Word Freak

I was never a big fan of Scrabble as a kid. It may have been that I was too young when first introduced to the game and it left a bad (read boring) impression on me. My wife had an old copy of the game lying around and I recently decided to give the game another try. It was the first time I'd played the game as an adult and I was pleasantly surprised.

Some of the personal comments for this game on BoardGameGeek recommended a book called Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis. I decided to borrow the book from the library to see what it was like.

Stefan Fatsis is a sports reporter who delved into the odd subculture of competitive Scrabble players. Word Freak is a fascinating journey as the author himself becomes addicted to the game and obsessed with increasing his national ranking score. He discusses the history of the game, the top-level players and details just what it takes to become an expert Scrabble player. It is informative, enjoyable and often humourous. I highly recommend Word Freak.