Speed Scrabble

[MatthewV]

----- Game Two, starting on December 12, 2009 [link]------
I can claim words only after Amb updates or 15 hours have passed.
Amb can claim words only after I update or 15 hours have passed.
I hope that each of will update once a day. If a day is skipped, oh well. Sometimes it is good to get away from the internet.

Invalid words will not count. Guessing will be discourage but not punished still. Words that do not change the base still are not allowed (QAT can't be made to QUAT or QATS etc) but "stepping stones" are allowed (FARM -> FRAME -> FARMER).
The dictionary of choice will be TWL words instead of SOWPODS. Minimum word length will still be three.
Outside sources will not be allowed.
There will be no banned words unless someone cheats.
If you say a word that isn't playable either by mistake or on purpose, anyone can still use it.



------- Game one, up to December 11, 2009 -------
A quick game for any number of people. Its open format allows new players to join at any moment. A player joins the game simply by calling out a legal word.

There is a community pool of letter that anyone can form words from without any restrictions. Letters are added to the community pool one at a time. In a game with everyone in the same room, the person who got the last word will flip over the next time to add it to the community pool.

After a player has called out a word, it owned by them. Other players can steal this word though-- provided the new word uses all the letters in the old word AND doesn't have the same base.
Minimum word length is 3.
Blanks can change letters. They will be shown as [] when in the community pool and as C[a]T when in a word.

For example, if Player A holds CAT and the letter S is in the community pool, anyone (including Player A) could say SCAT or ACTS but couldn't say CATS or SAT.

There is no turn order.

no outside research

First come, first served! (normally if two player yell the same word at the same time, that word is banned from the rest of the game!)
Scoring: letters score their Scrabble values. The game is over after all the tiles have been flipped and a few minutes have passed.

I will be adding 1 letter to the community pool each day. Therefore, this game should last right around 100 days. However, players don't have to be active for that entire period. I have a random list of all the letters.

Community Pool
I,F,R

[lexprod]

FIR!

[Duke Gnome]

FIR

[Cordelia]

if you add an E only to next add an L, I'll have to be very irate.

[Amb]

FIR is now banned for the rest of the game!

[Cordelia]

if that's the case, I propose:
IF

[Jack_Ian]

RIF

[Jack_Ian]

[MatthewV]

Sorry, I guess I wasn't clear enough. Even though Lex and DG were within seconds of each other, I am able to give it just to lexprod.

No penalties for illegal words (just shame). If people get ridiculous, then maybe a -1.

SOWPODS dictionary.

community pool
D

lexprod 6
FIR

[lexprod]

So I get to keep FIR until someone can add onto it by at least a letter, yeah?

[MatthewV]

Yes.
Someone could also combine (come + bin) two words to make a longer word. In general, short words will change possession more frequently because they are easy to add to.

[Amb]

RID?

[Zag]

You can't use the R and I from FIR unless you are using all of the word.

[Amb]

SO that means we cant do a thing? I dont fully understand.

[MatthewV]

There is no legal play that I can think of right now. This game will get more interesting after about 20 days

[Amb]

If you flip an E, im calling FIRED - unless FIR = the base of FIRED which it shouldnt... maybe.

[MatthewV]

FIR and FIRED have different bases.
Just like TOO and TOOL would be different also.

This rule is made to keep people from losing words like EXPLORE when a D, R, S comes up.

[Zag]

[Cordelia]

he meant d, r, OR s...exploded, exploder, explodes

of course, if the r comes up, explored is the best choice anyway!

[MatthewV]

The original word I used was exploRe. So if a D came up, someone could say exploDeR I suppose.

[Courk]

I know of someone named Frid.

[MatthewV]

community pool
D, A

lexprod 6
FIR

[Sparhawk]

So could you now use:

FRAID

[Cordelia]

if that's not a word, I'm using FAIR

[MatthewV]

I don't believe "fraid" is a legal word. If this is incorrect, please correct me.

community pool
D, X

Cordelia 7
FAIR

[lexprod]

XRAID, the past tense of X-ray.

[Amb]

FAX?

[lexprod]

Doesn't use all of "FAIR"

[Amb]

Yeah, but how the heck is this going to work at 50 letters. I sure dont want to be making a 51 letter word...

And XRAID doesnt use an F. You might have to play "XFRAID: Fear of Wolverines" instead.

[Cordelia]

The next word may be made out of only community letters...and unless matty's got my number, it probably will be.

[MatthewV]

community pool
D, X, M

Cordelia 7
FAIR

[Zag]

How about FRAIM, that, umm, alternate spelling of FRAME (that I just made up)?

[Amb]

FRAIM is valid it seems...here

[Zag]

Yeah, that's it. I knew it all along.

[Courk]

If, somehow, MXD were a word, someone could play that, right? Then whoever that was would own MXD, and Cordelia would own FAIR? More than one word can be owned at a time?

[Cordelia]

I believe that has to be correct. He mentioned combining two words earlier...so...

[MatthewV]

community pool
D, X, [] <---- it is a blank!

Zag 10
FRAIM

[MatthewV]

side note: if you are using a blank, please denote it like [b]LANK. Remember, blanks can change letters.

At some point in some game it might look this....

Community pool
C,E

Person A
YES, MAYBE, VERY, LUCKY

Person B
NOT, HAPPY

Except for the many Y's :-)

[Zag]

Well, it won't last, but D[e]X

[Amb]

AF[f]IRM