The Scrabblegram is a form of constrained writing in which you must write a piece of text that uses all 100 tiles in an English Scrabble set, and no other letters. The blank tiles must be used, and as per 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 organised by GAMES Magazine to tell a story using all the tiles of a Scrabble set. After a hiatus of about 2 decades, Cohen began a few years ago to start writing Scrabblegrams again: he has since written more than 400 including what I am nominating today as the greatest wordplay puzzle of all time.
Take a breath. The clues below are a Scrabblegram. They are quick crossword clues, and come with word lengths (the numbers in brackets.) Your task is to find the answers – which are also a Scrabblegram. Chapeau!
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. However, the best way to create Scrabblegrams to use this online Scrabblegram player, which tells you what tiles you have left.
Cohen is an internal medicine hospital physician in Atlanta who has worked exclusively nights for over 20 years. The puzzle above took him between 10-12 hours to create.
In fact, he has actually written two Scrabblegram puzzles! Here’s the other one. Again, the answers are also a Scrabblegram.
I’ll be back with the solutions at 5pm UK. NO SPOILERS PLEASE.
UPDATE: Read the solutions here.
The Scrabblegram dates to 1975 when the Times Diary section wrote of a new game invented by Phoebe Winch of Sherborne “to compose something sensible using all the tiles supplied with Scrabble and using no other letters.” Her attempt was:
I am dieting. I eat quince jelly. Lots of ground maize gives variety. I cook rhubarb and soda, weep anew, or put on extra flesh.
(Winch was an important local figure in Sherborne: moving there after a career as a journalist in London, she became its first Liberal councillor in 1971. In 1976 she became Sherborne’s first female mayor. She died in October last year age 92. If anyone has any memories of her, especially in connection with puzzles and wordplay, please post them below the line.)
To get a sense of how difficult it is to write Scrabblegrams, why not try to come up with some of your own? I will put my favourites in the answer post to this puzzle. Since it might take you longer than until 5pm today, I will update the solution post for the next few days.
You can email submissions to me directly or leave them in the comments below.
I asked Cohen to give some tips:
1) Choose a topic that is genuinely meaningful to you. Even if it doesn’t work out, time spent creatively on something you care about is still time well spent.
2) Make sure you’ve got 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’re ready to begin, first come up with a short phrase that says exactly what you want to say, 15-20 letters max, without yet worrying about any constraints.
4) Have a plan right from the start for the Q and the J.
5) The whole 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 the whole way through. Otherwise, you’ll end up with too many 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 either blank until as late as you possibly can, leaving at least one (preferably both) until the end. It’s almost impossible to finish with real words without at least one blank to help get there.
8) Please note that Scrabblegrams are quite hard 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 have real words where most are relevant, even if it doesn’t totally make sense.
B3 E1 S1 T1 O1 F4 L1 U1 C3 K5
Thanks to David Cohen for today’s puzzles. He has just published Scrabblegrams, a book of 75 original Scrabblegrams on a wide variety of topics including art, history and science, with a small British publisher, Penteract Press, which specialises in constrained and visual poetry. You can buy it here.
You can read more of Cohen’s Scrabblegrams 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 setting a puzzle here on alternate Mondays since 2015. I’m always on the look-out for great puzzles. If you would like to suggest one, email me.
