New Scrabble words Qi and Za.Plus Tangleword

[MadTheSwine]

I have just recently started playing Scrabble again after taking a few years off. After about sixty games or so I’ve decided that the inclusion of Qi and Za in the new dictionary take away from the strategy of the game.At least the game I am use to playing.I suppose I will get use to them but I think it really cheapens the game.The Q is no longer a burden whatsoever and should not be worth ten points anymore.
What do you think?

Also does anyone play Tangleword at Playsite? If so who are you there?

Chez moi anyone?

[pulykamell]

@MadTheSwine

I have just recently started playing Scrabble again after taking a few years off. After about sixty games or so I’ve decided that the inclusion of Qi and Za in the new dictionary take away from the strategy of the game.At least the game I am use to playing.I suppose I will get use to them but I think it really cheapens the game.The Q is no longer a burden whatsoever and should not be worth ten points anymore.
What do you think?

Also does anyone play Tangleword at Playsite? If so who are you there?

Chez moi anyone?

I don’t mind QI being used since I do actually see it in print occassionally. If I’ve seen the word used in real life then I really can’t have any objection, can I? I’m also used to playing QI because the British editions of Scrabble have always (at least for the last dozen years or so) listed it as a valid word in the 2-letter word list that comes with some sets. It’s part of the OSW (Official Scrabble Words) and it’s about time it’s included in the American edition.

I’m not sure how I feel about ZA, though. I’ve always thought of it as 'za, as a contraction, and don’t think I’ve ever seen the word in print or even used in conversation. My main objection is that I think it’s a contraction rather than a two-letter word, but oh well.

It does tinker with the strategy of a game, though. I managed to come from behind and beat one opponent once by forming two QI words (vertically and horizontally) with the Q falling on triple letter score. That’s 60 points alone for the Q. shrug You gotta defend against those possibilities.

[Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker]

No, but I don’t use the OSPD, either. Merriam-Webster is the final authority when I play.

[Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker]

But to answer your question, I’d be willing to bet that they don’t take ability to unload easily into point assignment. There are a lot more words with “k” and “v” in them, but try to unload one if you’re trying to maintain your other letters. Not that easy.

I know you can use your turn to exchange if you get a crappy draw, but I never do that, either. I always play my draw.

[MadTheSwine]

@pulykamell

It does tinker with the strategy of a game, though. I managed to come from behind and beat one opponent once by forming two QI words (vertically and horizontally) with the Q falling on triple letter score. That’s 60 points alone for the Q. shrug You gotta defend against those possibilities.

Yeah,I know.I am sure I will get used to it but after so many years of playing it is hard to adjust.The other day I was patting myself on the back for making a moderately good Z play and killing a TWS square in the process,forgetting about Za.My opponent hammered the TWS for 70 or so points.

[pulykamell]

@Earl Snake-Hips Tucker

No, but I don’t use the OSPD, either. Merriam-Webster is the final authority when I play.

Merriam-Webster has the advantage of having vulgar words in its favor. I was really pissed off to find out that even words like “jew” (as in “to jew someone”) are left out of the OSPD (yet “gyp” is included), but present in other Scrabble collections of words. I don’t like using the Merriam-Webster dictionary alone because it doesn’t have certain words like “aa,” which I think is a perfectly good word that, once again, I’ve seen in print in National Geographic articles about Hawaii. As long as both players agree on dictionary, though, the point is moot.

[MadTheSwine]

@pulykamell

Merriam-Webster has the advantage of having vulgar words in its favor. I was really pissed off to find out that even words like “jew” (as in “to jew someone”) are left out of the OSPD (yet “gyp” is included), but present in other Scrabble collections of words. I don’t like using the Merriam-Webster dictionary alone because it doesn’t have certain words like “aa,” which I think is a perfectly good word that, once again, I’ve seen in print in National Geographic articles about Hawaii. As long as both players agree on dictionary, though, the point is moot.

There is an uncensored version of OSPD which is used at the site I play at.The uncensored version is also used in tournaments,or was last I knew.

[Askia]

@Earl Snake-Hips Tucker

I know you can use your turn to exchange if you get a crappy draw, but I never do that, either. I always play my draw.

Stragetically, I always toss my Q if I haven’t played it towards the end of a close game.

Are there Scrabble acceptable words that end in the letters J or Q?

[Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker]

“Hajj” ends end a “j,” but you need a blank, unless you’re playing Super Scrabble.

And for “q,” I’d give the source, but I don’t recall what it was (possibly a Scrabble site):

Q without U words accepted in the U. S. Scrabble list are: QAT, QAID, QOPH, FAQIR, QANAT, TRANQ, QINDAR, QINTAR, QWERTY, SHEQEL, QINDARKA, and SHEQALIM (alternate plural of SHEQEL). The combined US/UK list (SOWPODS) adds (from Chambers Dictionary), with their plurals: BUQSHA, BURQA, INQILAB, MBAQANGA, MUQADDAM, QABALAH, QADI, QAIMAQAM, QALAMDAN, QASIDA, QI, QIBLA, QIGONG, QINGHAOSU, QIS, QIVIUT, QWERTIES, QWERTYS, SUQ, TALAQ, TRANQ, TSADDIQIM, TSADDIQ, TZADDIQIM, TZADDIQ, UMIAQ, WAQF, and YAQONA [Stuart Kidd].

[Some words containing Q and U but not the QU sequence are QIVIUT, UMIAQ, and BUQSHA.]

[MadTheSwine]

@Askia

Stragetically, I always toss my Q if I haven’t played it towards the end of a close game.

Are there Scrabble acceptable words that end in the letters J or Q?

Yes here are some of them: Haj,Hajj,Hadj,Raj,Taj,Umiaq,Tranq and Suq.

[bordelond]

@pulykamell

I’m not sure how I feel about ZA, though. I’ve always thought of it as 'za, as a contraction, and don’t think I’ve ever seen the word in print or even used in conversation. My main objection is that I think it’s a contraction rather than a two-letter word, but oh well.

I’ve never heard the word used, either … and I’ve seen it in print exactly once: in Neil Stephenson’s novel Snow Crash. I thought it was a nonce invention of Stephenson’s, not living, breathing slang in use anywhere.

Had I not seen the word in Snow Crash, I’d have no idea of the meaning. For those wondering: 'za is supposed to be short for pizza.

[MadTheSwine]

@bordelond

I’ve never heard the word used, either … and I’ve seen it in print exactly once: in Neil Stephenson’s novel Snow Crash. I thought it was a nonce invention of Stephenson’s, not living, breathing slang in use anywhere.

Had I not seen the word in Snow Crash, I’d have no idea of the meaning. For those wondering: 'za is supposed to be short for pizza.

Wasn’t Za valley girl speak?

[Gadarene]

There is an uncensored version of OSPD which is used at the site I play at.The uncensored version is also used in tournaments,or was last I knew.

I believe this is the OWL, or Official Word List. I think it’s on its third edition.

[Askia]

Thank you, MadTheSwine and Earl.

[kaylasdad99]

@MadTheSwine

Chez moi anyone?

Did you just invite us to your house?

[gigi]

@pulykamell

Merriam-Webster has the advantage of having vulgar words in its favor. I was really pissed off to find out that even words like “jew” (as in “to jew someone”) are left out of the OSPD (yet “gyp” is included), but present in other Scrabble collections of words.

At my friends’ house where I play, we keep three editions of the OSPD in order to have access to the old vulgar words. Edition two has them but three and four don’t.

Hmm, I didn’t know about ZA. But I did hear about QI and OI from the fourth edition.

[MaxTheVool]

plus there’s FE and another one with K (KI? KE?) that just got added.
The tiles should definitely have their values changed. “C” and “V” are now (I believe) the only two words that aren’t in any two-letter words, and thus should be worth far more points to compensate.

(In Yahoo! Literati, “C” is only worth ONE point. Crazy.)

[MadTheSwine]

@MaxTheVool

plus there’s FE and another one with K (KI? KE?) that just got added.
The tiles should definitely have their values changed. “C” and “V” are now (I believe) the only two words that aren’t in any two-letter words, and thus should be worth far more points to compensate.

(In Yahoo! Literati, “C” is only worth ONE point. Crazy.)

Ki

[pulykamell]

@bordelond

I’ve never heard the word used, either … and I’ve seen it in print exactly once: in Neil Stephenson’s novel Snow Crash. I thought it was a nonce invention of Stephenson’s, not living, breathing slang in use anywhere.

Had I not seen the word in Snow Crash, I’d have no idea of the meaning. For those wondering: 'za is supposed to be short for pizza.

Wow. Yet more Straight Dope synchronicity. I’m making some pot roast and my brother just walked into the room and asked, “Whaddaya makin’, za?” I asked him about where he’s heard that word and he said he last heard it on Family Guy, but has heard it used before then.