100 letters of the alphabet are used in a scrabble game.
100 letters of the alphabet are used in a scrabble game.
how many letters of the alphabet are used in a scrabble game?
100
mcdonald's crossword game predates the first version of the scrabble word game by 12 years, although the two games are not known to be related. the initial version of the scrabble word game was invented in 1938 by american architect alfred mosher butts and was called lexiko. the version that would later become available commercially was revised by james brunot in 1948. edward mcdonald's crossword game does differ significantly from scrabble. the board is 13 spaces square for the crossword game compared to 15 spaces square for scrabble. each player has a set of 26 letter tiles, featuring the entire alphabet. each set of tiles are of different colours. at the beginning of the game, the tiles are positioned in the two rows nearest each player, similar to chess pieces. consonants have various point values as indicated on the tiles, while vowels have no point values. the players form words by moving tiles. consonants are removed when a word has been formed and the score recorded. vowels remain in place for the duration of the game. players score double the point value for the use of an opponent letter in forming a new word. the complete instructions for the game are quite complex and are printed on 3 pages. it remains unknown if mcdonald's crossword game was ever marketed since no original prototype are known to exist. mcdonald's daughter, betty carvell. who was born around the same year the game was invented recalls during her childhood that family acquaintances would come to their house to play on a wooden board game with letter tiles on the kitchen table with her father.
edward r. mcdonald
the scrabble-like board game invented by mcdonald is documented by various sources, including the province of new brunswick website, the new brunswick book of everything, and new brunswick facts, firsts & innovations. it was only in 2014, when pierre cormier, a member of the chamber of commerce for the town of shediac, initiated a search that eventually lead to the find of the patents themselves. until then, the connection with the crossword game with the small town of shediac had remained untold. in 2016, the town of shediac would pay homage to mcdonald by organizing several activities to celebrate the 90th anniversary of his crossword game. the chamber of commerce commissioned a narrative painting of the inventor and his game that was created by canadian artist alvin richard. during a press conference held on june 8, 2016 in shediac, john chew, co-president of the north american scrabble players association announced that hasbro, the current owner of the scrabble game would be supplying a large number of games to the town to demonstrate their support for their initiative. many scrabble related activities were revealed for the summer and fall of 2016. the town of shediac would go on to form the first certified scrabble club in the atlantic provinces, and hosted an international scrabble tournament from september 30 to october 2 with mr chew presiding over the event. the first tournament was won by jackson smylie of toronto, a co-winner of the north american scrabble championship for student in 2011. on september 17, shediac hosted a roaring 1920s gatsby themed night in conjunction with scrabble related activities, highlighting the flapper fashion period when mcdonald's game was invented. shediac is known as the lobster capitol of the world and has recently claimed the title of the scrabble capitol of canada. giant black and white letter tiles spelling "shediac" was installed at the western entrance of the town alongside the 90-ton sculpture called (perhaps inaccurately) "the world's largest lobster."
edward r. mcdonald