Rating: 
Summary: Annoyingly outdated, but you most likely need it.
Review: Recently I was playing my computerized Scrabble opponent Mavin (Atari's Scrabble Deluxe game) when I put down the word "email". ZAP! I lost my turn. Why? Because this word is not in the Official Scrabble Player's Dictionary (OSPD). But had I played the word "kerb" (to provide with curbing) or kex (a dry, hollow stalk), or "syren" (an acceptable spelling for siren), I would have been able to play out my turn. I also learned the hard way that you can't use "FAQ"* as in "frequently asked questions" but you can use "hath", "a present 3d person sing. of have" that probably hasn't been used in a sentence since Samuel Morse invented the telegraph in 1844. And don't even think of playing the word "spam"!
But, it's important to play Scrabble with a standardized lexicon of acceptable words, so I begrudgingly use the latest third edition, a decade old though it is. And how else would one know that "outcurse" (to surpass one in cursing) and "outbleat" (to surpass one in bleating) are acceptable Scrabble words?
As you can tell from the definitions I've listed, the OSPD is not a conventional dictionary. They don't give the year the word was coined, the etymology, or multiple definitions. You just get a part of speech and a bare-bones common definition, along with acceptable suffixes and forms of the word. For example, acceptable suffixes for outcheat are -ED, -ING and -S. It's extremely easy to use, with the words listed in all capital letters, just like in the Scrabble game.
One fine use of this dictionary, other than settling disputes and debunking the phony words my human opponent likes to make up, is improving my game. Memorizing a bunch of the Q words has come in quite handy. Even memorizing a word or two a day from the OSPD would help.
Recommendation: If you can get all your opponents to agree on another dictionary, you might not need the OSPD. However, if you play the computerized version of Scrabble, want to eventually advance to tournament play, or simply want to use the standard official dictionary for Scrabble play, you'll need the OSPD.
*Yes, I know FAQ is technically an acronym, but so is "scuba" which is an official scrabble word.
P.S. As pointed out in some previous reviews, do not use this dictionary for school! (Nor for business writing, medical school applications, etc.) You don't want to be kicked to the kerb!
Rating: 
Summary: A Must Have If You Play Scrabble
Review: Scrabble allows many 2 and 3 letter words as well as longer words that are unusual. You must have this Players Dictionary or similar source to learn and challenge these words. If you play Scrabble on line the acceptable words are most likely based on this dictionary. Hasbro has this dictionary available on line for those who are interested. Search Hasbro Scrabble.
Rating:
Summary: For ALL word enthusiasts, not just Scrabble
Review: Since I bought this book, not once have I played Scrabble (though it is a good game) but have used it for other word-game purposes for which a reliable reference is needed (such as "Word Mining" whereas one finds as many words as possible within a larger word, using only those letters, such as in the phrase "Valentine's Day" (we found over 400, range: 3+ letters).Anyhow, this book is simply great. I am the sort of person who can be looking up something in it, get snagged on a nifty word I see in passing, then simply begin reading on and on of new words I've never heard of. Example: I was looking up "PERFECTO" (a medium sized cigar) when I stumbled upon KREPLACH (dumplings filled with ground meat or cheese). This led to KREUTZER, KREUZER, KRILL, KRIMMER, KRIS, KRONA... I could go on. Some of them lead to a definition I have no idea what means, so I look up that definition, to find it leads to some other zany word, and look up that word in a fantastic treausre hunt of lingual adventure. Call me a word monger, and I might agree. (or play a song about it on my KRUMHORN.) By this time I have no idea what word I was looking up to begin with, and have spent more time reading other words that what it would have taken to look up the one word (which is why I am doing word puzzles to begin with--to pass time quickly and in a most entertaining way). Anyhow, if you are a word/language fan, please get this. If you already have the last version, note that this version does NOT contain offensive terms, which is a definite ADVANTAGE to me. I don't need to know more curse words when I am trying to hunt up a 5-letter word for a South African pygmy salute. I propose a toast to this book with raised QUAICHES.
Rating: 
Summary: For cheaters only
Review: That's right, suckaz, if you use this book you are a cheater! You should only be allowed to play words you can actually use in a sentence without consulting a reference. The proliferation of Scrabble dictionaries turns the game into a memory game...who can remember the most bogus two-letter words that are in the Scrabble dictionary? Pick a real dictionary instead, and then only use it when someone is challenging a word. Keep it real, yo.
Rating: 
Summary: Serious Scrabble players: Use it along with the 2nd edition
Review: The 3rd edition of the Scrabble Dictionary, the newest edition as of this writing, will give you the most up-to-date listing of acceptable words to use in Scrabble. However, many people don't realize that the Scrabble Dictionary went PC in this edition by removing all "offensive" or "vulger" terms. It appears that they wanted to make Scrabble a more family game and thus believed the removal of the bad words was necessary. Obviously, you don't want your kid using certain four letter words on the board. However, removing these words is rather dishonest. They're words, period, and you can't place a value judgement on whether they're acceptable or not to include in a dictionary. It's like removing certain portions of a science or literature book because someone might be offended. As a result, many hardcore Scrabble players have refused to use the 3rd edition. I'm sure many people, especially parents, will have no trouble with any of this. But for serious Scrabble players it's necessary to have a dictionary that determines all acceptable words. So what to do? Use both the 2nd and 3rd editions. While it's no longer being published, you can find the 2nd edition in either soft or hardcover on auction sites and at used book stores for a reasonable price.
Rating:
Summary: expurgated!
Review: The book has many, many words, and is easy to use.
But Webster's has left out any words they think might
offend Scrabble players.
Also, they do not include a handy reference to two-letter
words.
Rating:
Summary: OSPD Hard Cover Large Print
Review: The large print is great for 40+ crowd. The hard-cover is great for players who use and play often. We play home-rules where looking up words is encouraged. This edition is a perfect resource to learn and discover new, exciting, obscure words. Our kids and teens enjoy this book too. This book holds up through hard use, and when you play and review almost every word - it gets hard use! P.S. Our home rules include three variations: Replace blanks with letters to reuse; exchange one of three like letters in hand with no penalty, no challenge (no swearing) just discussion, correction, and lots of fun.
Rating:
Summary: Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, Third Edition
Review: The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary is an excellent learning resource for all Scrabble players. For those playing the computer version produced by Hasbro Interactive on CD-ROM, the dictionary holds every word used in the game's vocabulary. I recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: Good word list, but incomplete
Review: The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, 3rd edition (OSPD3) is more valuable as a list of acceptable words for use when playing Scrabble than it is as a dictionary. That being said, it is not totally useful as a list of words. The 3rd edition updates the word list from the 2nd edition, but leaves out offensive words, to allow the dictionary to be used when playing with children. If you don't mind not having offensive words in your Scrabble word arsenal, then this book is fine for you. However, if you want your word list to be complete, then you need the Official Tournament and Club Word List (OWL), which is available only from the National Scrabble Association. Unfortunately, you need to become a member before they will sell you the book. It doesn't contain definitions, either, only a list of 2- to 9-letter words. And, you still need Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition to get the longer words.. .. Now that you know how to collect all the words allowable in Scrabble tournament and club play, know this: Your friends and family will complain when you try to use many of these words! The official word list is a compilation of all the words from the 10 most popular dictionaries that satisfy the conditions listed in the Scrabble rules for acceptable words. So, some dictionary has defined ED to mean "education" (presumably from phrases like "special ed" or "driver's ed"). However, it's not considered an abbreviation because that dictionary didn't specifically mention that it's an abbreviation. Also, foreign words are unacceptable, but there are a lot of words of foreign origin that are acceptable (CHEZ, CIAO, CASA, etc.), and spellings of foreign letters (ALPHA, BETA, XI, QOPH, etc.). And good luck explaining that KUE is "the letter Q". So, if you need a list of a lot of words that are appropriate for school or family play, get the OSPD3. If you want definitions, (What the heck is a JNANA, anyway?) get the OSPD3. If you want to use lots of swear words and derogatory names, don't get the OSPD3. If you want an official word list, get the OWL and MW's Collegiate Dictionary, or find a word list online. If you want to tick off your opponents with your immense vocabulary of useless words, any of these word lists will work great.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing but Nonetheless Used
Review: The Official Scrabble Players' Dictionary (OSPD) is flawed in many aspects, although it is used by American Scrabble Players. In particular, the standard of lexicography used to compile this dictionary is of doubtful orthodoxy. For instance, whereas the rules of the game expressly allows slang and archaic words, many of the same were omitted from the dictionary on the grounds of 'offensiveness', despite their being attested of old. What gives the publishers the right to censor the English language. On the other side of the coin, many words of questionable membership of the English language such as the 'aarghh' so proudly mentioned in the synopsis, were controvertibly included. The quality of the print, too, is none too good. In point of merit, the only aspect in which the OSPD is superior to the Official Scrabble Words (OSW), published by Chamber's, is that it includes definitions, albeit brief and sketchy, whereas the latter merely lists the words. Of course, this defect in is easily remedied by acquiring the Chamber's English Dictionary, which is the official dictionary used for Scrabble, and of which OSW is a derivative work listing all but very long words, and which, in any case, contains much more comprehensive definitions and other lexicographical aids than the OSPD. In short, Chamber's English Dictionary and OSW are contain a much more satisfactory choice of words than the OSPD, and I would caution the casual player against buying the Official Scrabble Players' Dictionary unless forced to do so, Chamber's being vastly superior.
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