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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.
-
- 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
- 1254 new words have been added, and one 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 OSPD3.
-
- --------------
- December, 1995
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-
-
- Your comments welcome.
-
- M\Cooper
- 3425 Chestnut Ridge Road
- Grantsville, MD 21536-9801
- --------------------------
- Email: thegrendel@aol.com
-
-
- Note:
- -----
- Scrabble (tm) and OSPD (tm) are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc., successors to
- Selchow and Righter, Inc.
-
- WORDY is *not* a trademark.
-