Word Wars

Tiles and Tribulations… There is a dedicated community of people for whom SCRABBLE is more than a domestic nicety – it is an obsession. They devote years of their lives to mental and physical preparation and travel the country – some full-time – competing in cutthroat tournaments. The dictionary is studied with religious devotion, each obscure word another weapon for the ultimate battle. For some, the game keeps them teetering on the safe side of sanity. For others, it has pushed them just over. Some scrape by on the meager winnings alone. In another corner of the SCRABBLE universe – New York City's Washington Square Park – you'll find a ragtag bunch oblivious to anything besides the games at hand – restaurateurs, grizzled veterans, the seemingly homeless – all obsessing about words with a Q but no U: QAT, QAID, QINTAR. This is NOT your grandmother's SCRABBLE.