|
|
|||||||||
POSTAL
SCRABBLE® CLUB
INFORMATION
The PSC is a UK Scrabble Club in which the games are
played by post. This enables players to play opponents from all over the country
and, because there is obvious unrestricted use of the dictionary, helps improve
your Scrabble vocabulary for face-to-face play. Postal Scrabble is very
popular for those unable to attend a local club.
How much
does it cost to join?
There is a Life Membership fee of £15.
New members can opt to pay £5 for a trial year after which a reduced life
membership fee of £10 is due. The fee includes free subscription to the PSC
Newsletter and one free game.
How much does it cost to play?
There are eight categories of games.
Ordinary Matchplay Games - £1.00 each
A Gamesmaster
(GM) is involved to control the games, allocate the letter racks and act as adjudicator.
Thus each move involves postage to the GM and a stamped-addressed envelope for
the GM to use to send the game to your opponent. Most people play these games.
Grid Games - £1.00 each
There is no GM involved in a grid game
except at the start and if an adjudication is needed. In grid games the
sequence of letters is known to both players from the start and is printed in a
grid on the game-sheet. Thus there are more tactics and strategy involved with
grid games. A grid game only involves postage to the opponent each go, and to
return the finished game to the GM.
Knockout Tournament (Ordinary
Matchplay) - entry fee £2.50
There are eight players involved, each
playing two concurrent ordinary matchplay games with one other player. The
winner goes through to the next round. A prize of £3.50 in vouchers is awarded
to the eventual winner.
Round Robin Tournament (Ordinary
Matchplay) - entry fee £4.00
Consists of
five players, each of whom will play four ordinary matchplay games
simultaneously i.e. one against each of the other opponents. The winner
is the player with the most wins and best spread. A prize of £5.00 in vouchers
is awarded to the eventual winner.
The
Individual – entry fee £1.00
This is run regularly. Details of when the next
contest is due is given in the newsletters. Each player receives a grid of 100 tiles set
out in advance. The player then tries to
find the highest possible game score, but has a maximum of 30 moves and three
changes. There are prizes for the top
three. The level of
prizes depend upon the number of players entering the contest.
There are two distinct styles of play -
Matchplay and Highscore. There are separate league
tables for each so the style of play must be indicated at the time of asking
for a game. If the style of play is not specified then Matchplay games will be
given. Matchplay is simply playing to win the game. Highscore
is more subtle and involves playing a creative, unselfish game with economical
use of the letters in order to achieve a high aggregate score for the game.
Further details on highscore games are available from
the Chairman.
Initially send an email to the Secretary with your details. You will be given the Treasurer’s name and
address details. You then write to the
Treasurer enclosing appropriate fees and a SAE. Cheques should be made payable
to ‘The Postal Scrabble Club’; cash will not be accepted. You will receive a
copy of the Handbook together with your membership details. You may request
game vouchers at the same time as joining - please enclose the appropriate
remittance. An ordinary Matchplay game (free) will be automatically started for
Games can only be started by sending
game vouchers to the Games Co-ordinator (no S.A.E is necessary). Vouchers are
available for ordinary games, grid games, Knockouts and Round Robin tournaments
as well as for 10p and 50p. They are obtained by writing to the Treasurer
enclosing a S.A.E (essential, otherwise 2nd class postage value will be
deducted from your remittance), and a cheque/postal order made payable to ‘The
Postal Scrabble Club’ for the appropriate amount. These vouchers should then be
submitted to the Games Co-ordinator whenever you want to start games. You can
start as few or as many games as you wish with one request. You may choose to
include your instructions for new games in your letter to the
treasurer, and address your stamped envelope to the Games Co-ordinator instead
of yourself. Your instructions will then be sent directly to the Games
Co-ordinator, speeding up the process and saving you postage. If you
request a game against a specific opponent you must enclose payment for both
players with your request, otherwise your vouchers will be returned to you,
with second class postage deducted.
The PSC News is an A5 newsletter
distributed to all playing members of the PSC at least twice a year. The
newsletter contains completed games showing the racks and moves, current
ratings tables, and other PSC related information.
Further information about the Postal
Scrabble Club, please send an email to:
Robert Pells, The Chairman (PostalScrabble@aol.com)
Betty Balding, The Secretary (elizabeth.balding@sky.com)
Related
Sites
For more details about scrabble clubs in the
If you want to know where your
nearest scrabble club is, click here: UK Scrabble Clubs
A scrabble magazine for
the scrabble enthusiast. The Onwards Magazine. Click on the link
for more details.
A calendar for scrabble. A puzzle a day. A new calendar is available each year. To order click here.
Scrabble® is a
registered trademark of J W Spear & Sons Ltd, Maidenhead. SL6 4UB.