How To Check If Your Friends Are Cheating In Scrabble

Scrabble is a game played in the world of letters, in which players make up words from a limited set of letters. The player who makes up the most words wins the game. It is a game of strategy and wit. Scrabble is a popular game that everyone seems to know, but what is it? It is a game that is played all over the world by many people of all ages. This may lead you to think it is a pretty simple game, but there is much more to it than just placing letters on a board and hoping for a word to appear. 

What Is Scrabble?

Word games like Scrabble require players to make words from a limited pool of letters, and players can only use tiles from their rack. The game’s object is to build the longest word, which is done by creating words from the letters provided. The words are then used to score points and are kept in the player’s rack for future use. It is a fun and cerebral game that you can play with any number of participants.

Cheaters: How To Spot Them

Scrabble is a fun and challenging game for those with even the smallest vocabulary, but if you’ve ever played the game, you know that it can be frustrating, especially when you’re stuck on a word and can’t think of its meaning. As a result, it is sometimes easy to fall into the trap of cheating. These are ways you can confirm your suspicions that a friend is cheating while you are playing together. With the advent of the massively popular Words With Friends game, there is also an online element. Therefore this post will discuss the physical, offline ways to spot a cheater first and then move on to see if your friends are cheating when paying via the app.

Offline

This is the traditional way to play the game and has been in its current form for over 50 years. It is far easier to spot dishonest players when playing face to face as your intuition can come into play.

Physical Behavior & Movements

Some people are skilled when spotting a cheater or a liar, while others are oblivious. However, watching your opponent’s body language is a great way to find out if they are cheating. You can watch out for signs of general shiftiness and use your intuition to see if the way they act is a bit off. This becomes far easier when you play with friends because you already know their mannerisms and character. Therefore, it should be relatively simple to find behavior that is out of the ordinary. Just ensure that you don’t raise suspicions by being too obvious.

Unexpected Knowledge

You will know what they are knowledgeable about and what they are interested in if you have been friends a long time. Therefore, it should be a significant red flag if they can suddenly make a word about some obscure fact. Although it is possible they have hidden this information from you over the years, it is unlikely. So if your friend who is interested in classical music and flower arranging suddenly has an in-depth understanding of slang used by pre-teen kids, it could be a  sure sign that they are up to something.

Online

If you’re not familiar with Words With Friends, you play a quick game of Scrabble with people all over the world, and then you can play against them in the game’s online matchmaking mode. Many people will play against their friends and family as a great way to stay in touch and keep the mind active. Due to its online nature, it is a bit tricker to discover if someone is untruthful, but some methods you can employ will help you ruin their chances of a deceptive victory.

Are All Words Optimized?

While not definitive proof that they are cheating, it does look suspicious when every word they are presented is perfectly optimized for the number and value of their letters. It might be enough to confront them on this alone, but it should be enough to cast doubt on them and allow you to dig a little deeper. For example, there could be a chance that they are using what is known as a word unscrambler, which is a tool that you place in your letters, and it will provide lots of variations you can use to win the game. A clever cheater will use it sparingly and use a mixture of short and long words, but a lazy cheater will merely use all of the most extended terms this tool provides. 

Obscure Words

The method is similar to what you use when you discover you have a friend who knows words they ought not to know. It is relatively straightforward that if you are unaware of the word, it is highly likely that your friend will also be unaware of it. It’s not proof, but you can check it out quite easily. You should contact your friend if you observe this behavior pattern. After informing them of your suspicions, it could indicate they were cheating from the beginning if they are having difficulty forming complex words.

What To Do If You Find Out They Are Cheating

If you play against an opponent who is not your friend or family, you can report them via the app (assuming you are playing online). However, it is a different kettle of fish when you suspect the people you know are cheating. The best thing to do is to make a judgment call based on the situation. For example, if you and your friends take the game seriously, then you should call them out on it and attempt to come to a resolution. On the other hand, it is probably best not to lose your friends over a game if it is just for fun.

In pursuit of victory, these games can become highly competitive, and the temptation to cheat can be unbearable. Nevertheless, you should keep your eyes open and use your common sense. If you find out that your friend is cheating in the game, you should use your judgment to decide whether you want to confront them.