This dictionary is an essential reference for any serious or even frequent Scrabble player.

The biggest advantage of this particular dictionary is that it standardizes what is acceptable when playing. Anyone who has ever played without an agreement on what constitutes the acceptable words knows that there are far too many dictionaries out there to easily agree upon one without an official one such as this.

That being said, it is not a dictionary that one can use to get definitions of words. Many times it will only define one usage of a word even when there are others as its purpose is to define what is acceptable in Scrabble play.

It is invaluable in terms of listing words that a regular Scrabble player needs to know such as two letter words, 'Q' words that don't require a 'U', etc.

One who is a frequent player will probably want to supplement this by getting a list of two letter words from the National Scrabble Association. That is definitely a good idea as it would be very difficult to be a very competent player without knowing all of those.

This dictionary does list countless words that a player may need in different situations such as qat, suq, zyzzyva, etc.

It certainly does need to be updated. There are lots of words that have become commonplace in recent years that are not in this such as spam, email, blog, latte, etc.

It is still the best out there for Scrabble players and is really an essential for playing the game.

Recently I was playing my computerized Scrabble opponent Mavin (Atari's Scrabble Deluxe game) when I put down the word "email". ZAP! I lost my turn. Why? Because this word is not in the Official Scrabble Player's Dictionary (OSPD). But had I played the word "kerb" (to provide with curbing) or kex (a dry, hollow stalk), or "syren" (an acceptable spelling for siren), I would have been able to play out my turn. I also learned the hard way that you can't use "FAQ"* as in "frequently asked questions" but you can use "hath", "a present 3d person sing. of have" that probably hasn't been used in a sentence since Samuel Morse invented the telegraph in 1844. And don't even think of playing the word "spam"!

But, it's important to play Scrabble with a standardized lexicon of acceptable words, so I begrudgingly use the latest third edition, a decade old though it is. And how else would one know that "outcurse" (to surpass one in cursing) and "outbleat" (to surpass one in bleating) are acceptable Scrabble words?

As you can tell from the definitions I've listed, the OSPD is not a conventional dictionary. They don't give the year the word was coined, the etymology, or multiple definitions. You just get a part of speech and a bare-bones common definition, along with acceptable suffixes and forms of the word. For example, acceptable suffixes for outcheat are -ED, -ING and -S. It's extremely easy to use, with the words listed in all capital letters, just like in the Scrabble game.

One fine use of this dictionary, other than settling disputes and debunking the phony words my human opponent likes to make up, is improving my game. Memorizing a bunch of the Q words has come in quite handy. Even memorizing a word or two a day from the OSPD would help.

Recommendation: If you can get all your opponents to agree on another dictionary, you might not need the OSPD. However, if you play the computerized version of Scrabble, want to eventually advance to tournament play, or simply want to use the standard official dictionary for Scrabble play, you'll need the OSPD.

*Yes, I know FAQ is technically an acronym, but so is "scuba" which is an official scrabble word.

P.S. As pointed out in some previous reviews, do not use this dictionary for school! (Nor for business writing, medical school applications, etc.) You don't want to be kicked to the kerb!

Scrabble allows many 2 and 3 letter words as well as longer words that are unusual. You must have this Players Dictionary or similar source to learn and challenge these words. If you play Scrabble on line the acceptable words are most likely based on this dictionary. Hasbro has this dictionary available on line for those who are interested. Search Hasbro Scrabble.

You have to have this dictionary to play scrabble because it lists the acceptable words that can be used. It's especially important when playing with people who don't play as often because some of the words you remember when playing scrabble are obscure so people will challenge you until they get burned a few times. It's also important because people will try to make up words that don't exist so when you challenge they lose their turn if you refer to the official dictionary. This edition is not the "official, official" word list because it's for recreational and school play. So naughty words are not in it that should be. Nevertheless, it is important to have handy when playing.

One cannot truly compete if they aren't doing so by a clear and concrete set of rules. Without one, the competition in question becomes compromised, and, therefore, a farce. While every game of Scrabble includes a rule book of sorts, a dictionary is also needed to play, and every avid player knows that not all dictionaries are alike. Words are in one that aren't in another and vice versa. So, which one is telling the truth? There is no right answer to that question, but here's the solution. The authorization of this particular dictionary by the makers of Scrabble, along with an endorsement by the National Scrabble Association, make it an extension of the rule book itself, and it, in turn, makes the rules clear and concrete. Now, we can compete!