When a play results in two words, can both words be challenged at once?

by Debra
(Orangevale, Ca, USA)

I played RAGOT on the end of HATE, making HATER and RAGOT. My husband challenged both words, starting with HATER. Since that is a word, we can't resolve this. What is your opinion?

Hi Debra - A player is allowed to challenge any number of newly formed words in their opponent's move. However, they can't decide after the adjudication of one word, that they want to challenge another.

When making a challenge you must state explicitly, prior to looking up the dictionary, which word or words are being challenged. If any one of the challenged words is invalid, the player being challenged retrieves their tiles and misses that turn.

In tournament play, a third party actually checks all the challenged words and returns a single verdict, without indicating which word/s is/are incorrect. In your case, a challenge slip with the words HATER and RAGOT would come back to the players with a big red cross, and neither player would be told whether one or both words were invalid. This practice makes challenges even more ... err ... challenging.

If you want to play your challenges like this at home, I recommend you download the free application called Zyzzyva, described in my Scrabble Helper Library, and play it in Word Judge mode.

The result of your challenge would have been the one in the picture I've added to the top of this post.

I hope this prevents a few future arguments for you both ;-)