DOUBLE SCORE
‘Less intimidating’ Scrabble game’s on new 2-in-1 board
THE makers of Scrabble have changed the game’s format for the first time in 75 years to make it less competitive.
Their new double-sided board will still feature the original version.
But the flipside will be the new game Scrabble Together.
Toy giant Mattel says it is more collaborative, allows teams and is accessible for those who find word games difficult.
It is quicker, has a simpler scoring system and can be played by children as young as eight. Broadcaster Gyles Brandreth, 76, president of the Association of British Scrabble Players, called it “exciting”. He said: “The makers found younger, Gen Z people don’t like the competitive nature of Scrabble. They want a game where you can simply enjoy language, words, being together and have fun creating words.”
Ray Adler, head of games at Mattel, said: “We want to ensure the game continues to be inclusive. For anyone who’s thought, ‘word games aren’t for me’, or felt a little intimidated, Scrabble Together is ideal.”
Players score by strategically placing high-value letter tiles on the board. The new version replaces the free-for-all of forming words with a more structured game, and players given three “goal cards”.
Each contains a set of challenges and there are helper cards if you get stuck. The winner must complete all 20 challenges.
Brett Smitheram, 2016 world Scrabble champ, said: “The game speaks to a trend in younger people who want to avoid competitive games, favouring teamwork and collaboration, working towards a fun goal.” Research found almost half of Scrabble players have tried to make up a word to win. Scrabble was invented in the US in 1938 by jobless New York architect Alfred Mosher Butts.
He called it Criss-cross Words but makers were not interested. Connecticut entrepreneur James Brunot bought the rights in 1948, granting Butts royalties. He called it Scrabble, changed the colour scheme and brought in a 50-point bonus for using all seven tiles.
It went on to be sold in 121 countries, in more than 30 languages.
Around 150 million sets have been sold and around half of British homes are believed to have one.