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This is for electronic versions of Scrabble.
In traditional board-game scrabble there is a finite set of tiles
and for each letter, there is a finite number of those. For
example there is one Q, one Z, one J, a couple of Ys and Hs,
and a whole lot of As, Es, and Os. And so forth. The rarer
letters have higher point value. Q, Z, and X have 10.
However, the common letters are just worth one point.
The luck of the draw is very significant in the outcome of the
games. If one player gets a Q, that player will be able to get
at least 10 points from playing it and can get many more
points from a clever play involving bonus squares. Thus,
being lucky to get a disproportionate number of high point
tiles can sway the outcome of the game.
There are 100 tiles in a standard scrabble. Thus, for any
given tile, there is a 1/100 chance of it being a Q, for
example. Conversely, there is a 12/100 chance of a tile being
an E. Of course, once a Q is received by one player, the
chance of another player drawing a Q is 0.
However, in Infinite Tile Scrabble, the probability of a tile
being a given letter never changes. Thus, when someone
plays a Q, the next tile drawn still has a 1/100 chance of
being a Q and a 12/100 chance of being an E.
[link]
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Games vary from 100% luck (dice) through luck/choice (Monopoly) to 100% choice (Chess). |
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Scrabble is a luck/choice mix in that the randomness of the tiles affects the outcome, but so do player choices. |
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You can change the random element, but then it
wouldn't be Scrabble any more, and thus useless for determining the Question to the Ultimate Answer. |
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// not a standard Scrabble set // |
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He could have drawn a blank tile and inferred its value from context. For example "multipl_" has only two possible valid "outcomes", if you exclude horrid Italian MPV rot-boxes. |
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There is still luck here. It is just that drawing a hard letter doesn't disappear throughout the game. This idea would make the game harder not easier. For professionals, I suspect. |
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Well, I suppose it comes down to whether the main objective is scrabbling for tiles or scrabbling for words. |
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This gets a croissant from me. There are many words
that cannot be made without using a blank tile, and
these could now zigzag their way into play. Also it
might prevent "hoarding" a high scoring letter such as
Q, as getting a second Q would be less than
exquisite. |
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