Scrabble
$19.99
Scrabble at a Glance
| Game Type Word, Tile Placement | Play Time 30 - 90 mins + | Skill/Complexity (2 - 5) Light - Medium |
| Age 10+ | Publisher(s) Hasbro, Mattel and others | Published 1948 |
| Categories Classic / Word / Family | Players 2 - 6 | Cost Classic $15 other versions/editions $8 - $45 + |
| Our Rating 8.5/10 | Manual Game Rules PDF |
About – Description
The history of Scrabble dates back to 1938 when an Architect named Alfred Butt designed a game called “Criss-Crosswords” which he was unfortunately unable to get on the market to the large manufacturers to sell the game.
Along came James Brunot, a social worker who bought the rights to manufacture Scrabble from Alfred Butt in 1948. James did his modifications and changed the name to Scrabble. In the first year he lost money, however, by 1952 he began to make a success in selling games, although he could not meet the demand.
In 1952 Brunot sold the rights and the rest is history, Scrabble the board game has been selling successfully around the world by various manufactures ever since, and continues to be a very popular classic word game.
Who’s it best suited for?
Word games including Scrabble have a lot going for them in terms of family entertainment, educational and learning, and a way or tool for stimulating the mind positively.
My mother and grandma loved crosswords and grandma did them daily, so it’s no surprise she had a Scrabble board and enjoyed playing it. My grandma was a very patient person and made the game fun for my impatient mind, but at age 8 – 10 if I had to be serious I would have lost interest in a flash.
Many younger children can get bored easily playing word games like Scrabble, although this depends on each child and their preferences. While they’re young it’s worth seeing how kids get along with a game like this as it may encourage and improve their learning and word skills, but try and keep it fun.
Of course, crossword puzzle lovers that want someone to compete or play with like getting the Scrabble board out for a word rendezvous.
You can play with just 2 people, but 3 or 4 persons is much more fun, unless serious competing is your style and requirement.
Skill – Complexity
Of course the board game Scrabble requires skill with using words, spelling and vocabulary. However, it will depend who you are playing with and their level of skill and word knowledge.
The only other aspect of Scrabble which is not complex at all is counting and writing down the scores which determines the overall winner of the game.
Playing with a person slightly more skilled than myself has been an advantage in terms of learning and getting better, hopefully.
The skillful players will work out words that can create the highest score, but some of this depends on luck of the draw regarding the letters too.
Scrabble does have its own dictionary that can be used, that’s sold separately. This keeps the game fair (you can also use any other dictionary) especially when word inventors play with you and start making up words. Better than playing with a group of pedagogues though, I reckon.
Set Up – Playing Rules & Instructions
Setting up is quite straight forward. Set the board up and provide each player 7 letter tiles from the tile bag to place in the tile tray that each player has. All you need now is a pen and paper for calculating scores and a dictionary for any spelling issues or words that may not exist.
Starting
You must decide who starts the game first and which players follow. The Scrabble rules state that each players picks a tile from the bag and the ones closest to the letter ‘A’ win, unless it’s a blank tile, as a blank tile is better than getting an ‘A’.
You may decide to change a letter or the whole 7 letters during the game, however, this forfeits or is used as your next play, so basically you kind of miss a turn. It’s worth it if the letters are really poor and you can improve them.
Now you all take it in turns placing tile letters on the board that must be attached in some way to the first letters placed on the board which the first player kicked the game off with. You continue with each player taking a turn until all tiles are finished or no letters can be played.
Winner/End Game
Once the game comes to a halt (tiles finished or no further playable letters) the scores are calculated and the player with the highest amount wins.
There are other aspects of the game rules and instructions, however, above is the simple explanation that I hope gives you the idea of how to Scrabble along.
Time Needed
It is worth mentioning that you can choose to put a time limit on your Scrabble game if a whole game running its course could be too long. Most games last from 30 – 90 minutes, and can be longer.
Waiting between turns can be a a little drawn out at times for some people.
You can get much better skilled at playing Scrabble. My advice would be search online for tips and advice to improve your play.
This how to play video is very useful…….
Versions – Editions
The USA (Hasbro) have a version and there is also an outside the USA Scrabble board game that’s manufactured by Mattel. Various other publishers are licensed to publish and sell Scrabble around the globe.
There are various editions including the classic, retro, deluxe, super deluxe, junior, and a few others.
Travel companion Scrabble is available. Home computer games, and the latest video game consoles cater for the game as well. And, you can play online with other players around the world.
Final Thoughts
Scrabble will continue being a popular choice of board game from the word game genre for many years to come yet I think, and for good reasons too. It’s well known, and keeps younger people learning. It also enables adults to show off their word skills, and may just keep the cogs oiled and turning for the older generation.
It’s still a great family board game, and reminds me of my grandma. Even some gamer nerds vote this above some other word games, but of course Scrabble wont please all gamer geeks or everyone else for that matter.
