It's Top 50 of all time... the reason all the scores (save one) are from 2003 onward is basically because relative to today, we used to suck... ;-)
There was no such thing as a "four-trip" game over 1500 before 2001 -- the only games that would make Top 50 from before 2000 were those 15-letter-games, like you said. The reason I consider them cheating is because to get the best score, you'd just play the same game again and again (OXYPHENBUTAZONE) and hope for better and better tile order. Where's the fun or challenge in that?!
I played a 15-letter-game a couple months ago with a final score of 2178...!! No way in hell I'd put that on the Top 50. If I recall correctly, there were fewer than ten 15-letter-games played before 2000 anyway.
If anyone beats the #1 score with a regular "4-trip" game, I'd pay the people via PayPal. Or snail mail, if you prefer...
-= Mike =- |