a stem, and how likely you are to find the stem on your rack.
a. Again, I learned these mostly by rote memorization. I write the stem at the top of a page, write the letters alphabetically down the side, and then try to fill in as many words as I can for each stem. After working for a bit, I look for the ones I’ve missed, make a note of them, and move to the next list.
b. I also work on these by talking through the lists out loud (with my very patient significant other, who quizzes me); and I know some of the definitions of the really weird looking words, mostly because they’re interesting to me.
…and that’s about as far as I’ve gotten in my study regimen, which is why I’m not yet an expert-level player. Here’s what I’m theoretically working on right now:
5. Learn the Q without U words. There aren’t that many, but I’m lazy and I don’t actually study them, but I do pick them up as I play, and am remembering them more often. I know QI, QAT, QAID, QOPH, FAQIR, QANAT and TRANQ, and try to make do with that, or put the Q back in the bag.
6. Learn the 4 and 5 letter JQXZ words. They’re useful for high-scoring, non-bingo plays.
7. Become familiar with the four-letter words. Again, I work from the 3- make 4-letter word list, and stare at the list of all of the words (which fits on 3 or 4 sheets of paper).
8. Work on additional bingo lists. I chose stems that I came across a lot on my rack and noticed, and I worked on stems that I thought I was less likely to find words in (often, in my case, those that involved the letters D and S in combination). I also use the list of 1000 most probable bingos, and a couple of seven-letter stem lists (so that if I had, for example, STAINER on my rack and there was an open A on the board, I’d know ANTISERA, RATANIES and SEATRAIN).
STUDY TOOLS
LeXpert http://www.carolravi.com/ScrWeb/LeXpert/Default.aspx - generate word lists, make flash cards, quiz yourself, watch a slide show of the words you’re working on. The program is free, flexible, and a good study break from typing papers and such.
Jumbletime http://www.jumbletime.com – java-based web quiz program with an ever-growing collection of specialty lists (sexy sixes, OUT- words, 5-vowel-8's, basic bingos, etc.) with which to practice your anagramming skill.
Scrabble FAQ http://home.teleport.com/~stevena/scrabble/contents.html - links to word lists, other study programs, books, and other resources.
Read - there are a number of strategy guides and puzzle books on the market. I like Everything Scrabble (Edley) and The Art of Scrabble (Fisher, Webb) for strategy, and The Complete Wordbook for Game Players (Baron) for word lists.
Play! – one of the best ways to practice is by playing!
Internet Scrabble Club: http://isc.ro – A lot of National Scrabble Association members play here. Realtime games with real people or computers. Provides a rating so that you know how you’re doing compared with others.
Pixie Pit: http://thepixiepit.co.uk/scrabble/ - Plays are emailed to you when it’s your turn. You can play with friends, or put out a call for a game with someone else.
Local Scrabble Club: http://www.wolfberg.net/scrabble/massachusetts/ - find a group that suits you! I play at Lexington on a semi-regular basis.
