# Scrabble **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 30, 2000, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble/17101 "2000-04-30T00:06:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble/17101/1 "2000-04-30T00:06:39Z")
Last night, I was with some friends playing Scrabble. One woman mentioned her estranged husband’s questionable rules. I don’t think either of these is legal: 1. According to him, it is possible to trade in **some** of your letters, if you’re at an impasse, and skip a turn. I say you have to turn them **all** in if you’re going to do that. 2)He also claims that the points one gets for putting down a word include the points for the letter that you built off of. For example, if player 1 puts down “patch” and player 2 uses the C to form “acting”, player 2 gets the three points for the C that was already there. I scrutinized the rules, and they don’t expressly forbid doing this, but I’ve never played with anyone else who had this rule. Anyone? I know there are Scrabble players here. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble/17101/2 "2000-04-30T00:44:39Z")
Both of the estranged husband’s rules are correct. Official rules from my boxtop: 1. A player may use his turn to exchange all, some, or none of he letters in his rack. . . . He then awaits his next turn to play. Also, the scoring examples below the rules make sense only if the preexisting letters also count toward the score. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble/17101/3 "2000-04-30T00:53:56Z")
:o Well, we played it her way anyway. ---
**Author:** ![lswote](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lswote/32/5737_2.png) [@lswote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lswote)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble/17101/4 "2000-04-30T19:54:59Z")
I have always played where you get the points for the pre-existing letters but you don’t get the 2x or 3x score the letter might have gotten when originally played. ---
**Author:** ![Steve-o](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@Steve-o](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve-o)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble/17101/5 "2000-04-30T20:05:05Z")
That’s the proper way. ---
**Author:** ![Satan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Satan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble/17101/6 "2000-04-30T21:19:19Z")
Aw jeez… I am an expert in very few subjects, and Scrabble is one of them! Alas, you guys beatt me to it and are most correct. If anyone has any Scrabble questions, please ask me first! 😃 * * * Yer pal, Satan [http://homepages.go.com/~cmcinternationalrecords/devil.gif](http://homepages.go.com/~cmcinternationalrecords/devil.gif) _TIME ELAPSED SINCE I QUIT SMOKING: Three weeks, 19 hours, 17 minutes and 55 seconds. 872 cigarettes not smoked, saving $109.02. Life saved: 3 days, 40 minutes._ ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble/17101/7 "2000-04-30T21:22:12Z")
Sure, ask him anything about Scrabble. But for the love of God, don’t ask him how many legal words exist that end in A! ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble/17101/8 "2000-04-30T21:32:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > Sure, ask him anything about Scrabble. But for the love of God, don’t ask him how many legal words exist that end in A! > \*\* I was always a glutton for punishment 🙂 Satan, How many legal words end in an A? Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Steve-o](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@Steve-o](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve-o)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble/17101/9 "2000-04-30T21:41:24Z")
Talk about experts on Scrabble… I can tell you how to get engaged on a Scrabble board. I asked my wife to marry me on a Scrabble board (no, we didn’t get married on a Scrabble board 😃 ). Yes, I had to cheat a tad, but she didn’t seem to mind. (Scrabble board, Scrabble board, Scrabble board, Scrabble board, Scrabble board, Scrabble board, Scrabble board, Scrabble board, Scrabble board, AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA) 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Satan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Satan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble/17101/10 "2000-04-30T21:42:46Z")
AA ABA ABACA [truly impressive word list removed by manhattan] ZYGOMA ZYGOMATA ZYZZYVA * * * Yer pal, Satan [http://homepages.go.com/~cmcinternationalrecords/devil.gif](http://homepages.go.com/~cmcinternationalrecords/devil.gif) _TIME ELAPSED SINCE I QUIT SMOKING: Three weeks, 19 hours, 41 minutes and 12 seconds. 872 cigarettes not smoked, saving $109.10. Life saved: 3 days, 40 minutes._ (Sorry to have to edit the list, all. The whole reason we changed software was to decrease the risk of a crash. Until we are confident we have done so, We’re going to be extra careful about jumbo posts. -manhattan) ---
**Author:** ![WallyM7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5e925/32.png) [@WallyM7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WallyM7)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble/17101/11 "2000-04-30T21:45:31Z")
Satan, you misspelled one of the words. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble/17101/12 "2000-04-30T21:46:42Z")
Once again, Satan lives up to his name… ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble/17101/13 "2000-04-30T21:48:12Z")
I warned you. But did you listen? Noooooo…and see where it got you. SEE! Oh, and Wally? Someone else had that joke the last time he did this. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![WallyM7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5e925/32.png) [@WallyM7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WallyM7)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble/17101/14 "2000-04-30T21:51:17Z")
That was me then as well, Libby. It’s called a “reprise.” ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble/17101/15 "2000-04-30T21:52:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > AA > ABA > ABACA > > [removed again, for the same reasons] > ZYGOMA > ZYGOMATA > ZYZZYVA > > * * * > > Yer pal, > Satan > > [http://homepages.go.com/~cmcinternationalrecords/devil.gif](http://homepages.go.com/~cmcinternationalrecords/devil.gif) > > _TIME ELAPSED SINCE I QUIT SMOKING: > Three weeks, 19 hours, 41 minutes and 12 seconds. > 872 cigarettes not smoked, saving $109.10. > Life saved: 3 days, 40 minutes._ > \*\* I thank you for the list, but I asked how many, not what are they? 🙂 Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble/17101/16 "2000-04-30T21:54:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > Talk about experts on Scrabble… I can tell you how to get engaged on a Scrabble board. I asked my wife to marry me on a Scrabble board (no, we didn’t get married on a Scrabble board 😃 ). Yes, I had to cheat a tad, but she didn’t seem to mind. (Scrabble board, Scrabble board, Scrabble board, Scrabble board, Scrabble board, Scrabble board, Scrabble board, Scrabble board, Scrabble board, AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA) 😛 > \*\* That’s actually quite romantic. I wish I had thought of that. Zev Steinhardt (whose wife loves to play Scrabble) ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble/17101/17 "2000-04-30T22:01:35Z")
Zev…was is neccessary to quote Satan’s list in full? ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble/17101/18 "2000-04-30T22:11:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > Zev…was is neccessary to quote Satan’s list in full? > \*\* Probably not. ☹ Mea culpa. (At least culpa’s on the list). Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Satan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Satan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble/17101/19 "2000-04-30T22:28:52Z")
Zev, there are 2,880 words there. I don’t recall seeing a thank you from you either! 😃 * * * Yer pal, Satan [http://homepages.go.com/~cmcinternationalrecords/devil.gif](http://homepages.go.com/~cmcinternationalrecords/devil.gif) _TIME ELAPSED SINCE I QUIT SMOKING: Three weeks, 20 hours, 27 minutes and 22 seconds. 874 cigarettes not smoked, saving $109.26. Life saved: 3 days, 50 minutes._ ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble/17101/20 "2000-05-01T02:27:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > Zev, there are 2,880 words there. > > I don’t recall seeing a thank you from you either! > > 😃 > > * * * > > Yer pal, > Satan > > [http://homepages.go.com/~cmcinternationalrecords/devil.gif](http://homepages.go.com/~cmcinternationalrecords/devil.gif) > > _TIME ELAPSED SINCE I QUIT SMOKING: > Three weeks, 20 hours, 27 minutes and 22 seconds. > 874 cigarettes not smoked, saving $109.26. > Life saved: 3 days, 50 minutes._ > \*\* You, sir, are absolutely correct. I owe you a big thank you (and so does my score after my next Scrabble game with my wife 🙂 ). My sincere apologies for my lack of proper manners. Zev Steinhardt [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scrabble/17101.md?page=2)