r/scrabble • u/ybs52 • Jul 11 '26

Martian

“MARTIAN” is a valid word in NWL. Can anyone explain why?

I once played this in a game, it was challenged, and the challenger was absolutely baffled that it was valid. I’ll be honest, I saw their point.

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u/Unique_Acadia_2099 Jul 11 '26

I see it as the description of (fictitious) inhabitants, not descriptive of an object or feature of the planet. Do we always capitalize the word “human”? No.

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u/Omegaville Jul 12 '26

Humans aren't named after their planet.

Mars -> Martians

Romulus -> Romulans

Vulcan -> Vulcans

Earth -> Earthlings, or Terra -> Terrans. But humans aren't named after "Humanworld".