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Scrabble fans furious over banned words

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> <p>Scrabble fans are furious over the board game owner's decision to ban a long list of words that are now considered slurs.</p> <p>The decision has angered players so much that three prominent members of the global Scrabble Players' Organisation have quit.</p> <p>One of Scrabble’s owners, however, has said there are no other games where players “can win by using a racial epithet”.</p> <p>Scrabble is owned by Hasbro and Mattel, with both firms restricting certain words from officially being able to score points.</p> <p>More than 200 dictionary defined terms have now been banned from being used in Scrabble.</p> <p>British author Darryl Francis resigned from the World English-Language Scrabble Players Association (WESPA) and spoke to<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/" target="_blank"><em>The Times</em></a><span> </span>about his decision.</p> <p>“Words listed in dictionaries and Scrabble lists are not slurs,” Mr Francis wrote.</p> <p>“They only become slurs when used with a derogatory purpose or intent, or used with a particular tone and in a particular context.</p> <p>“Words in our familiar Scrabble word lists should not be removed because of a PR purpose disguised as promoting some kind of social betterment.”</p> <p>Francis said he left due to Mattel forcing the changes on the game.</p> <p>Mattel has said the company made changes due to recent global events, including Black Lives Matter.</p> <p>“We looked at some of the social unrest that’s going on globally. I’ve heard the argument that these are just words, but we believe they have meaning,” Mattel’s global head of games told<span> </span><em>The Times</em>.</p> <p>“Can you imagine any other game where you can score points and win by using a racial epithet? It’s long overdue.”</p> <p>Some of the banned words include "Abo, "boong", "n****r", "c**t", "Paki" and "shiksha", which is a derogatory term used to refer to a non-Jewish girl or a Jewish girl who doesn't live up to traditional Jewish standards.</p> </div> </div> </div>

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Revealed: the secret to winning Scrabble

<p>Families have bonded over board games for generations. They’ve also fought like crazy over them for generations. Luckily, for the competitor in all of us, the secret to winning at Scrabble has finally been discovered.</p> <p>While most people think long words packed with high-scoring letters like “x” “z” and “q” are the best way to beat opponents, Scrabble experts have revealed that shorter words are actually the best way to go.</p> <p>According to <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/for-nigerian-scrabble-stars-short-tops-shorter-1463669734" target="_blank"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Wall Street Journal</span></strong></em></a>, the secret has been discovered in a somewhat unlikely place – Nigeria, which lays claim to the most top-200 Scrabble players than any other country. The national team (yep, world championship Scrabble does exist!) has found success by opting for four- and five-letter words, even when there’s possibility for longer options.</p> <p>If you’re wondering why, the championship team says playing longer words gives opponents an advantage, in that it offers more opportunities to play off that word. Also, using up all your letters on one huge-scoring whopper leaves you with a much greater chance of picking up a bad batch the next turn.</p> <p>Have you tried this method before? Do you have a Scrabble secret of your own? Share your tips with us in the comments below.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/06/mary-poppins-returns-disney-cast-emily-blunt/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Disney reveal who will play Mary Poppins in new sequel</span></em></strong></a></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/05/hairless-dog-dances-to-grandma-playing-polka/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Dog loves to dance to grandma playing the polka</span></em></strong></a></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/05/teachers-moved-to-tears-as-11-year-old-student-shouts-them-farewell-dinner/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Teachers moved to tears as 11-year-old student shouts them farewell dinner</strong></em></span></a></p>

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