Purpose

Ever since its first edition in 2008, the aims of MISO have been to enable Malta' s Scrabble players to mix competitively and socially with their counterparts from overseas, who in turn have an opportunity and an incentive to visit Malta. 

Rules and board aside, Scrabble doesn’t always start from the centre. 

MISO, short for Malta International Scrabble Open, is a case in point. For sixteen long years, this juicy multi-faceted tourney danced peripatetically to and fro between Malta’s favourite modern tourist hotspots: St Paul’s Bay, St Julian’s and Mellieħa, steering clear, whether by accident or by design, of the centre of this magical archipelago in the centre of the Mediterranean.

But that geographical spell is now broken. MISO has finally succumbed to the lure of Malta’s historic, cultural and administrative centre: Valletta. 

Built in the late sixteenth century to preserve Malta’s and Europe’s cultural heritage from the military siege of a rival civilisation, the capital city of the Maltese Islands will now count MISO among its cultural treasures. 

MISO like Caravaggio?! Isn’t this another case of straying from the centre? Not really. First of all, Scrabble is a game whose vast, multilingual treasure trove of words makes it an eminently cultural and cultured activity. Secondly, at seventeen, MISO has become a classic of this cultural genre. 

Beyond the UNESCO-certified status of Valletta as a historical and cultural gem is its modern side with loads of restaurants, shops and hotels of all kinds and ratings sprawling across and just outside the city. 

All this begs the question which of the distinguished denizens of this fortified baroque city have opened their doors to host MISO17.

The answer is found bang in the centre of Valletta. Overlooking the city’s central square, Pjazza San Ġorġ, from a quintessentially Maltese 25-foot closed wooden balcony stands Palazzo Verdelin, an eponymous seventeenth-century edifice built by Fra Jean Jacques de Verdelin, an illustrious knight of the Order of the Knights of St John who dwelled in this “fine example of Rococo architecture” until his death in 1673. 

The palazzo, whose carved birds adorning the lower windows of its finely sculptured facade, give it its alias, Casa delle Colombe (House of Doves), was last restored in 2017. 

The modern-day custodian of Palazzo Verdelin, who will open the doors of this beautiful and well-preserved building for six whole days between the 30th of October and the 5th of November 2025, is none other than Malta’s Civil Service Sports Club.

This organisation was founded in 1925 to promote sports and leisure among the growing cadre of Malta’s public officers. A hundred years on, hosting a classic sporting event like the 17th Malta International Scrabble Open is a great way for the Club to mark its centenary. 

In truth, this is not the first time the Civil Service Sports Club has welcomed the Malta Scrabble Club, 60 years its junior, to Palazzo Verdelin for a Scrabble tournament. I remember myself sometime in the late 90s admiring the fine architecture of the internal courtyard while playing there in a 1-Day Tournament. 

Winding the clock back and forward to 2025, the great vibes the place gave me at the time are set to rise to a higher level of frequency for all those participating in MISO17. This will come from being in the palazzo not only longer but also higher, that is up in the centre of the palazzo. 

In fact, all competitive action and observation in MISO17 will take place in the main hall, which is located on the middle floor or piano nobile of the palazzo and is serviced by a lift.  In this lavish L-shaped room, streams of natural light will flow in through the glass windows of the balcony and light up the dark hues of the hall’s parquet floor, the wooden beams of its high ceiling and the Scrabble boards perched atop dozens of white numbered square tables. 

Leaving the main hall, participants will amble along a terraced hallway into one of several rooms where they can unwind ahead of their next game of Scrabble over a quick game of darts or snooker or over the delicious lunch and refreshments courtesy of Bibi’s Restaurant, the in-house caterer. They can also make their easy way to the restrooms on the same floor, or up on the roof to bask in the balmy autumnal Mediterranean sunshine, in the splendid view of St George’s Square beneath, and across in the singular skyline of Valletta and yonder. 

Access to Valletta is easy and challenging at the same time. Easy becuase Malta’s road and public transport networks are Valletta-centric. Challenging because the capital city typically attracts a substantial volume of vehicular traffic. 

This means that while there is no shortage of options to make your way to Valletta, you may need to make a bit of a head start to be there on time.

So go get yourself ready! Valletta and Verdelin are waiting for you.