The Scrabblegram is a form of limited writing in which you have to write a piece of text that uses all 100 tiles in an English Scrabble set, and no other letters. The empty tiles must be used, and according to the rules can be any letter.
This example by David Cohen is considered one of the best examples in the genre:
It is a remarkable piece of text because not only does it make sense and paint an amusing picture, but it also flows beautifully, rhymes and has the correct number of syllables for a limerick. (A billfold is North American for wallet.)
Cohen wrote the above Scrabblegram in 1997. It was the winning entry in a competition run by GAMES Magazine to tell a story using all the tiles of a Scrabble set. After a hiatus of about 2 decades, Cohen started writing Scrabblegrams again a few years ago: he has since written more than 400, including what I now call the greatest word puzzle of all time.
Breathe. The clues below are a Scrabblegram. They are quick crossword puzzles, and come with word lengths (the numbers in brackets.) Your job is to find the answers – which is also a Scrabblegram. Hats off!
In other words, the ten answers are written using only the tiles in a Scrabble set.
The tile distribution in Scrabble is (letter, frequency): A9, B2, C2, D4, E12, F2, G3, H2, I9, J1, K1, L4, M2, N6, O8, P2, Q1, R6, S4, T6 , U4, V2, W2, X1, Y2, Z1, Blank2. The best way to create Scrabblegrams is to use it online Scrabblegram playerwhich tells you which tiles you have left.
Cohen is an internal medicine hospitalist in Atlanta who has worked exclusively at night for more than 20 years. The puzzle above took him between 10-12 hours to create.
In fact, he actually wrote two Scrabblegram puzzles! Here is the other one. Again, the answers are also a Scrabblegram.
I’ll be back with the solutions at 5pm UK. NO SPOILERS PLEASE.
The Scrabblegram dates from 1975 when the Times Diary Section wrote of a new game invented by Phoebe Winch of Sherborne “to put something sensible together by everyone the tiles provided with Scrabble and using no other letters.” Her effort was:
I’m on a diet. I eat quince jelly. Lots of ground corn gives variety. I cook rhubarb and soda, cry again, or add extra meat.
(Wish was an important local figure in Sherborne: moving to a career as a journalist in London, she became the first Liberal councilor in 1971. In 1976 she became Sherborne’s first female mayor. She died in October last year at the age of 92. If anyone has any memories of her, especially related to riddles and puns, please post them below.)
To get an idea of how difficult it is to write Scrabblegrams, why not try to come up with some of your own? I will post my favorites in the answer post on this puzzle. Since it might take you longer than until 5pm today, I’ll update the solution post for the next few days.
You can Email submissions directly to me or leave it in the comments below.
I asked Cohen to offer some tips:
1) Choose a topic that is truly meaningful to you. Even if it doesn’t work out, time spent creatively doing something you care about is still time well spent.
2) Make sure you have all 100 tiles! It can be disheartening to “complete” a ‘gram, only to discover at the end that you’re missing a letter. Use the online Scrabblegram player (created by Arthur O’Dwyer).
3) Once you are ready to start, first come up with a short phrase that says exactly what you want to say, 15-20 letters maximum, without worrying about any limitations yet.
4) Have a plan right from the start for the Q and the J.
5) All the way through, balance consonants and vowels. (Everyone ends up with an unusable bunch of vowels at the end of their first few tries).
6) Specifically, balance A, E, I, and O all the way through. Otherwise, you’ll have too much of one of those vowels at the end. (this is much easier said than done but is really important, perhaps the most overlooked step)
7) Try not to use any of the spaces until as late as you can, and leave at least one (preferably both) until the end. It’s almost impossible to finish with real words without at least one space to get there.
8) Please note that Scrabblegrams are quite difficult to make! Like most things, they get easier with practice. The most important rule is to be kind to yourself and have fun. Consider it a success if your first few tries actually contain words where they are most relevant, even if they don’t quite make sense.
B3 E1 S1 T1 oh1 F4 L1 YOU1 C3 K5
Thanks to David Cohen for today’s puzzles. He has just published Scrabblegrams, a book of 75 original Scrabblegrams on a wide range of subjects including art, history and science, with a small UK publisher, Penteract Press, which specializes in limited and visual poetry. You can buy it here.
You can read more of Cohen’s Doodlegrams on his website.You can follow him on X: @dc_scrabblegram to where he posts a daily Scrabblegram of the Day.
Scrabble is a registered trademark of HASBRO.
I’ve been doing a puzzle here on alternate Mondays since 2015. I’m always on the lookout for great puzzles. If you want to suggest one, email me.
