History

The Club was started by the late Don Knutzen in 1980's, and it was his idea to offer bagels to the players.  Most Saturdays, we try to keep up this tradition - with bagels, lox, cream cheese, coffee and various offerings.    

The current director, Bruce D'Ambrosio, took over from Don in 2004.  The Club has met at various locations over the years, including the Felicia Mahood Center in WLA for 20 years, and now the community hall of the Westwood Pres Church.    

Time

Our session begins at 10:00 am and ends by 2:00 pm. We play 4 games of 50 minutes each.  

If you would like to play fewer than 4 games, just let our director Bruce D'Ambrosio know, as he does the pairings.  If you arrive later than 10:00 am, you will be able to play in the 2nd game around 11:00 am.  

Amenities

The community hall of the Westwood Presbyterian Church is a large, airy room with attached bathrooms and a kitchen.  There is ample parking in the parking lot accessed near 10812 Ashton Ave, Los Angeles 90024.  

What to expect

If you are new to club Scrabble, here are some things that you may not be aware of:

1. We use a game timer ("chess clock"), where each player has 25 minutes for the game. As soon as you complete your turn, you hit the clock and the time starts running down for your opponent.  At first it is daunting, but you will get used to this after a couple of games!

2. You will be provided with a "Cheat Sheet", a list of all the acceptable two and three letter words, and some words with the high scoring tiles J, Q, X and Z.  Feel free to look at the list during play, for the first 3 sessions you attend.  After that, players will expect you to memorize them. (You already know most of the list - don't worry!) 

3. If you play a word that your opponent doesn't recognize, the word can be challenged. This is done by announcing "Challenge!" once you have put down the word and hit your clock, but before you draw new tiles.  You and your opponent will go to the computer provided and look up the word. If it is good, your opponent loses a turn. If it is not an acceptable play, you will take the word off the board and lose a turn. 

4. We use the NASPA Word List, 2023 Edition (NWL2023).