National Scrabble Day

Scrabble, the iconic board game that has reached people all over the world, is one of the most popular games that people still play today. But who started this wordy game and how did it become so popular?

National Scrabble Day celebrates the history of Scrabble, how it came to be one of the most beloved games, and gives people just the right amount of excuse to play it.

Learn about National Scrabble Day

If you have never played Scrabble before, where have you been all of this time? National Scrabble Day was created to coincide with the birthday of Alfred Mosher Butts; the man who invented this iconic board game. Scrabble is played all over the world. In fact, Scrabble has moved through many generations, and while the board game version is still very popular, we can also play the game on our smartphones as well. As this is one of the world’s most iconic board games, it is only right that we have a day to celebrate it!

History of National Scrabble Day

Scrabble, one of the most popular board games to exist today, has a long-standing history behind it. It began with the Great Depression of 1929, which left many people out work and starving for food.

One of those people decided to try and not make life so depressing by inventing a game. Alfred Mosher Butts, an out of work architect, decided to create a game that people could enjoy during their free time.

As an avid fan of games himself, he combined the elements of anagrams and the classic crossword puzzle to create a score wording game. This game was called LEXIKO, it would later change its name to Criss Cross Words.

However, many game manufacturers didn’t agree with the idea he had and rejected his game. It wasn’t until he met James Brunot that the concept was reshaped in rules and design that Scrabble was born.

The game gained trademark in 1948, and then after, the game went down in history as America’s most popular board game. At one point, the game event became a TV show. In 1984, the show Scrabble aired on NBC national television with host Chuck Woolery.

Today, the Scrabble dictionary continues to add words to its definition each year. People continue to play it in their own homes as a fun way to pass the time. Celebrated yearly on Butts birthday, National Scrabble Day celebrates the history of this game by encouraging everyone to play it.

How to Celebrate National Scrabble Day

Celebrate National Scrabble Day by hosting a Scrabble party with your friends. See who knows the most words and whoever wins gets a free thesaurus or dictionary.

Play scrabble with your parents, coworkers, and whoever you know. Bake Scrabble-themed cookies, practice your word-play skills and play Scrabble on a mobile app.

Have some scrabble pieces, use them to in some DIY crafts and create unique items with the Scrabble words. Share this day with your friends and family and play Scrabble with everyone!

There are plenty of other ways that you can celebrate scrabble as well. As mentioned, it is possible to play Scrabble online today. So, if you do not have anyone who wants to join in at home, you don’t have to worry. You can play against the computer or other people all around the world.

Another option is to host a Scrabble tournament or to take part in one! We are sure that there will be a lot of tournaments that are taking place on this day, so all you need to do is a quick search online.

You can also use National Scrabble Day as an opportunity to become a better Scrabble player. There are a lot of different tricks and tips you can use to master this game. Firstly, we would recommend learning three- and two-letter words. These words can increase your score by as much as 50 points per game when they are used correctly. Therefore, although these words are small in size, they can certainly pack a massive punch, so we would recommend starting off by brushing up on your skills in this department!

Organizing your rack efficiently makes a difference as well. Place tiles that create common beginnings or endings at the appropriate sides of your rack. For example, there are a lot of words that end in “-ing” or “-ed.” This will help you to see any potential words more effectively. Don’t forget that you can also add these endings to words that are already on the board to make a new word that’s worth more points!

Another trick that we love to use when playing Scrabble is creating two words at once by simply using the letter “s.” You can pluralize a word on the board by adding an “s” to the end of it. We would always recommend that you make sure this move guarantees you a minimum of ten points. This is because there are only four “s” tiles in Scrabble and so it is important to use them wisely.

The final tip is that you should be heading toward the “hot spots” while you are playing Scrabble. By the hot spots, we mean the parts of the board that have bonus squares. You can really take the lead if you land on a triple word square with a good word! This can take your score to the triple digits, helping to ensure that the Scrabble crown is yours!