I’d never thought of myself as a competitive kid. I’d happily see my friend Marcia kick the footy to the end of the street when my drop punt limped into the gutter. And I didn’t mind at all when she blitzed me at tennis.

But then I discovered Scrabble. A monster was born.

This kink in my character really exploded in my teens on summer holidays. A happy Scrabble game played after dinner could drag on for........

© The Sydney Morning Herald