“The game has luck, no doubt about it, but it is up to the individual player to figure out how best to minimize the bad and maximize the good.“

Almost everyone has either played Scrabble, or watched someone play Scrabble.   As I pondered my slowly improving skill at playing the game it occurred to me that there are some life lessons we can learn from the game of Scrabble.

1. Knowledge = Power – As in life, the more you know… be it facts, people, places, things, experiences, etc. the better prepared you will be to handle what life throws at you.  When I started, I would look at my letters and only “see” 3 or 4 letter words.  As my knowledge and experience at playing (and losing) grew, so did my ability to “see” bigger words hidden in my letters.  As we grow (physically, mentally, spiritually) in our lives we are more prepared to take the circumstances that come at us and make the best from them.
2. Play off the words of others – One of the keys to winning at Scrabble is using the good letters others play, along with your letters to form better and higher scoring words.  In life, it always helps to spend time with others who are more successful, learn from them, work with them to increase your chances of “scoring” major victories in your life.   Trying to do it on your own, with only your resources will always result in you not achieving the score or success you could have achieved by teaming with others.
3. Play the letters you have – Everyone in Scrabble has the same number of letters, you must make the most of what you have.  The letter exchange is rarely ever done by winners.  The game is not won or lost with what you have now, but the letters you draw over the entire course of the game.  Listen, we have times when we have nothing… yet you look for the best available play with what you have.  It is futile to wish you had something someone else has, just play the game (and live life) with what you have, and stop focusing on what you don’t have.
4. Play defense – There are only 8 triple word score tiles.  A good Scrabble player never plays a word that would allow your opponent to play this tile off your word easily.  Sometimes your goal is to just use the spot so your opponent can’t.  In life, we sometimes need to jump at opportunities that offer themselves up, knowing the circumstances are not ideal.  In each of our lives we can look back at 3 – 5 forks in the road that determined our destination in life, it is important to get yourself out of your comfort zone and take a chance, before the opportunity is lost.
5. Rewards require risk – If you want to win at Scrabble you will have to both be patient at times, and at other times go for it.  Sometimes to get the score you want you may have to lay down a word that someone may be able to play on, and gather some points.   Since you have no idea what letters they have, better to go for it, and take the chance, then to let your fear of what someone else “may” do stop you.  In my conversations with older clients, I have never heard someone tell me that they were glad having never pursued their dreams, or they are happy that they never took risks and played it safe their entire life.  NO, what I hear is that they wish they had gone for it more, not less.  Don’t make the mistake of always playing it safe.

If you have any other ideas, or lessons you can think of feel free to pass it on AND play more Scrabble!

Dave