Congratulations to the following NASPA players who reached ratings milestones in October! 

Reached 1600 for the first time

• Eric Fox - Lynnwood (WA) - CSW
• Natalie Dicou - Chehalis (WA)

Reached 1500 for the first time

• Carter Cobb - Wrightsville Beach (NC)

Reached 1400 for the first time

• Harry Chan - Wilmington (DE)
• Nolan Finkelstein - Cambridge (ON) - CSW

Reached 1300 for the first time

• Jonathan Cai - Princeton (NJ)

Reached 1200 for the first time

• Jason Pipkin - Dublin (OH)
• Sam Swain - Dublin (OH)
• Ian Passfield - Cambridge (ON)

Reached 1100 for the first time

• Andy Molholt - Princeton (NJ)
• Fred Morlan - Lexington (KY)
• Bryan Wachsmuth - Lexington (KY)
• John Healy - Dublin (OH)
• Nick Coffey - Wrightsville Beach (NC)

Reached 1000 for the first time

• Noah Habenstreit - Wilmington (DE)
• Vinay Kshirsagar - Wrightsville Beach (NC)

Mark Miller shares this puzzle for your solving pleasure.

TROlling

In NWL, there are three 6s, three 7s, and three 8s ending in the letters TRO.

How many can you name?

Click here to print the puzzle and to check your solution.

Your NASPA Status

NASPA ID - AA009363

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Expiration - 4/22/2026

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Join us at one of our upcoming tournaments:

November 2025

• Florence (MA) - Nov 1
• Pittsburgh (PA) - Nov 2
• San Francisco (CA) - Nov 2
• Terror of Tiles - Danbury (CT) - Nov 2 - Youth
• Raleigh-Durham (NC) - Nov 8-9
• Epping (NH) - Nov 8
• Austin (TX) - Nov 8
• WESPAC - Nov 9 to 16
• Lehigh Acres (FL) - Nov 10
• Manhattan (NY) - Nov 15 to 16
• Fonthill (ON) - Nov 15
• Alexandria (VA) - Nov 16
• Gatineau (QC) - Nov 16
• Scarsdale (NY) - Nov 17
• Metairie (LA) - Nov 22
• Princeton (NJ) - Nov 22
• Lexington (MA) - Nov 29
• Elmhurst (IL) - Nov 29

December 2025

• Auburn (AL) - Mega F.E.S.T #17 - Dec 5 to 7
• Brooklyn (NY) - Dec 6
• Belleville (ON) - Dec 12 to 14
• Charlottesville (VA) - Dec 16 to 22
• Princeton (NJ) - Dec 20

Visit cross-tables to get the details and see who has signed up.

A print version of the NASPA Word List 2023 is available and shipping. Click here to order your own copy!

NASPA Scrabble

Visit NASPA's You Tube channel for streamed Scrabble games, player interviews, news, reviews, and more!

Congratulations to the following NASPA players who have won tournaments during the last week!

Eric Harshbarger reports on the tournament he directed this weekend in Auburn (AL).

The 16th F.E.S.T. ("Friendly East-Alabama Scrabble Tournament") was held in Auburn (AL) this past wekeend, and it was the best-attended one yet. Twenty players from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas participated in the 7-game Main Event on Saturday.

Division 1 was a hard fought battle throughout the day, and the final game came down to Tracy Cobbs versus Caesar Jaramillo. The latter opponent won the game, and finished 5-2 (but with a -114 spread!) to take 1st place. Division 2 was won by Cynthia Seales and Division 3's top prize was captured by Mattie Harpp.

Sunday's 5-game Late Bird had ten players across two divisions, with Eric Harshbarger winning Division 1 and George Maston winning Division 2.

Auburn (AL) - Oct 26, 2025 - Late Bird

• Div 1 - Eric Harshbarger - 4-1 +442
• Div 2 - George Maston - 5-0 +539

Our usual play-room was under renovation, so this F.E.S.T. was held in the atrium of the university library [see attached photos].

This area will also be used for the final F.E.S.T. of 2025 - the 3-day, 5-event, 26-game MEGA-F.E.S.T. held during the first weekend of December. That big event is expected to set new attendance records as well, so if anyone wants to play in any of the events (from Friday evening through Sunday night), they should contact director Eric Harshbarger as soon as possible. (The event is listed on both the NASPA website and cross-tables.com).

Lexington (KY) was the setting for ScrabbleMania III this weekend - a 5-game Early Bird and 15 game main event directed by Fred Morlan.

Lexington (KY) - Oct 24, 2025 - Early Bird

1. Mack Meller - 5-0 +689
2. Joe Roberdeau - 4-1 +277
3. Eric Goldstein - 3-2 +367

Lexington (KY) - Oct 25 to 26, 2025 - Main Event

• Div 1 - Ryan Fischer - 11-4 +954
• Div 2 - Joe Horowitz - 12-3 +1502
• Div 3 - Fred Morlan - 12-3 +705

Andy Hoang directed the October Dozen Doubleheader - 7 games on Saturday and 5 games on Sunday - in Charlottesville (VA) this weekend.

Charlottesville (VA) - Oct 25, 2025 - Main Event

1. Andy Hoang - 6-1 +538
2. Louis Sokolow - 5-2 +84
3. Barry Keith - 4-3 +271

Charlottesville (VA) - Oct 26, 2025 - Late Bird

1. Barry Keith - 4-1 +570
2. Clay Daniel - 3.5-1.5 +320
3. Andy Hoang - 3.5-1.5 +120

Charlottesville (VA) players enjoying a beautful fall day on Saturday: Louis Sokolow, Nancy Bowen, Barry Keith, Dana Tornabene, Jean Caputo (front), and Andy Hoang

Jeff Fiszbein and Jason Idalski directed an 8-game tournament in South Lyon (MI) on Saturday. In keeping with the season, many of the players came in costume.

South Lyon (MI) players unmasked with the help of Dan Stock: John Dalida as Dracula, Karrie Bowe as a blue owl, Kit Morehead, Ed Bowe, Steve Andstandig as a baseball player, Quinn James as an elf (played informal CSW games with Jason Idalski), Linda Tilley as a skeleton, Jeff Fiszbein as a billboard of common sense, Joyce Stock as a moth, Dan Stock as a butterfly, Jason Idalski as Scooby-Doo, and Paul Epstein as a Scrabble player analyzing a game

South Lyon (MI) - Oct 25, 2025

• Div 1 - Arie Sinke - 7-1 +493
• Div 2 - Timothy Long - 7-1 +410
• Div 3 - Joyce Stock - 6-2 +480

Saturday's Princeton (NJ) tournament directed by Judy Cole shared the food court with a chess tournament (or at least people talking about chess) and a few ballerinas but still had room for the 40 players in 5 divisions.

Particularly coveted were the Scrabble socks awarded in a raffle to Linda Oliva and Howard Lax. Division winners had the option to choose socks over a P trophy to go with their winnings.

Princeton (NJ) - Oct 25, 2025

• Div 1 - Evan Chester - 5-2 +497
• Div 2 - Dave Engelhardt - 5-2 +476
• Div 3 - Jonathan Cai - 6-1 +174
• Div 4 - Chidi Bosah - 6-1 +355
• Div 5 - Joyslin Hodge-Watson - 7-0 +828

Princeton (NJ) Division Winners (clockwise from left)

• Div 2 - Dave Engelhardt (1st), Clay Herron (2nd), & Harry Chan (3rd)
• Div 1 - Director Judy Cole, Evan Chester (1st), & Joe Neff (2nd)
• Div 3 - Director Judy Cole, Cheryl Allen-Munley (2nd), Marty Fialkow (3rd), & Jonathan Cai (1st)
• Div 5 - Director Judy Cole, Abigail Hornstein (3rd), Joyslin Hodge-Watson (1st), & Glenn Housley (2nd)
• Div 4 - Director Judy Cole, Chidi Bosah (1st), Elliott Schiff (2nd), & Michael Galloway (3rd)

How to Interpret the Results - Results appear in the format W-L +/- S where W is the number of wins, L is the number of losses, and +/- S is the net margin of victory for all games. A tie counts as 0.5 win. A player with a higher spread places ahead of players with the same number of wins.

Puzzles and Other Diversions

Nick Ballard and Timothy Y. Chow present this puzzle for your solving pleasure.

Equilibrium Puzzle

What are folks saying about the solution to the new puzzle published below?

“This is really cool!"

-Will Anderson (national champion, 2017)

 "Cool puzzle!" I appreciate the analysis... Let this one unfold itself before you."

-Conrad Bassett-Bouchard (national champion, 2014)

 "I have always believed there are levels to this game that have yet to be uncovered... cool!"

-Brian Cappelletto (world champion, 2001)

 " Extremely clever... The depth of thinking is impressive... it breaks new ground in Scrabble theory.”

-Charlie Carroll (national champion, 1991 off-year)

 "This is really cool... it is fascinating that the puzzle works for many racks!”

-César Del Solar (creator of Woogles and Aerolith)

 "More nuanced than a Streep performance. Astonishingly brilliant analysis. Bravo!”

-Joe Edley (three time national champion)

 "Even in an EPILOGUE, I do not OVERTIRE of the GROUPAGE. This is a truly brilliant composition!

-Jerry Lerman (played 8 bingos in one game: official record)

 “I’m amazed at what it takes to create this position. Great work… like one of those classic Medleys pieces!”

-Joey Mallick (SPC finalist, 2023)

 “Very clever and very intricate!”

-Joel Wapnick (world champion, 1999)

Conditions

It is the final round of the Scrabble Players Championship. You and your opponent have already locked up first and second place. For this game, the margin of victory (final point spread) is irrelevant. One of you will win first prize and the other second prize, unless it’s a tie (in which case you will share equally in the combined prizes).

Both you and your opponent just played a bingo (in the upper left). It is therefore impossible for either player to infer anything about the other’s current rack. You now trail by a score of 365 to 497. Beneath the diagram are shown: (a) Your rack; and (b) The nine tiles unseen to you, seven of which are on the opponent’s rack and two of which are in the bag.

Assume that you and your opponent know that you will both play perfectly. What is your best play and why? (If the right tiles are in the bag, you can win or share first prize. No other move has a chance to win or even tie the game against best defense.) The solution, which will appear in the next issue, works for your choice of lexicon: NWL 2023 or CSW 2024.

Click here to print the puzzle and to check your solution.

Answers to Last Week's Puzzle - EGGSTRA, EGGSTRA!

Word

BEAKS

BONACI

CARHOP

CHANTOR

CLADODE

COMPO

CUPLIKE

CYMBALERS

FOLKY

GOBOES

HELLOS

LAZY

LOFTS

MOSQUES

OBLIGED

PINCHECK

REDFIN

REDROOTS

REDSHIRT

REMIXT

TELECOM

VEILED

VENTS

VOWER

YAJES

ZEDONK

Minus

S

I

R

H

A

M

U

Y

F

B

O

Z

L

Q

G

P

N

D

T

X

C

E

V

W

J

K

Equals

BAKE

BACON

POACH

CARTON

CODDLE

COOP

PICKLE

SCRAMBLE

YOLK

GOOSE

SHELL

LAY

SOFT (Boiled)

MOUSSE

BOILED

CHICKEN

FRIED

ROOSTER

SHIRRED

TIMER

OMELET

DEVIL

NEST

OVER (Easy)

(Over) EASY

DOZEN

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