Warning, two boring anecdota to follow. Tho I think Phil is towards the "American-enlightened" end of the challenge spectrum :), I disagree with the part about bad publicity and provide two examples below.

 From: phila@VNET.IBM.COM

 I guess it's what you're used to. I agree that the double-challenge does
 add an extra element to the game. Once I got used to it, I quite enjoyed
 playing with it. But I do believe that having non-words on the board in
 a WSC Final would be bad for publicity. Okay, so some of the words would
 look like non-words anyway, but at least you can say to Joe Public: "it's
 a hybrid yak; look it up in Chambers dictionary". Which sounds rather
 better than "That's not actually a word - he just made it up".

 Phil A.

At the LA Nationals in 94, I was one of many players interviewed by a local television station. Most of the interviews were less than 15 seconds long (except for someone whose initials are EJ, but that's another story). Steve Pellenin was in first place with a 9-0 or 8-1 record and playing on board one. After pulling out a tough game, the local reporter asked me what my best play was in the game. I pointed to a play of CLONG * from a rack full of crap. When I told her it was a word I had just coined to suit the needs of the position, her eyes lit up. She was fascinated by this new dramatic development in a boring Scrabble story. Every time I saw her in the hall that week, she asked me if I had any more good phoneys to talk about on camera.

One Year Later. Las Vegas. Opp opens CIAO with the C on the star. Your rack: EEGHIRS. Whaddaya do?

Well if your opponent is Mark Nyman, you play HEROISE # for 40. When asked if I felt bad about it, I replied I felt bad I had to take the D hook the next play denying myself the chance to screw him out of a turn as well. The reporter from Sports Illustrated loved this cutthroat element of the game. Tho the story was ultimately cut out to make room for GIJ's legs, it still added do the dramatic lore of the game.

Honestly, I don't agree with the bad publicity part. I've been interviewed by a few reporters, and everytime I mention a phoney I've played, (inadvertantly of course, dear readers!!!!) they've gotten all excited. To the layman it represents a mysterious element to the game that provides a little magic beyond "keeping the N simulates .8 higher."

PS I don't play phonies anymore.

Last Modified 9/25/00

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