(This page is being has been revised with contributions from [[Nick Ball]].)
The '''SOWPODS''' lexicon, more commonly now referred to as '''Collins''' or '''Collins Scrabble Words''' ('''CSW'''), is a word list published in 2007 by Collins and used in mostcountries as the SCRABBLE® lexicon.In January 2010, the NASPA [[Advisory Board]] authorizedthe creation of a separate[[SOWPODS rating system]] for NASPA-sanctioned games played using the SOWPODS lexicon.
[[Image:CSW countries.png|400px|center|alt Map of the CSW world]]
This map shows countries according to the lexicon(s) they use.Currently, 1 country uses TWL 45 countries use CSW (red: Mexicogreen), 2 and 4 use both predominantly TWL, with some CSW play (blue: Canada, Israel, Thailand , and the United States), and 45 use CSW (green).
The name “SOWPODS” was coined as an anagram of "OSW OSPD", the names of the two lexicons (Official Scrabble Wordsand the Official SCRABBLE Players Dictionary) that wereoriginally merged to form SOWPODS.The SOWPODS word list is currently edited by the[[WESPA]] Dictionary Committee; comments concerningthe list should be directed to the [[International Committee]].The SOWPODS word list contains all words found in [[OTCWL]],as well as a large number of other English words fromaround the world.
The purpose of these webpages is to provide informative and, hopefully, interesting information to those North American tournament and club players who are curious about trying out the CSW game. They do not, therefore, aim to introduce Scrabble play as a whole, but those parts of it that change if one plays CSW. Thus, we start with how the game differs from TWLOTCWL, introduce the most useful extra words to know, address some commonly asked questions and concerns, then describe the current CSW scene as it is evolving in North America.
The sections below are in order, but each can be read on its own.
* [[Downsides to Collins|What are the downsides?]]
* [[CSW Tournaments]]
* [[CSW ratings]]* [[CSW links]]* [[Try it!|Try it]]
Comments concerning this page may be directed to [[Nick Ball]].