How many Xu is your Dzo worth? Or can I pay with Jiao? Welcome to the world of serious Scrabble.

It's a place where you will often find an Mzee or a Qadi making an appearance. It's almost enough to make you let out an Euoi.

This week is National Scrabble Week.

To the uninitiated, the board with 98 lettered tiles and two blanks comes down from the shelf each Christmas, ending up with rows about American spellings.

But to true fans, Scrabble is a way of life.

Keen Scrabblers include snooker player Steve Davis and pop princess Kylie Minogue.

Kylie, by the way, is also an allowable word which would get you 12 points.

Daphne Fletcher, of the Brighton and Hove Scrabble Club, has travelled around the world playing tournaments and said people of all ages were interested.

She said: "I was coming back from a tournament in Nottingham on the train and sitting with three young people.

"I said to them: 'What a pity you don't have a Scrabble board' and they said they had. I had my dictionary so we all played. I'm afraid I beat them though."

Meanwhile, Don Davis, 85, from Brighton, only began playing the game socially on his retirement.

Within a few years he was appearing at the national finals.

He said: "In 1993 I entered the nation finals preliminary heat and I played three and won one match. The following year I won all three games and got to the finals in Leeds where I finished 12th out of 16.

"Scrabble keeps the brain working which is very important. It's a social game and it's also educational."

Betty Simmonds, from Worthing, is a member of the Durrington Scrabble Club.

She said: "It's very therapeutic. When you play, it takes your mind off things completely.

"I sometimes play with left and right hand by myself - and, no, I never cheat myself. It's a good way of learning new words."

Betty threw down the gauntlet to your correspondent who accepted the challenge of a match.

The seven letter word "easiest" gave me a 50-point bonus and a healthy head start while Betty was forced to change her letters three times.

She kept chipping away at my lead, particularly when my attempt at putting "moanier" was challenged.

But with the help of "optician", I just managed to hold on for a victory.

Anyone who is interested in challenging the Scrabblers can meet them at a number of events this week.

Tomorrow and Saturday, they will be at the King Alfred Leisure Centre, Hove.

On Thursday, there will be an open evening at the Conservative Club, Blatchington Road, Hove, from 6.30pm.

Xu = a Vietnamese coin. Jiao = Chinese currency. Dzo = a Himalayan yak. Mzee = an old East African person. Qadi = a Muslim magistrate. Euoi = a frenzied cry. Kylie = a boomerang.