When favorite son Colby (I have only one son) suggested yesterday that I sign up to play Scrabble with him online, I immediately reacted. I love Scrabble and thought it would be fun to play with him since he’s a guy who likes words.
Well, here we are, 24 hours later, and we’ve yet to finish one game. I’ve never had so little fun playing Scrabble since I started playing almost 50 years ago. Imagine sitting at a table playing with someone who got up after every move he made and left the room for hours. You could take your turn, but you’d have to wait for him to return to continue the game. Today, people play multiple games of Scrabble online, with multiple partners, and they take their turns when they’re good and ready.
The fun of Scrabble, as far as I’m concerned, is being in the same room as your opponent, socializing between turns and actually playing. What joy is there in taking one turn every hour or two? Technology has greatly reduced face-to-face or voice-to-voice socialization. Now it’s turning board games into BORED games.
I have one letter left in this marathon game I’m playing with Colby and I’m 49 points ahead, so I guess I’m going to win. To make matters worse, technology also is taking away the fun of gloating.
P.S. Colby takes issue with this blog and calls me a Luddite. “Would you have played Scrabble today if you didn’t play online?” he asked me. “No,” I answered. His premise is that more of us have more opportunity to play, in more places, now that we don’t have to be on the same planet as our opponent or carry around a board and a bag of tiles. That may literally be true, but this isn’t chess. On or offline, Scrabble is more fun when you don’t have to wait two hours to take your turn. I don’t like taking forever to play a game, especially when I’m being deprived of the socialization aspect. I can play with the computer.
One of Colby’s friends, a writer for TV sitcoms, likes using a typewriter to create her scripts. She says it helps her focus. I wonder if Colby thinks she’s a Luddite, too!
0 Responses to “It’s their turn, but they’ve left the game”
Terry Perl says:
First of all, Geri, aren’t you lucky that Colby wants to play Scrabble with you on any terms at all? Second, you have to think of it as a whole different game. You can still play regular Scrabble any time you get a chance. Third, did you ever play a live Scrabble game in which the other person takes for-e-e-ver to take his turn? So boring. Colby’s way, you can go work on your blog while waiting for your turn. So, would you like to play Scrabble with me?
Geri says:
Hi Terry,
Absolutely. Scrabble with Friends?
Terry Perl says:
Literally, yes, but I play on Facebook. I’ll make us a game.
Geri says:
excellent. 🙂
Sharon Greenthal says:
I completely agree with you about playing Scrabble online. I find it utterly boring and unrewarding. All of my friends ask why I’m not responding to their requests for me to play words with friends. Come to my house and we’ll play! None of this online Scrabble for me.
Patricia C. says:
That sounds like no fun at all. I adore playing Scrabble and half the fun is the talk and laughter that comes along with playing face to face. My family and I are huge game players and we can get quite competitive. But it is all in fun and we really enjoy it. Trivial Pursuit is a favorite game that we all love.
sharon Segal says:
Dear Geri, I play scrabble online. I have ten games going with friends. I think the problem is that no one has time to sit down face to face and play. Much easier online since you already have your Mac or PC up and running 24-7. I do not win many games but I feel that I am still using my brain to think of words, even if they are two letter ones. Have fun. Sharon
Geri says:
Hi Sharon,
easier on line, but i still prefer face to face or playing alone with the computer. ]
oxo
Kate Line Snider says:
These online games ought to have a time limit on each person’s play.
Some of us play scrabble at every family gathering. I remember an epic argument one year between a nine year old and a 24-year old about whether or not “bah” is a word. The nine year old said it wasn’t. ( He was right.)
Hope you win. I’m waiting for the next session here so I can beat the tar out of my stepmother.