Happy Scrabble Day!

April 13th is Scrabble Day!

Why Celebrate?

People who are good at Scrabble are people that I have a huge respect for. Because this game is not your typical roll-the-dice, luck-of-the-draw board game. This game requires not only a knowledge of words, but also a knowledge of how to spell them correctly. And we’re not talking simple words. Simple words will get you points, but abstract, strangely spelled words will get you more. Use those Qs, Zs, Xs and expect a big score. Strategically place those letters on top of special bonus squares and get an even bigger score. It is truly impressive to me, and though I have never been particularly great at it, I always enjoy a good game of Scrabble. That is, unless I’m playing a Scrabble Master. The type of Scrabble player that seems to have a dictionary built into their head. The type of Scrabble player that will challenge your misspelled word because they KNOW they are better than you, and they won’t let it slide. The type of Scrabble player that will take their precious time and somehow use every tile on their tile rack. You know who you are.

Scrabble was first created back in 1938 but Alfred Mosher Butts, but the original name that he gave it was “Criss-Crosswords”. Alfred wasn’t very successful in marketing or selling this new game, however. Ten years later, James Brunot of Connecticut purchased the rights to manufacture the game. He left most of the game unchanged, but he simplified the rules a bit and renamed the game “Scrabble”, which is a real word that means “to scratch frantically”. Fun facts.

How to Celebrate

Play Scrabble! Host a Scrabble game night with your friends, though keep in mind that this is a 2 – 4 player game (unless you play with teams). You can also play Scrabble online, by yourself, without actually owning the game.

Quote of the Day

“Children are the most desirable opponents at Scrabble as they are both easy to beat and fun to cheat.” – Fran Lebowitz

Featured image via Sixteen 10