Question 1: What are these funky words?
Question 2: What dictionary is being used?
Question 3: Why isn’t ______ a word?
Question 4: What are the differences between each book?
Question 5: Why are you charging money for this book?
Question 6: Do you give lessons?
Question 7: What is the future of Breaking the game?
Question 8: How do I study words/play a Scrabble tournament?

Question: What are these funky words?

Answer: English is a rich language spanning the globe, containing many dialects.  In addition, there are many obscure foods, chemicals, plants, etc. unknown to the everyday person.

Question: What dictionary is being used?

Answer: There are predominantly two dictionaries used in Scrabble: a World dictionary made by Collins, and an American-centric dictionary used only in North America, which is a subset of the Collins dictionary. This site focuses on the CSW dictionary, although you can also click on the menu if you’d like to switch to the North American version.

Question: Why isn’t ______ a word?

Answer: There are some words that seemingly should be acceptable but unfortunately aren’t.  Perhaps the word is capitalized (Gouda*), or it isn’t quite common enough to be accepted in the English vernacular (hola*).  Perhaps the word is too new (twerk wasn’t added til fairly recently).

Dictionary creators have an impossible task, between including all of the intuitive words everyone knows while not being too inclusive and adding every obscure concept into the dictionary.  Sadly, the dictionary will never be perfect.

Question: What is each book about?

Answer: Word is an introduction to the world of Scrabble strategy. It provides players of all levels with the fundamentals needed to excel at Scrabble, from the kitchen table to the Scrabble competition, explaining all the necessary skills to become a Scrabble master.

Scrabble Solved introduces you into the world of tournament Scrabble strategy. Words with Friends focuses on tournament-specific skills, such as endgame, entropy, board dynamics, defense, and other skills that are mostly geared towards tournament players. It is written as a sequel: all players should want to read Word first, as it gives them the fundamental understanding required to get the most out of this book.

Question: Why are you charging money for this book?

Answer: First, this book has taken a substantial amount of money (and time) to produce. It has undergone 9 drafts, and I have spent money on the book, printing, artwork, and the website. I would also like to spend money to further enhance the experience, such as buying stream equipment, creating better videos, and upgrading the website.
Second, the goal is to eventually sell this book to bookstores, and to do that, I am using my online sales as a proof of concept to sell to bookstores. To do so, I need to offer my book at a price similar to what bookstores would offer.

Question: Do you give lessons?

Answer: Yes!  Rates are very affordable for anyone who wants to improve at Scrabble or Words with Friends, running at a flat rate of 20 dollars + 5 dollars per game.  For that, you will get a complete analysis of each game as well as an overall summary based on each game that you send, as well as a detailed overall analysis highlighting your mistakes by type and giving you advice tailored on your strengths and weaknesses.  Examples can be found HERE and HERE.  For more information, please email me at kenjicmatsumoto@gmail.com

Question: What’s the future of Breaking the Game?

Answer: Subscribe to see future projects from Breaking the Game.  We’ll send out an email every month at most, and won’t give your information to any third party.

Question: How can I study words and play a Scrabble tournament?

WESPA (North American Scrabble Players Association) is the predominant organization worldwide, with each country having a sub-organization. (For example, the UK has the ABSP.) With tournaments all over the world, it’s easy to find a club or tournament in your local area.

There are also plenty of unsanctioned tournaments, in local libraries, meetups, or casual clubs, which can be found mostly by a quick local search.