Is THIS the Highest Scrabble Score Ever?

Welcome to Episode 9 of Scrabble History, a series where I break down some of the most incredible plays, epic rivalries, and amazing moments in Scrabble's rich competitive history.
Joel Sherman's name is written all over Scrabble's record books, with two North American Championships and a World Championship to his name. But he's also in the record books for a game so incredible, it's literally one-in-a-million! In this episode, I break that game down and explain what makes it so insane, even beyond Joel's eye-popping score.
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I also have a weekly show on the official Scrabble Twitch channel (Tuesdays 3-5 PM ET):
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Play Scrabble at playscrabble.com!

[@truwigl3582]

Knowing that you’re about to enter the annals of scrabble history on the wrong side of a complete blowout and firing “porno” on the last move is peak form.

[@dumpygirl6736]

Legend

[@leumasarc4180]

goated comment

[@KM-fl5jq]

Yup! Felt more like a comment of the game not a word.. xD

[@rheiagreenland4714]

Joel also had a hand that could have played "fingered" at one point but there wasn't anywhere he could play it

[@wesleyhopmans]

So many times... So few holes@@rheiagreenland4714

[@GentleBaller]

Gotta respect the hail mary PORNO from Bradley

[@LordJudgement1818]

Chad move

[@JamesCA]

Huge chad energy going on @@LordJudgement1818

[@Mclarenboy100]

If you've seen Jon Bois' video about the highest score in a basketball game, he detailed how *both* teams technically worked together to achieve such a high score, playing fast and setting up primarily for scoring big. Almost a co-operative venture to hit uncharted territory in terms of scoring. But here, Bradley was playing *defensive* moves through the game, and some pretty solid ones at that like _ULU_ and _PORNO_ , not to mention I couldn't find a moment where he left the chance for the double-triple word bingo you brought up at the end.. It was no co-operative effort. Joel had to strategize around a somewhat defensive game, find hooks where he could, and strike bingo after bingo (which... goddamn, COTHURNI is a crazy play).

[@Xeractyll]

Exactly. Perhaps only pure dominance can be shown through Jon Bois' video on the highest score in a football game (222-0), and perhaps, this Scrabble game as well.

[@JensGulin]

At least Bradley gave Joel 24 point as a final gift.

[@Avendesora]

Just an aside, KZbin is like 20 years behind the times with their text formatting, so putting other punctuation directly after _ or * or ~ will ruin your formatting.

[@Aequorin628]

I don't think Bradley was playing defensively, even if he accidentally happened to block some of Joel's plays. ULU is a rather aggressive fishing play since it opens up the bingo lane for a L or S, LOBE is a setup for a G, PENCE opens up two lanes for 8s, COY is a setup for a S, etc. When you are behind in scrabble, you want to open up the board to give yourself a chance of bingoing, but he got unlucky and Joel continually took the spots he was setting up

[@wanderer15]

I'm a huge fan of Jon Bois...I've watched hours and hours of Secret Base. I would squeal with delight if he ever took notice of me in any way. Also, great points - Bradley played a solid game here. This wasn't a steamrolling of a defenseless opponent at all.

[@TheMagicalJuan]

"Normally, players at the expert level carefully track the tiles that have been played" - a very sad and hidden self-burn! Great vid as usual.

[@wanderer15]

Somebody's been watching my other videos ;) thank you.

[@amthy5675]

Definitely not got the joke

[@wanderer15]

@@amthy5675 in the video I made before this, I blew an important game by failing to track tiles correctly.

[@amthy5675]

@@wanderer15 I watched that, maybe you will have the chance to win the next tourmanent hopefully! (I only play online so I never track tiles)

[@Sam-oz8pn]

Insane game! I would love to see the one where Joel beat Nigel Richards 3 times in a row to win the NA championship

[@wanderer15]

Working on that one as we speak ;)

[@samrusoff]

This channel never disappoints

[@v1x4z]

Man, I don't even play Scrabble, yet you're always able to explain everything in a concise, yet understandable and entertaining way. Great job, my dude.

[@wanderer15]

Thanks, I really appreciate that!

[@thegodofpez]

I am honored to have bought Sir GI Joel a beverage at a bar once. It was a lot of fun. I got to drive him and David Gibson (RIP 😢) to the airport. I’ll never forget it.

[@Nick_Espinosa]

Hey Will, Just wanted to let you know you make some of the best content out their right now. I had/have little interest in playing scrabble, but your incredible story telling is so captivating! Thanks for making these video essays for us, keep doing what you are doing, I can't wait for more videos in the future, take care!

[@wanderer15]

Thank you so much!

[@Cherokeechuck9]

Mentioning the fact that bradley stopped tracking letters and following that up with him playing porno was really funny, intentional or not.

[@jmarvins]

damn.. this game so crazy i had to take some CHLORODYNE

[@danielzitnik4247]

These history videos are such high quality. Thanks for making them!

[@wanderer15]

Thanks for watching!

[@iamflipachip]

I have no innate interest in Scrabble but I always look forward and greatly enjoy your videos because regardless of the subject matter they tell an interesting story well.

[@SamButVeryTall]

This Scrabble History series is fantastic, every one has been great so far. Keep up the awesome work!

[@WalterBrosPictures]

As someone who didn't care a lick about scrabble until i saw your world championship video, I gotta say I love watching your videos. Excellent breakdowns, insightful commentary, no annoying edits or crazy frills, just damn good interesting content. Don't stop uploading, I love the videos!

[@dr.schliemannplantamundo3454]

this channel is shockingly underrated

[@anthonys3892]

I had a professor a couple years ago who was a scrabble semi- professional. I thought it was kind of cool but also kind of funny at the time. Now that I’ve found your channel, I have so much more respect for him

[@bobbysanchez6308]

Easiest subscribe of my life. Your storytelling never ceases to amaze, you capture my attention immediately and retain it throughout. You do an excellent job of providing historical context, while emphasizing and detailing the surprising and subtle aspects of the game. Cheers!

[@wanderer15]

Really appreciate the kind words, thank you.

[@hfcriske]

Great video. I'm amazed at their ability to not only find words with the letters they've got, but also their vocabluray (some of these words I heard today for the very first time), as well as their strategical play given probabilities of future scenarios.

[@kappa_philosophe]

I do not even play English scrabble but I really enjoy how passionate you are when you talk about tournaments, this is why I appreciate your videos a lot!

[@AlishaTownley]

Thanks! Absolutely love these videos - so captivating, well done, and honoring to the players involved!

[@VikingFireProject]

I'm not sure how Scrabble ended up in my algorithm... but I'm here for it!

[@MrJsintic]

I recently started playing Scrabble online. Currently at an average word score of 23 with a perfect 14-0 win streak. Thanks for unlocking this hobby for me Will. I already love language, I don't know how I never considered playing Scrabble in my free time. I definitely have a leg up on the middle aged mom thanks to your channel 😂❤️

[@JamesCA]

dude, i love your story-telling. please keep going

[@drew53768]

Hey! Just wanted to say I really love all your videos. Especially the Scrabble Tips! I've been practicing for a while and just hit my first 500-point game ever (with 3 bingos, to boot -- VEINING, DEMISES, and PLOTTING!) Your tips for finding bingos have been a huge help in my improvement, thanks for making them!!

[@wanderer15]

So glad to hear - great score and bingos!

[@Zebris0]

Always hyped when I see a new Will Anderson vid, always bangers. Keep it up man

[@mikechappell5849]

Toh Weibin scored 850 in the 2012 northern Ireland championship with the international word list

[@ahuman32478]

I don't even play scrabble, nor have ever played scrabble, but every single one of your Scrabble History videos is a treat nonetheless

[@prodtheontar]

this videos is my favourite series on youtube right now. Keep up the amazing work

[@macauleyhorton3260]

Thank you for introducing me to the world of competitive Scrabble. You make it sound so interesting, and you've got me itching to play!

[@wanderer15]

Thanks for giving my channel a chance, and I hope you enjoy your Scrabble journey!

[@alexgberg]

love these history videos!

[@aarush____]

Congrats on 14k subs Will!

[@thecabillonaire]

subbed a few vids ago but wanted to drop in and say your content is incredibly captivating and the pacing is magnificent. loving every new upload

[@doctorleftwizard8931]

As always, I really love these videos! Thanks for putting in the time to create them. :)

[@wanderer15]

And thank you for watching them!

[@Hottodoggu.]

Another banger as always❤

[@AlexDings]

8:40 I sense some subtle foreshadowing here

[@aronquemarr7434]

I love this series.

[@SamBowers114]

Great video as always! Are you considering making a video about the lowest amount of points ever scored? (Or if that’s not interesting maybe lowest by two players combined)

[@omfgacceptmyname]

it's already on his channel! a scrabble game with no words

[@asdfasdf4924]

Great video, thanks!

[@chipikasimanwe9333]

Just brilliant 👏🏾

[@WorldPeace-AdamNeira]

What a game ! I like playing Scrabble.

[@frankyang3784]

Nice video! Will you make a video of the greatest comeback in Scrabble history?

[@wanderer15]

I'll definitely be on the lookout for amazing comebacks!

[@zalibecquerel3463]

I really enjoy when you post the definitions of some of the more obscure words. "Cothurni... plural of cothurnus". Outstanding! In order to be the best, not only do you need to know English, but a little Latin as well. Then again... you could just memorize the French dictionary and play there :)

[@hiramsicles5580]

great video

[@dokchampa9324]

It's really amazing that Joel looks exactly how I imagined a scrabble world champion to look like

[@COZwei.]

i have never played scrabble nor do i know the exact rules and despite all that these videos are very interesting

[@mr.beatfan8814]

I would love to see you finish up the Better Know a Letter series

[@TheGreenLing]

How do you research or get the details of the game. This would seem to be a relatively minor game (first round, of a small tournament), but you seem to know every play.

[@wanderer15]

Joel knew it would be of great interest to the community, and recorded his end of the game for posterity. Often, these games were live-streamed, or annotated and posted on cross-tables.com - the only trick is knowing where to look for them.

[@TerraSept]

Joel is the definition of "It aint over till its over"

[@olegyamleq7796]

great review of the game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@airagog1016]

Your vids are awesome, I just want to say

[@lillyrose6568]

I love this! You mentioned this was the only 800 point game in north america. Are there more from international tournaments?

[@wanderer15]

There sure are! Coming to the channel soon :)

[@Truthmane1]

Nice thumbnail 🤩

[@davidtydeman1434]

Amazing word knowledge

[@humanmerelybeing1966]

Goddamn I love this channel

[@squadxzo]

You should do a blitz episode with Mack Meller would be interesting to hear commentary on both sides.

[@mackmeller]

I'm so down

[@ajjdgj6tmgedvnmtmek]

Note that by Hasbro's rules, the ones that come in an official Scrabble box, this wouldn't be scored as an 800+ point game. Before tallying Bradley's AEQ, the score is 779-285. Competition scoring gives Joel double their value for +24 and the 803-285 end line. But Hasbro rules say that Bradley loses 12 points for ending with those tiles and Joel gains the same amount for going out, leaving the end line at 791-273. Usually this scoring method difference is immaterial, since scoring in tournaments is based on games won and the point spread. After this game either way it's a win for Joel and +518 spread. It's just only by the scoring change that the game breaks 800 for Joel. As far as I can tell, this difference is mostly because it doesn't matter to the tournament results and because subtraction is hard but doubling is easy, which in turn makes scorekeeping easier and prone to fewer math errors.

[@Charles-yi3mx]

I think a good game for scrabble history would be that chloe fatsis vs jem burch game where you were commentating and chloe outplays with rediscern* and wheeling, though another KZbinr might have covered that one already, I don't remember

[@wanderer15]

Excellent suggestion

[@Matthew-bu7fg]

Bradley would've been better served spending his time enjoying the topic of his last play

[@vardhman]

6:30 bradley was losing but didn't quit hustling , what a chad

[@evanrman8048]

Poor Bradley jeez

[@joshcoughx]

"Nice!"

[@wanderer15]

Good eye ;)

[@joshcoughx]

@@wanderer15 Lol. I'm surprised you slipped that in there, but it made me like this channel even more!

[@santaisreal]

idk if you still read the comments on this month old video, but i would be really interested in the tournament game with the highest amount of points for the losing player, so like when both players did amazingly.

[@wanderer15]

I sure do, and I have some great candidates for this idea!

[@rhandhom1]

I feel bad for Bradley. He got walloped. This must be what my mother feels like when I play against her. lol (To be fair, I do hold back on some higher scoring moves when I play with her.)

[@michaelchen2718]

how do they keep track of the unseen tiles? Update: 6:12

[@nautilus269]

In some other parts of the world, this would amount to 791. This inconsistency wreaks havoc worldwide with records like these.

[@Benjy52]

I’ve gotten a few 800 point games before. Just not in a competitive setting.

[@OfficialGidfather]

800 points is alright, but most importantly, Meller was 11, and his rating was like double mine!

[@jed6251]

Who is Meller?

[@truthseeker1867]

The highest score found to date was in 2008, it was 1780 points. Thank Vsauce channel for that information. It would be nice to see you make a full length video on thus.

[@skitsadoodle5194]

3:55 lol i saw that

[@Crunchymg]

letter tier list video pls

[@isaotron]

I wonder. Do you have plans to finish, "Better Know A Letter"? Or do you think you've covered enough

[@wanderer15]

At some point, I’m 99% sure I’ll return to Better Know a Letter. Only ?ABDNPRSTY to go!

[@rumpelRAINS]

I'd quit playing scrabble if someone played over 800 points against me.

[@4Thessia]

Highlight of my now-defunct scrabble career: I scored 678 in a tournament game against a 1900+ player. No phonies, no challenges. I had a trip-trip and a double-double. 800+ is friggin crazy.

[@wanderer15]

Highly impressive!

[@abcde_5949]

Wasn't the A and E in end still playable, so those shouldn't count to the points if opponent just gave up? :(

[@anonymouseicecube91]

Hey man I love your videos but I don't play Scrabble. Would you consider making a video explaining the scoring system and the different tiles on the board?

[@wanderer15]

This is a good video for that purpose: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKvSqoCtpNZ_bbc

[@popajajkula2930]

1:49 you can rearrange those letters to spell precum

[@StrikerALX8]

Why.. Why do you know that?

[@LRXC1]

Cothurni is an insane word

[@OlafReuh]

My personal best is 834 points. But it wasn't in an official tournament only a little game with a friend who let me score two triple triples. And I play in french.

[@proamateur9903]

the one in a billion is the 'oxyphenbutazone'

[@SamBowers114]

I heard a story of a player playing QUIXOTRY for 365, the highest scoring single play ever. Is this story true, and if so, what did that player end up scoring in that game? (Great video by the way!)

[@jellomochas]

Michael Cresta (who played QUIXOTRY) 830 - Wayne Yorra 490, in a club game

[@hansle170]

I read in a book that the record is 392 points, happening on two separate occasions with MEZQUITE and CAZIQUES. But I think these were club games from a couple decades ago and not tournament games

[@BrettMKW]

@@hansle170 I've heard that too, in TWL 392 is the max possible with a triple triple without creating other words in the process. BEZIQUES can also score this. The best you can score in Collins under the same restrictions is QUIZZIFY using a blank, that scores 419.

[@Eh-ot4vz]

My wife inadvertently set me up right near the end of a game for QUIZZERS hitting trip trip. The Z alone was worth 180 points. The entire play scored 351 I think. I had been freaking out not being able to find a spot to dump the Q or Z. She was underenthused by my little celebration dance. By far my highest total score ever in a game (663).

[@michaelchen2718]

He's murdering this poor kid

[@asymptoticspatula]

Why was the AEQ at the end worth 24 points and not just 12 points? I always thought it was the sum of the unplayed letters added on...

[@michaelchen2718]

LMAOOOOO in the end he still got beat by a kid

[@dolthhaven8564]

good video!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@maxlimit9129]

vro really got his score tripled huh

[@Cs-hp7ru]

Not quite

[@Frommerman]

Damn I feel bad for Bradley here.

[@rhandhom1]

I live in Connecticut. Do these Scrabble tournaments all happen in the same places? I would love to see one live.

[@wanderer15]

cross-tables.com is a good resource to locate tournaments happening nearby…remember too that there are divisions for players of all levels, so you could even consider trying out playing yourself! It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

[@rhandhom1]

@wanderer15 Will do. How different is Words with Friends from Scrabble? I primarily play WWF on my phone.

[@wanderer15]

​@@rhandhom1 It's all the same skills, just in slightly different quantities. The bonus for playing all your tiles is much smaller in WWF and the triple word scores are paired with triple letter scores in WWF instead of double letter scores, so opening the edge of the board is even more dangerous. I tend to think of Scrabble's board layout as being perfect to balance offense vs. defense and word knowledge vs. strategy, and any deviation just doesn't compare.

[@rhandhom1]

@@wanderer15 Thanks for the insights.

[@michaelchen2718]

6:33 HEhehEHEHEH

[@zacnewford]

I thought remaining tiles were subtracked from owner's score and added to opponent, not doubled and added. 791 in my book.

[@TheTroy8]

Hey Will I'm just curious, do scrabble competitions not have a resignation component like in chess? I'm guessing not since it seems like your cumulative score matters so even if you know you're to lose you're still incentivized to score well/limit your opponent's scoring

[@wanderer15]

That’s exactly right - though a lot of players would be happy if resignations were acceptable. In matchplay formats, you’re likelier to see resignations, but those are somewhat rare in sanctioned tournament play.

[@TheTroy8]

@wanderer15 thank you! I recently found your channel and have been through almost all your videos now, awesome work

[@mikedicenzo1650]

Whats your highest scoring word and highest scoring game? Mine are 149 points for readings across 2 triple word scores and i got 419 points in my best game

[@wanderer15]

Nicely done! I think my high score is something like 690. I played the Collins word MACARIZE# for 248 points once.

[@jasoncole1833]

wasn't the q playable in the i of airline with qi?

[@wanderer15]

Yes, but Joel's move of AIRLINE was made with no tiles left in the bag, which ended the game.

[@rhandhom1]

Two questions: 1: Has there ever been a game with such a terrible board that a player had to forfeit because no decent words could be played? And 2: What is the most obscure word that you have personally or viscerally encountered in a Scrabble tournament?

[@wanderer15]

1. Yes, it’s very rare but happens from time to time and is always amusing 2. I don’t have a standout response to this one, but Nigel Richards lays down some amazingly obscure stuff pretty frequently

[@ViPxRampageXx]

Why are the AEQ tiles at the end worth 24 points instead of the usual 12?

[@wanderer15]

Copied from a nice answer given by @axcertypo in another comment: the box rules for scrabble cite that after one player uses the rest of their tiles and the bag is empty, the leftover tiles are subtracted from the player's score and added to the score of the player who used the rest of their tiles. In tournaments in most of the world, to facilitate the mathematical aspect, we just multiply the unused tiles by 2 and add them to the score of the player who used up their tiles. It works out the same mathematically and makes figuring out the final scores slightly easier, removing one of the steps.

[@Benjy52]

Is a average score of 38 points per turn, good?

[@ghosthamster6521]

Respect to the kid. Was down so many points that he decided to play Porno because it was funny.

[@lizg6515]

Why not keep EM in the exchange on the first play? Isn't that better than keep only E or exchange 7?

[@wanderer15]

If I had to guess, I'd say Joel likely felt that he was likely to win this game as long as he got his hands on some blanks and esses, and didn't feel like EM or E were quite good enough to deter him from pursuing that goal.

[@zerotwoisreal]

when he played "porno" he knew it was already over

[@benjaminschmutter]

Just curious, how may of those 1.8 million games opened with OP?

[@wanderer15]

Probably a whole bunch. What I failed to explain properly in that New Yorker video was that with my first rack of BKNSST?, OP is the only play in the dictionary that yields a bingo to me. The odds of there only being one single word that allows you to bingo going second and actually having your opponent play that word…not sure how to even calculate it!

[@mahxylim7983]

why does AEQ are unplayable? bottom left corner has AT, right? is there some rules i missed?

[@wanderer15]

The T of TRAVOISE can’t fit QAT because of the G of SHAKING.

[@mahxylim7983]

How about Placing a single 'A' to form 'at'

[@wanderer15]

The A and E are playable, but the Q isn't, and that's the important one because it's worth so many points (10).