It is played around the world, and even beyond, but the invention of Scrabble did not spell immediate success.
The board game has sold 165 million copies worldwide and is the favourite pastime of astronauts on the International Space Station. It celebrates its 70th UK anniversary this year – and today is World Scrabble Day, to mark the 125th birthday of its creator, Alfred Butts.
An amateur artist and architect, New Yorker Alfred was unemployed in 1938 when he invented the second most successful board game of all time, after Monopoly. Alfred received rejection after rejection at first, and its eventual success remained a mystery until his death aged 93 in 1993.
Scrabble was invented by Alfred Butts (Getty Images)He said: “I invented the darn game and what happened is still crazy to me. I don’t even know why it’s called Scrabble.” Alfred’s brainwave came when he was playing with letter tiles in his kitchen during the Great Depression. But it did not break through until James Brunot, a game-loving entrepreneur, helped it onto the toy shop shelves and into millions of homes across the world.
Alfred Butts suffered rejection before the board game became a success (No Name)When Scrabble’s popularity soared in the 1950s, it enjoyed a few well-timed endorsements from celebrities including Alfred Hitchcock and Frank Sinatra. While the game has barely changed in 70 years, the English language has – and 500 words were added in 2022. These included guac (an abbreviation of guacamole, worth 7 points), queso (14), adorbs (adorable, 9), subtweet (13), vax (13) and fauxhawk (a haircut similar to a mohawk, worth a very useful 28).
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The original game has sparked several variants, TV shows, online versions and competitions – including the World Scrabble Championship. First held in 1991, the tournament was won last year by Australian David Eldar, his second world title.
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