Is there any research that correlates Scrabble strategy and choice of words to either educational level or political leaning?

Interesting question, @elbanditoroso. I don’t know, but maybe if you contact these guys, they might be able to point you in a direction. I imagine that someone analyzes the games.

I doubt that political leanings can be gleaned. Educational levels, yes, and a type of intelligence, yes.

But your example of FART and RAFT won’t tell you because the tile placement depends on the player’s strategy.

Interesting Q. I go for using the triples and not giving my opponent the chance to use the triples. I use a lot of 2 and 3 letter words, rarely focusing on using “big” vocabulary words. I think my approach is more spatial and board usage strategy. I am more of a math person than reading, and I have a college degree, but I started playing scrabble when I was 8 and I haven’t changed my strategy much.

I do tend to avoid playing words that a rude or crude. Sometimes to my disadvantage.

Well, we usually play dirty scrabble so fart would count double. I don’t think it is going to reveal too much. Someone who reads frequently would probably show an advantage but that’s about it.

I don’t think politics play into it. A broad vocabulary, a quick mind, creative ability and strategy is the name of that game. If I can use 5 tiles to spell “Trump” over “Rum”, “Rump”, “Put” or “Rut”, it won’t be because I am a Trump supporter. haha

“All other things being equal” I would probably not play the word RAFT, because it not only sets the other person up to spell RAFTED, RAFTING and RAFTS (and another whole word from the S in that case), but it also allows CRAFT (possibly also KRAFT, but I’m not looking it up right now) and a whole ‘nother word off the C (or K) in that cast. It’s bad enough to give your opponent an opening at one end of the word, which most nouns (and many verbs) in Scrabble will allow, but to do it at both ends of the same word is Scrabble suicide.

EDIT to add: I seldom play Scrabble more than once a year or so any more, at family Thanksgiving weekends, and then I try to limit myself. The only person I don’t beat routinely any more is my daughter, who has learned to play an even tougher game than I have. Fortunately – for now – my vocabulary is still somewhat larger, but she has memorized all of the two-letter allowable words and a lot more of the three-letter words than I. But I was the one who taught her that if someone plays a simple word like CUT, then look for a way to add THROAT to the end of that. Then she not only survives the challenge, kills their turn for the failed challenge and scores the word, but she’s got five more tiles and a free turn.

We play Scrabble for blood… cutthroat.