2001 book about competitive scrabble

History and strategy of competitive scrabble wikiversity. Conrad bassettbouchard, a 24year old graduate student from portland. Its just the worlds best scrabble players shaking for qs and us. Sherman gained wide fame as a character in stefan fatsis book word freak. In the new book the victory machine, ethan strauss examines one of the. In an outtake from his 2001 book word freak, author stefan fatsis introduces us to nigel richards, perhaps the best scrabble player in the world if nigel has a weakness, its that his wideopen, highscoring style often leaves him vulnerable to counterattack by opponents who also have prodigious word knowledge. In word freak, stefan fatsis introduces readers to those few, exploring the underground world of colorful characters for which the scrabble game is lifeplaying competitively in tournaments across the country. Board games free delivery possible on eligible purchases. This scrabble guide is the goto reference for any scrabble enthusiast who wants to win at scrabble. As good as their word in scrabble competition the new york.

Though the book starts casually enough, with fatsis playing pick up games in washington square park, by the end hes completely obsessed, memorizing word lists, endlessly replaying blunders, and living and dying by his official scrabble ranking, having set himself a goal of reaching 1700. Maybe you get together for a regular game with some friends, or spend a few hours a day playing. Ten years of scrabble playing later, word freak author stefan. And word freak is filled with the kind of players i met in baltimore. Ten years of scrabble playing later, word freak author stefan fatsis is still freaking. But when it came time to take on the quackle program in the human vs. The board game we know as scrabble was invented by alfred butts, an unemployed architect, in 1933 when the difficulties of the depression began to seem unending.

So youve been a scrabble player for fun for a while. Its a story about him being a reporter playing competitive scrabble and he ended up being a really good player. Heartbreak, triumph, genius, and obsession in the world of competitive scrabble players ebook written by stefan fatsis. Word freak is a nonfiction narrative by stefan fatsis published in 2001 isbn 0618015841 the book is subtitled heartbreak, triumph, genius, and obsession in the world of competitive scrabble players.

The book is subtitled heartbreak, triumph, genius, and obsession in the world of competitive scrabble players. Notl resident spells out hopes for a competitive scrabble. For tournament scrabble players, there is a lot of quirky knowledge to be obtained on the way to the top. Fatsiss dual projectto write about competition scrabble players and to achieve. The tournament attracts more than 500 highlyskilled and competitive adult scrabble players who compete in 31 rounds of oneonone play over a five day period. Its basically a book of scrabble strategy, starting with the rules of the game which i skipped, then going on to explain such techniques as rack balancing trying to ensure vowels and consonants are roughly equal, when to exchange tiles, how to use the blank, and so on.

Filled with unique, compulsive, and maybe slightly deranged individuals who are at the top of the heap. The naspa has thousands of players with official tournament ratings who compete in weekly. Stefan fatsis wrote a bestselling book about his personal experience entering the world of scrabble tournaments, but lets see if we can cover the key points in a brief webpage. In late 2007, it was updated to reflect the new 2006 nsa wordlist. The book introduces the reader to the world of competitive scrabble through a narrative of his slow transformation from a good living room player into a player ranked as expert by the national scrabble association. Organized, competitive, tournament scrabble differs from the game played at home, fatsis explains at the outset. Fatsis, 37, said he decided to write a book about scrabble after he found himself playing the game, alone, until 1 a. Dec, 2015 thomas reinke read about a beginners entry into the world of competitive scrabble, a threeyear journey through which the author became more and more entrenched in the scene and climbed the rankings. This interdisciplinary course is designed to introduce the student to the basic strategies of competitive scrabble in the context of probability theory and to provide a background in the social climate in which the game developed. Confessions of a scrabble junkie life and style the guardian. Word freak is a nonfiction narrative by stefan fatsis published in 2001 isbn 0618015841. Until the night a game of scrabble with a bottle of tequila evolves into a threewoman sexual revolution. The first edition of the official scrabble players dictionary was published in 1978, in response to the growing tournament scrabble scene and the need for a comprehensive not to mention comprehensible standard. Heartbreak, triumph, genius and obsession in the world of competitive scrabble players.

Picking up the book word freak by stephen fatsis in 2001 pushed talento into the world of competitive scrabble, he said. Jun 12, 2014 2001 best seller about competitive scrabble wed 61814 onenamed singer who married heidi klum bindle toters wonderland cake message newport beach isle wednesday, june 18, 2014 constructor. An innocent in the world of hardcore word play chicago tribune. It takes a special kind of person to be able to rattle off all the words that start with the letter q but dont require a u or to immediately recognize that the same letters used for the word troutmania can also spell maturation and natatorium. Heartbreak, triumph, genius, and obsession in the world of competitive scrabble players by stefan fatsis, the fing. Inside the world of competitive scrabble inside the world of competitive scrabble.

This was the book that exposed competitive scrabble to the world. The book word freak is a nonfiction narrative by stefan fatsis published in 2001. Word freak by stefan fatsis 2001 the full title for this book is. But for every group of livingroom players there is someone who is at one with the board.

Aug 09, 2014 buffalo hosts the 25th national scrabble championships. The naspa has thousands of players with official tournament ratings who compete in weekly competitions at sanctioned clubs across the u. Heartbreak, triumph, genius, and obesssion in the world of competitive scrabble players by stefan fatsis. Computer showdown, he lost his first two games and won the last two, ultimately losing with a measly 28point differential of the combined. Two paths for the comic novel and the funniest books to read in quarantine. When you first pursued competitive scrabble, you were. Hundreds of word enthusiasts gather in buffalo for the 25th. It will teach you basic strategy and has many exercises for improving your game. Heartbreak, triumph, genius, and obsession in the world of competitive scrabble players is what fatsis calls his valentine to the colorful, often oddball, characters who. When asked if they learn word meanings when studying word lists, only 6. Then we hear about the authors scrabble issues and insecurities. Stefan fatsis explores americans obsession with the game scrabble. Published july 30th 2002 by penguin books first published january 1st 2001. Many tournament players credit the 2001 book for reenergizing interest in the game.

Fatsiss dual projectto write about competition scrabble players and to achieve an. Heartbreak, triumph, genius, and obsession in the world of competitive scrabble players. Heartbreak, triumph, genius, and obsession in the world of competitive scrabble players is what fatsis calls his valentine to. After that i went to a scrabble club, talento said. I picked this up at a relatives, and since she wasnt going to read it, she said i could keep it. Fatsis, a sports reporter for the wall street journal, introduces the reader to the world of competitive scrabble through a narrative of his slow transformation from a good living room. I knew then that i had entered the realm of obsession. Aug 09, 2014 sherman gained wide fame as a character in stefan fatsis book word freak. Of course, competitive scrabble isnt just about the rules. Word freak game online play free word freak web game. Published in the print edition of the august 6, 2001, issue. Breaking the game is the best scrabble book every written. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read word freak.

Another book that is useful is the complete wordbook for game players by mike baron. In case you didnt hear the news, there was a major shakeup in the competitive scrabble world last summer in buffalo. Nov 30, 2017 in an outtake from his 2001 book word freak, author stefan fatsis introduces us to nigel richards, perhaps the best scrabble player in the world if nigel has a weakness, its that his wideopen, highscoring style often leaves him vulnerable to counterattack by opponents who also have prodigious word knowledge. More than a book about hardcore scrabble players, word freak is also an examination of notions of brilliance, memory, language, competition, and the mind that. What is competitive scrabble play and what draws people to it. Heartbreak, triumph, genius, and obsession in the world of competitive scrabble players is what fatsis, 38, calls his valentine to the colorful, often oddball, characters. Jul 22, 2001 of course, competitive scrabble isnt just about the rules. Welcome to history and strategy of competitive scrabble. Word freak is a nonfiction narrative by stefan fatsis published in 2001 isbn 0 618015841. The one book that is indispensable is everything scrabble 2001 edition by joe edley and john williams. Buffalo hosts the 25th national scrabble championships.

Stefan fatsis wrote a bestselling book about his personal experience entering the world of scrabble tournaments, but lets see if we can cover the key points in a brief webpage so youve been a scrabble player for fun for a while. He regularly appears as a guest on national public radios all things considered daily radio news program and as a panelist on slates sports podcast hang up and listen. Too much word, not enough nerd in this scrabble story. Organized, competitive scrabble play began in new york city game rooms in. Winning scrabble and the nature of expertise scientific. Thomas reinke read about a beginners entry into the world of competitive scrabble, a threeyear journey through which the author became more and more entrenched in. This page lists various official sanctioned records achieved in competitive scrabble play in north america and overseas the records in each category are classified further based on the environment tournament or club and by the dictionary used nwl or csw, ignoring the specific edition. This book explores basic scrabble concepts such as anagramming and board vision while elucidating how to win at scrabble, including chapters on leaves, fishing, setups, and endgame. Heartbreak, triumph, genius, and obsession in the world of competitive scrabble stefan fatsis houghton mifflin hardcover july 2001 384 pages. Scrabble history making of the classic american board game.