October 31, 2011

by Mike Krumboltz

The event: The World Scrabble Championships.
The place: Warsaw, Poland.
The alleged crime: The theft of a “G” tile during a game.
The proposed solution: Strip-search the accused.
Seriously?: Yes, seriously.

We all know people who take the game of Scrabble a little too seriously. But even your ultra-competitive Aunt Frances has nothing on the maniacs who compete in the World Scrabble Championships.

The U.K.’s Independent reports that during a particularly heated contest, one player accused another of taking and hiding a “G” tile during their game. The accusing player demanded that the alleged cheater (Ed Martin of England) be taken into the bathroom and strip-searched for the missing tile.

Fortunately for all involved, cooler heads prevailed. The Independent writes, “the judges ruled in Mr. Martin’s favor, sparing him the indignity of a search and seeing a tight defeat turned into victory by a single buttock-clenching point.”

Tile-gate ultimately had nothing to do with the tournament’s ultimate champion. That honor (and a $20,000 prize) went to Nigel Richards of New Zealand. He helped secure his victory over the runner-up by playing the word “omnified.” He earned a whopping 95 points in the process. No “G” necessary.

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