Speed Scrabble

This web page describes the variant of Speed Scrabble that is played in Toronto, Canada.

Rules (2004-09-30)

We play according to NSA Tournament Rules, with the following modifications:

Where possible, games will be scored by a non-playing scorekeeper. For each play that is made, the scorekeeper is responsible for recording the first letter of the play, the play score and the cumulative score. If play gets ahead of the scorekeeper, the scorekeeper should record only the first letter of the play, and catch up when time permits. If a scorekeeper does not see a play made, s/he may ask the player to identify it. Either player may ask the scorekeeper for the current score at any time.
To begin the game, both players draw seven tiles facedown, before the timer is started. If a player sees a tile, s/he must leave it faceup.
Clocks start at 03:00, not 25:00.
At the end of each turn, you must hit the clock. You do not have to announce or record any scores. If you play a blank, clearly announce its designation and check to make sure that the scorekeeper records it correctly.
If your opponent calls hold on a play, you may draw your provisional tiles immediately.
Your opponent may challenge your play at any time up until the end of their turn. Keep your new tiles separate to avoid invoking the overdraw penalty on a successful challenge.
Time penalties are 1 point per second, not 1 point per minute.
When your clock reaches -1:01, you may make no more plays. If a partially or completely executed play is on the board when your clock passes -1:00, it should be removed from the board with the clock paused.
If your opponent runs out of time and you are still behind, you may continue to make plays if you think you can catch up doing so. Your opponent may hold or challenge your plays before passing his/her turn.
The director may call a halt to recounts after sixty seconds, if all other games that round have finished. If it is not possible to determine who won the game in time, the game is declared a tie.
Players score one match point for a win, half a match point for a tie, no match points for a loss. Point spread is not recorded, and ties on match points are either broken by the playing of a tiebreaker game (time permitting), or resolved by combining and splitting prize money.

Notes for Directors

Pairing instructions are given in a separate file. It is a very good idea to have the total number of players be divisible by three, so that every game can have a nonplaying scorekeeper and no one has to have a bye.

Ratings

The following Elo ratings (updated 2007-09-08) are based on all tournament games played according to these rules and may be used for seeding players at tournaments.

Adam Logan         2207
Mitzi Pollak       1953
Joel Wapnick       1953
Matt Graham        2028
John Chew          1784
Christopher Sykes  1787
Bernard Gotlieb    1777
Sinna Vijayakumar  1745
Ron Hoekstra       1730
Emilie Henkelman   1702
Lynda Kraar        1702
Graham Palmateer   1702
Libero Paolella    1683
Heather McCall     1647
Lynda Wise         1622
John Robertson     1585
Mike Przybyszewski 1538
Glenn Mosher       1495
Roger Cullman      1416
Kaveri Raviraj     1301
Ember Nelson       1282
Aaron Finkel       1197