EN IMAGES. An evening with the Scrabble enthusiasts of the Bihorel club, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary
By Fabien Massin
Published on
The game starts at 8 p.m. sharp, not before, not after. And in silence. It is a ritual that is repeated every Monday evening, at Bihorel Scrabble clubnear Rouen (Seine Maritime), in a room located in the former Gascard laboratories. An institution since 1981, which will celebrate its 40and anniversary this year, having been unable to do so last year. We participated in a session on Monday, February 21, 2022.
“It’s a bit like the office”
The game starts immutably at the time of the television news, but the members often arrive well before, to discuss. We take the time to exchange news, and settle down, each at his table, in a room that looks like a classroom. Everyone comes with their own game. Here we play Scrabble in doubles. The players all play with the same letters, on equal terms with the computer. No concept of luck like at home. That, in the jargon of scrabblers, is what is kindly called “kitchen scrabble”.
Micheline, who created the club more than 40 years ago, is the mistress of ceremonies. It is she who draws the letters, who collects the copies and arbitrates. “It’s a bit of the office, a bit of mass,” she jokes. Each letter to be taken is spoken aloud, and, so that there is no confusion, the name of a country is attached to it. And it’s always the same country, like everywhere in all the Scrabble clubs in the French-speaking world. For the letter A it is Algeria, the I Italy, the D Denmark… the Y Yugoslavia, the geopolitics of Scrabble remains frozen in the XXand century.
In each round, players have three minutes to find the highest-paying word, the one that will earn the most points. The efficiency of a round combines the chosen word and its location on the grid, looking for the famous cases of words and letters counting double or triple. The grid is projected on the blackboard using an overhead projector. About twenty blows follow one another, in a little less than two hours, punctuated by Micheline’s injunctions: “Write”, “Paper raised”, and the checks. The computer gives each move after three minutes the solution, the word that had to be found, the “top”. And if a player has made a mistake in counting his move, or has played a non-existent word, beware, there is a sanction.
French-speaking Scrabble
Philippe arrived at the club two years ago. He plays twice a week, Monday evening and Wednesday afternoon. “I had no experience in duplicate, I played occasionally with my family,” he says. I quickly liked the atmosphere. And quickly I realized that it was really necessary to learn vocabulary. It’s the Scrabble of the Francophonie, there is French vocabulary, but also Belgian, Quebec, etc. There are sites online that allow you to progress, so I train at home. September, I’ve done a few tournaments since and I like it. At the club it’s nice, we meet, all together. “The words that had to be found this Monday evening attest to the requirement of the exercise: kelp, monitore, walé…
Véronique arrived at the club one after its creation. In order to welcome newcomers, she created groups for beginners. “I start by clearly explaining the rules of the game, because at home, very often, we have our own rules. You know Pierre Palmade’s sketch… And within a small group, with players who start at the same level, it’s easier to fit in. »
Micheline plays on Wednesdays. So it’s Véronique who plays the role of mistress of ceremonies. “What I like about Scrabble is the game, the people, the players,” she confides. Now, over the years, it’s more the people than the game…”
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