Toronto’s Robin Pollock Daniel is indeed a local legend. As North America’s highest rated female Scrabble expert she spends many hours perfecting her game. On Monday, she’ll be a guest player in the Scrabble With The Stars, a fundraiser for The Performing Arts Lodges, which helps members of the entertainment industry living at PAL Place, a residential complex in downtown Toronto.
For information, visit www.scrabblewiththestars.ca.
Q: Most people would likely call it a “word” game. Do you agree?
A: Words are involved but: to me at least: it’s more about math. Scrabble has just so many dimensions. It’s visual, it’s spatial it’s massive. The game’s inventor, American Alfred Mosher Butts, was an architect.
Q: How did you discover the game and how long have you been playing.
A: My mother always played crosswords so I’m sure part of it comes from that. But when I was in my 20s,I was in the hospital for a while and I would play with a friend. When I got home a neighbour who played heard I was getting interested and that’s when it really took off.
Q: How do you become an expert?
A: I love the game, so that’s a start. But simply learning words is a big key. You don’t have to know what the word means, but you do have to know that it’s an acceptable configuration. I can tell the level players are at just by looking at their boards. Casual players use the tried and true three and four letter words but “expert” competitors will be stringing together eight, nine often 10 letter words. It looks like the board is being covered in spider webs as the long configurations spread up and down. Tiger Woods gets all the attention and money but Scrabble players put just as many hours into their game going to websites and such.
Q: How often do you compete?
A: Well, there’s a competition somewhere every weekend but right now I’m focusing on family life and I may just got to four or five a year. It’s always a great time. There’s actually an entire Scrabble community where everyone knows everyone else. We’re very close and we even get involved in matters outside of Scrabble. And yes, there are Scrabble widows and widowers like every other pastime where some get so involved in travelling and practising they lose contact with their spouse. At the same time, there are lots of couples where only one plays and their partner comes along for the fun and socializing.
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