Milton Bradley's Scrabble: An Ovarian Reminder
Written: Apr 10 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Classic, easy to learn and play, fun.
Cons: None.
The Bottom Line: A classic board game that’s challenging and fun for the whole family.
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| rodeo7's Full Review: Scrabble |
A classic board game, created 50 years ago and manufactured by the Milton Bradley Company, Scrabble is so popular that it is played in different languages in different countries. This crossword style game is very easy to learn, and its difficulty level depends on who your’re playing against.
Set-up of Scrabble is simple. There is nothing to put together. Some Scrabble sets have stickers to stick onto the letter trays, but that’s all you need to do to set up the game when you first buy it. To begin a game, you simple lay out the board, turn all letter tiles face down on the table (or whatever playing surface you’re using), and then hand out the letter trays to all the players. Each player then draws a tile to see who goes first. There are 100 tiles, each with a letter of the alphabet and a number on them. You use these tiles to spell words on the game board. The player who draws a tile closest to “A” goes first. After that, shuffle the tiles and draw seven tiles, at random, and place them on your tray so that no other players can see your tiles.
The board is made up of little squares, like a checker board, but with fifteen rows and fifteen columns. The majority of squares are white (kind of off-white), but there are some squares which are colored differently. The colored squares are either Premium Letter, or Premium Word squares. These special squares can double or triple the score of a letter played on that square, or a whole word if one of its letters is placed over a Premium Word square.
Words are formed so that they are read from Left to Right on the board, or Down the board. Each newly formed word must also include one of the letters of a previously created word. This creates a crisscross pattern of words on the board, like a crossword puzzle. If a word is played parallel to a previously played word, then all adjacent letters have to make words as well. For example: “SAT” is played down, then “HAT” is played across using the “A” in “SAT”. “SICK” can then be played across using the “S” in “SAT”. This is allowed because the “I” in “SICK” forms “IT” with the “T” that is below it. By forming “SICK” and “IT”, the player scores more points too. Players replace played tiles at the end of the turn.
Scores are calculated by adding up the total of all the numbers (points) on each tile that was used to form a word. Doubling and Tripling can happen with the Premium Letter and Word squares. There is also a 50 point bonus for using up all seven of your tiles in one turn. The game ends when one player uses up all his or her tiles, or no more words can be formed with the remaining tiles. The sum of a player’s remaining tiles is subtracted from their score. If a player uses up all their tiles, then the sum of all opponents’ remaining tiles are added to the player’s score. The player with the highest score wins.
It’s a good idea to always have a dictionary around if someone challenges a word that was formed. One rule is for all players to agree on a dictionary to use as an authority to challenge words. If a word isn’t in that dictionary, it isn’t allowed. Not all Scrabble sets come with a timer, so a clock comes in handy to time the three minutes each player is allotted for their turn.
Those were a generalized form of the rules to give you an idea of what the game is like and how it is played. It’s for two to four players so it can be fun with one friend, or a small group of friends. Scrabble can easily help children (suggested for ages 8 to adult) increase their vocabulary and work on their spelling. I remember, as a child I tended to spell “Is”, “Dog”, and “Cat” a lot. I guess my examples of HAT and SAT aren’t much better are they?
I have always enjoyed Scrabble. It still helps me with vocabulary and spelling, and the game can get pretty competitive. There actually is a good bit of strategy that can be used when playing, so it isn’t all luck of the draw and vocabulary size. For instance, you can keep track of what letters have been played so you can determine your chances of pulling letters you need. You can also study the board to see what chances there are of your opponent using the word you just played to score a Triple Word Premium Square on their next play. And there’s always that darn “Q” that I rarely can get into play.
Scrabble will always be a classic board (I like to call them “bored”; as in “a game you play when you’re bored”) game due to its simple rules and easy playability. Strategy and vocabulary make this a great game for those that enjoy games where you need to “think a lot” to play. I love brain games like Chess and even Clue, but I do like a nice bout of Hungry Hungry Hippos or Fireball Island now and then. Fun for the whole family and an established classic, I recommend Scrabble to anyone and everyone that likes to play board games.
Hmmm?
My title?
Oh! Right right. The deal with the Ovarian Reminder. Ah yes... When I think of Scrabble, I remember a particular match I played against my girlfriend. I went first and I formed a pathetic four-letter word. Let’s pretend it was “PAIL” because I can’t remember what it actually was. My girlfriend takes her first turn. What does she play? She spells “OVARIES”, down the board with the “S” pluralizing my “PAIL” to “PAILS”. This scores her points for “PAILS”, and a Double Word Premium bonus on “OVARIES”, plus the 50-point bonus for using all seven of her tiles. We kept playing after that huge scoring onslaught and I never even got close to catching up. She basically won on her first turn with her “OVARIES”.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 10
Type of Toy: Board Game
Age Range of Child: Other
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Epinions.com ID:
rodeo7
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Member: Eddie
Location: Virginia, USA
Reviews written: 29
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