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SatApr 13

National Scrabble Day – April 13, 2024

National Scrabble Day has cast a spell on us.

April 13 is the day Scrabble inventor Alfred Mosher Butts was born. He gave the world an iconic board game now played all over the world. Today, more than seven decades later,  we live for “Triple Word Scores”! Not to mention, the strategic use of those mysterious blank tiles.

Now then, time to lift the lid on that game box, pick out your first seven letters, and begin! Don’t forget the Scrabble Dictionary. We don’t want any squabbles — which, by the way, happens to be a valuable Scrabble word (21 points)! It’s time to C-E-L-E-B-R-A-T-E one of the world’s most iconic board games.

National Scrabble Day timeline

1938
Lexico?

Inventor Alfred Mosher Butts created Scrabble as a variation on an earlier word game and called it Lexico.

1948
New name

James Brunot bought the rights to the game and called it "Scrabble," which means "to scratch frantically."

1952
Macy's ordered the game

Jack Straus, president of Macy's, placed a large order for this game after playing it on vacation.

1984
Scrabble's newest word: TV

"Scrabble" aired as a daytime game show on NBC.

National Scrabble Day Activities

  1. Spend some Scrabble family time

    Don't forget the Scrabble Junior game for kids. Rest easy — it has pictures!

  2. Host a Scrabble tournament

    Scrabble tournaments can get intense but they are also great fun — so invite some friends!

  3. Play Scrabble online

    It's one thing to play with a human, quite another to play with a computer. Are you ready for the challenge?

No Need To Spell Check These 5 Scrabble Facts

  1. Keeping up with the times

    The Official Scrabble Dictionary now includes words like “hashtag,” “selfie,” “vlog,” “mojito,” “chillax,” and “beatbox.”

  2. They were originally handmade

    For about two decades co-inventor James Brunot, along with another friend, made all the games he sold by hand in his garage!

  3. Braille version

    It's fully accessible for the blind and visually impaired. The playing board also has tactile dots and dashes on the premium word squares.

  4. No language barrier

    Scrabble's sold in 121 countries and played in 29 different languages!

  5. We love those letters

    Every hour, about 30,000 games of Scrabble are started all over the world!

Why We Love National Scrabble Day

  1. Family fun

    You can spend quality time playing this game and it improves your spelling abilities, communication skills, and confidence.

  2. A "smart" choice

    You learn words to get better at the game! Soon you'll know words like "za," short for "pizza," and "xi," which is the 14th letter of the Greek alphabet.

  3. Scrabble championships are fun to watch

    The pros are impressive! Watch as they effortlessly throw down words like "quixotic." A cool 76 points — including the 50-point bonus for using all seven tiles.

National Scrabble Day dates

YearDateDay
2024April 13Saturday
2025April 13Sunday
2026April 13Monday
2027April 13Tuesday
2028April 13Thursday

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