A Scrabble Challenge By Jacob J. Gamet

I challenge any woman who’s good at Scrabble to a best 3-out-of-5 tourney. The men here are all running scared. I’ve been defending my Scrabble title against male adversaries for 7 years, since 2011. I’ve humbled all WSRU (Washington State Reformatory Unit) opponents. And after my 2017 Scrabble tourney win, they’ve went so far as to suggest to the Recreation Specialist (who coordinates prison Tourneys) that I shouldn’t be allowed to participate in a head-up tourney or to only hold a teams Scrabble tourney?!

Since my arrival at WSRU, I’ve bested all offensive and defensive Scrabble juggernauts, which includes a math whiz (WSRU’s 2011 chess champion) who was granted a full scholarship by Boeing, published authors, a legal tactician, a cofounder and editor of a popular national publication (Prison Legal News), and others of their cerebral ilk.

I attribute the bulk of my “razor-thin to blowout” wins to my defensive style of gameplay, which I’ve dubbed “Boa Constrictor Scrabble” (BCS). I’d rather show you than teach you. It secures me control of the board and constricts your word choices. For example, within the first few games or so of playing me, my opponents’ confidence spirals into frustration: “Why are you locking up the board?”, “I have a seven-letter word but can’t play it,” “You keep messing up my spots,” and “There’s no place to play!”

I’ve offered to teach the art of BCS to WSRU’s intelligentsia, but most have declined (presumably due to ego). My plan was to build up worthy opponents to help me further develop my craft in anticipation of my book, “The Scrabble Dojo: Defensive Strategies for Beating Any Opponent.”

Interestingly, it was only after I devised BCS and realized how effective it actually was that I decided to start writing my book. A few chapters in, I had my friend run some Internet searches on Scrabble for facts and stories to include in my book. She found a story on how Nigeria replaced the U.S. in Scrabble using a style of play that they termed “choke the board,” which to my surprise and validation was very similar to my BCS style of play.

I remember my dad telling me to first get out of prison, beat some Scrabble players, and then write my book. But I explained that I understand the dynamics of Scrabble so well that my game calculus will prove true in prison or out, against any opponent. So when I received the article on Nigeria’s “choke the board” style and how it was employed by the 33-year-old Nigerian, Wellington Jighere, to secure the world championship title, I was stoked. I immediately called my dad and told him about it and he was just as surprised.

Getting back to my challenge, I want you to view it as an opportunity to improve your Scrabble game as well. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to beat me early on. And that’s not braggadocio (something I’m not averse to, Lol!), that is, unless you’re that good, like nationally ranked or something. In fact, my challenge stands even if you were. On my homemade Scrabble board, I’ve inscribed the warning: “Defeat is Inevitable.”

Once, there was a tall and burly middle-aged man who accosted me in the prison Dayroom (communal game and TV area) while I was playing someone Scrabble. He introduced himself and let me know that he’d heard I was the best. He extended an invitation to play me. I accepted. Mind you: I later found out that he was imprisoned for 30-plus years at various prisons. He was known for seeking out the best Scrabble players and egotistically demolishing them with his extraordinary 7-letter voScrabbulary.

We played. I beat him the first two games and he beat me the third. For me, these were style and strength assessment games. Then I turned up the heat and initiated full BCS system go. He was a fish out of water and eventually admitted he would have to rethink his whole game to best me (to win more games than me). He also admitted that for the duration of his incarceration he sadistically crushed everyone he played. I believed him because he threw some major mantrums during some of our games that got us kicked out of the dayroom. Needless to say, he was a very poor loser.

Anyway, I’d love to play Scrabble with some worthy women opponents. If you’re game, contact me at Jpay.com and we’ll schedule a back and forth match by email. I’ll explain the rules later. And “if” you beat me 3 out of 5 games “fair and square,” I’ll begrudgingly post a blog acknowledging your Scrabble prowess.

One more thing: if you only want to improve your game, hit me up and I’d be happy to train you in the art of Boa Constrictor Scrabble (BCS). Bong sounds (Donggggg!), and your Scrabble Dojo session begins. Lol.

Don’t forget to pass this challenge along.

Sincerely,
The Scrabble Sensei

Jacob Gamet
DOC #883302