OK - Not all of this is required here at TSC, but we strongly recommended you begin collecting this equipment for tournament-style play. You are required to bring yourself; we won't be able to do much with you unless you show up.

Board: The preferred board is a rotating Deluxe Scrabble set. The fold up commercial boards are generally not used as they do not have a grid and cannot be easily turned. You will notice that several players have custom Scrabble boards as well, and those are welcome. If you are interested in more information about custom boards, ask around or see the Recommended Links section of this site.

Tiles: The tiles that come with commercial Scrabble boards are not used in competitive Scrabble as the letters are recessed into their surfaces, making it possible to feel the outline of a letter or blank while your  hand is in the bag. Flat-surfaced tiles are preferred, and most competitive players prefer Protiles.

Timer: Tournament-style Scrabble games are timed to 25 minutes per player. The preferred timer is electronic, but analog timers are acceptable as well.

Dictionary: Although commercially available at most book stores, The Official Scrabble Player's Dictionary, 4rd Edition (OSPD4) is not used to adjudicate words in competitive Scrabble. The dictionary used for organized Scrabble in North America is The Official Tournament and Club Word List, 2nd Edition (OWL2), which contains all the same listings as does the OSPD4 plus words considered offensive or vulgar. In addition to the OWL2, the NSA provides The Long List, a word list used to judge the acceptability of words of 9-15 letters in length that are not in the OWL2. Both The OWL2 and The Long List are available from the Word Gear store.