The History of Scrabble: When the Game was Invented

The history of Scrabble is a long and winding one. When was Scrabble first invented? Where did the word Scrabble come from? What happened to the original Scrabble game, and why does it look so different now? All these questions and more will be answered in this article!

History of Scrabble: When was Scrabble first invented?

The idea for the word game we know and love today began in 1938 when an architect named Alfred Mosher Butts created a crossword-style board game just for himself. It wasn't until 1948 that he patented it, calling it Criss Cross Words. After selling the game to Parker Brothers, they renamed it Scrabble.

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Where did the word Scrabble come from?

The word "Scrabble" is actually a combination of two words - "scraps" and "boggle". When Butts first invented the game, he would play with his scraps of paper from his crossword puzzles. When he needed to invent words, his letters would often be mixed up and scrambled all over the place! In fact, that's how Scrabble got its name in the first place - from a mix of "scraps" and "boggle."

What happened to the original Scrabble?

The game was originally manufactured with wooden tiles, but when the game was brought to Britain in 1952, they switched to plastic. However, the letters were still made of wood! In 1967, Scrabble underwent another big change - the board became square instead of rectangular. This change was made so that the game could be played on a variety of different surfaces (such as tables and counters).

Why does Scrabble look so different now?

The game we know and love today is actually quite different from the original. In 1984, the tiles were given a new font (which is still used today) and the scoring system was changed. This made the game faster and more strategic. In 1990, an electronic version of Scrabble was released. This new game came with a timer, and the players tried to score as many points as possible within that time limit. When you play Scrabble today, this version is what you're most likely playing on!

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If you have any questions about our history of scrabble blog posts or if there are some more details about the history of scrabble you want to add, we'd love to hear from you. Just let us know your thoughts in a comment below! In fact, if there are any other questions or topics related to our blog post that you think would be interesting for us to cover as part of our ultimate Scrabble guide for beginners, please let us know! We're always looking for new and interesting content to share with our readers. Happy Scrabble playing! 🙂

Do you have any questions about the history of scrabble? Let us know in a comment below! And if there are any other topics related to our blog post that you think would be interesting for us to cover, please let us know! We're always looking for new and interesting content to share with our readers. 🙂

Happy Scrabble playing! 🙂

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