Difference between revisions of "Introduction to the Collins Scrabble® Wordlist"

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== What Is Collins? ==
 
== What Is Collins? ==
Properly styled the "Collins Official Scrabble™ Words 2015" is the wordlist used for adjudicating Scrabble Brand Crossword Game tournaments around the world, including certain events in Canada and the United States.  The Collins wordlist is approximately 30% larger than the Official Tournament and Club Word List (OTCWL) used as the word source for most North American tournaments (many of which also include a Collins Division).
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Properly styled the "Collins Official Scrabble™ Words 2019" is the wordlist used for adjudicating Scrabble Brand Crossword Game tournaments around the world, including certain events in Canada and the United States.  The Collins wordlist is approximately 30% larger than the Official Tournament and Club Word List (OTCWL) used as the word source for most North American tournaments (many of which also include a Collins Division).
  
 
The Collins Scrabble wordlist is sometimes abbreviated as the Collins Scrabble Wordlist (CSW).
 
The Collins Scrabble wordlist is sometimes abbreviated as the Collins Scrabble Wordlist (CSW).

Latest revision as of 00:43, 18 November 2019

What Is Collins?

Properly styled the "Collins Official Scrabble™ Words 2019" is the wordlist used for adjudicating Scrabble Brand Crossword Game tournaments around the world, including certain events in Canada and the United States. The Collins wordlist is approximately 30% larger than the Official Tournament and Club Word List (OTCWL) used as the word source for most North American tournaments (many of which also include a Collins Division).

The Collins Scrabble wordlist is sometimes abbreviated as the Collins Scrabble Wordlist (CSW).

How Do I get Started Playing Collins?

If you have had no experience playing Scrabble in a tournament setting, you should contact a club or tournament director, who can advise you on how best to join the tournament scene. Vince Castellano can point you in the right direction, contact him by email as vince@wgvc.com.

If you have had experience playing tournament Scrabble and wish to adopt the Collins wordlist, all you need to do is learn a few more words.

You should also be aware that most Collins tournaments use the "5 point challenge rule," about which more below.

How Do I Get Started Learning The Words?

The best resource to being with is the International Cheat Sheet by John Attamack and Mike Baron: https://www.cross-tables.com/download/CHEAT_INTERNATIONAL_2019.pdf

If you are already acquainted with the North American word list, you may prefer the version of the cheat sheet with differences from the North American wordlist highlighted in red: https://www.cross-tables.com/download/CHEAT_INTERNATIONAL_RED_2019.pdf

AS long as you can memorize the two-letter words, you can likely manage a tournament game. One way to practise is to write out (or type) as many 2LW as you can from memory and then compare it with the official list. Write or type any you've missed and repeat as necessary up to two or three times a day.

What Software is Available to Help Me Study?

Many tournament players use Zyzzyva to look up and study words, and for adjudication. Zyzzyva is freely available and a version equipped with Collins can be downloaded from: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/scrabble/scrabble-tools/

Quackle is a program which can play and analyze Scrabble games. It can play an expert-level game.

How Does the Point Challenge Rule Work?

Almost all Collins tournaments in North America use the "5-point challenge rule." Other point values are allowed but seldom used. The challenge rule in use or tournaments using the OTCWL is "double challenge", where by either the challenger or the player challenged loses a turn if they are found to be in error.

Under 5-point challenge, if any one of the words challenged is found not acceptable, the play is removed from the board and the player's turn is lost. If all the words challenged are acceptable, then the player receiving the challenge is awarded 5 points for each word challenged and player continues with the challenger's turn.

Consequently there are two differences in strategy relative to games played with double challenge. Under double challenge, players issuing a challenge are advised to challenge all the words formed under the play they are challenging, as the penalty for losing the challenge is the same regardless of the number of words challenged. Under point challenges, the challenged player can accrue additional points for each word challenged.

The other difference applies at the end of the game. Under double challenge, there is no penalty to challenging a play which ends the game, since if the challenge is lost the game-ending play stands and the challenger has no turn to lose. Under the point-challenge rule, the challenger stands to award extra points to his opponent if the challenge is invalid. In close games this can make a difference to the outcome, so the decision of whether or not to challenge can be a strategic one. If a player needs time to decide on an end-of-game challenge, his clock runs until he decides to challenge or accept the play, and may incur penalties for going overtime as a result.