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5pt Challenge Rule - what do you think?

NASPA has asked clubs to try "testing out" the 5-pt challenge rule, in whatever way they club deems fit.

To that end we will be testing it out on Sundays only, until the end of January. The player going first decides on the challenge rule.

What does 5pt challenge mean?

If a phoney is played and challenged NOTHING CHANGES. The phoney word is removed and the player that made it loses their turn.

If a good word is played and challenged: the challenger doesn't lose their turn. Instead the player who made the good word is rewarded 5pts for having drawn a challenge on it. You can challenge any words you want, but each word costs 5pts to challenge.

If any word challenged is a phoney, the entire play comes off and the phony player loses their turn. If all words challenged are good, then the player who made them is rewarded 5pts for each word challenged.

Keep in mind this means that auto-challenging at the end of a game can be costly. In a close game, that final challenge may award your opponent 5 extra points and swing the game in their favor.

Have an open mind, make notes, and at the end of January give us your feedback. The club will pass this feedback on to NASPA. Love it or hate it, we want to know.

Why are they doing this? In CSW tournaments around the world, including world championships, the challenge rule used is the "5pt challenge". They want to have members try it out, give their feedback, and then will decide what, if anything, to do with the scrabble rules.

Juraj