Mattel is making a simple and casual change to its iconic board game Scrabble to make it less competitive and easier to play in an attempt to attract more Gen Z players.
This is the first time in nearly a century that the company is making a major change to the board game. Mattel touted a "No More Scoring" gameplay option and the addition of so-called "helper cards" that will make it much less intimidating to create words using the tiles.
New Scrabble Update
(Photo : ADRIAN DENNIS, AFP, Getty Images / Image taken from official website)
The new version of the game will have a two-sided board with one side having the classic competitive mode while the other features the Scrabble Together version. The latter will also be quicker to play and allow people to join up and play in teams.
In a statement, Gyles Brandreth, who co-hosts the language podcast "Something Rhymes With Purple," said that the ones who made Scrabble found that younger people these days, Gen Zs, are not particularly fond of the board game's competitive nature, according to the New York Post.
He also said that younger people nowadays want a game where they can just enjoy language, words, being together, and having fun with words. The new Scrabble Together is marketed for people who find the classic board game to be a little too intimidating or for those who ever thought that "word games aren't for me."
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The vice president, and global head of games for Mattel, Ray Adler, said that Scrabble has stood the test of time and is considered to be one of the most popular board games in history. He said that they want to make sure that the game continues to be inclusive for all players who want to have fun.
Adler also said that for anyone who ever thought word games were not for them or has felt intimidated by the classic game, Scrabble Together is an ideal choice. The new mode takes the basic foundation of the classic game but offers new and exciting cooperative and dynamic gameplay.
Simpler and Less Competitive
The company said that it conducted research among British board-gamers and found that competitiveness was perceived as declining in younger people. The survey involved 2,000 people, of which 35% believed baby boomers are the most competitive, followed by millennials at 31%, and Gen Z at 29%, said CNN.
The current UK number one Scrabble player and 2016 World Champion Brett Smitheram said that the classic game speaks to a trend in younger people who are stepping away from competitive games. He said that they instead are starting to favor teamwork and collaboration working towards a fun goal together.
The updated version of Scrabble will be released in Europe and will not be available for players in the United States. Despite the support for the update, there were some people on social media who were quick to criticize the decision.
Some of them called it "Scrabble for Snowflakes" and "Woke Scrabble" in various posts seen on X, formerly known as Twitter. Mattel clarified that the board game's new mode is only available across Europe as the company does not have a license in North America, according to Fox News.
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