The Computer Edition of Scrabble
{{Infobox VG
|title = The Computer Edition of Scrabble
|image = The Computer Edition of Scrabble Coverart.png
|caption =
|developer = Peter Turcan
Psion
Leisure Genius
|publisher = Little Genius, Sinclair Research, Leisure Genius, Virgin Games
|engine =
|released = {{vgrelease|EU|9 September 1982}}{{cite magazine |title=Show Preview|magazine=Personal Computer World|volume=5|issue=9|publisher=|date=September 1982|page=120|url=https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerWorld1982-09/page/120|access-date=1 June 2024}} (Apple II)
|genre = Strategy
|modes = Single-player
|platforms = Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Atari ST, BBC Micro, Apple II, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, Mac, MSX, Sinclair QL, Einstein, Thomson MO5/MO6, Thomson TO7/TO8/TO9, ZX Spectrum
}}
The Computer Edition of Scrabble, also known as Computer Scrabble is a computer version of the board game Scrabble, licensed from J. W. Spear & Sons and released by Little Genius for the Apple II in 1982. It was subsequently released for most home computers of the time.
Gameplay
The Computer Edition of Scrabble is a game which features on-screen versions of the game board, tiles, and game pieces. The game uses a clock for which the user can define the time limit for turns, in which the player must place a word before the time runs out. The game also has options for lightning-timing and tournament-timing to be used instead. The player can view the rack of available letters at the bottom of the screen and type a word composed of these letters, and if the game accepts the word then the player uses the cursor on the game board to position the word on-screen and score the move. The player may also pass a turn, request a hint for one playable word, and see the values of the tiles at any time by using a pull-down menu.
Development
Computer Scrabble was initially developed by Peter Turcan at the University of Reading{{cite magazine |title=12,000 Words Into 48K Will Go!|magazine=Computer and Video Games|issue=24|publisher=EMAP|date=October 1983|page=126|url=https://archive.org/details/computer-and-videogames-024/page/n125/|access-date=31 May 2024}} on an ICL mainframe as part of his PhD research into word structures and then ported to the 48K disc-based Apple II via an Intertec Superbrain.{{cite magazine |title=Apple Games|magazine=Practical Computing|issue=1|publisher=IPC|date=January 1983|page=134|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Practical-Computing/80s/Practical-Computing-1983-01-S-OCR.pdf|access-date=31 May 2024}}
Little Genius licensed the game to Psion{{cite magazine |title=Psion Scrabble beats writers with 11,000 word memory|magazine=Your Computer|issue=8|publisher=IPC|date=June 1983|page=49|url=https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=163&page=49|access-date=31 May 2024}}{{cite magazine |title=Misquoted!|magazine=Popular Computing Weekly|issue=19|publisher=Sunshine Publications|date=12 May 1983|page=66|url=https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=2754&page=7|access-date=31 May 2024}} who developed a version for the 48K ZX Spectrum which was marketed by Sinclair Research{{cite magazine |title=Off the board for Scrabble|magazine=Popular Computing Weekly|issue=5|publisher=Sunshine Publications|date=2 February 1984|page=5|url=https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-02-02/page/n3|access-date=31 May 2024}} in 1983. Unlike the Apple version which accessed a 9,100 word dictionary from disc, Psion used a Huffman compression algorithm to store a 12,000 word dictionary within the tape-based ZX Spectrum's 48K memory.
In 1984, Little Genius formed an associate company, Leisure Genius, which developed and published versions for the Commodore 64 and BBC Micro. Leisure Genius was bought by Virgin Games in 1986{{cite magazine |title=Virgin Hops Into Bed|magazine=Crash|issue=29|publisher=Newsfield|date=June 1986|page=11|url=https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=996&page=11|access-date=31 May 2024}} and continued to sell the original versions while also releasing ports for newer machines.{{cite magazine |title=Scrabble|magazine=ACE|issue=6|publisher=Future Publishing|date=March 1988|page=68|url=https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=1732&page=68|access-date=31 May 2024}}
Reception
In 1988, Dragon gave the Macintosh version of the game 3 out of 5 stars.{{cite magazine | title=The Role of Computers | last1=Lesser|last2=Lesser|last3=Lesser|first1=Hartley|first2=Patricia|first3=Kirk | magazine=Dragon | issue=131 | date=March 1988 | page=82|url=https://archive.org/details/dragon-magazine-270/Dragon%20Magazine%20131/page/82/}} Macworld reviewed the Macintosh version of Computer Scrabble, praising its faithfulness to the original board game, and challenging AI opponent. They also praise Scrabble's graphics, stating that the "game board is well designed, with premium-word and -letter squares that are easy to distinguish." Macworld criticizes its incompatibility with older keyboards, stating that "pressing any key on the bottom row produces the letter to its left", and a glitch where the game refuses any valid words entered, requiring the game to be rebooted.{{cite magazine|last = Abes|first = Cathy|title = War of the Words: Computer Scrabble Review|date = March 1988|url = https://archive.org/details/MacWorld_8803_March_1988/page/n187|magazine = Macworld|publisher = Mac Publishing|pages = 183–184}}
M. Evan Brooks reviewed the computer editions of Risk, Monopoly, Scrabble, and Clue for Computer Gaming World, and stated that "In this reviewer's opinion, Scrabble is the weakest product (given cumbersome play and graphics), while Risk and Clue: Master Detective are the strongest."{{cite magazine |last=Brooks |first=M. Evan |title=CLASSIC CONVERSIONS |magazine=Computer Gaming World |date=March 1990 |volume=1 |issue=69 |pages=44–45}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{moby game|id=/computer-edition-of-scrabble-brand-crossword-game}}
- {{WoS game|id=0004375|name=Computer Scrabble}}
- {{WoS game|id=0004376|name=Scrabble Deluxe}}
- [https://archive.org/details/1990-04-computegazette/page/n79/mode/2up Review] in Compute!'s Gazette
- [https://archive.org/details/info-magazine-23/page/n39/mode/2up Review] in Info
- [https://archive.org/details/Your_Sinclair_050/page/n87/mode/2up Review] in Your Sinclair
{{Scrabble|state=collapsed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Computer Edition of Scrabble}}
Category:BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games
Category:Psion (company) games
Category:Single-player video games
Category:Video games based on board games