SOME EDITORIAL COMMENTS ON THE 2ND EDITION OF THE OSPD (tm)
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So, 5000-odd words  have been  added  to the OSPD (tm)... Some sad omissions
are corrected, words such as "modem", "aerobics" and "zit", but on the other 
hand,  need  "aarrghh"  have been included?  Has *completeness* been pursued 
into the realm of silliness? 

Was there even  any   need to amend the  original, the  First Edition of the
OSPD (tm)?   Perhaps.  In any case,  it may for a while  enliven and jazz up
play at Scrabble (tm) tournaments.  Top professionals have long since memor-
ized every one of the 94,000+ words in the First Edition.     Just imagine a 
championship game decided by a play of "canoodle". Major thrill. 

The point is, what  it  will take to restore the popularity of Scrabble (tm)
to where it was in its heyday in the 1950's,  when tens of millions   played
at it fanatically. A revision of the official  word reference is  at  best a
tiny step forward. My own   opinion   is that  the playing    board needs  a
redesign, to permit longer,    more complex games   without the  "blockages"
that often effectively end a game prematurely. A larger   board,  or  even a
multilevel board would introduce new dimensions into the play.     Check the
1DIF.TXT file included for a suggested Scrabble (tm) variant to improve  the
play of the game.

The infusion of prize money for major tournaments and for publicity provided 
by Milton Bradley will increase the visibility of Scrabble (tm)  in the mass
media, certainly, but will it bring new players to the game? Inaccurate art-
icles, such as the one in the December,  SPORTS ILLUSTRATED,  do little more
than increase the public's perception of sleaze at the professional level in 
the game. More positive publicity is needed.

Scrabble (tm) is still the king of word games.  Let us introduce the younger
generation to its pleasures and drag out the old game board when more modern
video and computer games  lose   their  charm. Cybernetic  opponents are not
nearly as interesting as fellow humans.

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January, 1995

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                           NOW, A THIRD EDITION?

As of February, 1996, we now have a third edition of the OSPD (tm).      Some
1268 new words have been added, and two deleted.     Milton Bradley / Hasbro,
compromised on their decision to expurgate the  OSPD  (tm) of  "nasty" words.
While an expurgated edition has been printed,    all the original "offensive"
words will still be permitted in tournament play.  Protests by active players
influenced Milton Bradley to change the original plan  to have the expurgated
edition as the only "official" reference for all play.   It is a hopeful sign
that  Milton Bradley  recognized it needs the consensus in the  Scrabble (tm)
community to make official any changes in the vocabulary / mechanics of play.

Note that the WORDY master word list, WORD.LST, now conforms to the final up-
date of the OSPD3 (tm).

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Jan. - Jun. 1996




Your comments welcome.

M\Cooper
PO Box 237
St. David, AZ 85630-0237
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Email:  thegrendel@theriver.com


Note:
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Scrabble (tm) and OSPD (tm) are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc.,     successors to 
Selchow and Righter, Inc.

WORDY is *not* a trademark.