1. 16 April 14, 2010
CLOSER LOOK
Cupcake of honor — Scrabble winners are rewarded with free pastries at Swim Café’s bi-monthly Scrabble Sunday event.
Word to the wise — Bob Smith poses with his novelty board. Smith has been attending Scrabble Sundays since 2006.
Lining up — Many Scrabble Sunday attendees are online members of The Chicago Scrabble Meetup, found at meetup.com.
War of the words — Steve Feyer, assistant organizer of The Chicago Scrabble Meetup, plans his next move.
Swim Café is located at 1357 W. Chicago Ave. For more information about
Scrabble Sundays, check out http://www.meetup.com/Chicago-Scrabble.
2. page 17CLOSER LOOK
17April 14, 2010
ALL ABOUT THE
Last Tuesday, Scrabble enthusiasts
thoughttheworldwaschangingforever,and
patrons of Swim Café’s bi-monthly Scrabble
Sunday event were among them. From
loosely 1-4 p.m. on every other Sunday, the
café at 1357 W. Chicago Ave. hosts a casual
gathering for Scrabble nuts. The event is a
chance for players to get together, socialize
and embrace their inner board game nerds.
The best part: Winners can present their
score cards to receive free pastries. The
degree of enthusiasm for and technical
knowledge of Scrabble represented at
Scrabble Sundays is impressive, and helps to
explain the upset over last week’s Scrabble
media fiasco.
Recently, Mattel, the company that
owns the rights of Scrabble outside North
America, said they would be altering the
game’s rules for the first time since its
1948 release in order
to allow for the use
of proper nouns. The
change was purportedly
meant to attract a
younger generation of
players and add a pop-
cultural flair. But the
rule change seemed
akin to the unthinkable
example of allowing a
rooktomovediagonally
in chess. Media outlets
pounced on the story and fans were in an
uproarbutStefanFatsis,Scrabbleexpertand
Slate magazine contributor, set the record
straight. FatisreportedthatMattelissimply
just releasing another spinoff version of the
gamecalledScrabbleTrickster.Althoughthe
supposed rule change was a distortion, the
uproar it elicited is evidence of the die-hard
Scrabble fan base one encounters at events
suchasScrabbleSundays.Theeventiscasual,
but many of the attendees are serious about
the game.
At 1:00 p.m. on April 11, about half
an hour before anyone else had arrived,
Bob Smith, a 55-year-old insurance broker,
was already at the café arranging his own
novelty Scrabble board and warming up by
playing around with letter combinations.
When I selected a board from among the
several that Swim Café provides, Smith
introduced himself right away. He has
always loved the game and has been
attending Scrabble Sundays ever since
thecafé’sScrabble-lovingowner,Karen
Gerod, started the event four years
ago. Smith scoffed when I brought up
the issue of the rumored rule-change.
“It’s not going to change anything,” he
said dismissively. “Not as far as we’re
concerned.”
More Scrabbo-
philes slowly trickled
in, and by 2:30 p.m.,
about12werehuddled
intently over their
own rotating boards, some
even wearing Scrabble-
themedclothing.Most,like
Smith, have been coming
for years, and know each
other quite well.Afew, like
Katrina Kramens, 27, were
newcomers who learned
about the event on the Scrabble group for
Meetup Chicago, an online event-centered
social network. All took the opportunity
to show off their finely tuned skills and
technical knowledge of the game. “It’s not
about vocabulary,” said Smith. “It’s about
strategy and memorization.” Many of the
players know, by memory, all of the two and
even three-letter words deemed acceptable
by the OfficialWord List.
Themostimpressiveplayerbyfarwas
Dr. Charles Hounmenou, a visiting research
specialist at UIC’s Jane Addams College of
SocialWorkbyday,aninternationalScrabble
superstar by night. A native of Benin,
Hounmenou grew up playing the French
version of Scrabble, which differs not only
in language, but also slightly deviates in its
rules.BeforeheimmigratedtotheU.S.eight
years ago, Hounmenou became the regional
Scrabble champion of the area including
Benin,Togo,GhanaandtheIvoryCoast.On
Sunday,hebeathisopponentbyawhopping
300 points. And because of his apparent
photographic memory, Hounmenou is also
regarded by the Scrabble Sunday regulars as
a kind of walking Scrabble dictionary. “If he
says it’s allowed, then I believe him,” said
Smith. Hounmenou will be returning to
Beninthisyear.“Myformerrivalhasreplaced
me as regional champion since I left,” he
said,“IwillhavetopracticeFrenchScrabble
before I can beat him again.”
Scrabble is truly a global
phenomenon, and there
exists an esoteric world that
non-Scrabble enthusiasts
would never imagine. In the
U.S.,thereisaNationalScrabbleAssociation
thathostsaNationalScrabbleChampionship
every year, as well as a National School
Scrabble Championship. They even have
an official newsletter called Scrabble News.
Countless highly-structured tournaments
and conventions take place all over the
country. “I went to a Scrabble tournament
once,” said Smith. “What I remember the
best is that it was dead silent, except for the
clinking of thousands of tiles.”
Scrabble Sundays are
much more laid-back than these
tournaments. Despite their
concentration, the players find
time to chat. Regulars catch up
with each other about their lives
and they welcome newcomers.
The café offers free pastries to
the winner of each game, and the
fruit tarts and chocolate cupcakes
come highly recommended by the
players.Theeventisveryinformal:
Playerscompleteasmanygamesas
they want to or have time for, and
there are no brackets. But for those who
are interested in breaking into Chicago’s
Scrabble scene, Scrabble Sunday is a great
place to network.
Ifnothingelse,theeventisafunwayto
spend a Sunday, going mano-a-mano against
those who have fallen in love with one of
America’s oldest board games. As assistant
organizer, Steve Feyer said, “Scrabble is the
perfect combination of language, math and
poker!”
Anddon’tworry.TraditionalScrabbleis
not disappearing anytime soon.
“[Scrabble] is not
aboutvocabulary.It’s
about strategy and
memorization.”
Bob Smith
Scrabble enthusiast
by Charis Caputo
Closer Look Writer
Closer Look explores Swim Café’s bi-monthly Scrabble Sunday event.
Bingo! — Playing all of one’s tiles in one word (as the tile rack above demonstrates) is called a
“bingo” in Scrabble. Players who can pull one off earn 50 extra bonus points.
Design by Sidra Zaidi, Closer Look Editor
All photos: The Phoenix/Alicia Ramirez
![page 17CLOSER LOOK
17April 14, 2010
ALL ABOUT THE
Last Tuesday, Scrabble enthusiasts
thoughttheworldwaschangingforever,and
patrons of Swim Café’s bi-monthly Scrabble
Sunday event were among them. From
loosely 1-4 p.m. on every other Sunday, the
café at 1357 W. Chicago Ave. hosts a casual
gathering for Scrabble nuts. The event is a
chance for players to get together, socialize
and embrace their inner board game nerds.
The best part: Winners can present their
score cards to receive free pastries. The
degree of enthusiasm for and technical
knowledge of Scrabble represented at
Scrabble Sundays is impressive, and helps to
explain the upset over last week’s Scrabble
media fiasco.
Recently, Mattel, the company that
owns the rights of Scrabble outside North
America, said they would be altering the
game’s rules for the first time since its
1948 release in order
to allow for the use
of proper nouns. The
change was purportedly
meant to attract a
younger generation of
players and add a pop-
cultural flair. But the
rule change seemed
akin to the unthinkable
example of allowing a
rooktomovediagonally
in chess. Media outlets
pounced on the story and fans were in an
uproarbutStefanFatsis,Scrabbleexpertand
Slate magazine contributor, set the record
straight. FatisreportedthatMattelissimply
just releasing another spinoff version of the
gamecalledScrabbleTrickster.Althoughthe
supposed rule change was a distortion, the
uproar it elicited is evidence of the die-hard
Scrabble fan base one encounters at events
suchasScrabbleSundays.Theeventiscasual,
but many of the attendees are serious about
the game.
At 1:00 p.m. on April 11, about half
an hour before anyone else had arrived,
Bob Smith, a 55-year-old insurance broker,
was already at the café arranging his own
novelty Scrabble board and warming up by
playing around with letter combinations.
When I selected a board from among the
several that Swim Café provides, Smith
introduced himself right away. He has
always loved the game and has been
attending Scrabble Sundays ever since
thecafé’sScrabble-lovingowner,Karen
Gerod, started the event four years
ago. Smith scoffed when I brought up
the issue of the rumored rule-change.
“It’s not going to change anything,” he
said dismissively. “Not as far as we’re
concerned.”
More Scrabbo-
philes slowly trickled
in, and by 2:30 p.m.,
about12werehuddled
intently over their
own rotating boards, some
even wearing Scrabble-
themedclothing.Most,like
Smith, have been coming
for years, and know each
other quite well.Afew, like
Katrina Kramens, 27, were
newcomers who learned
about the event on the Scrabble group for
Meetup Chicago, an online event-centered
social network. All took the opportunity
to show off their finely tuned skills and
technical knowledge of the game. “It’s not
about vocabulary,” said Smith. “It’s about
strategy and memorization.” Many of the
players know, by memory, all of the two and
even three-letter words deemed acceptable
by the OfficialWord List.
Themostimpressiveplayerbyfarwas
Dr. Charles Hounmenou, a visiting research
specialist at UIC’s Jane Addams College of
SocialWorkbyday,aninternationalScrabble
superstar by night. A native of Benin,
Hounmenou grew up playing the French
version of Scrabble, which differs not only
in language, but also slightly deviates in its
rules.BeforeheimmigratedtotheU.S.eight
years ago, Hounmenou became the regional
Scrabble champion of the area including
Benin,Togo,GhanaandtheIvoryCoast.On
Sunday,hebeathisopponentbyawhopping
300 points. And because of his apparent
photographic memory, Hounmenou is also
regarded by the Scrabble Sunday regulars as
a kind of walking Scrabble dictionary. “If he
says it’s allowed, then I believe him,” said
Smith. Hounmenou will be returning to
Beninthisyear.“Myformerrivalhasreplaced
me as regional champion since I left,” he
said,“IwillhavetopracticeFrenchScrabble
before I can beat him again.”
Scrabble is truly a global
phenomenon, and there
exists an esoteric world that
non-Scrabble enthusiasts
would never imagine. In the
U.S.,thereisaNationalScrabbleAssociation
thathostsaNationalScrabbleChampionship
every year, as well as a National School
Scrabble Championship. They even have
an official newsletter called Scrabble News.
Countless highly-structured tournaments
and conventions take place all over the
country. “I went to a Scrabble tournament
once,” said Smith. “What I remember the
best is that it was dead silent, except for the
clinking of thousands of tiles.”
Scrabble Sundays are
much more laid-back than these
tournaments. Despite their
concentration, the players find
time to chat. Regulars catch up
with each other about their lives
and they welcome newcomers.
The café offers free pastries to
the winner of each game, and the
fruit tarts and chocolate cupcakes
come highly recommended by the
players.Theeventisveryinformal:
Playerscompleteasmanygamesas
they want to or have time for, and
there are no brackets. But for those who
are interested in breaking into Chicago’s
Scrabble scene, Scrabble Sunday is a great
place to network.
Ifnothingelse,theeventisafunwayto
spend a Sunday, going mano-a-mano against
those who have fallen in love with one of
America’s oldest board games. As assistant
organizer, Steve Feyer said, “Scrabble is the
perfect combination of language, math and
poker!”
Anddon’tworry.TraditionalScrabbleis
not disappearing anytime soon.
“[Scrabble] is not
aboutvocabulary.It’s
about strategy and
memorization.”
Bob Smith
Scrabble enthusiast
by Charis Caputo
Closer Look Writer
Closer Look explores Swim Café’s bi-monthly Scrabble Sunday event.
Bingo! — Playing all of one’s tiles in one word (as the tile rack above demonstrates) is called a
“bingo” in Scrabble. Players who can pull one off earn 50 extra bonus points.
Design by Sidra Zaidi, Closer Look Editor
All photos: The Phoenix/Alicia Ramirez](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)