History YMMV / Scrabble

* TakeAThirdOption: Once the player took their tiles and placed one, if second letter is suspected to be a stopper, they could attempt to solve. Worst case, they're wrong but their opponent now has a stopper and can only take one tile to fill their rack. Woolery mentioned this strategy suggestion in the 1993 finale.[[ComplacentGamingSyndrome However, most people in this situation dutifully attempted to place the letter when they didn't know the answer.]] Greg under SuddenlySignificantRule above also attempted this, however, as noted there, he had just filled his rack with a tile, so he was required to use one before he had the option of guessing.

-->'''Chuck''' ''[after Michelle plays a stopper]'': No, stopper, and it may work to your advantage. Greg, we'll see.\\

* TakeAThirdOption: Once the player took their tiles and placed one, if second letter is suspected to be a stopper, they could attempt to solve. Worst case, they're wrong but their opponent now has a stopper and can only take one tile to fill their rack. Woolery mentioned this strategy suggestion in the 1993 finale. A possible example was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti1m2kwpHIo this guy.]] [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome However, most people in this situation dutifully attempted to place the letter when they didn't know the answer.]] Greg under SuddenlySignificantRule above also attempted this, however, as noted there, he had just filled his rack with a tile, so he was required to use one before he had the option of guessing.

* BrokenBase: A case where ''everyone'', with few to no exceptions, is either a StopHavingFunGuy or a {{Scrub}}. There are essentially two types of ''Scrabble'' players; those who play competitively, and those who don't. Learning to play competitively makes it all but socially impossible to play with those who don't, as you won't even be able to agree as to what dictionary to use; a non-competitive player would want to use a general-purpose dictionary, because they view the competitive player bringing in a wordlist they've never heard of, with words obscure enough to not even appear in some "unabridged" dictionaries, to be unfair, while a competitive player would strongly prefer the official tournament wordlist/dictionary and would resent having to "guess" which of the words they learned is in that general-purpose dictionary and which aren't. The "double challenge" rule doesn't help, as one with a significantly better vocabulary (or better knowledge of the dictionary used) can bully the other by making words up and mixing them with real-but-obscure words, daring them to challenge; considered a legitimate tactic in tournament play, but would all but ruin a casual game that already has a significant skill difference. The gap can be somewhat bridged by allowing use of a two-letter-word list, and softening or removing the double challenge rule.

*** Scrabble has a built in dictionary to let you test words to see if they qualify in the game before playing them. This is equal to playing the table version and speaking out a list of words one by one to see if your opponent will accept them.

*** Averted in that what the electronic version ''does'' help with is with slow players. Some Scrabble players are slower than molasses with their turns, so to be able to take turns whenever they come up lets people with different play speeds take their time.

** The English game is extremely popular in Thailand, with the world's largest Scrabble tournament (the Brand's Crossword Game King's Cup) being held there every year, and two world champions hailing from there, despite English not being an official language there. In general, Scrabble is also popular there as a tool to teach English.

** The letter Q is entirely useless most of the time because of how few words are acceptable without a U following it. Unless foreign words are allowed. Some versions of scrabble solved this by making a Qu tile instead.

** In French, the letter W is this. Being by far the rarest letter in French, the only two letter word containing it is "Wu", and it is present in far less 3-letter words than the other big letters. As a result it competes with the Q, which also needs a U (rare words such as "cinq", "qat" and "coq" notwithstanding, but at least the latter allows for a variety of longer words in French, while the W will almost certainly force you to do a small word.

** In french, the letter W is this. Being by far the rarest letter in french, the only two letter word containing it is "Wu", and it is present in far less 3-letter words than the other big letters. As a result it competes with the Q, which also needs a U (rare words such as "cinq", "qat" and "coq" notwithstanding, but at least the latter allows for a variety of longer words in french, while the W will almost certainly force you to do a small word.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The game is very popular in Senegal.

-->'''Chuck''' ''[after Michelle plays a stopper]'': No, stopper, and it may work to your advantage. Greg, we'll see.
-->'''Greg:''' I don't have a guess, so I will take [tile] 4.
-->'''Chuck:''' You have a Y and an R.
-->'''Greg:''' Um, I'll take a guess. ''[buzzes in]'' Chickens.
-->'''Chuck:''' Actually, hang on, before we do this, I gotta tell you something. Unfortunately, for ''you,'' since you picked a Y or an R - and I can't tell you whether you're right or not - you ''must use'' one of the letters. And if it disqualifies you, then it's just ''tough,'' Greg. ''[laughs]'' 'Cause you already picked a letter, so spend one.
-->'''Greg:''' A Y.
-->''[Letter is revealed to be a stopper]''
-->'''Chuck:''' Sorry. It's a stopper. Michelle.
-->'''Michelle:''' ''[buzzes in]'' Chickens.
-->'''Chuck:''' ''[as correct answer music plays]'' Thank Greg very much.
* TakeAThirdOption: Once the player took their tiles and placed one, if they suspected the other was a stopper, they could have attempted to solve. Worst case, they're wrong but their opponent now has a stopper and can only take one tile to fill their rack. Woolery mentioned this strategy suggestion in the 1993 finale. A possible example was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti1m2kwpHIo this guy.]] [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome However, most people in this situation dutifully attempted to place the letter when they didn't know the answer.]] Greg under SuddenlySignificantRule above also attempted this, however, as noted there, he had just filled his rack with a tile, so he was required to use one before he had the option of guessing.

* TakeAThirdOption: Once the player took their tiles and placed one, if they suspected the other was a stopper, they could have attempted to solve. Worst case, they're wrong but their opponent now has a stopper and can only take one tile to fill their rack. Woolery mentioned this strategy suggestion in the 1993 finale. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted, however]], [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome since almost everybody in this situation dutifully attempted to place it when they didn't know the answer.]] The closest attempt to this was Greg under SuddenlySignificantRule above, however, as noted there, he had just filled his rack with a tile, so he was required to use one before he had the option of guessing.

* TakeAThirdOption: Once the player took their tiles and placed one, if they suspected the other was a stopper, they could have attempted to solve. Worst case, they're wrong but their opponent now has a stopper and can only take one tile to fill their rack. Woolery mentioned this strategy suggestion in the 1993 finale. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted, however]], [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome since almost everybody in this situation dutifully attempted to place it when they didn't know the answer.]]

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMKncwifM9Y&t=705s In this video,]] contestant Greg takes his tiles and, either suspecting they're both stoppers or realizing the answer, buzzes in to offer a guess. It turns out, however, that he can't do that; having taken a tile to fill his rack, he has to play one. His answer is ignored, and he does attempt to place a letter, It was indeed a stopper; opponent Michelle immediately solves with Greg's guess, and it turned out the other letter was also a stopper. (For context, the clue was: "Some women pluck them before a big dinner party.")

-->'''Chuck''' ''after Michelle plays a stopper'': No, stopper, and it may work to your advantage. Greg, we'll see.

-->''[[Letter is revealed to be a stopper]]''

-->--'''Chuck''' ''after Michelle plays a stopper'': No, stopper, and it may work to your advantage. Greg, we'll see.
-->--'''Greg:''' I don't have a guess, so I will take [tile] 4.
-->--'''Chuck:''' You have a Y and an R.
-->--'''Greg:''' Um, I'll take a guess. ''[buzzes in]'' Chickens.
-->--'''Chuck:''' Actually, hang on, before we do this, I gotta tell you something. Unfortunately, for ''you,'' since you picked a Y or an R - and I can't tell you whether you're right or not - you ''must use'' one of the letters. And if it disqualifies you, then it's just ''tough,'' Greg. ''[laughs]'' 'Cause you already picked a letter, so spend one.
-->--'''Greg:''' A Y.
-->-- ''[[Letter is revealed to be a stopper]]''
-->-- '''Chuck:''' Sorry. It's a stopper. Michelle.
-->-- '''Michelle:''' ''[buzzes in]'' Chickens.
-->-- '''Chuck:''' ''[as correct answer music plays]'' Thank Greg very much.

* SuddenlySignificantRule: During

* BrokenBase / StopHavingFunGuys / {{Scrub}}: A case where ''everyone'', with few to no exceptions, is either a StopHavingFunGuy or a {{Scrub}}. There are essentially two types of ''Scrabble'' players; those who play competitively, and those who don't. Learning to play competitively makes it all but socially impossible to play with those who don't, as you won't even be able to agree as to what dictionary to use; a non-competitive player would want to use a general-purpose dictionary, because they view the competitive player bringing in a wordlist they've never heard of, with words obscure enough to not even appear in some "unabridged" dictionaries, to be unfair, while a competitive player would strongly prefer the official tournament wordlist/dictionary and would resent having to "guess" which of the words they learned is in that general-purpose dictionary and which aren't. The "double challenge" rule doesn't help, as one with a significantly better vocabulary (or better knowledge of the dictionary used) can bully the other by making words up and mixing them with real-but-obscure words, daring them to challenge; considered a legitimate tactic in tournament play, but would all but ruin a casual game that already has a significant skill difference. The gap can be somewhat bridged by allowing use of a two-letter-word list, and softening or removing the double challenge rule.

* BrokenBase: The "Spelling" modification to the Crossword game for about four months in 1985, where the players had to "spell in" any remaining letters when solving. While some fans like this for making it closer to the board game, others thought it dragged the game down. The "Mosquitos" incident is the best exemplification of the latter.

* WhatAnIdiot:
** On August 1, 1984, John set the record for most time spent in the Sprint round, 62.9 seconds...and '''won''' thanks to current champ Lysa blowing it. [[note]](By the way, Lysa had the record for the ''lowest'' Sprint time going into this round.)[[/note]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7kNoIYsURE You have to see it to believe it.]]
** The "Mosquitos" incident, which took place during the Spelling format in 1985 (a modified version of the Crossword game's original "Pot" format, in this case adding money for each letter correctly placed ''verbally''). A bit of an explanation:
*** Originally, if a player made a spelling mistake, any correctly-added letters were left in but the Pot was reset to $0. Their opponent was given one chance to correctly "spell in" any remaining letters, with a mistake causing the word to be thrown out. Later, presumably due to too many words being thrown out this way, the rule was slightly altered so that a mistake removed any correctly "spelled in" letters and words were no longer thrown out.
*** That rule change led to this: neither contestant knew how to spell "Mosquitos", constantly adding incorrect letters and almost never trying to draw any tiles. One player ''nearly'' solved the word, but said "E" instead of "O". This is believed to have been the catalyst for the Spelling format's removal, with the traditional Crossword rules returning on September 2, 1985. The moment was preserved and aired for many years on various blooper specials (including those hosted by Creator/DickClark).
--->'''Chuck Woolery:''' [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere I'm going home]]; I don't know about you!
** Sang, the record holder for most time spent in the Sprint round, about 87 seconds, in part due to overeager buzzing in and blowing one word with only one letter missing. His opponent bombed on at least two of the same words.

** Words described as "slurs", where players for many years argue whether or not they should be allowed to play them. But as of July 9, 2020, both the [[https://scrabbleplayers.org/w/Slurs North American Scrabble Players' Association]] and [[https://corporate.hasbro.com/en-us/articles/hasbro_update_on_scrabble_rules Hasbro]] banned slurs (or words that primarily are slurs) outright from all official play. While many agree that there is no place for racist, sexist, or otherwise profane words in a family-friendly game, some say that it is OK to play such words as long as it is ''solely'' for scoring, letter dumps, or setting up for a better position. Furthermore, some argue that banning certain words is too inexact or arbitrary. For example, words that are more often used as slurs than not (e.g. "chink"[[note]]defined as a weak point, like a "chink in someone's armor", but often used to mock those of Asian descent[[/note]] or "retarded"[[note]]as in "slowed the spread of something", but often used to mock the mentally disabled[[/note]]) are still legal, while words like "{{badass}}"[[note]]which, per the trope, can mean something "that stands out in an impressive manner"[[/note]] or "[[GiantPoofySleeves poofy]]"[[note]]can be defined as "puffed out", like the sleeves on the trope page[[/note]] are considered slurs and banned outright.

** Words described as "slurs". As of July 9, 2020, both the [[https://scrabbleplayers.org/w/Slurs North American Scrabble Players' Association]] and [[https://corporate.hasbro.com/en-us/articles/hasbro_update_on_scrabble_rules Hasbro]] banned slurs (or words that primarily are slurs) outright from all official play. While many agree that there is no place for racist, sexist, or otherwise profane words in a family-friendly game, some say that it is OK to play such words as long as it is ''solely'' for scoring, letter dumps, or setting up a better position. Furthermore, some argue that banning certain words are too inexact or arbitrary. For example, words that are more often used as slurs than not (e.g. "chink"[[note]]defined as a weak point, like a "chink in someone's armor", but often used to mock those of Asian descent[[/note]] or "retarded"[[note]]as in "slowed the spread of something", but often used to mock the mentally disabled[[/note]]) are still legal, while words like "{{badass}}" or "[[GiantPoofySleeves poofy]]" are considered slurs and banned outright.

** Words described as "slurs". As of July 9, 2020, both the [[https://scrabbleplayers.org/w/Slurs North American Scrabble Players' Association]] and [[https://corporate.hasbro.com/en-us/articles/hasbro_update_on_scrabble_rules Hasbro]] banned slurs (or words that primarily are slurs) outright from all official play. While many agree that there is no place for racist, sexist, or otherwise profane words in a family-friendly game, some say that it is OK to play such words as long as it is ''solely'' for scoring, letter dumps, or setting up a better position. Furthermore, some argue that banning certain words are too inexact or arbitrary. For example, words that are more often used as slurs than not (e.g. "chink"[[note]]defined as a weak point, like a "chink in someone's armor", but often used to mock those of Asian descent[[/note]] or "retarded"[[note]]as in "slowed the spread of something", but often used to mock the mentally disabled[[/note]]) are still legal, while words like "{{badass}}" or "[[GiantPoofySleeves poofy]]" are considered "slurs" and banned outright.

* BrokenBase: The "Spelling" modification to the Crossword game for about four months in 1985, where the players had to "spell in" any remaining letters when solving. While some fans like this for making it closer to the board game, others believe otherwise.

** BrokenBase: The "Spelling" modification to the Crossword game for about four months in 1985, where the players had to "spell in" any remaining letters when solving. While some fans like this for making it closer to the board game, others believe otherwise.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks:
** The "Spelling" modification to the Crossword game for about four months in 1985, where the players had to "spell in" any remaining letters when solving. While some fans like this for making it closer to the board game, others believe otherwise.
** Many fans' opinion of the 1993 revival, which had a smaller set and much lower budget, among other things. A rather bad change was that the Bonus Sprint's ProgressiveJackpot started at $1,000 and increased ''only if'' players solved words on pink or blue squares. This somewhat reduced the desire to solve on those squares, much to Woolery's dismay.

* AwesomeMoment: Any time a contestant gets the word from just the clue, without adding any extra letters...''especially'' in the Sprint rounds.