• Business and Finance
• Family
• Computers and Internet
• Auto and Trucks
• Education
• Health
• Hobbies
• Home Improvement
• Legal
• Marketing

• Home
• Arthur's Articles Home
• Browse Categories
• Browse Authors
• Submit an Article
• Search for Articles

Home » Family Articles » Try These Scrabble House Rules

Try These Scrabble House Rules

Any family with a Scrabble tradition has doubtless developed their own set of house rules, particularly if that household includes children requiring modifications. House rules can make play more interesting and lively, place an emphasis on learning rather than competition, or simply be used to speed the game up. Below, are some common house rules I've heard about or used at home. Each rule adds its own twist to the game. I welcome you to try them!

Eternal Bonus Squares: I was raised on this one. What was my disappointment when I found out at a friend's house that the rules killed the efficacy of the bonus square once it was covered! By deeming them "eternal," meaning they remain in force and count every time the word is added to, each move becomes more rewarding than the first. Scores soar into the hundreds. Egos inflate. The skillful player must try to make words that can't be added to, at least when covering a bonus square.

Blank Tile Substitution: This rule keeps the blank tiles in constant circulation. For instance, if someone uses a blank on the board in place of a T, and you later wind up with a T on your rack, you can substitute the real letter and re-use the blank. This is really nice toward the end of the game when everyone is down to the nubs, letter-wise.

Allowable Dictionary Use/Broadening the Word Base: To give the game more educational significance, we've sometimes allowed players to browse the dictionary when it wasn't their turns. This rule is especially helpful for children or beginners, whose vocabulary base may still be limited. If playing against more seasoned opponents, the use of a dictionary, along with offering free challenges, can even the playing field. When my sister and I were learning German we purchased a German Scrabble set and mixed it in with the English letters. Words from either language were allowed. Since letters have varying degrees of usage in different languages the point value and letter distribution will vary among foreign sets. This made our game even more interesting. Scrabble sets can be purchased on the internet in many different languages.

Free Trades: Allowing free trades of the following combinations reduces the element of luck, and can make the game more fun.
Two pair
Three of the same letter
Six vowels
Six consonants

Of course, the blank tile can not be used to substitute for any letter in a trade. Y can be used as a vowel or a consonant, to the player's advantage. Only one trade is allowed per turn, although your tiles may be rejected if it restores one of the above conditions to your rack.

Take Two: This last suggestion isn't so much a house rule, but an alternative game which can be played using Scrabble tiles. The number of players is unlimited, and can be practiced alone, or played in a large group. The more players, the faster the game will go. To play, turn all the tiles face down in the middle of the table. Each player draws seven tiles, turning them over in front of him or her. Laying letters in words across and down, players attempt to connect all their letters. The first player to do so calls out, "Take two!" and everyone draws two more tiles. The game continues until the tiles run out. The winner is the first player to use all his of her tiles. The value of unused tiles is counted and a negative score is recorded. (The winner scores a perfect zero.) This game may be played in successive rounds if a longer version is desired.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

7 Tips for Business Success

Many executives and other business managers often forget that they really have 2 jobs â€" the first is to do what they get paid for (and do it better than others). The other is to manage their career path and do what is required to ensure their upward mobility isn't dependent on others who may or may not be working in their best interest.

The following "secrets", amassed through my extensive background as both a corporate executive and business consultant, will help professionals better manage their success path:

1. Understand the "circle of success". A common piece of advice given to managers is for them to spend a great deal of time getting to know, and working side-by-side, with their staff to ensure each employee has what (s)he needs to be productive. While that idea is well intentioned, it's does not provide maximum benefit to all involved. Rather, it is more important that managers spend time helping their boss look good at every opportunity. When (s)he understands that you are able to help her/him succeed, you and your team will get more time, attention and resources facilitating maximum productivity.

2. Results = Rewards. Companies spend a great deal of money on new systems to help automate and, hopefully, increase efficiency for the whole company. After these big investments, managers are told to become "experts" with the systems and procedures to ensure the intended benefits are realized. This often creates an environment where many managers think that the most important task at hand is to learn the in's and out's of these systems and takes their eye off the real task at hand for which their ultimately accountable. To ensure upward mobility, remember to put the primary focus on your department's core objective in the context of the company's overall objective.

3. Avoid stagnation. Far too many workers throughout our nation are bored and disinterested, which is adversely impacting their productivity and creativity. Consequently, many U.S. industries are falling behind in the global marketplace. It's time for our nation's corporate leaders to re-engage and spend more time acting as leaders rather than bureaucrats. People respond best to positive feedback, emotion and enthusiasm â€" not e-mail communications, inexplicable charts and fear management. Effective leadership ensures that everyone is focused on, and vested in, getting to the goal lines. This is the most critical issue impacting an organization's productivity.

4. Understand that outsourcing threatens everyone. Very few professionals actually understand that their position can be outsourced. They get complacent in this false sense of security. While most people realize outsourcing has affected the service industries, they fail to grasp that other professionals, including accountants, lawyers, engineers, etc., can be readily outsourced as well. Virtually no line of work is bulletproof, and knowing this will keep you one step ahead of the game. At this time, those involved in creative enterprises, which high technology has yet to automate, look to be the safest career choices over the long term.

5. "Presence" pays. One's "presence" plays a big part in who gets promoted and who doesn't. In a nutshell, presence is a combination of how we look, how we carry ourselves, and our communication skills. Because many of us still associate one's appearance, demeanor and speaking ability with their overall ability, this remains a formidable challenge for those who have physical or other bias-based attributes that are difficult, if not impossible to change, such as height or weight. This subjectivity is even worse for women as society is generally more able to accept men with what's considered to be shortfalls rather than women. Irrespective of these barriers, condition yourself to carry yourself with best posture and to wear attire that imparts your success.

6. Pace your boss. To really stand out from the others and get the all important promotion, ensure you are in the office whenever your boss is in the office. Let her or him see that you share the same work ethic. Right, wrong or indifferent, these are new rules of time management. Simply put, if your boss is at work, you should be as well. If (s)he has decided that it's necessary to be there after hours, on weekends, or early in the morning, it is entirely to your advantage to be there at the same time. In this day in age, one must take advantage of all opportunities to distinguish themselves in the workplace.

7. Step up self promotion. This issue primarily impacts women, but applies to both genders. It is important that those who are in the position to benefit your career in any way know who you are and what you've accomplished. Successful business people understand the importance of letting others know about their successes, and go about it in the appropriate way. If done properly, it will not be construed as bragging or conceit.