tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76411149883163361762008-09-06T20:53:01.365-04:00This is a group blog about Scrabble in West Virginia. The Scrabble club (National Scrabble Association Club #620) is based in Charleston. We meet on a regular basis and play lots of Scrabble!! For some of us it is becoming (or already is) a deep-rooted obsession. Our skill levels range from "I play pretty often" to some of the highest-rated players in the state. We are an informal group and we all enjoy a good game. We welcome anyone who would like to play.TTHBTKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11957116887646377052noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-78651284870914290252008-09-06T19:45:00.007-04:002008-09-06T20:53:01.380-04:00

Six people came out to Java Joint for the Huntington Scrabble club meeting held on Saturday. Here are the results.... Brad Mills 3-0, +172 Rob Stanton 2-1, +177 Shelley Schiavone 2-1, -18 Leah Gingerich 1-2, +9 Tina Totten King 1-2, -57 Mark Gingerich 0-3, -283 Bingos played were: Tina Totten King: OUTDOES (70), FOLIAGE (63), RADIONS* (68), SCARIEST (86) Brad Mills: ENTAILS (64), RECODES (79)

Brad Millshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05730518649380492907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-12334253955098657492008-09-01T13:26:00.002-04:002008-09-01T13:41:23.173-04:00

Breaking news... Tina went 7-13, -711 in the Pontiac, Michigan tournament held this holiday weekend. She finished in 8th place (one spot above her seed) and gained 60 rating points. Quite a healthy bump! I have no doubt she'll have her own post about this with more complete commentary.

Brad Millshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05730518649380492907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-46619565131748914852008-08-21T20:21:00.002-04:002008-08-21T20:25:08.248-04:00

This probably doesn't warrant a post, but just since I haven't done one in awhile... I've decided to tag along with Tina for the Hudson, OH tourney, and I'm also a "probably" for Lexington. I'm hoping that having it/them on the calendar will get my butt in gear to study. I've been such a slacker lately and haven't had the attention span to do anything (not just Scrabble-related, but pretty much

Almost Famoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04884854681085599919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-70098959354259014202008-08-17T23:20:00.003-04:002008-08-17T23:35:38.638-04:00

Thanks to Shelley Schiavone and her media contacts, our latest Huntington gathering attracted some attention from the Herald-Dispatch. The online version of the resulting article can be found here. Another search result for "Scrabble" on the Herald-Dispatch site indicated even more interest in the area - across the border, in Boyd County, Kentucky: Play Scrabble, 4-7 p.m. Monday, July 28, at

Deadpan Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04347736487742842197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-49528845633539391042008-08-16T20:58:00.007-04:002008-08-16T23:30:09.313-04:00

Twelve people showed up at the Huntington Scrabble Club meeting today, which was a new attendance record. Since we had three groups of four, players were sorted roughly by playing strength into pseudo-divisions of four and played three rounds of round robin. Here are the results. Aaron McGuffin 3-0, +247 Brad Mills 2-1, +22 Martha Mills 1-2, +65 Leah Gingerich 0-3, -334 Rob Stanton 2-1, +206

Brad Millshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05730518649380492907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-6551092320146212112008-08-13T18:02:00.008-04:002008-08-13T19:58:12.584-04:00

It's finally here! I picked up the Diamond Anniversary Edition Scrabble board right after lunch today at a local department store. Given some of the boards Hasbro has put out over the last decade or so, let's just say my hopes were not high... but I just had to buy one and see for myself. Surprisingly, this is a rather good board. The new color scheme is horrid, of course... very

Brad Millshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05730518649380492907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-27384180070025509902008-08-05T20:15:00.002-04:002008-08-05T20:21:47.239-04:00

It's official: our Tuesday meetings have been moved to Wednesdays. Our first Wednesday meeting will be from 6:00 to 8:00 on September 3, 2008 at Capitol Roasters. You're more than welcome to keep showing up on Tuesdays instead, but since you'll be the only player there, you'll feel sad, and nobody wants that. So come join us on Wednesdays!

Brad Millshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05730518649380492907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-77770968178615780282008-08-01T22:54:00.005-04:002008-08-02T00:00:24.481-04:00

This evening I logged my second-highest Scrabble score to date and my highest scoring game under NSA rules by beating Tina in a friendly (that is, non-club) game. The final score was 563-362. I had four bingos by the fifth turn (DIFECTA*, SWAINED*, ADULTERY, and TRENAIL), and got in a fifth (MISTIER) before it was over. I had a sixth one on my last rack (PUTTIER) but it wouldn't play. Tina's

Brad Millshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05730518649380492907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-61332110429613473762008-08-01T01:07:00.004-04:002008-08-01T07:57:48.407-04:00

I thought and thought about whether to post on this blog or my personal blog about some of our regional Scrabble players who recently made the trip to Orlando to participate in the National Scrabble Championship. There were certainly more people from around this part of the country who played, but that I just don't know, so I decided to make the post on ScrabbleCrush. Nonetheless, the 662 people

TTHBTKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11957116887646377052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-43370638945150062852008-07-30T18:58:00.004-04:002008-07-30T20:15:08.008-04:00

One of the founding members of our club, Arnold Keaton, had a retirement reception today. The first game ever played at our club was between the two of us. Arnold's vision has degenerated over the last few years, and as a result, he's not been able to play with us recently as much as he did in the past. I understand that situation has improved somewhat, but with retirement right around the

Brad Millshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05730518649380492907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-69294109988348832702008-07-23T21:07:00.008-04:002008-07-24T15:07:11.377-04:00

Over on my personal blog, I blog a lot about Scrabble and, more specifically, my dedication this year to Scrabble tournaments (my Whirlwind Scrabble Tour). This was a decision I made after a tournament in Pittsburgh where I did so poorly that, to me, the event has simply become known as "Pittsburgh." The good thing about hitting the bottom, though (or coming real close to it), is that it's often

TTHBTKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11957116887646377052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-1738516027648465642008-07-23T19:34:00.004-04:002008-07-23T19:43:29.711-04:00

Lynne Crowley recently ventured up to Scrabble, WV and got pictures of some local signage. Oh yeah... check it out. Of note, the town of Fairplay is five miles northeast.

Brad Millshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05730518649380492907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-89204963817688423432008-07-20T00:01:00.005-04:002008-07-20T20:53:24.073-04:00

Here are the results from the Huntington Scrabble Club meeting held on Saturday, July 19. Due to people having to leave early and take byes for various reasons, we had eight players in round 1, six in round 2, and four in round 3. It made for an interesting and varied session. Aaron McGuffin 3-0, +207 Tina Totten King 2-1, +159 Brad Mills 1-1, +116 Brad Smith 1-0, +57 Shelley Schiavone 1-2, -74

Brad Millshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05730518649380492907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-2745126465117770062008-07-14T15:54:00.000-04:002008-07-14T15:55:07.897-04:00

WOOT!

TTHBTKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11957116887646377052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-73365383126869933792008-07-12T11:04:00.001-04:002008-07-12T11:06:51.420-04:00

*Disclaimer: I do not play Scrabulous at work.

Deadpan Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04347736487742842197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-76882263962948813352008-06-30T01:08:00.000-04:002008-06-30T01:19:34.340-04:00

I don't know how many of you guys use Protiles ... I have a couple of sets of the double injection molded type. That is why I got an email yesterday for a new gadget called "the gizmoid" that will allow you to safely wash your double injection molded Protiles in a dishwasher. It hadn't occurred to me to wash my Protiles ... and the website clearly said not to wash the silk screened Protiles in

jedijawahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11427291238874370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-53160119401757704062008-06-29T16:47:00.004-04:002008-06-29T19:20:22.711-04:00

According to the US Chess Federation, there are at least 200 active rated chess players in West Virginia. "Active" in this sense means the player in question has participated in a tournament or rated event within the last year. (The queries I'm doing against the USCF's website are limited to 200 returned lines, so there could easily be more than that.) Overall, the USCF claims over 80,000

Brad Millshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05730518649380492907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-73232987856089790222008-06-27T00:27:00.005-04:002008-06-27T00:40:02.182-04:00

I got a new owl for my office...picked it up at the book store. Of course, it's a paperweight...AND IT'S SO COOL! I have to run a fan in my office because, for some reason, I don't seem to get enough air circulation and it stays really, really hot. Instead of laying my stapler, tape dispenser, and other heavy things (like my head) on my papers, I actually use the nearly-forgotten decorative

TTHBTKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11957116887646377052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-75816748497436931052008-06-21T21:42:00.002-04:002008-06-21T21:53:05.542-04:00

If I didn't believe it before, I surely do now - there's a market for EVERYTHING, and you can always find it on the web. I ran across this site, which sells LEET Scrabble tiles. I'm not interested, but these may one day get my daughter interested in the game. Maybe we need to buy several sets of them, and get some L33T School Scrabble started up. A L33T dictionary already exists!

Deadpan Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04347736487742842197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-70202785793199209642008-06-21T17:50:00.007-04:002008-07-20T11:28:57.563-04:00

Here are the results from the Huntington Scrabble club meeting held today, June 21, at Java Joint. Aaron McGuffin 3-0, +262 Tina Totten King 2-1, +229 Rob Stanton 1.5-1.5, -5 Brad Mills 0.5-1.5, -107 Shelley Schiavone 0-2, -158 Todd Osborne 0-1, -221 Here is the infamous bingo list. I neglected to capture the scores for some of these, but I am listing the ones I did get. If anyone

Brad Millshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05730518649380492907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-78858790340799276312008-06-18T21:26:00.002-04:002008-06-18T21:30:36.500-04:00

...to England. Lately my hand has been a total u magnet. In a game against Martha on Saturday, I had three u's on the same rack! If we all lived in England, we could play words like "colour" and "flavour" and this problem would go away...or would it? Do you think British Scrabble contains more than four u's in the bag? Inquiring minds want to know.

Almost Famoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04884854681085599919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-5931068032987702992008-06-17T22:52:00.004-04:002008-06-18T19:09:22.327-04:00

Amazingly, West Virginia Scrabble has been mentioned on ABetterWestVirginia.com. I can't imagine how that happened. I think West Virginia is pretty great already. But better is, well...even better.

TTHBTKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11957116887646377052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-22719923856258952692008-06-17T06:36:00.003-04:002008-06-17T06:37:58.159-04:00

Deadpan Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04347736487742842197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-86246596527232996392008-06-16T21:18:00.001-04:002008-06-16T21:20:24.962-04:00

I just completed a 2-day run through of my Zyzzyva cardbox to which I've added all the three-letter words. It's my three-pronged approach to Scrabble study...anagram recognition, word list recall, and flash card study of bigger words. So I have to send out a special thanks to Brad, our club director, for his help. Last week I was stuck on the three-letter K words which was more of a mental block

TTHBTKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11957116887646377052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-18590286954082176282008-06-13T16:26:00.002-04:002008-06-13T16:31:03.836-04:00

I just created a Wordle using text from the blog entries on this page. Click to enlarge...

Deadpan Alleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04347736487742842197noreply@blogger.com