Libby the Lobster and the Gigantic Boggle Bungle

Mornings at the Libby Library in Old Orchard Beach, before 9:30 are pretty quiet, and so when I arrived the morning after the big storm, I was stunned by the huge mess all over the floor. The letters for the Boggle game were strewn about the circulation area.

My first thought was that the storm had broken a window or blasted open a door, and the wind had wreaked havoc in the library, but a quick survey of the rest of the library assured me that that was not the case. Only the game was disturbed. Everything else seemed to be in the place(s) where we had left them Wednesday evening when we closed.

There was a scuttling off to the side and from under the jumble of letters out popped our cunning crustacean comrade.

"Aha! Actors! I found my word! Six letters! Three points! I win!"

"Libby!" I exclaimed. "What on earth are you doing?"

Libby looked up, a sheepish little grin on his lobster mug, "I'm winning the Gigantic Boggle game! I've rearranged the letters and come up with the best word."

Gazing at me triumphantly, he added, "And as a Thespian myself, it is apropos! Now, give me my prize!"

I shook my head.

"I'm very sorry, Libby, but that's not how you play Boggle."

"What do you mean? I made a word, fair and square!"

"I mean, the letters have to stay on the wall, for one. It's normally played with cubes set in a 4x4 grid, but since we wanted it to be gigantic, we had to place the letters on the wall."

"Yes, but ...." he stammered.

"Then, players will make words with the letters by starting on one letter and moving to the next in any direction - up, down, side-to-side, or diagonally, as long as the next letter is touching the previous letter."

Looking down at the letters on the floor, Libby asked, "So, can I also make cat?" 

"Well, that's not exactly a grid, but I would have to say no, because the t isn't touching the a."

"Oh. I think I understand."

"It's pretty simple once you've played a time or two, but I understand that the first time can be a little confusing. You know, what? I found this video on YouTube that helps explain."

"Thanks! That looks like a great video!"

"And as for prizes," I told Libby. "The player with the most points for the week wins a prize. The board changes daily."

"Wait! You mean, I'll have to come up with a new word tomorrow?!" Libby groaned.

"Yes! But that's half the fun. A new board means an opportunity to make a whole list of new words and earn even more points!"

"Fantastic!" Libby exclaimed. "Now I understand! And I'll be back to play ... after you've reset the board and cleaned up this mess! In the meantime, I hear there will be candy bars at the library on April 20."

"What are you talking about?" 

"Milky Ways. On April 20. It's on the calendar, Wendy!" Libby admonished.

"Oh!" I laughed. "That's not candy bars, Libby. That's a book talk with translator Gunnel Larsdotter and illustrator Jamie Hogan for their book based on the Swedish poem, "Milky Way" by Zacharias Topelius. Sorry, Libby. It's not candy, but if you're looking for snacks, there is a Poetry Salon on April 27, to wrap up Poetry Month here at Libby Library. There might be snacks."

"Never mind," he sulked. "I'll just head back down to the beach. I heard some interesting stuff washed up on the shore from the last storm. Maybe there's a candy bar."

Before he left, Libby asked me to let everyone know that he'll be back soon for more adventures with Libby Memorial Library's favorite mascot, Libby the Lobster!