Part two of the Scrabble board game review

Scrabble board game review, part two

Click here to read part one of this review

The gameplay

It's no exaggeration to say that you can let Scrabble become too important to you!

Scrabble the board game seems simple, but the more you play, the more you'll appreciate its subtleties. Once you get the bug and really begin to understand the finer points of strategy, you'll rush out to get the Official Scrabble Word Book and start trying to memorise new words.

Perhaps the most important skill is learning two- and three-letter words, to give you the best chance of placing longer words on a crowded board and scoring multiple points for extra words.

Not only that, inexperienced opponents will challenge you more often if you are using obscure words.

The next most vital ability is recognising and placing seven-letter bonus words. There are plenty of techniques to improve your chances: Boardgame Beast will be adding a Scrabble board game strategy guide to Operation Genius soon, to help you maximise your scoring!

Pros and cons

Scrabble assigns different values to each letter, depending on how easy it is to form into words. This addictive game is unique in its ability to get under your skin. You'll make it a personal crusade to arm yourself with new words and inflict them on your unwitting opponents as often as possible!

As your skill increases, you'll sometimes struggle to find worthy players to match you. It helps to be involved with another fan, or have many Scrabble board game fanatics in your family, though be warned, people can and will fall out over a failed challenge or last-minute bonus score!

On the downside, Scrabble is a board game that's not for everybody. It is one of those games that divides opinion. People who tend not to be readers will get absolutely nothing from Scrabble; even avid readers who dislike word games will be turned off.

It's also a very basic design, lacking some sparkle and pizzazz, but that's like critising a hot air balloon for being too simple a design. It works. Nothing else really matters. That said, even hot air balloons come in more interesting designs...

Scrabble wins our Boardgame Beast loveheart logo as a game that is as enjoyable, sometimes more so, with two players as well as three or four.

The verdict

Scrabble is peerless. Several games have attempted to copy its simple, yet addictive concept without success. You get out as much as you're prepared to put in and the game can grow as you do. Quite simply, a masterpiece.