Scrabble: History of the Board Game

Alfred Mosher Butts was the first person to invent Scrabble during the great depression of the 1930's. It was initially named Lexico, and also called Criss Cross. It was not made with a board incorporated to start off with, but played without any type of board. He studied the use of words, and discovered how certain letters were used more often than other letters. He then proceeded to put scores on each letter, and the first board was made of paper.

At first the game didn't sell very well, but James Brunot popularized the game when he took an interest, in 1947. Burnot took over the making of the game, and managed to sell about 2000 sets in his first year of production. The board was originally made from paper, and written on with pen. Eventually, the tiles were made from wood with the letters engraved on them. However, people began to cheat as they were able to feel the letters they were picking out, so the letters were changed to plastic material instead. The game didn't really have much sales until 1952 when the owner of Macy's decided to invest in the sales of the game. He had played Scrabble while on vacation, and thought it would be good for his business to sell the game in his stores. Shortly after, other toy stores began stocking the game, and did very well with the sales.

The game cost $3 to buy during the 50's, and a deluxe version was on sale for $10. Richard Nixon and the Queen Mother were both known to have enjoyed a game of Scrabble in their day. Readers of the Games and Puzzles magazine voted it the best game in 1975. Selchow and Righter later purchased the rights of Scrabble from Brunot.

Scrabble is a game that is played all over the world, with many worldwide competitions being held each year. The game has become so famous that there have even been movies made regarding the board game. Scrabylon is a documentary film highlighting the competitiveness of the game. Word Wars was produced featuring the efforts of the four top Scrabble players in the world. Word Freak is another documented movie regarding the story of what it takes to become a Scrabble champion. Your Word Against Mine, is a romantic story that deals with a man who wants to succeed in becoming a Scrabble champion, and a woman who sets out to put him off his game.

Today, one in three American homes has a version of Scrabble. The game has version such as, Junior Scrabble, Deluxe Scrabble, and various versions on CD ROM. A special edition of the game was introduced in 1998 in celebration of the 50th year of Scrabble.