“Cosined is not allowed,” exclaims Andre Beneteau.
A quick check of the official dictionary reveals that he is, in fact, correct. The tiles are quickly removed from the board.
This is Scrabble, and players take it very seriously. But not always.
The Official Barrie Scrabble Club never actually takes itself too seriously, as they sip a few pints at Wickie’s Pub North on Grove Street East on a Sunday night.
And they certainly are official, as the name of the club suggests. They are an official NASPA club, or, for the uninitiated, the North American Scrabble Players Association. They are club No. 606, to be exact.
Mike Zacharko, who's the convener of the group, defines the club’s personality as “fun competition and light social atmosphere. We are a fun club.”
“There are very few fistfights,” Beneteau interjects jokingly.
“There are some clubs that are very competitive, but we keep it light,” says Zacharko.
With about a dozen members in the club, they say they are hoping that more fans of the game will discover them and join in on the fun.
“It’s a good way to build your vocabulary a bit more. Some of the words are applicable, some are just really obscure,” Zacharko says.
“And it’s a building game, a construction game,” Beneteau chimes in. “People who are into English as poetry don’t like Scrabble, because it is not poetic in the least — it’s what you can do with your letters. I’m not much of a reader, but I love Scrabble.
And the goal as a player, for Beneteau? “Making seven-letter words. That’s my goal.”
A seven-letter word is a “bingo,” which awards a 50-point bonus on top of the values of each tile. Think of it as being as lofty as hitting a grand slam in a baseball game.
“Bingo!”
No sooner had we discussed that term, one of the players at another table shouted out their “home run” play using all seven of their letter tiles in one turn.
The group happily applauds.
A BarrieToday reporter is then introduced to a much-revered member of the club, Tim Anglin.
At 81, Anglin has been playing the game for well over six decades, beginning at the age of 15.
He says he played competitive bridge all over the world until he was around the age of 45. He gave it up as he was tired of fighting with his partners.
“So, I’ll play a game where I can only blame myself,” Anglin says.
After getting progressively better at Scrabble, he decided to take this game seriously as well. He would then spend decades playing the game at a high level and eventually won a big Scrabble tournament in Atlantic City, N.J., against some of the top players in the world.
He also became a ranked player in the world, reaching number 1,884, which he says is quite a high ranking among worldwide competitors.
“And I think at that point I was fifth in Canada,” he says proudly.
High-level competitiveness brought high-level enjoyment for Anglin.
“I enjoyed the social life of it. I would meet people all over Canada and the United States. There were parties, and I was single, so there were girlfriends at times. It was fun," he says.
As a seasoned pro, Anglin offers some important advice for young players that want to get serious with the game.
“Learn all the two-letter words, learn all the three-letter words — from there, jump to the high-probability seven-letter words, because with those ones you get a 50-point bonus. There are about a hundred of those really high-probability words," he offers.
The club, which accepts players of all skill levels, gathers every Sunday, except long weekends, from 5:30 p.m. until approximately 8:45 p.m. at Wickie’s Pub North at 477 Grove St. E.
Each game has a 50-minute time limit, and prizes are available to be won.
For more information, contact Zacharko at [email protected].
