OK. Really getting somewhere with my static-file Scrabble clone. Lots to do still but I can fully encode a game into a base64 string, and then decode it back to a played board! Yay!
Though this is primarily an intellectual and fun exercise, the thought of totally ad-free, login-free, free-to-host, 1-page, simple Scrabble-like game is pretty sweet. Because all the online versions I've used are so full of bloat!