NEW YORK — Scrabble is getting a bit of a makeover, at least in Europe.
Mattel has revealed a double-sided board that includes both the classic word-building game and Scrabble Together, a new version aimed at being more accessible for those who feel word games are intimidating.
This fresh version, now available throughout Europe, is being promoted as being more team-focused and quicker to play. This marks the first major change to the Scrabble board in over 75 years, according to Mattel's announcement on Tuesday.
“We want to ensure the game remains open to all players,” said Ray Adler, vice president and global head of games at Mattel, in a prepared statement. He noted that consumers can still choose between the classic game and the new version.
For many years, toy companies have introduced different or simplified ways to play board games, from junior editions for younger children to multiple sets of instructions for varying levels of difficulty.
Scrabble Together is aimed at players of all ages. Jim Silver, a toy-industry expert and CEO of review site TTPM, stated that the double-sided board is a clever approach as it allows players to switch between modes as they prefer.
Mattel’s announcement was accompanied by a survey providing insights into how British consumers have approached classic Scrabble in the past. London-based market researcher Opinion Matters found that 75% of U.K. adults aged 25 to 34 have looked up a word while playing the game to check if it’s real. Additionally, almost half (49%) have attempted to create a new word in an effort to win.
It remains to be seen whether this new version will extend beyond Europe in the future. While Mattel holds the rights to Scrabble in much of the world, Hasbro licenses the game in the U.S., for instance.
“Mattel and Hasbro have separately worked on developing different versions of Scrabble each year,” Silver said. Consequently, some versions are only available in certain countries, creating an interesting dynamic for dedicated fans of the game.
A spokesperson for Hasbro, based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, confirmed to The Associated Press via email on Tuesday that the company currently has no plans to introduce the European updates to Scrabble in the U.S.
Scrabble originated in 1931, when American architect Alfred Mosher Butts created the game's predecessor. According to a Mattel factsheet, Scrabble's original name was “Lexiko,” and before officially becoming Scrabble in 1948, Butts’ creation was also known as “Criss-Crosswords,” “It” and “Alph.”
Today, Scrabble is available in 28 different languages. Mattel reports that since 1948, more than 165 million games have been sold in 120 countries worldwide, with an average of 1.5 million games sold globally each year.
In addition to the long-standing Scrabble fanbase, other word games, such as Bananagrams and online guessing game Wordle, have seen a surge in popularity in recent years.
