Scrabble brand logo, used worldwide by Mattel outside U.S. and Canada from 2013 Scrabble logo used by Hasbro within U.S. and Canada from 2014 | |
Manufacturer(s) | Mattel (outside U.S. and Canada) Hasbro (within U.S. and Canada) |
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Designer(s) | Alfred Mosher Butts |
Publisher(s) | James Brunot |
Publication date | 1938; 81 years ago |
Genre(s) | Word game Board game |
Players | 2–4 |
Setup time | 2–6 minutes |
Playing time | NASPA tournament game: ~50 minutes |
Random chance | Medium (letters drawn) |
Skill(s) required | Vocabulary, spelling, anagramming, strategy, counting, bluffing, probability |
Website | Official website |
Square | Original and Mattel version | Hasbro Version (2008–2014) |
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Double letter | Light blue | Blue |
Triple letter | Dark blue | Green |
Double word | Pink | Red |
Triple word | Red | Orange |
Scrabble transitioned from living-room novelty—nearly 4 million sets were sold in 1954—to competitive passion in the 1960s, when it landed alongside chess, backgammon, and bridge in smoke-filled games parlors in New York City. . When the tiles were placed in bags during games, unscrupulous players could feel around for the blanks because they had no grooves, a tactic known as 'brailling'.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Scrabble. |