National Scrabble Day
- Grace Aspinall
- Apr 13
- 3 min read
National Scrabble Day is April 13. More than 165 million Scrabble sets have been sold worldwide since 1948, spanning 120 countries and in 28 languages. However, this popular game came from humble beginnings. An unemployed artist inspired by a poem created a little-known game that evolved into a staple in game closets across the country and around the world.
I detest Scrabble. Why? Because I can’t spell. When I was a child and even a teenager, after every holiday at my grandmother’s house (my father’s mother and his relatives), the dreaded board would appear. It contained 225 squares, with letters on the tiles arranged to form words, and hopefully to use the special-colored squares to double or triple the amounts listed on the tiles. As each word is placed on the board, the total of the tile values is tallied; when all the tiles are used, the top total determines the winner.
The blank tiles are worth zero points. Both “q” and “z” are worth ten. The difficulty of the tile to place dictates the value. Such as eight points for “j” and “x”, with “k” worth five points. The values indicate how easy the tile is to play and how the total number on the tiles will be included. Using the double and triple value marked squares on the board gives the player even more points. A “q’” on a triple value square is worth 30 points, and if one can make two words using that “q” well, this player is racking up the total score.
After several name suggestions, the game we now know as “Scrabble” was invented by Alfred Mosher Butts, an unemployed New York Architect, who wanted to give Americans a distraction during the Great Depression. A poem he read about decoding messages from symbols to letters by Edgar Allan Poe inspired the first iteration of a game he originally called “CrissCross” then “Lexiko.” Ironically, Butts was more of a numbers guy and didn’t like to spell.
Butts then devised the game’s 15 x 15 board. He licensed the rights to James Bruuno in 1948, who revised the board and letter values to the format we know today. The early sales were small, but by 1954, Selchow & Righter owned the rights, and sales from inception peaked at 165 million Scrabble sets.
Scrabble is available in Braille and online, but the computer versions might have a different name. It’s a terrific game for people who are blessed with good spelling skills, and frustrating for people like me who don’t have those skills. Also, online Scrabble games have been known to cheat, so play at your own risk, even if you don’t get a “z” or a “q” without a “u”!
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I am an enthusiastic woman who has been a freelance journalist, photojournalist, and photographer for many years, and a Her Nexx Chapter blogger since 2018. Recently, I am also serving as the HNC Editorial Project Director. As an accomplished equestrian with my horse Sonny Madison, who has owned me since 2001, I also love my wonderful beagles, Lois Lane and Lana Lang; my awesome, terrific children and grandchildren; and reading, writing, painting, drawing, photography, and traveling. A native of Williamstown, Massachusetts, with a bachelor’s degree in English from Skidmore College and a master’s degree in Organizational Development – Corporate Communications from Norwich University, I now live in the metro Washington, DC area with my husband, where I display my talents for technical writing and other corporate/government duties.
