Scrabble

A crossword-style board game, Scrabble is based on vocabulary and word formation. Scrabble was invented by Poughkeepsie, New Yorker, Alfred Mosher Butts who started tinkering with a word game in 1933. Originally called Lexico, Butts gradually developed the game over the next five years. He also changed its name a number of times, from Lexico to New Anagrams, to Alph, Criss-Cross, Criss-Crosswords, and finally to Scrabble. In December 1948, Scrabble received a copyright and trademark approval. Its popularity has skyrocketed since then. More than 100 million games in 27 languages have been sold around the world.

Scrabble continues to be a favorite game around the world and over one million Scrabble games are sold worldwide each year. In this game, two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary.

The key to becoming great at Scrabble is actually playing the game. Practice as much as you can and really study the board. Add up points in your head (using a calculator if necessary), and figure out which moves will work out the best for you. Much like chess, Scrabble requires you to look ahead at moves as well. If you need to take low points to set something up for even larger point then do it, but be aware that your opponent is also looking ahead and may steal your move, so thiink of various option/strategies before you make your move.