By Shyat Lemoshira

On Thursday, March 23, 2023, the USIU-Africa Scrabble team held a demonstration in Wooden Block E, led by Allan Oyende, a Scrabble champion in Africa, and Limo Kipkemoi, the current Chairman of the Scrabble Kenya association. During the demonstration, the guests emphasized that the game is about word power, which constitutes 60% - 65% of the game, strategy, which makes up 20% - 25%, and miscellaneous application, which comprises 10%. The remaining percentage depends on luck, based on the player's tile selection.

Two-letter words are the basis of the game as they are frequently played. In addition, players need to learn the arrangement of (x) letter words and hooks, such as 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, all 6s, heavy 5s, high probability 7s, and high probability 8s. To assist learners, useful scrabble tools and applications include Zyzzyva, Quackle, Woggles Internet Scrabble (ISCRO), aerolith.org, and Wali Timer.

At the end of the day, the team had a playing board session with the Scrabble Kenya, using their scrabble instructional boards and large visible letter tiles. It was a superb experience learning from the professionals, and we hope to see the game grow within the USIU-Africa community.