A couple of years ago I started to dabble in Scrabble on Facebook. I had never Scrabbled before and I wrote about that learning curve. Now, according to the Scrabble tally, I have played exactly 300 games. And I’ve learned a few more things.
It was my understanding that on the board game, Scrabble, you had to rely on your brain and the dictionary was only for looking up a disputed word. One of the first things you learn on FB Scrabble is that there is no such thing as a disputed word. As soon as you play a word it is either accepted or rejected; there’s no arguing. Another difference is that on Facebook Scrabble they provide you with a list of acceptable two-letter words and you don’t have to be able to define them. You can play ae, aa, qi, hm, pe, oe and have no idea what they mean and that’s OK. Right off it has become clear that the rules for playing online are different.
So I looked up the rules for FBS (Facebook Scrabble). They say that it is OK to check the validity of a word before it is played in the little box that is provided with the game. You could play around with the letters on your rack until you found a combination of letters that added up points and you didn’t have to know what the word meant at all. When you came up with a word like hae or qat or arim or whatever, that was fine. And if using the little valid word-checker was OK, then it would certainly be OK to use a regular dictionary or a Scrabble dictionary but the word-checker was much handier.
I have an excellent vocabulary but eventually I noticed that other people were using words that I had never heard of–that they were finding words in their 7-tiles that were really unlikely to be in their vocabulary. That was when I discovered the World Wide Web had anagram finding sites that would list all the valid words in your 7 tiles. You could spend all day re-arranging your 7 tiles and never come up with some of the more unusual ones. It was a real time-saver. You filled in your 7 tiles and chose the word that best fit the situation. I figured it was just a time-saver and I was already spending too much time on Scrabble. Everyone else was coming up with weird words and I knew their vocabularies were unlikely to be better than mine.
Well, along came Katy, my daughter, and we played a few games, which I usually won. “Are you cheating?” she asked. “Where are all those long words coming from?” I explained to her that I had seen no rules on Facebook Scrabble against using aids, and we were even provided with the aids I’ve already mentioned. I told her she was welcome to get her kids to help her, use the dictionary, whatever! There seemed to be no rule against it.
So, Katy fixed my wagon. All of a sudden her Scrabble playing reached new heights. I had never scored over 500 points in a game. All of a sudden Katy’s scores were way up there in the stratosphere! I could tell by the way the games were going she had found some super aid somewhere and I was never going to win a game again.
So, now I know. The internet not only has word-finding aids but actually game-playing sites!! You can reproduce your Scrabble board on their grid and it will not only show you the best possible word you can play, given the tiles you have, but where to play it. “Never lose another game,” it says!
One of the Scrabble help sites says
Please use our Scrabble Helper responsibly. It is up to you to cheat or not to cheat; there is a thin line between cheating and improving your vocabulary. Our professional Scrabble players – who use our solver daily – make sure to click on words and learn dictionary definitions.
Does that mean that most people use a “solver” and it’s OK provided you learn the meaning of the words you choose?
Well, I thought I would poll some of the friends I was playing online with, and I asked them, honestly, were they using other sites than the Facebook site for help when they played a game. Some didn’t reply. The three that did said:
Used to use a scrabble words web site. But I don’t use anything anymore. I just play words.
Not during a game.
I use the teacher feature on the iPhone version of scrabble which tells you what the best play was after you go. It helps me quite a bit. Unlike the board game I also use the electronic scrabble dictionary extensively. As such my scores are generally higher when playing electronically. We have a HODSON rule that one can only use what comes with the scrabble app. If you use some of the sites you pretty much can make the best play every time. Then the game will evolve into luck of the draw in which case we might as well just play “war” with cards and save the trouble.
The fact that some of the people I polled did not respond tells a tale. In fact, my first tip that others were not playing the old-fashioned board game scrabble came when one of them got his highest word score with a medical word that had a one-in-a-gazillion chance of being in his vocabulary.
I’ve also learned that those who play from their smart phones and iPads have the teacher-feature mentioned above which will tell you the best word you could have played (after the play is done) — which means maybe you can play it next time!
When you get right down to it, using an anagram site to find all the words in your tiles is really small time cheating. There’s big time cheating to be done using the computer’s brain instead of yours. It will tell you what word to play and where to put it! Katy found it wasn’t as much fun that way. Scrabblers that use Scrabble apps on their smart phones or iPads have an advantage over those using Facebook, because they have the teacher-feature.
Recently an opponent played the word bean and my little word-checker box assured me that beano was a valid word. I played beano along with rhino in the other direction and the points added up nicely. When my opponent played jaw the word-checker told me jawed was valid and when it ended up on a TW square the points were good. In my opinion using the helps that come with the game is not cheating.
Katy and I are still enjoying online Scrabble but staying away from the sites that will play the game for you. I like the HODSON rule mentioned above that you can only use what comes with the Scrabble app.
Anyone else want to weigh in?
When I first started playing with my sisters on fb, we all used the anagram sites, and I found that I was winning every game by a mile. The difference is that I am an English major, and so the question arose – what exactly is cheating on fb scrabble? English as a first language? English major? TWL dictionary sitting by your side? Anagram sites?
I assume that everybody cheats on fb, and so I don’t care about my ELO rating. I have played several people for months now who were originally random players. I stay with them because they challenge me, and we are fairly even in our scores. I have no idea if they are ‘cheating’ and they have never asked me if I am.
After a while, and if you are really good with words, you can see the bingos the moment they hit your rack. A knowledge of word parts has been a huge help, as is an understanding of word etymology, gardening, medical training, etc.
I will not play the official scrabble sites, because I don’t have time not to ‘cheat.’ The times when my favorite players are on line and the turns are flying back and forth, and we’re racing to see who wins – I just assume we’re both anagramming like mad, but we’re also really good with word placement, which letters to add to our words, and leaving hooks or blocking hooks.
So I don’t ask, and I don’t answer the question. I just enjoy.
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Dorothy Vining reply on September 3rd, 2012 2:28 pm:
Thanks for the input. I think every honest reply adds to the understanding of how Scrabble is, or should be, played.
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Dorothy Vining reply on September 3rd, 2012 2:30 pm:
I especially like the line, “I don’t have time not to cheat.”
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Dorothy Vining reply on September 13th, 2012 11:54 pm:
Love this comment. So intelligent and thoughtful and truthful. Thanks, Sarah.
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SusanDell reply on January 5th, 2013 6:22 pm:
Sarah, thank you for your honesty. I’m elderly, but enjoy scrabble, and use the help of scrabble dictionary on line. I don’t know about anagrams, but the help I use has been a nice learning experience, actually increasing my vocabulary. I found this thread after being accused of “cheating”, which I hadn’t considered myself to be doing. Like you, I have several random opponents I enjoy playing, and assumed they were using help as I do, when a good play isn’t easily found. It really bothered me for this new random player to accuse me of cheating. I would never do that to someone. When a player bests me, I try to rise to the challenge.
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Dorothy Vining reply on January 10th, 2013 11:35 am:
Hi, Susan. Those of us who play Scrabble on an iPad get all the help we need from the little dictionary that comes with the game and the “teacher” feature which shows you the best play YOU COULD HAVE MADE after you have played. It’s probably best to have an agreement with people you play with regularly.
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Does anyone happen to know of a site where you can find scrabble players that want to play “no cheating whatsoever” on the honor system?
Shaughnna
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Dorothy Vining reply on October 4th, 2012 3:41 pm:
What a novel idea!
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ewallt reply on August 25th, 2014 8:44 pm:
If you play a timed game at the ISC (Internet Scrabble Club), the chances are very good the players won’t be cheating. The shorter the game, the less chance to cheat, because it takes time, and you don’t have a lot of time. Also people take not cheating seriously (you have to promise not to use computer – or human – assistance to join, but dictionaries are not disallowed; you have to agree with your opponent whether or not they can be used.)
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I agree that actually playing with an app is bit ridiculous–pitting you opponent against a computer without his/her knowledge. and it’s unfair….why not just play Scrabble Solitaire against the computer?
However,
I too liked the comment “I don’t have time not to cheat” too. I agree. I sometimes use an unscrambler site(presumably that is another term for “anagram”) but as a supplement to my brain power –in other words, when my brain says, “duh…?” It’s practical and saves me and my opponent time.
. I’ve read lots of complaints about “cheating”, with most of the complainers proudly? (it sounds) proclaiming that they frequently use 3- and 4-letter words because that is the best they can do “without cheating”.
Well, go ahead and CHEAT, I say!
I’ve played a few of those folks.
Sigh. There is nothing more teeth-gritting (for me, anyway) than playing one of those purists. It closes up the board, the possibilities and the creative strategy of the game, imho. Not to mention bores the shite out of me!
I find I would rather forfeit the game than play that kind of game. For that matter, I have suspected THAT is an intended strategy rather than a moral stand in some cases. Those players used tiny words and force their opponents into leaving open opportunities for them in the higher-scoring areas. Then, amazingly, they “think” of much longer, higher-scoring words…lol.
And some just resign out of frustration.
Hmmm…makes you think.
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I have played one or two random players who come up with amazing word after amazing word. I test this by chatting to them, using my widest vocabulary, and consider their response. If it is disjointed or composed of a few simple words then I take this as hint they may be using a cheat site.
Each to their own – as long as they are happy with me leaving a game unfinished.
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I have been accused of cheating at scrabble on many occasions (in addition to several vulgar or racist comments). What I call “cheater” words are words I have learnt through playing many games with people who probably have been cheating. They are in my repertoire but sometimes I do not know the meanings. I try to make an effort to look them up after someone played them and remember the meanings, but I don’t always remember. I have also studied word lists to memorize words which I no longer know the meaning of, but I don’t think it really matters. Scrabble is a puzzle and spelling memory game, not a test of your usable vocabulary. The sooner you realize that the sooner you can really start to enjoy it regardless of what anyone else does.
I have no problem with cheaters myself because there is always a possibility that someone is better than you legitimately, and there is no way to know, so it ultimately doesn’t matter. Testing someone by showing off your vocab and seeing what they say won’t get more than a smiley face most of the time, because I’m not really interested in striking up a conversation in the game chat usually.
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dc reply on March 2nd, 2014 1:17 am:
This truly highlights two harsh realities: 1. You will learn words as you play and then deploy them yourself, I do, and that raises eyebrows. And, I also never play a word without checking the definition. 2. If you have a name like Amit you will be considered a non-native speaker by certain parties, this is an issue beyond my powers to solve.
I am in the pro camp when it comes to using lexicographical resources when playing online, this is an educational tool as much as a game. I object to the use of online anagram-engines: If you’re going to ‘cheat’, fine, but at least put the effort in to learn something in the process.
PS. I memorized all the 2-letter words, and most of the hooks, many years ago and have a very good knowledge of high-scoring 8-letter words that would not otherwise be part of my vocabulary. Is this also cheating?
PPS. New to FB Scrabble but online Scrabble-esque games are not new to me.
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Dorothy Vining reply on March 16th, 2014 9:37 am:
Hi, David. I play Facebook scrabble (you, too?) and am happy when the teacher and I agree, and annoyed when it tells me I “should have” played some Bingo word that no regular human ever uses! I”d be happy to engage someone from the UK (what part?)
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Rosemary reply on June 27th, 2014 9:46 am:
What bothers me is when the teacher tells me I should have played something that would have opened up a triple word score tile for my opponent when the point difference with my choice is negligible. The “teacher” has poor judgement in this area, in my opinion.
I win about 8 out of 10 games against people of varying elo ratings. I play by trial and error and try to submit what looks like a word. My vocabulary isn’t great but it doesnt have to be… with loads of practise and taking note of tricks and short words that other players use on me im able to use it on others. Most of my words are 3 to 5 letters long and I win mostly! It doesnt really bother me if someone cheats – I can never prove it and there are some genuinely amazing players out there so I give everyone the benefit of the doubt and just enjoy it!
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Using anagram sites during play is cheating, period. Using the game’s dictionary is not. This should be obvious to everyone.
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Dorothy Vining reply on January 16th, 2014 11:02 am:
I agree. No books during play. No other sites. Thanks, friend.
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C Murdock reply on January 17th, 2014 1:20 pm:
By the way, happy 90. My best friend is 84, and I hope she lasts that long.
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The only cheating I do is avoiding the frustrating video adverts!
If I suspect an opponent of cheating (you can tell, you can just… tell, not only because the words are high-scoring and rare, but they sometimes play mediocre words in the worst places) then even if I win, I will not play them again. It feels good though, to win against those odds!
If you use tools not provided by the game, then one is not playing the game. You are mindlessly transcribing a game between a human and a computer. Why spend one’s time doing that? I don’t see any enjoyment there.
I even feel guilty when I place a word out of curiosity thinking “it will never accept this”, and then it does!
I played scrabble online years ago and that version accepted invalid words. My opponent could challenge it, as per the official scrabble rules, and somebody would miss a turn. Alas, this would not foil determined cheats, and only further disadvantage the innocent.
Habro/EA have done a poor job of computerising scrabble. Once a game is over I can’t see the list of moves or any game chat.
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On the board game, the rules state explicitly that no dictionary or outside source say be consulted during the game, except to challenge a word, in which case someone will be penalized. On Facebook Scrabble the rules are not a matter of opinion; they simply do not prohibit consulting outside sources. Period. And far from the board game that prohibits dictionaries, FB Scrabble provides several. It also simply will not allow you to play a word that is not in the dictionary, and there s no “challenge” provision and no penalty.
So to say that consulting a word generator is “cheating” makes little sense, considering that the “rules” everyone cites in coming to that conclusion are NOT rules at all. FB Scrabble could very easily have left in the “no dictionary” provision and the “challenge” provision, etc. But they didn’t. The plain fact is that the board game is not the same as the FB Scrabble game. How can any honest person avoid such a conclusion? 🙂
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Dorothy Vining reply on July 27th, 2014 10:51 am:
Dear Rule Reader. I agree that FB scrabble is not the same as board Scrabble but I enjoy FB Scrabble as long as no other “helper site” or books are involved. I’d be happy to play FB Scrabble with you.
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I only began playing recently as I have found my vocabulary and word use is deteriorating since I retired. After about four games I discovered an anagram site and started to use it. I then found that many of the words were bizarre and I my own vocabulary was kicking in with useful words that I had previously forgotten. After a short time I dropped the site and only use the tools provided in the game. Nothing helps much with 7 vowels! I had made a lot of money playing scrabble when I was younger and learning new words from other players is much more gratifying and easier to remember than the plethora of disconnected words in a computer program. What is surprising is the number of 2 letter words that were not acceptable 60 years ago.
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I play SCRABBLE Mattel on FB with random opponents, some of them FB members and some “guests,” who are not registered with either Origin or FB. I have no way of knowing if they use aids aside from the dictionary provided by the board. I find “teacher” very helpful.
I hope we can play together online. 🙂
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Twice in the last two days the Teacher feature has shown me “better moves” that were words I had played and the game rejected as invalid! What the heck?!
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I started out initially and did well. I won most of my games and then encountered a cheater, and another, and another.
It seems one has to forfeit; move on; or find a cheat to beat a cheat.
I found everyone cheats that I encounter now, so I beat them with my superior strategies to beat them, and I have a better cheat than they do.
It is as if now, I am only there to see if I can humiliate the cheaters. My vocabulary has increased by a plethora….
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I fell short of a grade 12 academic education, however , I would love to play you and put you in your place in respect to your judgement of other people’s vocabulary, or lack there of ! And I do not use any site that you spoke about , nor did I even have a previous knowledge of these sights
Back to my comment, I would love to play a game of scrabble with you, however, my comment reflects , in NO way, my actual thoughts of an outcome if we were to play a game, the comment was only for you to see how arrogant , ignorant, and most likely a little to high on yourself………. HAVE A GREAT DAY, Waiting for the challenge !
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Dorothy Vining reply on May 19th, 2015 3:34 pm:
Sorry for the delay … Upheaval time at my house. Sure, challenge me on Facebook.
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I really appreciate your discussion, Dorothy. When i look online for the “rules” what is considered “cheating” etc. I mostly just see people complaining about other people’s behavior. Or suspected behavior. To me if the dictionary is part of the game it’s ok to use that dictionary. I don’t use other “tools” to keep it more fun but I do use the board dictionary. Partly because i was in a coma for five days thirty years ago and my memory today is still not very good so I appreciate not having to rely onmemory for those 2 letter words etc. I think i would not ever use the other tools, takes the challenge out for me.
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I’m so disappointed by what I’ve learned here. I never step,out of the game to visit other sites, limiting aid to what is provided by the fb scrabble game. And now I learn that many of my opponents likely do. Feels like cheating and unfair. Given that I’m not willing to play that way, I wish I could take back the last 5 minutes. Call me naive.
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Sorry, I love Scrabble, but this is about your petty spurge experience 4 years ago. I bought petty spurge seeds from Australia, and have had no luck growing them (tiny sprouts after 2 months, at best). Would you or your daughter still have some of the plant. I would gladly pay to have one shipped to me, as I have a basal cell carcinoma that I don’t want removed surgically. Thank you, and live long!
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Dorothy Vining reply on June 12th, 2015 7:36 pm:
I hope this worked out for you. My daughter has plenty of healthy petty spurge and said she will get in touch.
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I never go out side of scrabble to play the game. In my opinion those who do are cheating and this takes all of the fun out of the game. If am playing a random opponent who is able to come up with several obscure 7 letter words in a row I forfeit the game. Yes, I know I could google those other websites as well as my oponent, but this would make it a game requiring no skill and I would regard myself as a cheat and a person who lacked the acumen and creativity to play and enjoy the game without “winning at all costs” being the sole purpose. I would not enjoy the win.
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“The Teacher,” does not always provide the highest point move, as I have beaten The Teacher numerous times, and today beat it by 12 points.
As mentioned, The Teacher doesn’t supply the best move, defense wise. I wonder if The Teacher learns from errors? Instead of, “I couldn’t do better,” why doesn’t The Teacher say, “You beat me by __ points?” The Teacher is useful to see what you missed, and to realize how often you miss good moves that are right in front of your face, but you don’t see them.
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Call me old fashioned, but I don’t even use the word checker or the teacher!! I use only the two-letter word guide, and no dictionary, as these were the house rules growing up! 🙂 I much prefer a natural game. What’s the point in cheating?! Takes all the fun out of it! I try not to play Guests, and do not re-play people whom I believe are cheating…
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if you don’t use a dictionary at all how do you know when you have made a mistake? Do you penalise yourself by eg only playing one letter? – I prefer to look up words before I play them – there is still the skill of choosing where to play, when to keep a Q, how many letters to play etc.
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