Scrabble was invented in
1931 by an architect named
Alfred Butts during the downtime he had as another unemployed victim of the
Great Depression. Originally it was called
Criss Cross because it was based on, as you might have expected,
crossword puzzles. Over the next decade, Butts refined the game until it became the one we know now as Scrabble. He was content with the game purely as entertainment for his own family until a friend, an entrepreneur named
James Brunot, convinced him of its commercial potential. They
trademarked it in
1948 and began manufacturing sets. When demand took off a few years later, it was licensed to
Selchow & Righter, who were convinced that it would be merely a short term fad. Instead, it eclipsed the popularity of their best selling game,
Parcheesi, and they finally bought the trademark in
1972. It has become a world favorite: there are versions in many languages, and even one in
Braille. In
1986, Selchow & Righter was bought by
Coleco, which sold the game to
Milton Bradley during Coleco’s
bankruptcy the next year. Milton Bradley is now a subsidiary of
Hasbro.
Despite the fact that I have a decent vocabulary (not to mention a degree in
English), I never managed to do well at Scrabble. In fact, I hate Scrabble (gasp!). If you feel differently, and you must play Scrabble, I suggest you get one of those deluxe swivel boards with a raised grid to hold the tiles in place. It will make your games much easier, because one good jostle will destroy an entire game on a regular board.
Useless info:
letter | point value | # of tiles
A 1 9
B 3 2
C 3 2
D 2 4
E 1 12
F 4 2
G 2 3
H 4 2
I 1 9
J 8 1
K 5 1
L 1 4
M 3 2
N 1 6
O 1 8
P 3 2
Q 10 1
R 1 6
S 1 4
T 1 6
U 1 4
V 4 2
W 4 2
X 8 1
Y 4 2
Z 10 1
blank 0 2
total # of tiles: 100