Scrabble changing rules to allow proper names. Update.
UPDATE: Phew! The Scrabble rules aren’t changing. It was just a misunderstanding. AP reports:
The official rules fans know and love aren’t changing. Scrabble Trickster, due out in July in the U.K. only, not the U.S., will allow proper names such as city or celebrity names.
ORIGINAL: I’m a Scrabble lover. I love the pass n’ play feature on my iPod version, which I use to trounce my husband regularly. So this news, flagged to me by Mike Oz, really caught my attention.
Word is that Scrabble maker Mattel is changing the rules to allow proper nouns — meaning people’s names, places, company names and brands will now count.
Say WHAT? This really changes the game.
A player can score at least 75 points off Quiznos without even landing on a bonus square (that’s 25 points in letters and the 50-point bonus for using all 7 tiles. And of course it would have to touch another letter so more points would be added). If a savvy Scrabbler plays this fast-food chain name on a triple word? At least 125 points. Wow.
I presume this means scores will go way up. Right now the Scrabble rules say a 300 game is pretty good. If a player can get almost half that off a sandwich company name, that score doesn’t seem too hard to reach anymore. Mattel officials say the rule change is to “add a new dimension” (aka pop culture) to get “younger” people involved (I guess they don’t think younger folks have a strong vocabulary). I sure hope they don’t allow texting abbreviations next. I’d be doomed.
At least my name has the potential to score big: 16 points without any bonus. Can your name beat it? And what’s the biggest scoring proper noun you can come up with (check letter scores here)?
Responses to "Scrabble changing rules to allow proper names. Update."
Eff this. I shall continue to play old school rules.
Damn, Mattel. Is nothing sacred?
I know. Now we’re going to have to discuss which rules to play by before starting the game.
I only play the original board game and this totally SUCKS!!!!
It’ll be like tetherball or marbles:
“no dropsies, bombers or rope-sies”
But really…names? Don’t people name themselves and their shops all sorts of things…and many of them are (to be kind) non-standard spellings…..”I’m Sara without an ‘h’”/Kid’s Kuts/ KwickieMart/ Dari-Delight.
It’s gonna get messy, baby.
Great point. I mean really, how many times have we Kids spelled Kidz? That’s a 9-point difference. Sigh.
For the sake of Scrabble, I’m going to change my name to Sezajq. Hella pointage.
Oh, this is awesome for me.
My company’s name is “mintzworks.” I can add on to ‘work’ or ‘mint’ no problem, score huge with my ‘z’
ie: this is a horrible idea. How are we s’posed to look it up when someone puts down the name of their favorite pizza joint in Kansas?
And this now allows Qtip and JayZ to be big scorers.
Ridiculous
I’ll let you kick my ass with the old rules. The names and places…that’s weak.
Ridiculous. I’m a purist. Old school rules RULE!
I don’t like it one bit.
Although,…
my last name is a whopping 36 points!