I am a fan of Scrabble, the word game in which two to four players compete to score points by placing tiles to form words, each containing a score and a letter, onto a 15 x 15 board of squares. Some of the squares have numbers on them that either double or triple your word or letter score. I play it regularly with my grandparents on the weekends. It’s great fun and never results in a family argument. However, disappointingly, it has become the latest – and probably not the last thing – to go woke by introducing another version of the game, which is more inclusive and not competitive. This is the first time it has been changed in 75 years.
Scrabble Together, created by American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company Mattel (who brought us the Barbie movie), is the new ‘updated’ version of the traditional word game. It has been designed to be more collaborative and accessible for those who find word games or the concept of competing intimidating – primarily members of Generation Z. Here is what Ray Adler, vice-president of Mattel, had to say about their new creation:
Scrabble has truly stood the test of time as one of the most popular board games in history, and we want to ensure the game continues to be inclusive for all players. For anyone who’s ever thought ‘word games aren’t for me’, or felt a little intimidated by the classic game, Scrabble Together mode is an ideal option.
The new board is double-sided with the original version of the game on one side and the updated version on the other. The instructions for the game say that in lieu of scoring points, which is the point of the traditional game, players play in teams and work together to win goal cards, which set the players challenges, such as making a word containing three different consonants or vowels. There is no time pressure and the game ends when a team completes 20 goal cards or when a team cannot complete a goal card. So, in addition to not having to create words from scratch or competing to do so, the new game does not require players to add up a column of numbers. Presumably, this is designed to accommodates people who are innumerate as well as illiterate.
This change was apparently stimulated by the popular online word game Wordle (of which I am also an avid player), which was purchased by the New York Times in 2022, where users have to guess a five-letter word every day. However, this change is unnecessary. Why create something intended to be challenging and competitive in the first place and then attenuate it because some people find it difficult to play? Simply, just do not play it and let other fans enjoy it. Scrabble has a 4.7/5 rating on Google, with 150 million sets sold worldwide, which you can buy in 121 countries in 30 different languages. Did it really need ‘updating’?
This is not the first time Mattel has been accused of making Scrabble woke: in 2022, it decided to ban over 400 words in the official score list, including words that may be ‘offensive’, ‘racial slurs’ and ‘sexuality and gender insults’. This was an attempt to make the game more inclusive, but it just resulted in scores of players quitting the game and accusing the manufacturer of virtue signalling. Naturally, ‘woke’ is an acceptable Scrabble word. Nevertheless, despite this unwelcome change, at least Mattel didn’t change the fundamental nature of the game.
It’s a shame to see a brilliant and original game, which was first made in 1938, going woke. That said, they are not taking away the original version which, I imagine, most people will continue to play.
Jack Watson is a 15 year-old school boy and Scrabble fan. He has a blog about supporting Hull City Football Club here.
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