Rules

Global rules
The first version of WESPA's rules for global Scrabble was released in August 2009 after a six-month worldwide consultation process. It has since been used extensively in international tournaments, including the World Scrabble Championship and the Causeway Challenge.

The Rules Committee is now finalising the second version of the rules and expects to release this by the end of 2010.

The Association of British Scrabble Players (ABSP) has recently voted to adopt WESPA rules for its domestic tournaments from 2011, and other countries are expected to follow.

See WESPA's complete rules.

NEWSFLASH • Dictionary update

The Dictionary Committee has now completed its update of CSW, for publication next year. We can expect 2809 additions, 413 deletions and a general tidy-up of adjective forms and New Zealand words. Read more.

Global word source
The word source used in global Scrabble, known as Collins Scrabble Words or CSW (formerly Official Scrabble Words or OSW) is actually not a single dictionary, but an amalgam of three: Collins (7th edition, 2005), Chambers (1998 edition) and TWL, the current Northern American wordlist.

TWL (Tournament Word List) is itself drawn from a range of sources, mostly different editions of Webster's. Americans and Canadians play by CSW rules in international tournaments and TWL in 'domestic' North American tournaments. But they are increasingly introducing CSW grades in various tournaments, and even some solely CSW tournaments. WESPA hopes this North American isolationism will end one day, for the good of global Scrabble.