Welcome to the Jerusalem Scrabble Club

COME PLAY WITH US – VISITORS ALWAYS WELCOME!

*** NEW PLAYERS: CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ***

 Director: Elana Simons, 054 220 6238, elanalibby@gmail.com

 THIS WEEK AT THE CLUB

Season 85, Week 22 of 25 –August 25, 2026

September and Scrabble Season 86 are fast approaching, at which time – due atonement having been made – the slate is wiped clean and past sins are forgotten. One player’s atonement, she said, includes her determination “to make sure I have those ‘threes’ down pat. I lost a valuable turn this week by playing TAF, which isn’t good; I confused it with the Hebrew letter TAV [also TAU. KAF and CAF are both good].”

Note that Scrabble next week will take place on Wednesday, September 2 instead of our customary Tuesday.

You are almost certainly a HAOLE without knowing it – an individual who is white or Caucasian and not native Hawaiian or Polynesian. Other unusual words played by Club Champion DavidS were ZIRAM, an organic zinc salt, KENTE, an Ashanti handwoven textile, and AUDILE, a person whose mental imagery is based on sounds rather than sights or movement. It can also be an adjective. 

“Is it statistically better to go first in a game?” his opponent took the opportunity of asking. David: “Going first gives you a 2 percent advantage. In the worst case, you trade.”

The end of a close game on a difficult board saw Judy holding the impossible-looking YCES – until she remembered she could usefully go out with SYCE, a groom or stable attendant.

Are you a SEXPERT, or more of a SEXPOT? Both are good.

Note: different players essayed RENOTES and RETONES – as they do from time to time because both sound plausible – but neither is good.

Richard: “I was way behind my opponent when he played LAQUE. I thought it wasn’t good but didn’t challenge it and so was able to play lots of words around it, earning quite a few points and winning the game. The moral: don’t rush to challenge every suspicious-looking word before seeing if perhaps you can do better by leaving it on the board.”

Having greeted his opponent with HILLO, Richard noted the useful fact that “any vowel is good as the second letter.” Thus you also have HALLO, HELLO, HOLLO, and HULLO. 

Overheard: “I ended up with a rack of four I’s and a U. I did also get a consonant – but it was the Z, and then my opponent went out. ZOUNDS!”

If you missed the opportunity to communicate your hilite in person at the club you can email it to judymo@netvision.net.il or WhatsApp it (054-5552355) up until noon the following day. If you wish to mark any occasion by bringing refreshments to the club, please check with Susan up to a week in advance. 

WWW: DavidS, Wendy, May, Pamela

WOW:  ORATRIX (Richard), EARACHE (Dahlia)

PHOW: DECOUNTS (Susan) UNDERAWE (DavidS)

High Win, High Loss, High  Triple:

A: 501 (DavidS), 394 (Dahlia), 1410 (DavidS)

B1: 452 (May), 382 (Judy), 1260 (May)

Scores over 500:  501 (DavidS)

100-pt play: PIQUETS 132, (DavidS) 

Attendance: 20