The beloved game of Scrabble is a favorite pastime for grammar buffs and gameplay strategists who like to show off their skills in creating and remembering words.
But market research conducted by maker, Mattel, found that Gen Z favors collaboration over competition and that the game can be a bit intimidating, especially for people not well-versed in the English language or for those who haven’t played in a while — now that’s about to change.
After more than 75 years, there will be a new version of the classic Scrabble game that’s more “collaborative.”
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The game, called “Scrabble Together,” will feature a double-sided board — one side is a standard Scrabble board, and the other side is a “collaborative and faster-paced” game to make gameplay “more accessible for anyone who finds word games intimidating.”
When players opt-in to play Scrabble Together, they will compete in different challenges as a team in addition to having access to using “helper cards” if the game gets too difficult.
“Scrabble has truly stood the test of time as one of the most popular board games in history, and we want to ensure the game continues to be inclusive for all players,” said Global Head of Games at Mattel, Ray Adler, per CNN. “For anyone who’s ever thought, ‘word games aren’t for me’, or felt a little intimidated by the Classic game, Scrabble Together Mode is an ideal option.”
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However, as of now, the new version of the game is only available in Europe. A company representative told the Associated Press, that there are no plans to bring the new version of the game to the U.S.
Since its rollout in 1948, it’s estimated that over 165 million Scrabble boards have been sold throughout 120 countries.
Mattel was up just over 5% in a one-year period as of Wednesday afternoon.
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