# How bad can Scrabble with total strangers be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 11, 2006, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-scrabble-with-total-strangers-be/339445 "2006-01-11T04:42:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![welby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@welby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/welby)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-scrabble-with-total-strangers-be/339445/21 "2006-01-12T18:39:47Z")
My name is welby, and I’m a Scrabble Junkie. I play with a few friends from time to time around here, but haven’t found an actual club that meets regularly. To get my fix, I play daily on [The Internet Scrabble Club](http://www.isc.ro) . One thing I like about it is that it keeps your stats for you. Right now, I’m 1742 for 3617, averaging 16 points per play and 334 points per game on average. I’m such a geek. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-scrabble-with-total-strangers-be/339445/22 "2006-01-12T18:53:13Z")
_Scrabble_is about math and engineering? I decry this statement! Honey, I am clueless when it comes to math and engineering, but I am a wicked Scrabble player–what saves me is my LARGE vocabulary. Where I get creamed is in the strategizing and the point play. Um…never mind. ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-scrabble-with-total-strangers-be/339445/23 "2006-01-12T19:44:08Z")
> [@Sean Factotum](#): > > [slight hijack]Do you know of any registered clubs in the Norfolk VA area? I tried finding one a few years ago, and had no luck.[/hijack] > And you’re absolutely right about what to study. That’s how my girlfriend kicked my butt at Scrabble for a couple of years. I just checked the National Scrabble Association website and there is no club in the Norfolk area. The closest is Williamsburg, but it is temporarily inactive. > [@Misnomer](#): > > It’s so funny that you know him! He totally kicked our asses. 🙂 Maybe you know the other people, too: a guy with thick glasses named Mike, and an older woman named Laurie. I don’t know Mike or Laurie, at least not based on the descriptions. Most of the best Scrabble players do tend to be math types, often working in finance or accounting or something to do with money management. Also, several are independently wealthy, and thus can devote a lot of time to memorizing words from dictionaries. For an amusing look at the Scrabble subculture, check out the book Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis. He’s a semi-regular at the DC club. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-scrabble-with-total-strangers-be/339445/24 "2006-01-12T19:59:50Z")
> [@ataraxy22](#): > > I just checked the National Scrabble Association website and there is no club in the Norfolk area. The closest is Williamsburg, but it is temporarily inactive. Yeah, that’s the same information that I had three years ago. Another example of how the words Scrabblers use don’t have definitions (re: “temporary”). So how hard would it be to start one and have it sanctioned? ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-scrabble-with-total-strangers-be/339445/25 "2006-01-13T02:25:03Z")
> [@Sean Factotum](#): > > Yeah, that’s the same information that I had three years ago. Another example of how the words Scrabblers use don’t have definitions (re: “temporary”). > So how hard would it be to start one and have it sanctioned? I think it is more a matter of finding a critical mass. I was a member of a club for a couple years that only had 6 regulars, and we managed to survive. [How to start a club](http://www.scrabble-assoc.com/clubs/index.html#dko) You could also check [this](http://www.scrabble-assoc.com/ratings/state/va.html) out and contact the people nearby. None in Norfolk itself it seems. Or why not do what was mentioned in the OP, and advertise on Craig’s List? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-scrabble-with-total-strangers-be/339445.md?page=1)