Scrabble Babble

By Amy Mikel in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 25, 2008 7:30PM

This is not a lie – we rock at Scrabble. We even played Scrabble using French words once; kind of a pretentious pursuit, but fun nonetheless. Here in Chicago, you can still get your Scrabble on even if you don’t own the game; lots of bars and coffee shops have Scrabble and other board games on their shelves, available for play. And in our opinion, there is no better way to impress a girl on a date than whipping her ass in Scrabble (or Connect Four, or Battleship).

For those who are searching for more than the occasional cozy game of Scrabble, or if you are merely looking for something to do on a Sunday afternoon, Swim Café in West Town hosts Scrabble Sundays every Sunday from 1 p.m. - 6 p.m. If you’re not playing to win, then you should be – game winners can bring their score sheets up to the counter for a free drink. Swim Café is also home to the next Chicago Scrabble Meetup, a get-together for those who are more interested in serious recreational games of Scrabble. Next month’s Meetup is on Sunday, March 2 at 2 p.m.

Oh, but there’s more. There are several local chapters of the National Scrabble Association (NSA), which have individual weekly meetings throughout the Chicagoland area. The NSA also hosts tons of tournaments throughout the year, with the next Chicago tournament being held in Mundelein on March 22 and 23.

Dorks like us who like watching the National Spelling Bee Championships will get a treat in July; the United States Scrabble Open will be televised live on ESPN. And finally, here's a piece of Scrabble trivia for you: there are 101 acceptable 2 letter words in competitive Scrabble. Perfect trapped-inside-memorization activity whilst weathering tonight’s snowstorm, no?

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