Word Games

Amanda's Dictionary

Word Barnacle: a player in scrabble who alters existing words just enough to collect a substantial reward. The most well-known Barnacle is Joshua B. Hornbarger.

Building Dweller: a player in Call of Duty or Halo or any shooting game who sits in buildings and shoots the poor souls below. I hate these players.

Shooting Game: a video game in which players shoot each other.

Origins Game Convention: a yearly event that draws gamers from their basements and prompts them to walk around in leather corsetts while purchasing overpriced games. This is Tad's favorite summer event.

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Tonight, Tad and I tried out a few of his games. One was called "Word on the Street" and was a favorite of mine because it eliminates the possibility of having Word Barnacles. Players must choose a word that allows them to pull as many letters as possible to their side of the board....funny sounding, yes, but really fun.

During the second round, Tad starting doing poorly. He couldn't spell words like "lettuce" and was having a hard time coming up with word ideas.

Finally, I said something.

"Do you just want to quit?"

"No, you're about to win. Let's just finish."

"I don't want you to have to play if you're frustrated."

"I just can't think right!"

"I know, what's going on?"

"This one word has been stuck in my head for the past three rounds and it's all I can think of."

"What is it."

He paused, and then almost shyly as if offering me a most precious gem, said, "Marmalade."