Remember the time when friends, siblings, or entire families crowded around Scrabble boards? It was a time when our prime occupation, for those few hours, was words. We accused one another, “There’s no such word in the English language.” A self-appointed referee could open the hard-bound dictionary (Webster’s, Collins, or Oxford’s) to check if the disputed word existed. More accusations - “You saw that word just now in the dictionary.” There were moments of sheer agony - when a player blocked a place on the board that you were eyeing. And there were moments of ecstasy when you managed a Triple Word Score. Remember how we prayed while picking those little square letters from an old, tattered tea cover? “God! Please let me not get one more L, N, Y, or E.”
During these sessions, we learnt new words and their meanings. We built a good rapport and grudging respect. We argued and our friendships only got better. It was a time when we played with words. We thought about words, juggled them, pulled them out from our memory banks and hoped no one caught us if we spelt a word wrongly. In desperation, especially with a Double or Triple Word Score beckoning, we even tried inventing new ones! And then, it was of course, back to God.
I do not know how many households encourage their children to play this wonderful board game. I do not know how many of the present generation know about this game. How many know, but simply do not care? And even if people do play this game, I am glad we did not have to go online, join some session of scrabble, and play with a stranger.
During these sessions, we learnt new words and their meanings. We built a good rapport and grudging respect. We argued and our friendships only got better. It was a time when we played with words. We thought about words, juggled them, pulled them out from our memory banks and hoped no one caught us if we spelt a word wrongly. In desperation, especially with a Double or Triple Word Score beckoning, we even tried inventing new ones! And then, it was of course, back to God.
I do not know how many households encourage their children to play this wonderful board game. I do not know how many of the present generation know about this game. How many know, but simply do not care? And even if people do play this game, I am glad we did not have to go online, join some session of scrabble, and play with a stranger.
