What is the difference between “sit” and “zit”?Easy. One letter.
It does not seem like much, but that single letter makes one word worth so much more than the other. Nine points more, to be precise, because a Z is worth 10 points to an S’s measly one.
And if you put down that word on the right spot, you could pick up double word and double letter scores, putting you an advantageous 15 points ahead.
Welcome to DePaul University’s Scrabble League.
The world of college intramural sports is an interesting one. Unlike varsity or club sports, which are generally limited to the more traditional, physically demanding sports like basketball and soccer, with intramurals, anything goes.
DePaul’s own intramurals activity list boasts a pretty eclectic mix, from traditional soccer to foosball and card games; meaning there is almost certainly an activity for everyone.
DePaul’s Scrabble League, which just finished registration at the end of January, is organized annually for the winter quarter. John Washo, the assistant director and a Scrabble fan himself, organizes the league for students and staff alike. The rules, Washo said, “are pretty flexible.”
Players are assigned to each other, and they work out a time between them when they can meet across the Scrabble board.
The only hard and fast rule to the league is that the games must be played at the Ray.
On a foggy Thursday, DePaul seniors Sara Zufan and Mary Cate Quiett met for such a game.
Quiett is the one who threw down the “zit” gauntlet. A Merriam Webster “Official Scrabble Players Dictionary” sat between them.
“I love Scrabble,” said Quiett, a secondary education major and member of DePaul’s track team, as she rearranged her tiles. “My mom and I play all the time.”
Quiett joined the Scrabble League last winter quarter, after noticing a flyer in the Ray, as a way to have fun and take a break from the daily grind.
Zufan also joined last winter quarter, looking for a way to get more involved on campus and meet people.
“I commute,” the biology major said. She wanted to do something fun, but with a schedule that would work with her busy day.
Between a rigorous class schedule and practice, Zufan is also a member of the DePaul women’s rugby club-Scrabble League was the most flexible activity and the most fun.
“I play with my family,” she said. “I’m a word person.”
That affinity for language paid off last winter, when Zufan won the Scrabble League championship. Her prize?
“A t-shirt, and free lunch at Qdoba,” Zufan said with a laugh.
The Scrabble League is fairly small, with only a handful of participants each quarter.
Yet there seems to be plenty of interest in the game itself. Zufan and Quiett both have had friends and complete strangers alike approach them while they played.
“People seem to enjoy it,” Quiett said, “They say, ‘Oh, I love Scrabble.'”
League registration for this quarter has closed, but students who feel like they missed their opportunity can still play. The Ray rents out boards at the equipment rental desk.
So limber up your gray matter with a bit of wordplay. And don’t forget your thesaurus.