A brief history of club and competitive Scrabble in New Zealand

The game of Scrabble in New Zealand has a rich history, and I have never been able to resist a good historical story—particularly when it tells a story about us as Scrabble players. A cursory scan through the earliest copies of Forwords - New Zealand’s Scrabble magazine, offers some insight into the origins of clubs and the development of competitive Scrabble in this country.

Sixty-two years ago, Mrs. Noel Maisey, a long-time Scrabble enthusiast, set up NZ’s first Scrabble group in Hamilton. Eight years later, in 1976, she was instrumental in founding the Tauranga Scrabble Enthusiasts’ Club, which was featured in both the New Zealand Herald and the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly.

By 1979, she was typing accounts of players’ achievements, clever wordplays, memorable games, and the small moments that made Scrabble so engaging for club members. Her quarterly newsletter was copied and posted—presumably to the Secretary of each of the eight Scrabble clubs then active in NZ. Dictionary and rules of play were discussed, and interest in the competitive side of the game began to grow.

The 1980s were a decade of consolidation. The first New Zealand Scrabble tournament was held in Tauranga in 1980, and the New Zealand Association of Scrabble Players (NZASP) was formed in 1981. The first issue of FORWORDS, the association’s magazine, was mailed to seventeen clubs around the country. More players became engaged in the game, drawn not only by a love of words and word puzzles, but also by the sense of community and friendly connection. Horizons broadened as players began travelling to compete, including events as far afield as Norfolk Island. Competition, it seemed, could be both serious and fun.

Like all good stories, a sequel must be written to carry the theme forward. It is up to the current cohort of players to continue that story. Last week I mentioned how members celebrated our club’s twentieth anniversary in 2025. In my role as club Secretary today, information and resources are emailed to members, often with attached files to be either printed out or filed in a computer folder on their device at home. How much easier it has become to share Scrabble news through digital devices, live-streaming and social media platforms.

The 2026 Scrabble NZ website Calendar already marks several inaugural events:

• the SNZ Women’s Championship, held in January

• the SNZ Australasian Open (June) 

• the SNZ Youth Championship (July)

Each of these, in its own way, becomes another small line in the ongoing history of Scrabble in New Zealand.

Looking back through these fragments of history, what stands out is not only the growth of tournaments and clubs, but the continuity of something quieter: people gathering around boards, sharing words, learning from one another, and enjoying the game. The names and formats may change, but the spirit feels familiar. Each game played today becomes part of the same long story—one rack of seven tiles, one word, one club gathering at a time.

Another note from the board — Scrabble Notebook.