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 NotScrabble.gxnx.uk (detail)

(9 April 2016; revised 30 May 2016)
 
Not Scrabble
 
    This is a game for up to about six players that uses the letters from a Scrabble set (or any other similar word game) but not the board.  To win at Not Scrabble you have to be alert at all times.  This makes it more engaging than Scrabble, in which players spend most of their time waiting passively for their turn to come round.  I'm not sure where or when this game originated, but I have been playing it with friends for at least twenty years.


Outline
 
    Players take turns to take a letter out of the bag and put it in the centre of the table.  Players call out words that they see can be formed from the letters on the table.  The first player to shout each word claims it - you don't have to wait for your turn.  It is also possible for you to steal your opponents' words, and for them to steal yours, so quick thinking is essential.


Rules
 
01.  Players each draw one letter from the bag.  The player whose letter is nearest the beginning of the alphabet goes first.
 
02.  Players take turns to take a letter out of the bag and put it face up in the centre of the table. The bag is then passed to the left.
 
03.  Once the bag is in your possession you may hold on to it for as long or short a time as you like before drawing out a letter, and again before passing it on.
 
04.  If you see a word of three or more letters that can be formed from the letters on the table, shout it out immediately, no matter whose turn it is.  Do not wait for your turn!
 
05.  If everybody agrees that you were the first player to call out a word, you should pick up the relevant letters and place the word in front of you, facing away from you so it can be read by the other players.
 
06.  If two or more players have called out words simultaneously, then the player who shouted the longest word wins, and claims that word.  If the words are of the same length, then the winner is decided by rock-paper-scissors.
 
07.  If you call out a word that isn't there, then you miss a turn.  This means you are not allowed to say anything until two more letters have been drawn.
 
08.  As well as forming words from the letters in the centre of the table, you may also form words by adding one or more letters from the centre of the table to the rearranged letters of any of your own or any other players' words.
 
09.  For example, if one of your opponents has the word RIDE, and there is an L and a G in the centre, you could steal their letters by calling out the word GLIDER.
 
10.  You cannot steal a word by merely rearranging it - you must always add at least one letter from the centre of the table.
 
11.  New words must have a different stem from the original.  You cannot steal a word by making it into a plural or other derivative of the same word.
 
12.  For example, if one of your opponents has the word TEASE, and there is an R in the centre, you may not simply add the R and claim the word TEASER.  You could still claim the letters, however, by calling out the word EATERS.
 
13.  Blank tiles are not used.
 
14.  The scores on the scrabble tiles are not used, so all letters count equally.
 
15.  For all purposes in this game, a word is disallowed if it is:
 
16.      fewer than three letters long,
 
17.      a proper noun,
 
18.      an abbreviation,
 
19.      or in none of the dictionaries in 'Dictionary Corner'.
 
20.  'Dictionary Corner':  Unless otherwise agreed before play begins, the only dictionaries that may be consulted are Chambers, Collins, and Dictionary.com.
 
21.  Players may not refer to notes, books or the internet during play except for the purpose of a 'Dictionary Corner' adjudication.
 
22.  When the last letter has been drawn from the bag and everybody agrees that no more new words can be formed, the player with the most letters wins.


 NotScrabble.gxnx.uk (in pub)



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