SCRABBLE COMPETITION FOR PRIMARY & SECONDARY SCHOOLS RULES AND GUIDELINES SCRABBLE COMPETITION FOR PRIMARY & SECONDARY SCHOOLS RULES AND GUIDELINES 1.0 Aim The Scrabble competition aims to extend vocabulary and develop spelling skills in the English language among pupils. 2.0 Objectives 2.1 To enhance pupils’ vocabulary in the English language. 2.2 To enhance mental arithmetic skills among pupils. 2.3 To encourage teamwork and promote integration among pupils. 2.4 To provide a platform for learning in a fun and enjoyable manner. 3.0 Competition rules 3.1 Eligibility 3.1.1 Primary category This competition is open to Year 4 to Year 6 pupils from government-aided schools only. 3.1.2 Secondary category This competition is open to Form 1 to Form 5 pupils from government-aided schools only. 3.2 Team 3.2.1 Each team shall comprise 2 players from the same school / state they are representing. Mixed-race participation is highly encouraged to promote unity. 3.2.2 Each team is to be accompanied by a teacher. 3.2.3 Participants shall be in school uniforms. 1 3.3 Format 3.3.1 The Tournament Director will determine the pairings for each round. e.g. Swiss, King of the Hill or Round Robin pairings. The pairings for the national competition will use Swiss pairings. 3.3.2 In a manual-pairing game, each team will have to pick a tile from the bag. The team, whose tile is closest to the beginning of the alphabet, with a blank preceding an ‘A’, starts the game. 3.3.3 In a computerized-pairing game, the computer picks which team shall start. 3.3.4 Only words in the Collins Scrabble Dictionary (latest edition; i.e. (CSW 2019) are allowed. However, players are NOT allowed to form indecent/obscene words though the words can be found in the dictionary. 3.4 Time 3.4.1 Each team is given 25 minutes per game. Chess clock or Scrabble timer will be used to time the game. 3.4.2 There is no time limit for each move but the game shall end after 50 minutes or where one team has exceeded the 25-minute limit by 5 minutes. 3.4.3 Any team who exceeds the allocated 25 minutes shall be penalised 10 points for each minute or part thereof. 3.4.4 Each team shall play five (5) rounds. However, the tournament director (see 3.7.1) may vary the number of rounds as circumstances dictate. 3.5 Game play 3.5.1 The team starting the game will draw seven tiles from the tile bag. Once a tile is drawn out from the bag, the opponent presses the clock. This then starts the clock of the team starting the game. After the starting team has drawn their tiles, the opponent then draws seven tiles from the bag. 3.5.2 The first team to play combines two or more of its letters to form a word and places it on the board to read either across or down with one letter on the centre square. Diagonal words are not allowed. 2 3.5.3 The team completes its turn by counting and announcing the score for that turn; press the clock, record the scores in the score sheet and replenish their rack. 3.5.4 The opposing team may challenge the word(s) formed after the clock has been pressed and must call ‘hold’ before the team replenishes the rack. 3.5.5 If the word challenged is unacceptable, the challenged player takes back his tiles and scores a zero. If the word challenged is acceptable in the dictionary, the team that challenged will incur no penalty. However, the tournament director (see 3.7.3) may vary the penalty for word challenges. 3.5.6 When drawing tiles, a player must hold the tile bag so that its rim is at or above eye level. 3.5.7 If a team draws extra tiles, the opponent will randomly turn face up x+2 tiles from the rack (x is the number of overdrawn tiles). The opponent will then choose x tiles and return to the bag. 3.5.8 All letters played on a turn must be placed in one row across or down the board, to form at least one complete word. If, at the same time, they touch other letters in adjacent rows, those must also form complete words, crossword fashion, with all such letters. The team gets full credit for all words formed or modified on its turn. 3.5.9 New words may be formed by: i) ii) iii) Adding one or more letters to a word or letters already on the board. Placing a word at right angles to a word already on the board. The new word must use one of the letters already on the board or must add a letter to it. Placing a complete word parallel to a word already played so that adjacent letters also form complete words. 3.5.10 No tile may be shifted or replaced after it has been played and scored. 3 3.5.11 Blanks: The two blank tiles may be used as any letters. When playing a blank, the player must state which letter it represents and write that on the scoresheet. It remains that letter for the rest of the game. 3.5.12 The team may change any number of tiles as many turns as desired so long as there are at least seven (7) tiles in the bag. The team will score zero for that turn. 3.5.13 The game ends when i) ii) iii) all the tiles have been drawn and one of the teams have used all the tiles in their rack. all possible plays have been made both teams have passed thrice consecutively 3.5.14 When the game is over, the teams shall then fill in the Result Slip with the scores and spread (see 3.8.2), and upon duly signed by both teams and pass it to the Tournament Director. 3.5.15 Each team shall then fill in its own Team Score Record Card, verified by the opponent. 3.6 Restrictions 3.6.1 Players shall NOT refer to any dictionaries and/or electronic devices while playing. 3.6.2 Calculators shall not be used during the game. 3.6.3 No movement of the board during the game is allowed unless a rotating board is used. 3.7 Officials 3.7.1 There shall be a Tournament Director. 3.7.2 The Tournament Director may appoint assistants from among the accompanying teachers. 3.7.3 In case of any contention, the accompanying teacher shall refer to the Tournament Director. The Tournament Director has the final say. 4 3.8 Decisions 3.8.1 The winning team shall be decided first by the number of points, then spread. 3.8.2 A win is 1 point; a draw is 0.5 point and a loss is 0 point. Spread is the difference between the winning and losing scores of a game. 3.8.3 In the event of a discrepancy between the MOE concept paper and the WESPA Game Rules, the MOE concept paper prevails. 3.8.4 The decision of the Tournament Director is final. 3.9 Expected Standards 3.9.1 Players are expected to uphold high standards of both etiquette and ethics. Respectful, courteous, fair and honest play is required. Players are honour bound not to cheat. 4.0 Prizes 4.1 Certificates of achievement will be awarded to the winning teams. 4.2 Certificates of participation will be awarded to all participating teams. 4.3 Certificates of appreciation will be awarded to all the accompanying teachers 5 APPENDIX 1 Scrabble Comprehensive Scoring Guide for Judges and Players A. The score value of each letter is indicated by a number at the bottom of the tile. The score value of the blank is zero. B. Premium Letter Squares: A light blue square doubles the score of the letter played on it. A dark blue square triples the score of the letter played on it. C. Premium Word Squares: The score of the entire word is doubled when one of the letters is placed on a pink square. It is tripled when a letter is placed on a red square. Include premiums for double or triple letter values, if any, before doubling or tripling the word score. If a word is formed that covers two premium word squares, the score should be doubled and re-doubled (that is, four times the letter count), or tripled or re-tripled (nine times the letter count). Note that the centre square of the board is pink, and therefore doubles the score for the first word played. D. The score for each turn is the sum of the score values in each word formed or modified in play, plus the premium values resulting from placing letters on premium squares. E. Letters and word premiums apply only in the turn in which they are first used. In subsequent turns, letters count at face value only. F. When a blank tile falls on a pink or red square, the sum of the letters in the word is doubled or tripled even though the blank itself has no score value. G. When two or more words are formed in the same turn, each is scored. The common letters are counted, with full premium values if any, in the score for each word. H. Any team who plays all seven of their tiles in a single turn scores a premium or bonus of 50 scores in addition to their regular score for the play. I. Points are to be subtracted when both teams have unplayed tiles left on their racks at the end of the game. J. When the game ends with one team finishing all his tiles, the team gets double the face value of all the unplayed tiles of the opposing team. APPENDIX 2 Scrabble Resources for Tournament Director and Players Gameplay Rules WESPA Rules (Latest edition; i.e WESPA rules version 3.0) Tournament Director Reference NASPA Director Manual (Latest edition; i.e 2014) Tournament Organiser Software i) Aupair Tournament Software ii) Director! Tournament Software iii) TSH : Tournament Shell Tournament Software Word Lookup i) Collins Zyzzyva Self Lookup Software (Latest edition; i.e 5.1.1) ii) Collins Scrabble Dictionary (Latest edition; i.e CSW 2019) NATIONAL ENGLISH CARNIVAL SCRABBLE SCORE SHEET YEAR _________ Game No. Team A Team B Name: Name: Turn Play Turn Score Cum. Score Turn Turn Play Turn Score 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Tile Penalty Time Penalty Nett Score AAAAAAAAA BB CC DDDD EEEEEEEEEEEE FF GGG HH IIIIIIIII Tile Penalty Time Penalty Nett Score J K LLLL MM NNNNNN OOOOOOOO PP Q RRRRRR Official’s Name : ___________________________ Signature : ___________________________ SSSS TTTTTT UUUU VV WW X YY Z ?? Cum. Score NATIONAL ENGLISH CARNIVAL SCRABBLE YEAR __________ RESULT SLIP Game No. WINNER SCORE OPPONENT SPREAD Signature (Winner) Signature (opponent) Official’s Name : ___________________________ Signature : ___________________________ NATIONAL ENGLISH CARNIVAL SCRABBLE YEAR __________ RESULT SLIP Game No. WINNER SCORE OPPONENT SPREAD Signature (Winner) Signature (opponent) Official’s Name : ___________________________ Signature : ___________________________ NATIONAL ENGLISH CARNIVAL YEAR __________ SCRABBLE INDIVIDUAL SCORE SHEET Game No. 1/2* Opponent Own Score Opp’s Score Spread This Cum. game W/L/D Point This Cum. game Opponent’s Initial 1 2 3 4 5 6 *1 = Start, 2 = Reply ® Scrabble is a registered trademark of J W Spear & Sons Ltd, subsidiary of Mattel Inc. NATIONAL ENGLISH CARNIVAL YEAR __________ SCRABBLE INDIVIDUAL SCORE SHEET Game No. 1/2* Opponent Own Score Opp’s Score Spread This Cum. game W/L/D Point This Cum. game 1 2 3 4 5 6 *1 = Start, 2 = Reply ® Scrabble is a registered trademark of J W Spear & Sons Ltd, subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Opponent’s Initial LAYOUT OF THE TEAMS SCRABBLE BOARD TEAM A TEAM B
