Welcome to the Jerusalem Scrabble Club

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

 THIS WEEK AT THE CLUB

Season 84, Week 21 of 25 – January 13, 2026

Eighteen “screwballs,” as one player humorously described them, braved the high winds and heavy rain to show up for their Tuesday night Scrabble fix. Another player – who lives outside Jerusalem but made the trek – went so far as to admonish those who had messaged the group’s WhatsApp Chat saying they wouldn’t be coming owing to the harsh weather. “Come on, where’s yer spirit?” he challenged them. 

The three games played included some notable feats. Steve, a quiet but solid mainstay of Division A, reported what must be a rare achievement even among top players: “In my first game, against Elana, I started with two bingos, RENEGADE and FROTHIER. I began my second game, against Jonathan, with two bingos, PRAIRIE and ENDBRAIN, which was challenged but is good. [The word describes the largest, most anterior part of the vertebrate brain]. In my third game, against Peta, I again started with two bingos, ALANINE [a non-essential amino acid] and IONIZES. I won all three games.”

ElanaS: “I got four bingos in my game against May: WIDOWED; what I intended to be SEQUOIA; SEAPORTS, and EFFUSIVE, and won with a final score of 492. It turned out later that I had reversed the O and U of SEQUOIA – but neither of us caught it!”

Can you bingo without possessing a single vowel? DavidS did. “My rack was QNDRS and two blanks. I played QINDARS, with the blanks standing for the vowels.” QINDAR is an Albanian currency; QINTAR is also good. 

Judy took a chance and bingoed with BURSTED, which was challenged, but is good. Ironically, Google describes it as “a nonstandard, incorrect past tense of the verb BURST,” but for reasons best known to the compilers of our Scrabble dictionary, it’s in there.” Then there was good old VUG, which has freed many a player’s rack from the burden of both a V and a U. Judy’s opponent had placed the word, describing a hollow space within a rock, coming down to the line above the triple. To this Judy added a second G, scoring nicely with that plus the word along the triple. To improve things, VUGG was challenged. Here is what all future VUG players need to know: As well as the additional G, the word takes an H – VUGH – and the adjective is VUGGY. 

Overheard: “I won, but it wasn’t a very satisfying win, for sure. I won by luck, with such good letters and opportunities that I could have beaten an A player!”

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 or Elana up to a week in advance. 

WWW: DavidS, Steve, ElanaS

WOW: SILURID, QINDARS (DavidS), ALANINE, ENDBRAIN (Steve)

PHOW: BRONZITE (Dahlia), REGLASS (Elana)

High Win, High Loss, High Triple:

A: 556 (DavidS), 431 (Jonathan), 1481 (DavidS)

B1: 492 (ElanaS), 418 (Judy), 1225 (ElanaS)

Scores over 500: 556 (DavidS), 505 (Steve)

100-pt play: 

Attendance: 18