A game that taxes the brain, but is great fun at the same time (Scrabble Original)

Member Name: mrjoegoodwin

Product:	Scrabble Original
Date:	25/05/09 (7 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Universally popular, easy to play, educational

Disadvantages: Just make sure you have a dictionary at hand to prevent word arguments

Scrabble is one of the most popular and endearing board games on the market, and it is easy to see why it still sits in the games cupboards of most households in the UK. Designed for between 2-4 players, Scrabble is a game that can be enjoyed comfortably within one hour and is different every time it is played.

The aim of the game is simple enough, to be the player with the highest score. Each player begins the game with a rack, and selects 7 tiles at random. Each tile contains 1 letter of the alphabet, each letter having a different value, depending on the difficulty with which you may have to create a word that uses it. For example, the vowels and common letters like R, S and T are all worth 1 point, whereas less common letters such as Q and Z are worth 10.

On their turn, players must place their tiles in sequence on the board, so that the letters form a word. For example, if my 7 letters were as follows: BAREJXD, I could place the word 'BREAD', 'BEARD, 'BARED' or any other combination of letters, provided that the word is in the dictionary! All words placed on the board need to be valid words in the English language, so make sure you have a dictionary handy to prevent any arguments. Place a word down that is questionable, and other players will challenge its validity. If your word is spelt wrong, not in the dictionary or a simply hopeful punt at getting a high score when all else has failed, you'll score 0 points and have to remove your tiles from the board. After successfully placing a word down, players will pick up more tiles to ensure they have 7 tiles for their next turn. (the exception to this is at the end of the game, when insufficient tiles remain to take you up to 7, in which case the player picks up whatever is left).

Points are scored for the word that you place down in a number of ways. Firstly, the basic word itself. In my example, BREAD would have earned 8 basic points (B - 3, R - 1, E - 1, A - 1, D - 2). If this was the first go in the game by any player, the score is automatically doubled, which would have given me 16 points. Not bad, but you can do a lot better!

Across the board are a variety of special squares which earn you bonus points, as follows:

Double Letter - the letter that is placed on this square earns double points. E.g. the 'B' in 'BREAD' would now earn 6 points instead of 3.
Triple Letter - as above, but the letter now earns triple points (9 points instead of 3)
Double Word - the whole word that is placed down earns double points.
E.g. BREAD now scores 16 points instead of 8
Triple Word - as above, but the word now earns triple points (24 instead of 8)

Placing your letters on bonus tiles (and crucially, preventing your opponents from doing the same!) is the way to win at Scrabble. You don't need to have the most complicated words to win the game, simple and short words that cross special squares can often earn you more points than a longer word.

If you're really clever/lucky, you may be able to put down all 7 letters from your rack at once. If so, Bingo! You earn a bonus 50 points. 7 word letters are quite rare in most social games, but if you ever play against a Scrabble professional, watch out!

Now to explain how words can be put down. The instruction manual explains this more easily with pictures, but I'll do my best with words! Each word placed down must in some way, link to the existing words on the board, so that all words are connected - kind of like how a completed crossword puzzle might look.

Taking my example from earlier, my 'BREAD' is placed on the board as follows:


B R E A D

The next player may have the following letters in his rack: HTKLMAI, and decide to use the H, A, I and T to make 'HABIT'. He will score points for the 4 letters that he placed down, in addition to the 1 letter already on the board, the 'B' from 'BREAD'. The board now looks like this:

H
A
B R E A D
I
T

On to the next player, who may have a rack of NMUAIIA. Not a great set of letters, but they could use the first 4 letters, plus the 'H' from 'HABIT' to make 'HUMAN'. Now we have:

H U M A N
A
B R E A D
I
T

(this is aligned as best I can do!)

The final player may have 'ZMSGUEI', and decide to be a bit clever and intersect 2 words with the S and the G. Can you guess what it is yet?

..........S
H U M A N
A........G
B R E A D
I
T

(full stops are there to help with the spacing)

'SAGA', would again use all 4 letters in that word, even though the player himself only put down the 'S' and the 'G'.

And so the game continues, until one player uses up all his letters, at which point the game stops, and the person with the highest score wins the game. Normally, this is my Dad.*

Any tiles that are remaining on the racks of the other players are subtracted from their score, so it's really an advantage to be first past the post.

In each bag of letters are 2 blank tiles, which can be used as any letter, but once placed, is always used as that letter throughout the game. I may get very lucky and have 6 letters as follows: RONCRE plus a blank, and decide to use all 6 letters plus the blank as an 'S'. Worked it out yet?

CORNERS

Careful use of your letters, particularly the high scoring letters, the S's (great for plurals), and the blanks are the key to winning the game.

Whilst Scrabble is a fun game, it can also help children with their spelling and literacy, should you want to teach and play at the same time. Scrabble is definitely a game for the whole family, and is so popular that you are never going to be short of a willing RENPRAT**



*local variations apply. My Dad may not win the games in which you play, unless by some coincidence you also know him.

** PARTNER

Summary: The most fun you'll ever have with a dictionary