noted. Exchanges are often annotated by a minus sign followed by the tiles that were exchanged alphabetically; for example, if a player holds EIIISTU, exchanging two I's and a U would be denoted as "−IIU". The image at right gives examples of valid plays and how they would typically be annotated using the notation system. Additionally, a number of symbols have been employed to indicate the validity of words in different lexica: An asterisk (*) means an illegal, or phony, word. A hash symbol (#) means a word valid in games using the British-originated word list (CSW) only. A dollar symbol ($) means a word valid in games using the American-originated word list (TWL) only. An exclamation mark (!) means a word judged to be offensive, and thus valid in tournament games only. Sequence of play Before the game, a resource, either a word list or a dictionary, is selected to adjudicate any challenges during the game. The tiles are either put in an opaque bag or placed face down on a flat surface. Opaque cloth bags and customized tiles are staples of clubs and tournaments, where games are rarely played without both. Next, players decide the order in which they play. The normal approach is for players to each draw one tile. The player who picks the letter closest to the beginning of the alphabet goes first, with blank tiles taking precedence over the letter A. In most North American tournaments, the rules of the NASPA Games organization stipulate instead that players who have gone first in the fewest previous games in the tournament go first, and when that rule yields a tie, those who have gone second the most go first. If there is still a tie, tiles are drawn as in the standard rules. At the beginning of the game, each player draws seven tiles from the bag and places them on their rack, concealed from the other player(s). Making a play The first played word must be at least two letters long, and cover H8 (the center square). Thereafter, any move is made by using one or more tiles to place a word on the board. This word may use one or more tiles already on the board and must join with the cluster of tiles already on the board. On each turn, the player has three options: Pass, forfeiting the turn and scoring nothing. Exchange