National Scrabble Day, celebrated on April 13, honors the classic word game that grew from a simple idea during the Great Depression into a global phenomenon. Invented by Alfred Mosher Butts and inspired by poetry and probability, Scrabble combines strategy, vocabulary, and chance.

I hate Scrabble. It’s tough to make words on this complicated board when spelling is a major challenge. People don’t understand why I wouldn’t love the game since I’m an English major.

When my daughter was home for spring break from college one year, she decided to “do” crossword puzzles, which actually meant the whole family would “do” crossword puzzles.