“I love words,” she said.

“Some people like figures but me and the other members of the Scrabble Association are words people.”

Ms Bell and her fellow Batemans Bay Scrabble Association members gather at Batemans Bay Soldiers Club at 1pm each Monday to play the game they enjoy.

The uncertainty and challenge of the game are big factors in what keeps her keen.

“You get these seven tiles and you have no idea what you’ve got,” she said.

She believes not even a Forrest Gump box of chocolates comparison does it justice.

“At least with a box of chocolates you know you are going to get chocolate,” she said.

“It’s not the letters you get, it’s what you do with them. Sometimes I have all these high value tiles but I am on half the other person’s score because I haven’t been able to make use of what I’ve got.

“It’s frustrating when you’ve got a great word and you can’t fit it anywhere.”

The dream words she would like to get on the board one day are beziques (a card game) and quetzals (tropical birds).

Ms Bell plays the game for enjoyment, not to win at all costs.

“It’s a social afternoon,” she said. 

“We are not competitive. We even help each other out, especially to get a better word.”

Nor are Ms Bell and her fellow players pedantic about the game.

“Some people are scrabble purists but that is not who we are,” she said.

“When we play you can do what you like as long as the others agree with it,” she said.

She can’t see herself entering in any competitions.

“You would have to remember how to spell an awful lot of words,” she said. 

Ms Bell said new members were always welcome at the Scrabble group.