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Jabatan Pendidikan Negeri Kedah

KEDAH 1st INAUGURAL
ONLINE SCRABBLE
COMPETITION

FOR
PRIMARY & SECONDARY

SCHOOLS
(KEDAH STATE ONLY)

RULES AND GUIDELINES

KEDAH 1ST INAUGURAL ONLINE SCRABBLE COMPETITION
FOR PRIMARY & SECONDARY SCHOOLS
RULES AND GUIDELINES

1.0 Aim
1.0 The Scrabble competition aims to extend vocabulary and develop
spelling skills in the English language among pupils.

2.0 Objectives
2.0 To enhance pupils’ vocabulary in the English language.
2.1 To enhance mental arithmetic skills among pupils.
2.2 To encourage teamwork and promote integration among pupils.
2.3 To provide a platform for learning in a fun and enjoyable manner.

3.0 Competition rules

3.1 Eligibility
3.1.1 Primary category
This competition is open to Year 4 to Year 6 pupils from
government-aided schools only.
3.1.2 Secondary category
This competition is open to Form 1 to Form 5 pupils from
government-aided schools only.

3.2 Player
3.2.1 Each district shall be represented by 2 players from the same
school / district they are representing. However, both of them
will be playing individually, not as a team.
3.2.2 Both players from each district are to be accompanied by a
teacher.
3.2.3 Participants shall be in school uniforms.

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3.3 Format

3.3.1 The Tournament Director will determine the pairings for each
round. e.g. Swiss, King of the Hill or Round Robin pairings. The
pairings for the national competition will use Swiss pairings.

3.3.2 The game will be using www.woogles.io website.

3.3.3 The game will be monitored by Game Officials using OBS.Ninja
software for surveillance. Each player needs to share two
screens: PC/laptop screen for the gameplay and camera
screen for surrounding surveillance.

3.3.4 Only words in the Collins Scrabble Dictionary (latest edition;
i.e. (CSW 2019) are allowed. However, players are NOT
allowed to form indecent/obscene words though the words can
be found in the dictionary.

3.4 Time

3.4.1 Each player is given 15 minutes per game.

3.4.2 There is no time limit for each move but the game shall end
after 30 minutes or where one player has exceeded the 15-
minute limit by 3 minutes.

3.4.3 Any player who exceeds the allocated 15 minutes shall be
penalised 10 points for each minute or part thereof.

3.4.4 Each team shall play three (3) rounds. However, the
tournament director (see 3.7.1) may vary the number of rounds
as circumstances dictate.

3.5 Game play

3.5.1 Each player shall enter www.woogles.io 15 minutes prior to the
starting time of the round. Each player should share both the
screen and camera sharing links to the game officials.

3.5.2 Player A will make a match request to the opponent. The
opponent must accept the match within 15 minutes. Failing to
do so, the player will be given a forfeit loss. The timer shall start
once the request is accepted, marking the start of the round.
The computer picks which player shall start.

3.5.3 The first player to play combines two or more of its letters to
form a word and places it on the board to read either across or
down with one letter on the centre square. Diagonal words are
not allowed.

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3.5.4 The opponent may challenge the word(s) formed by pressing the
CHALLENGE button.

3.5.5 If the word challenged is unacceptable, the tiles will be
returned to the player and he/she scores a zero. If the word
challenged is acceptable in the dictionary, the player that
challenged will incur no penalty. However, the tournament
director (see 3.7.4) may vary the penalty for word challenges.

3.5.6 New words may be formed by:

i) Adding one or more letters to a word or letters already on
the board.

ii) Placing a word at right angles to a word already on the
board. The new word must use one of the letters already
on the board or must add a letter to it.

iii) Placing a complete word parallel to a word already played
so that adjacent letters also form complete words.

3.5.7 Blanks: The two blank tiles may be used as any letters. When
playing a blank, the player must state which letter it represents.
It remains that letter for the rest of the game.

3.5.8 The player may change any number of tiles as many turns as
desired so long as there are at least seven (7) tiles in the bag.
The player will score zero for that turn.

3.5.9 The game ends when

i) all the tiles have been drawn and one of the players
have used all the tiles.

ii) all possible plays have been made
iii) both players have passed thrice consecutively

3.5.10 When the game is over, both players shall then take a
screenshot of the game result and send it to the game official.

3.5.11 Each player shall then fill in their own Individual Score Sheet.

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3.6 Restrictions
3.6.1 Players shall NOT refer to any dictionaries and/or electronic
devices while playing.
3.6.2 Players shall NOT change browser tabs while playing.
3.6.3 Players must NOT chat with the opponent during the game.
3.6.4 Players MUST share the entire screen throughout the gameplay
for surveillance by game officials.
3.6.5 Players MUST make sure the camera sharing displays clear
image of themselves and their surroundings.

3.7 Officials
3.7.1 There shall be a Tournament Director.
3.7.2 Game Officials shall be appointed as invigilators.
3.7.3 Score Keeper will compile scores for each round.
3.7.4 In case of any contention, the accompanying teacher shall refer
to the Tournament Director. The Tournament Director has the
final say.

3.8 Decisions

3.8.1 The winning team shall be decided first by the number of points,
then spread.

3.8.2 A win is 1 point; a draw is 0.5 point and a loss is 0 point. Spread
is the difference between the winning and losing scores of a
game.

3.8.3 In the event of a discrepancy between this concept paper and
the WESPA Game Rules, this concept paper prevails.

3.8.4 The decision of the Tournament Director is final.
.

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3.9 Expected Standards
3.9.1 Players are expected to uphold high standards of both etiquette
and ethics. Respectful, courteous, fair and honest play is required.
Players are honour bound not to cheat.

4.1 Prizes
4.2 Certificates of achievement will be awarded to the winning players.
4.3 Certificates of participation will be awarded to all participating players.
4.4 Certificates of appreciation will be awarded to all the accompanying
teachers

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APPENDIX 1

Game Format (www.woogles.io)

NOTE : Player A will make a match request to the opponent.
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APPENDIX 2

Scrabble Comprehensive Scoring Guide for Players

A. The score value of each letter is indicated by a number at the bottom of
the tile. The score value of the blank is zero.

B. Premium Letter Squares: A light blue square doubles the score of the letter
played on it. A dark blue square triples the score of the letter played on it.

C. Premium Word Squares: The score of the entire word is doubled when one of
the letters is placed on a pink square. It is tripled when a letter is placed on a
red square. Include premiums for double or triple letter values, if any, before
doubling or tripling the word score. If a word is formed that covers two premium
word squares, the score should be doubled and re-doubled (that is, four times
the letter count), or tripled or re-tripled (nine times the letter count). Note that
the centre square of the board is pink, and therefore doubles the score for the
first word played.

D. The score for each turn is the sum of the score values in each word formed or
modified in play, plus the premium values resulting from placing letters on
premium squares.

E. Letters and word premiums apply only in the turn in which they are first
used. In subsequent turns, letters count at face value only.

F. When a blank tile falls on a pink or red square, the sum of the letters in the
word is doubled or tripled even though the blank itself has no score value.

G. When two or more words are formed in the same turn, each is scored. The
common letters are counted, with full premium values if any, in the score for
each word.

H. Any team who plays all seven of their tiles in a single turn scores a premium
or bonus of 50 scores in addition to their regular score for the play.

I. Points are to be subtracted when both teams have unplayed tiles left on their
racks at the end of the game.

J. When the game ends with one team finishing all his tiles, the team gets
double the face value of all the unplayed tiles of the opposing team.

NOTE:
Scoring for each round will be counted automatically in the website.

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Scrabble Resources for Tournament Director and Players

Gameplay Rules
i) WESPA Rules (Latest edition; i.e WESPA rules version 3.0)
ii) MOE Scrabble Competition For Primary and Secondary Schools : Rules
and Guidelines

Tournament Director Reference
NASPA Director Manual (Latest edition; i.e 2014)

Online Medium
www.woogles.io

Online Surveillance System (Screen Sharing)
www.obs.ninja

Word Lookup
i) Collins Zyzzyva Self Lookup Software (Latest edition; i.e 5.1.1)
ii) Collins Scrabble Dictionary (Latest edition; i.e CSW 2019

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KEDAH 1ST INAUGURAL ONLINE SCRABBLE COMPETITION
YEAR 2021

SCRABBLE INDIVIDUAL SCORE SHEET

Own Opp’s Spread Point
Score Score
Game Opponent This Cum. W/L/D This Cum.
No. 1/2* game game
1

2

3

4

5

*1 = Start, 2 = Reply
® Scrabble is a registered trademark of J W Spear & Sons Ltd, subsidiary of Mattel Inc.

KEDAH 1ST INAUGURAL ONLINE SCRABBLE COMPETITION
YEAR 2021

SCRABBLE INDIVIDUAL SCORE SHEET

Own Opp’s Spread Point
Score Score
Game Opponent This Cum. W/L/D This Cum.
No. 1/2* game game
1

2

3

4

5

*1 = Start, 2 = Reply
® Scrabble is a registered trademark of J W Spear & Sons Ltd, subsidiary of Mattel Inc.

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