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Monday, April 21, 2003
He plays with words
By Therese Y. Manulat
What is common among Mel Gibson, Sting, Keanu Reeves, Robert Palmer, Joan Collins, Queen Elizabeth II and college student John Edward Tabasa of the University of the Visayas? They all play Scrabble, that board game of worldwide popularity. But in the case of Tabasa, he not only plays to while away time, he plays to win.
Currently the reigning Philippine National Scrabble Champion for the amateur division and ranked eighth in the professional division, Tabasa’s love affair with the game started in highschool. A friend invited him to play the game while they hung out at the school library. It soon became a regular pastime. He says they are no nerds but he soon found himself winning tournaments like the Milo Olympics, Cebu Master’s Scrabble Tournament, Cebu Amateur Scrabble Tournament and the National Scrabble Championship.
“In this game, the meaning of the word is not important but rather that the word you use is found in the books of Scrabble Word List (Sowpods),” says the 19-year-old Computer Science student.
“I practice a lot. Everyday in school we play about five to seven games. Sometimes we start at about 1 in the afternoon and finish at about 7 in the evening. ”
On Saturdays, we play at the Cebu Sports Center, home of the Cebu Scrabble Association (all students) and the Cebu Scrabble Council (all professional players).”
“I like playing with the professional players. It is more challenging. But I also play with students like me who are members of the scrabble team. Our coach Jinky Caratao, who has also played in national level championships, guides us and keeps the team’s morale high,” adds Tabasa.
He improves his arsenal of words by reading newspapers, the dictionary and tries to memorize the words listed in the Sowpods. Never mind if he doesn’t know all their meanings, just as long as he can memorize many, many words.
“Winning in a Scrabble tournament is 90% knowledge and 10% luck. One has to have time management since only 20 minutes is allocated per game, knowledge of many words, fast reflex and strategy are key,” says Tabasa.
The eldest in a brood of seven, he looks forward to graduating from school to help his father Edwardo Tabasa, a fireman, and mother Flordeliza Tabasa, a physical therapist. While he is enjoying his winnings now and continues to participate in local, national and hopefully international tournaments, he doesn’t lose sight of his goal, that is to find a job that will help support his family.
How Scrabble came about
It was in 1931 in Poughkeepsie, New York that an architect named Alfred Butts lost his job. It was the Depression; there was no job security. Living on your wits was the order of the day. The jobless Butts decided to explore his passion for games and words.
He did not like dice cause it was all luck. He thought chess was all skill. He invented a game of half skill, half luck and called it Lexeco, later it became Criss-crossword. It was initially played without a board and players scored on the length of the words.
There were additional scores for words employing minor honors (B,F,H,M,P,V,W,Y). Additional scores for major honors (J, K,Q,X, Z ). Butts calculated the values of each letter of the alphabet by combing the pages of the New York Times.
But Lexeco was rejected when Butts applied for a patent, he was also turned down when he submitted the game to manufacturers. He nevertheless, made a few sets and gave it to friends. A recipient of the gift, James Brunot, was intrigued by the game and thought it should be manufactured. He simplified the rules, re-arranged the squares and changed the name to Scrabble. The modern game of Scrabble was born at last.
Butts’s invention of the regular features remains until today. The 15 X 15 square board and the seven-tile rack are original features. Also the distribution and value of the letters remain unchanged from 1938 to this day.
The scramble for Scrabble
With promotional help from Macy’s (New York), the game captured the imagination of thousands. Due to the great demand, Brunot sold the rights to a game manufacturer. Demand was so high that orders were rationed.
In 1991, the first World Scrabble Championship took place in London. The second was held in New York city in 1993. Regretfully, James Brunot died in October 1984 so he did not see the first championship. But Alfred Butts did. He lived to be 93 years old and took pleasure in playing the game with family and friends to the end of his life. He lived to see his brainchild become a worldwide phenomenon.
(April 21, 2003 issue)
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