Almost everyone has learned to play the Scrabble word game at some time during childhood. And quite a few people have continued their interest in competitive word play into adulthood. Many Lakesiders have friendly Scrabble games in their homes as a way to keep the gray cells active. In Ajijic there are two informal groups that meet to play Scrabble on a regular basis. Irene's group meets on Mondays and Fridays from noon to 2 p.m. at Angel's Restaurant on the waterfront near Old Posada, around the corner from the Lake Chapala Society. Ron and Dan's group meets at Angel's Restaurant on Thursdays from noon to 2 p.m. Neither group charges for playing.
The Monday/Friday group uses a more lenient set of rules to make the game more fun for beginners and those who haven't played for awhile. For example, it is permitted to use reference sheets with lists of 2-letter words and rare words containing the letter J or Q. In addition, when it's not your turn, you can freely consult the Official Word List to see if a particular "word" you're thinking about is recognized. If you happen to play a word that really isn't a word, you're allowed to pick up your letters and make another play without penalty. Another rule is that if you have three of the same letter, you can exchange one of them without penalty.
The Thursday group plays more according to the normal tournament rules, with the exception that time clocks are not used. Reference sheets, checking the dictionary, and free exchanges of 3-peats are not allowed. When a word is played, it can be "challenged" by the opponent. If the word is found to be correct, then the challenger loses a turn; if the word is found to be incorrect, then the player that played the incorrect word must pick it up and lose a turn. The Thursday group is seeking to become the first sanctioned English-language Scrabble club in Mexico.
Several people, including Dan and Ron, participate in both groups, varying their style of play according to the rules in effect for that group. Both groups use the same book for ascertaining the correctness of words: "The Official Word List" published by the National Scrabble Association. It was comprehensively updated in March, 2006, and it contains, as do all modern dictionaries, some words that are considered derogatory, racist, or salacious. So don't be shocked when someone plays one of these words. From the viewpoint of the Scrabble player, they are just words that are permissible to be played and no endorsement of any negative connotation or denotation is implied by their usage.
One of the goals of modern lexicography is to record the language "as it is"-and this includes derogatory and offensive words. They are in the dictionaries because they are in the language. It is to be hoped that one day these words can be dropped from the dictionary, not because of some edict against them, but because people no longer use them.
However, 99 times out of a 100, you'll be using just regular words and racking your brain about "Is it KABAB, KABOB, KEBAB, or KEBOB?" (all are OK) or trying to remember if ORLE is really a word (it is) or pondering whether you should use your precious S now or cling to it for a better play later.
Both groups are welcoming new players and will provide you with reference sheets to help you brush up on some of the more arcane, but frequently used words. Each game lasts about an hour, and at the end of a game, one of the players moves to another table, so that everyone has a chance to compete against different players and perhaps have better luck drawing some good tiles. Come by and join in the fun.
