We’ve been feeling pretty lucky lately over here on the The Nostalgia Diaries. For the past few weeks, some fun, nostalgia-inducing holidays have been falling on Thursdays, which means they were just begging for us to highlight them on #throwbackthursday. Two weeks ago, we had a colorful #tbt with National Crayon Day, and last week we had the pretty sweet opportunity to enjoy National Twinkie Day.
And then we couldn’t believe our luck when we discovered that today was National Scrabble Day—it’s like we hit a trifecta of Throwback Thursday goodness!
Trifecta, in case you were wondering, is the highest scoring word you can create if you have the letters F,R,C,T,E,I,T, and A on your Scrabble rack. It comes in at 13 points, whereas the other words you can create with those seven letters—ATTRETIC, CATTIER, CITRATE, and FATTIER—will get you at most 10 points. So plop those letters down on the board, make sure one of them falls on a triple word score, and you’ll have a true trifecta of goodness and a total of 36 points (even more if you play off another word or create a new one in the process!).
But we digress…
Scrabble—a game where “Every Word Counts”—has been winning over hearts and twisting words since American architect created it back in the 1930’s. And, considering the board game is popular in over 120 countries and is found in one-third of all American houses, we’re betting that we’re not the only ones nostalgic for this famous, family-friendly pastime.
Heck, people love Scrabble so much that they’ve even come up with other ways to use those perfect little wooden letter blocks instead of just building words. You can find them (or some version of them) in jewelry, home decor, and artwork (Corey even has some hanging around ). The massive success of the Scrabble app and other word game apps such as Words With Friends also prove the popularity—and staying power—of this simple, classic game.
So in honor of this locution-filled holiday, we’ve rounded up 7 of our favorite Scrabble fun facts:
- What’s in a Name? Mr. Butts created the game as a variation on an earlier word game he invented called Lexiko. It was then referred to as Criss-Cross Words during the 30’s and 40’s and wasn’t trademarked as Scrabble until 1948.
- Hey! No Cheating! Feeling the surface of a tile when your hand is in the bag— otherwise known as “brailing”—is forbidden in Scrabble play.
- How Many? There are 187,632 words on the official Scrabble tournament and club word list.
- It’s Official! In 2014, 5,000 new words were added to the official Merriam-Webster Scrabble Players Dictionary. Some of the new words included pop-culture mainstays such as selfie, , mixtape, frenemy, and chillax.
- Bingo! When a player uses all seven of their Scrabble tiles to make a word, it’s called a bingo. Yell it out and your opponents might get confused as to what game they’re actually playing.
- 1782 Wasn’t Just a Year! It’s also how many points competitive Scrabble player Benjamin Woo won with just ONE word. The word was OXYPHENBUTAZONE, and he played it across the top of the board, hitting three Triple Word Score squares while making seven crosswords downward. Talk about an over-achiever…
- Nostalgia for the Win (Maybe…)! Playing NOSTALGIA on the board will score you only 10 points, so try to find a bonus spot to up your total.
So go on . . . get playing, and good luck!
Tell us: Are you a Scrabble fan? What other classic “board games” do you remember playing? Monopoly? Life? Risk? Sorry? Clue? Yahtzee? What was your favorite? Do you still play board games?
P.S. We also think this might be the coolest Scrabble board ever…
At the The Nostalgia Diaries, our goal is to help you simplify, enhance, and engage your lives by focusing on the most important things: remembering, appreciating, believing, and becoming. It’s all about celebrating the past to create better days today.
We’d love for you to join us in this journey.
P.S. Don’t forget to follow our colorful, creative spaces on , and . We’re fun and happy and whimsical and nostalgic over there, too. Pinky swear.
We just got a scrabble set we love the classic board games clue, monopoly Yahtzee!!!
Classic board games are the best!
My mom loves to play scrabble, so I may just have to challenge her today! I’ll have to use “chillax”! I didn’t realize it was official!
That would be fun! So funny those words are allowed on the board now!
To be such a word nerd, I’ve never gotten into Scrabble but I think it’s time to start!
I did not know there was a day dedicated to Scrabble! That’s so cool. I’m also super jealous of Benjamin Woo in fun fact #6. I’m so bad at racking up the points. I usually play just because I enjoy the game, not because I ever really have a shot at winning. Oh well…maybe one day!
How fun!
I didn’t know there’s a National Scrabble day! I love playing this game!
Belle | One Awesome Momma
Cute article! We used scrabble pieces at our wedding to decorate with!
My girls are huge fans of Trouble. We haven’t gotten to Scrabble level yet though. I’ve learned more about Scrabble than I ever knew I could know 🙂
Enjoyed the game very much… I even have a scrabble blog.. But it’s in sleep mode now 🙂
I haven’t played scrabble in years, but I’m thinking we should get the game and start playing soon. It’s so much fun and you get learn new words. It’s also fun to make up words and see if you can get away with it. Hahah!
Oh I love scrabble! This was one of the first games I played with my hubby when we were dating. He always beats me so bad, even after being massively behind lol!
I think it’s time to introduce my kids to Scrabble!
I love a good game of scrabble! Had no idea there was a national scrabble day!
I love scrabble !!
I’ve never been a huge Scrabble fan personally, mostly because I’m awful at spelling lol! Clue was my jam : ) I can’t believe that guy got 1,782 points from ONE word! That is seriously impressive.
How did I not know it was National Scrabble Day. I am a Scrabble addict!
I always liked scrabble!
I was gifted a scrabble game for my 10th birthday and have yet to play scrabble 20 years later! This makes me want a game night though!
I freaking LOVE scrabble!! I haven’t played since my kiddos were born, though. I’m afraid my mommy brain is overwhelmed and I can barely make words in my mind let alone on a game board. LOL