Aussie Scrabble: fair dinkum?

A NEW version of the word game Scrabble has been launched in Australia with a glossary that allows colloquialisms such as “cozzie”, “flanno” and “schnitty” to be played legally.

The game awards bonus points for the placing of an Australianism. If you are a Scrabble purist, and feel a conniption coming on, might we suggest not wasting your “arvo” being a “wowser” over the change – because it only applies to limited-edition Scrabble sets sold in Australia. To avoid any chance of a “biffo”, the Australian Scrabble Players’ Association was consulted.

The Australian version, believed to be the first country-specific Scrabble in the game’s 69-year history, comes after David Eldar, 27, from Melbourne, an estate agent in London, beat Sri Lankanborn Harshan Lamabadusuriya to win the World Scrabble Championships.