Thursday, March 28, 2024

They L-O-V-E Scrabble

Posted

Linda Goldsmith’s daughter started playing Scrabble when she was three.

“That’s how she learned to spell,” explained Goldsmith of Granbury, a longtime Scrabble player.

These days Goldsmith enjoys Scrabble and word games on her computer, and welcomes the chance to play the actual board game at Hood County Senior Center.

Goldsmith and three others gathered for a test run this week.

Julia Miller of Granbury has played Scrabble all her life. She still loves it.

Mabel Lee of Bluff Dale and Diana Wood of Gran-bury both remember playing the game as a child.

All four ladies are ready to join regular Scrabble games Tuesday at the Senior Center, 501 E. Moore St. Scrabble will be featured at 10 a.m. on the first and fourth Tuesdays each month.

A THOUGHT PROCESS

While a game of Scrabble may test your spelling and vocabulary skills, there’s research showing the game of Scrabble can change the way you use your brain.

In the game, players gain points by creating words. Letters are worth points, some more than others. The main strategy is to play words that have the highest score based on the combination of letters.

Crystal Smith, activities and administration director at the Senior Center, said several recently expressed interest in Scrabble.

“It was probably a couple of months ago,” Smith recalled, “a lady was telling me how she loves to play Scrabble.”

Smith started asking around and found others who want to play. Four can play at each board.

FAMILY TIME

Smith said she remembers playing Scrabble with family.

“My dad was very competitive and very intelligent and loved playing Scrabble. It was something we played in our family,” Smith said.

Her children, however, are more likely to play other games like Monopoly or Life.

“But I love Scrabble!” she said.

If there’s an empty chair at the game table, she could have a chance to play again.

For adults, Smith noted, it’s a game to keep you thinking.

“And some people just don’t like playing cards,” she added.

CONCENTRATION

A research team at the University of Calgary in Canada conducted an experiment with 20 Scrabble players and 20 non-Scrabble players. Their brain states were monitored as they arranged jumbled letters to create words.

The study found Scrabble experts were much faster and more accurate, and they also used a different part of their brain for the exercise.

From Calgary, Sophia Van Hees said the study highlights the flexibility of the brain and suggests that we can use different areas of the brain to do the same task.

She’s hopeful these findings could help people who have suffered traumatic physical injury or have brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

dschneider@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066, ext. 255