B-R-O-M-A-N-C-E is acceptable apparently. So is T-E-X-T-E-R and S-E-L-F-I-E.

They're relatively modern and popular words amongst 5,000 other words which in recent years have been added to the lexicon of legitimate Scrabble plays.

Secretary of Tauranga Scrabble Club Shirley Morrison and Stan Skinner, former President and Life Member of the Club. Photo: Chris Callinan.

Throw in H-A-S-H-T-A-G.

And they could be trotted at the Tauranga Scrabble Club's annual national tournament at the Bridge Club in Ngatai Road this weekend.

More than 70 players are involved.

This year is extra special because it's the club's 40th rugby celebration. And players have come from all over.

'We have 50 members,” says the club's Shirley Morrison.

'But only about twenty are really competitive.”

So today the social players step aside for the serious ‘Scrabblers' as they are known in some circles.

Games normally take 50 minutes – there's a clock with 25 minutes on each side for each player. If time runs out there are penalties.

'You more or less have to have your turn worked out before it is your turn,” says Shirley,

Searching for a word shouldn't be too difficult. At last count Scrabble had a bank of 187,632 words on the official tournament and club word list.

Words like syzygy (an alignment of three celestial bodies), quartz (resembling quartz) and quetzals (the national bird of Guatemala).

Then there are two letter words like D-A and Z-A and 103 other two letter words which are playable in a regulation Scrabble game.

Does Shirley Morrison have any favourite Scrabble words like ‘epopoeia' or an epic poem?

'No, every game is different. And it's one thing to know a word and it's another thing to know what it means,” says Shirley.

'And if you don't know the meaning of a word you won't remember it so well.”

And does she practice, does she cram? 'I try to learn some unusual words so I have them up my sleeve. For the tournament club members will wear ruby red, they will eat ruby red food and there will be ruby red decorations.

The significance of the occasion won't be lost.

The Tauranga Scrabble Club meets every Tuesday morning between 9am and midday at the Bridge Club in Ngatai Road.