Scrabble® is a powerful tool to exercise our minds.

It’s not unusual for new players to feel “stupid” and unmotivated because they can not anagram simple words. This mostly happens because Scrabble® is not like other board games, where you start learning rules from scratch, and it is normal to fail or lose to more experienced players in the beginning.

Scrabble® has the particularity to involve words. The same words that we use in our everyday life. New players who enter the Scrabble® world with a good vocabulary level think that they will easily win over other players due to this advantage from day one.

This is a completely wrong perception. Scrabble® is all about reprograming our minds. Stop seeing words as a whole and start seeing them as letter sequences, that our brain needs to mix up and create more words. This is a slow and exacting process, but isn’t it the same when we go to the gym to exercise our bodies?

So, don’t be easily disappointed. Give the opportunity to your brain to evolve and activate neurons that may have been inactive. And don’t forget… Words are everywhere. Scrabble® is an omnipresent gym for your brain.

*All the above is my personal opinion coming from my experience by daily contact with the world of Scrabble® for more than a decade

Of course not…
No official Scrabble® rule obligates the player to know the meaning of the words they chose to play. As long as the word is included in the acceptable list of that specific language, then the move is valid.

This said, there are three main categories of players:
– Players with a photographic memory, who just memorize word lists without paying any attention to the meaning of those words. Nigel Richards is an excellent example of this category, as he has won French tournaments without speaking the language.
– Players who are unable to memorize a word and unwilling to play it when they don´t know what it means. This often works to their advantage because they can use one word’s etymology to remember or to conclude another’s existence.
– Players who memorize words when they see them in Scrabble® boards, anagram practice, or lists, and in time they seek their meaning as well, but not as an obligatory requirement to play the game.

Which type of player are you? You can tell me here!

What is certain is that doesn’t matter which category you belong to, you will most certainly notice a boost in your vocabulary after a while of playing Scrabble®. It’s up to you if the meaning of the words will be included or not. So, don’t panic if you or your co-player don’t know the meaning of a word that you place on the board. Even if you don’t learn it right away, you are already on the right path to get there.

*All the above is my personal opinion coming from daily contact with the world of Scrabble® for more than a decade