In this country (certainly until you get to the more high-level tournaments) you can challenge any word your opponent plays “free of charge”; if it does turn out to be a valid word, you don’t lose anything.
Many players don’t make full use of this rule; they will look doubtfully at a word, say “I think it’s all right”, or “It ought to be all right”, and not challenge it.
Newcomers to the club and tournament scene can sometimes feel intimidated, as if challenging their opponent’s word is somehow accusing them of cheating.
It isn’t. Don’t be afraid to challenge; people make mistakes, people gamble, people try things on. In most other countries there is a “double challenge” rule at club level. If you challenge and the word is valid, then you lose a turn. We are a bit kinder in the UK, so take advantage of that and challenge anything you don’t know.
By Barry Grossman
Barry is a leading UK Scrabble player and winner of several tournaments. He is the author of Scrabble for Beginners (Chambers), Need to Know Scrabble, Scrabble – Play to Win and The Little Book of Scrabble Trickster. He has also contributed to numerous other books on the subject of words and word-games, has been a series champion of Channel 4’s Countdown, and has written four comedy series for BBC Radio 4. He lives in Hertford.
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