So, is this cheating?

[hidesome]

Neeks and I play Scrabble. Tonight, I played the word, "haj". Neeks challenged the word. So, I looked up the word, which is of course a real word and under the definition of "haj", is the related word, "haji" which I then played along with "xi" for a bunch of points. Neeks now claims I am cheating because, she claims, I looked up the word "haji". I claim I did no such thing. Rather, during the course of legal play I learned the word "haji" as part of the definition of the word "haj" and then played it on a subsequent round.

[haleysmom]

I don't see it as cheating. It's just bonus points for actually knowing the word haj.

Or tell her if she would have just trusted you, you wouldn't have learned the second word and scored more points. :D

[haleysmom]

Oh and I don't know what my opinion is worth... I have no clue what the rules of scrabble are!

[cc1003]

Definitely not cheating. You just happened to learn some information while looking up something that she had you look up!

She opened the door;) Sorry Neeks.

[still_me]

What if the situation was reversed? Would you consider it cheating?

It is tough because what if Neeks looked up the word haj and saw haji. She could have played that off of your word.

I say you play sudden death. Whoever can make up a word with the most points first wins.

Are your boys old enough to read yet? If they are, they should look up the word for one of you next time so only they know the words related. They can learn new words and peace will stay in the household. ;)

[HammBugga]

I wouldn't call it cheating but I also would have not been happy. The question is this: Were you SURE Haj was a word and did you know it's meaning before you looked it up or were you just hoping it was a word and got lucky? If it is the latter then I think what you did was wrong. The former...not cheating but *I* personally would not have felt comfortable doing it.

[JudyJudyJudy]

If you would not have thought of "haji" without seeing it in the dictionary, then, yes, I would consider it cheating, especially since many foreign words aren't in many standard English dictionaries, and it would not have been allowed if it were not in there.

[QuiltyConscience]

lol. I side with Neeks on this one.

And It's really neat to open a "cheating" thread and it be about scrabble. Warm and fuzzy and all that.

[rockmom]

Chris and I would probably not consider it cheating. But we play a fairly friendly, easy-going game of scrabble. We don't care a lot about who wins, most of the time.

[JudyJudyJudy]

When I was in junior high, a friend (and sometimes her sister) and I played Scrabble frequently. She'd go nuts when I won! As for the dictionary, though, we actually used it during play. We just limited the amount of time for each person's turn, but I learned a lot of new words that way.

[Earthmama]

I don't consider it cheating. Now, if Haj hadn't been a word & you found Haji & decided to add the I to make it legal - that would be cheating - or if you changed a legal Haj to Haji that turn, then that would be cheating - but since you made a seperate word, I assume it was your next turn when you added the I, and so that's fine.

Also if you had Haji & tried to spell it Hagee, but had the i to replace the E's with once you learned the correct spelling, I think that's permissible.

[TuetonicWillow]

I'm with the wife unit. It may not be literal cheating but it's close enough to call it bulldinky.

[TuetonicWillow]

Here's a question, when playing scrabble, is it acceptable to use foriegn words or must all words be English?

[steelady]

I would say this is one of those spirit of the law vs. letter of the law.

I would say you did not technically cheat. However, you did learn of the word while looking up a word in the dictionary. It wasn't as if you picked up in a discussion where it was used in context.

Personally, I would never concede (whichever side I was on) because it would make for too great of a story. DH and I are like that though, these types of arguments turn into a way to crack each other up in times of strife.

[Earthmama]

Book rules say they must be English - and I play that way with anyone I've played with because I know a lot more foreign words than lots of people I play with. (Family usually) It wouldn't be fair to give me an advantage like that - now vocabulary differences in English - well, I can't be held accountable for that. ;)

Now, If I played with Stepmom, She's from Panama - so we might open it up bilingually.

[JudyJudyJudy]

Here's a question, when playing scrabble, is it acceptable to use foriegn words or must all words be English?
By the rules of Scrabble, it's not acceptable to use foreign words, but it is allowed if the words are in the standard English dictionary upon which the players have agreed.

[SingingMom]

Hmmmm... In our house, DH and I play games with favors of an intimate nature being the prize. If I were Neeks, I'd impose a penalty, thus satisfying any residual unhappiness with the play.

[pawprint]

I think it's cheating, but in our house the person who challenges the word is the one who looks it up. You wouldn't have seen haji if you played like that.

[Sameach]

When I was in junior high, a friend (and sometimes her sister) and I played Scrabble frequently. She'd go nuts when I won! As for the dictionary, though, we actually used it during play. We just limited the amount of time for each person's turn, but I learned a lot of new words that way.


I may or may not have once upended an entire Scrabble board on my younger brother's head.

[JudyJudyJudy]

I may or may not have once upended an entire Scrabble board on my younger brother's head.
You sound like my friend. She threw the entire board, tiles and all, up into the air.

[Sameach]

Yes. It was not one of my more shining moments.

[JudyJudyJudy]

I think most of us have done such things at one time or another. :p

[hidesome]

Well, it seems like a 50-50 split. Like I told Neeks, "if you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'. If you ain't tryin', you ain't to gonna win." (which of course I did - win that is)

[KaraJ]

If I were playing, I'd consider it cheating if I was already loosing. ;)

[Monkeytoes]

So is this cheating... feeling like something is in my vagina! TMI

ETA: Wrong thread.. but still funny!

[JudyJudyJudy]

Kara mentions being loose, and then y'all talk about vaginas!

[JudyJudyJudy]

True, true.

[Monkeytoes]

It depends what is in your vagina. Remind me to disinfect the scrable pieces next time I play with you Monkey.

LMAO.. somehow this ended up in the wrong thread. It was suppose to be in the "title thread" :gig:

[RaisingThemLeft]

I don't think it's cheating. If she wouldn't have questioned the word in the first place then you wouldn't have found out about the new word.

[hidesome]

I don't think it's cheating. If she wouldn't have questioned the word in the first place then you wouldn't have found out about the new word.

Your Scrabble wisdom is boundless. I concur.