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Monster Media 1996 #14
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Monster Media No. 14 (April 1996) (Monster Media, Inc.).ISO
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games_a
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wordy410.zip
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EDITORL.NEW
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1996-01-11
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SOME EDITORIAL COMMENTS ON THE 2ND EDITION OF THE OSPD (tm)
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So, 5000-odd words have been added to the OSPD (tm)... Some sad omissions
are corrected, words such as "modem", "aerobics" and "zit", but on the other
hand, need "aarrghh" have been included? Has *completeness* been pursued
into the realm of silliness?
Was there even any need to amend the original, the First Edition of the
OSPD (tm)? Perhaps. In any case, it may for a while enliven and jazz up
play at Scrabble (tm) tournaments. Top professionals have long since memor-
ized every one of the 94,000+ words in the First Edition. Just imagine a
championship game decided by a play of "canoodle". Major thrill.
The point is, what it will take to restore the popularity of Scrabble (tm)
to where it was in its heyday in the 1950's, when tens of millions played
at it fanatically. A revision of the official word reference is at best a
tiny step forward. My own opinion is that the playing board needs a
redesign, to permit longer, more complex games without the "blockages"
that often effectively end a game prematurely. A larger board, or even a
multilevel board would introduce new dimensions into the play. Check the
1DIF.TXT file included for a suggested Scrabble (tm) variant to improve the
play of the game.
The infusion of prize money for major tournaments and for publicity provided
by Milton Bradley will increase the visibility of Scrabble (tm) in the mass
media, certainly, but will it bring new players to the game? Inaccurate art-
icles, such as the one in the December, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, do little more
than increase the public's perception of sleaze at the professional level in
the game. More positive publicity is needed.
Scrabble (tm) is still the king of word games. Let us introduce the younger
generation to its pleasures and drag out the old game board when more modern
video and computer games lose their charm. Cybernetic opponents are not
nearly as interesting as fellow humans.
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January, 1995
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NOW, A THIRD EDITION?
As of February, 1996, we will have a third edition of the OSPD (tm). Some
1268 new words have been added, and two deleted. Milton Bradley / Hasbro,
compromised on their decision to expurgate the OSPD (tm) of "nasty" words.
While an expurgated edition will be printed, all the original "offensive"
words will still be permitted in tournament play. Protests by active players
influenced Milton Bradley to change the original plan to have the expurgated
edition as the only "official" reference for all play. It is a hopeful sign
that Milton Bradley recognized it needs the consensus in the Scrabble (tm)
community to make official any changes in the vocabulary / mechanics of play.
Note that the WORDY master word list, WORD.LST, now conforms to the final up-
date of the OSPD3 (tm).
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January, 1996
Your comments welcome.
M\Cooper
3425 Chestnut Ridge Road
Grantsville, MD 21536-9801
--------------------------
Email: thegrendel@aol.com
Note:
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Scrabble (tm) and OSPD (tm) are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc., successors to
Selchow and Righter, Inc.
WORDY is *not* a trademark.