Renaldo Moon is a top Scrabble Cubes player who’s famous for being able to score at least 900 in every Cubes game he plays. He’s won enough money to pay for his college tuition in Washington University, where is he is currently majoring in Mechanical Engineering. I had the chance to catch him in the middle of a Scrabble Cubes rampage, and got to sit down with him for 30 minutes for an exclusive interview.

Ikaruga says:

Thanks for taking the time tonight to do an interview with us, Renaldo Moon! Tell us a little bit about yourself — who are you, and how did you get started playing skill games?

Renaldo Moon says:

It’s my pleasure!

Renaldo Moon says:

Who am I? I’m just some normal 18 year old student. Or, however normal I can get, making a living from playing Scrabble. I found out about Worldwinner.com through an advert for Scrabble Cubes on the tele. Completely ridiculous advert, but it caught my attention and compelled me to try it.

Ikaruga says:

Now, let’s get this straight. You’re claiming that you’re making a living from playing Scrabble…if you don’t mind sharing, just how good are you?

Renaldo Moon says:

How good am I? I’m surprised I win on here at all. Some of these guys I compete with have memorized 98% of the Scrabble dictionary and I’m sitting here with the vocabulary of the average teenager, but somehow I make it happen. Just goes to show you that it’s not all about studying Scrabble word lists and playing word games all day.

Ikaruga says:

How much do you think you make on an average month?

Renaldo Moon says:

It depends. Some months I’m really busy with school and can only play every few days. On months like that, I can make about $500 or $600.

Ikaruga says:

Those are your slow months, right? How much are you making on good months?

Renaldo Moon says:

Ah, well my withdrawal for the month of January was $1,850, something like that.

Renaldo Moon says: $1848.55

Ikaruga says:

Jeez! I think you’re all talk, haha. Do you have anything to back up anything you’ve said? Perhaps videos of you in action, or some Paypal screenshots you can share with us?

Renaldo Moon says:

I’ve made some videos for a few people who wanted them, who knows where they are though. You may be able to find one of them floating around Youtube.

Ikaruga says:

How about a Paypal screenshot to prove you made almost $2000 in a single month? Think you can muster that?

Ikaruga says:

Wow Renaldo, you’re fine with everyone seeing these numbers? That’s a LOT of money…and there’s even a page 2!

Renaldo Moon says:

That extends back almost a year, there’s more than 2 pages. I dare not show my ledger from my early days in cash gaming, though.

Ikaruga says:

Did your early days suck when you started out?

Renaldo Moon says:

Oh, it was terrible. I think I went about $400 down before I started to see any profit. I was ready to cut my losses and never sign into Worldwinner again. There was one point where I withdrew the $6 in my Worldwinner account because I was afraid I’d lose even more.

Ikaruga says:

Were you just losing a bunch when you went down the hole?

Renaldo Moon says:

It’s not like I was losing game after game and continually depositing money. I’d win a few games. Just enough wins to keep me trying, but not enough to make profit.

Ikaruga says:

What caused you to bounce back up from nearly quitting Worldwinner to making a living out of gaming?

Renaldo Moon says:

Well, I just started playing smarter. I took a break for a month, and came back clear-minded, decided on just one game to learn, and learned the game as best I could before trying any more cash competitions. Back then there were no strategy guides for Scrabble Cubes, no videos of players scoring high, it was something one had to figure out on one’s own.

Renaldo Moon says:

I played warm-up games for a few days until I was confident of my ability.

Renaldo Moon says:

I’ve gotten a lot better since, but that was enough to get me started in capturing my lost money, and making huge profit.

Renaldo Moon says:

Right after my setback I pulled in $1,200 in just a week.

Ikaruga says:

Well, jeez. It’s pretty clear to me that you’re for real, so enough about gaming for a minute. Some people want to know more about the legend too! Any music that you prefer?

Renaldo Moon says:

Oh, definitely! I love music. Music’s really special to me. I remember being younger and really enjoying classic rock and folk. Neil Young, Stan Rogers, Johnny Cash, I loved it.

Renaldo Moon says:

I started appreciating more music in my teenage years. I started getting into jazz and classical music, which set the foundation for a whole different level of music. I really enjoy contemporary classical and electronica now.

Renaldo Moon says:

I listen to a lot of avant-garde and a lot of experimental-classical. IDM takes a little more patience but I’ve found roots there too.

Ikaruga:

What are you listening to right now?

Renaldo Moon says:

I was listening to Philip Glass, but it has shifted to Mono and now to E.S. Posthumus.

Ikaruga says:

So are you a musician yourself? What are your hobbies?

Renaldo Moon says:

I wouldn’t call myself a musician but I do enjoy playing classical guitar, piano, and violin. I enjoy writing in my spare time, and I spend a lot of time reading, on top of my studies as a student.

Ikaruga says:

What about games? Are you a gamer outside of Worldwinner.com?

Renaldo Moon says:

I’m not huge into videogames, but I play some. I enjoy fighters. Street Fighter II, Guilty Gear, even some Smash Brothers now and again.

Ikaruga says:

Hey, I remember Street Fighter 2! Who’s your favorite character?

Renaldo Moon says:

Zangief!

Ikaruga says:

I always thought that guy sucked, why him?

Renaldo Moon says:

He’s difficult to control and has terrible maneuverability. If I defeat my opponent using Zangief, I know it’s because I’m skilled enough, and that I’m not using a high-tier character as a crutch.

Ikaruga says:

Alright…I still play Street Fighter too, so we’ll have to go at it sometime. Any genres other than fighters that you play?

Renaldo Moon says:

Classic shooters that are challenging.

Renaldo Moon says:

Contra III, Pocky & Rocky…

Ikaruga says:

How about Ikaruga? That was one hard ass game!

Renaldo Moon says:

I played that a long time ago, and recently

Renaldo Moon says:

Compared to Pocky & Rocky, Ikaruga is on the same level as Donkey Kong.

Ikaruga says:

My little brother beat Donkey Kong before he knew how to tie his shoes, so I’ll take your word for it.

Renaldo Moon says:

Don’t get me wrong, Donkey Kong Country’s an awesome game.

Ikaruga says:

Well, we’ll have to talk more about games sometime soon. We’re running out of time, so let me ask you this: what advice do you have for people starting out with skill gaming?

Renaldo Moon says:

That’s easy. Make use of what you have available. I would’ve loved to have all the information on these games laid out at my feet when I started playing cash games. I wholly encourage anyone who is interested to give it a shot, but play smart and be careful. Play responsibly and learn the games well before entering any cash competitions.

Ikaruga says:

That’s great advice. Any last things you’d like to say before I let you continue stomping people on Worldwinner?

Renaldo Moon says:

Just one.

Renaldo Moon says:

RENAAALLLLDOOOOO MOOOOOOON

Ikaruga says:

Haha, okay! Thanks for taking the time to do an interview with us! Those were some great techniques, Muta!