A wild weekend of... Scrabble
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 6 October 2022
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We take a look at a popular Sunday Times feature about the National Scrabble Championships in the UK and uncover a hidden community of word nerds. Plus, tile by tile, we trace the evolution of the popular game - from going online during the pandemic to banning offensive words following the Black Lives Matter protests.
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Guest: Ralph Jones, writer and Sunday Times contributor.
Host: Jenny Kleeman.
Clips: Sky News, YouTube channel Dweebovision.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Imagine sweeping through green fields, floating five feet above ground, sun on your face as you slide by on track to your destination, not a car in the world, as you simply lean back. |
| 0:17.0 | And before you know it, you're there. |
| 0:20.0 | This is how travel should feel, and on our trains, it does. |
| 0:25.0 | Avanti West Coast. Feel good travel. |
| 0:31.0 | Welcome to the Eminem's Big Night. |
| 0:35.0 | It needs to be bigger, louder, more epic. |
| 0:39.0 | Allow me. |
| 0:41.0 | Are you ready for a big night in? |
| 0:43.0 | Grab special packs of Eminem's in stores for the chance to win epic prizes every night, including TVs, Eminem's goodies and a living room makeover. |
| 0:53.0 | Wow. |
| 0:54.0 | Nailed it. |
| 0:55.0 | All terms and conditions can be found at mms.com slash big night in wins. |
| 1:09.0 | It's a game you've probably played with your granny. |
| 1:13.0 | It might get you into a family row. |
| 1:18.0 | And if it spells trouble, you get 50 bonus points. |
| 1:22.0 | But play it competitively and it's a whole different war of words. |
| 1:26.0 | You are constantly calculating what's left on the board, what's left in the bag, what's left on your opponent's tiles. |
| 1:34.0 | If you haven't guessed it by now, we're talking about Scrabble. |
| 1:38.0 | But not the living room version you're used to, we're looking at the world of competitive Scrabble. |
| 1:43.0 | No one would believe you that Scrabble can be remotely exciting. |
| 1:50.0 | Carmen meet the competitors fighting it out with numbered tiles and multiple world scores. |
| 1:57.0 | And here about the friendships they've made. |
... |
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