It's been many years since I've played Scrabble. "Hey, do you feel like beating the pants off me at Scrabble?" is not generally something I'm asked by friends or family members. I'm not sure why.

Word Nerd: Dispatches from the Games, Grammar, and Geek Underground, by John D. Williams, is a merry exploration of the intriguing, eccentric, and sometimes brutal world of professional SCRABBLE play.

From those of Steven Spielberg to Sofia Coppola, directors’ obsessions. War of words: on the mental abilities of crossword vs. Scrabble champions. Speaking of words, a rant against “grammar keyboard ...