Scrabble

[Mr.Ix]

As there are a finite number of legal words in the game of Scrabble and a finite number of positions that they can be placed, has a computer program ever been created to discover the highest theoretical score attainable in one turn? If so, what was the word, score, and positioning of said word and the words linked to it ?

[sddsddean]

My brother and I once worked out the biggest word we could think of was QUIZZED, using a blank for a Z, from one corner down an edge. I think it gets 2 triple word scores that way.

[bernardo]

To use two triple-word scores you would need an eight-letter word, i.e. you could use an existing letter on the edge of ther board and add all seven letters to make an eight-letter word.  The Guinness Book of Records notes "CAZIQUES" as a possibility, which was achieved by Dr Saladin Karl Khoshnaw at a competition in Manchester in 1982.

[cazique = a native West Indian aboriginal tribal chief]

[bernardo]

P.S. caziques scored 392, according to the GBofR (although I'm not sure about that because to have 2 triple-word scores it would have to be divisible by 9)

[jaywhybee]

392 could be achieved by 38x9 (342) +50 extra points for a 7-letter word. How you could achieve 38 with that configuration I'm not sure. You could get 38 with caziques if you had either the z or q on triple letter score and the other z or q as a blank but (without looking at my scrabble board) there's no triple letter on the outside so you wouldn't get two triple word scores too.

[bernardo]

Oh yes.  I forgot about the extra 50.

It has just occurred to me that the G.B. of R. gives "caziques" as the record for score for a single word, although it doesn't specifically say that it was on two triple-word scores.  Is there a double-letter score somewhere?  It might be 2x10 for the Z and 10 for the Q, and 8 for the other letters (CAIUES).

[Mr.Ix]

but does that include any other words that may have been created when CAZIQUES was placed? I mean assuming the 'C' was alredy present on the board for example, did it also join up with the word TOPPER underneath it to create STOPPER or also link up with DENT in the middle to also create IDENT. As I say , I wonder if a program has been created to run through all possible variables to get the definitive board placings.

[Mr.Ix]

CREATE A Z IDENT Q U E STOPPER

[Marsh]

From  Tony Augarde's "The Oxford Guide to Word Games"�
"The highest score possible in one move is achieved by inserting letters along the edge of the board to complete a fifteen-letter word.  Scores of around 2,000 have been made by this method with such words as benzoxycamphors, sequioxidizing, jackpuddinghood, diazohydroxides and oxyphenbutazone."

The letters inserted would cover three triple-word squares in one turn so the letter scores would be multiplied by 27.

[Marsh]

�sesquioxidizing�

[asmit]

I happen to have spent some time on this lately. The highest single-move score I could calculate using only words in the official scrabble dictionaries is 1785 using OXYPHENBUTAZONE, but there may still be a few more points to squeeze out. With SESQUIOXIDIZING added to the list (as it should be; it's in the OED;-) you can score 2044 points, if things really go your way. See http://www.scrabulizer.com/blog/post/3#blog_po st_break for the boards.