B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y
is worth 17 points (without bonus squares)!
And
B-O-A-R-D-G-A-M-E is worth 15 points!
Today
is the birthday of Scrabble inventor Alfred Mosher Butts. This
architect invented the boardgame, which he called “Criss-Crosswords,”
in 1938 but wasn't able to interest any major game manufacturer in
his idea and only created a few games to sell himself. After ten
years of little success, Butts sold the manufacturing rights to a man
named Brunot, in exchange for a royalty on every game sold. Brunot
simplified the rules and changed the name to “Scrabble.” He set
up a former schoolhouse as a workshop, and he and his family made and
sold several thousand sets.
Finally,
the game's big break came in 1952, when the president of Macy's
department store played Scrabble on vacation. When he returned to
work and told others how fun the game was, he was surprised to find
that his store didn't carry the product—and at his insistence,
Macy's ordered a large number of Scrabble sets. Brunot and his family
factory couldn't keep up with the orders, so Brunot sold the
manufacturing rights to one of the big game companies that had
previously turned the game down.
Suddenly,
everyone had to have a Scrabble set!
These
days, not only do many families own Scrabble game sets, but there are
Scrabble clubs and tournaments, online versions of the game, and even
TV shows such as Scrabble Showdown.
Enjoy
the day!
Play
a game of Scrabble.
You
could try variations such as Solitaire Scrabble (just play normally,
but by yourself—and have fun planning ahead and building on your
own words—then later try to beat your own score) or any these ideas. (I love to play Anagrab!) Or create your own new variation!
Try
Scrabble online. It's available on Facebook or Pogo-dot-com (which is
free but has lots of ads).
Also
on this date:
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