Deluxe Turntable Scrabble
by Hasbro
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Our Price: $195.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $33.44 (click here) Category: Toy See more product details |
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Toys and Games Reviews of Deluxe Turntable Scrabble
Customer Review: Scrabble: The Ultimate Thinker's Game
Summary: 5 Stars
Although this game has not been as popular in college as I had hoped, it still stands as one of my favorite to play of all time. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I am an English major and know more than my fair share of words. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I love playing games that will make me think hard with each and every move. Maybe it has to do with the fact that this game is just plain fun to play.The rules of the game are simple, actually. Two to four players each get seven wood tiles to work with. If you use five tiles for a word that will work on the game grid (which is very good, by the way), you choose five more from the bag of tiles to bring your total back to seven. And so it continues from player to player until all the tiles have been used up or the game can't go any farther.
I brought this game to college with me in high hopes that it would really catch on, but it didn't. I managed to squeeze a few games out of people, but more often than not, the game bores them. People get impatient sitting around while a player stews over his seven tiles for minutes on end to come up with a word. This is perhaps the only drawback to the game; it's hard for anyone to get on a roll because you are constantly thinking about what you want to do. And when the tiles you have aren't forming any words . . . well, you might as well tell the other players to take a breather because sometimes it can take a while.
Fun: I really like this game, despite its aforementioned flaw of flowing a little slowly at times. Playing it with people who are a little more knowledgeable of words might help, although anyone can play it. Perhaps I'll try getting a game going with my other fellow future English majors; that would be a very interesting game.
Educational Value: This game provides a very good dose of educational value. You will be surprised at the words people are able to come up with, as well as the words you come up with yourself. You've also got to strategize here, as well. You've got to place your words along the game grid and try and maximize the points you get for each word. All along the board are things like "Triple Word Score" and "Double Letter Score." This just adds to the challenge of playing "Scrabble."
Durability: This particular "Scrabble" set is very durable. Whereas a regular cardboard game board can age with time, the new spinnable board most likely will last a little longer. And the entire board is gridded with plastic, so the tiles won't slip and slide all over the place. This is nice when the board is spun around, which is another nice perk; players don't have to see things upside down during the game. The board turns so all players can see things rightside up.
In short, "Scrabble" is one of my favorite games. I really think it can be fun when you play it with the right people. It probably isn't for everyone, though. Like I said before, the slow play at times can bore people and quickly bring an exciting game down to a dull one.
Customer Review: A Fantastic Game for Young & Old Alike!
Summary: 5 Stars
Scrabble has endured as one of the best board games for more than 50 years and the reason is simple: the game is different and very challenging every time you play it!The premise of the game is simple:
1. Scrabble uses a board of 225 squares (15 by 15) upon which the players (between 2 and 4) form interlocking words from a set of 100 tiles.
2. Each tile bears a letter of the English alphabet and each letter has a designated point value. The more commonly used a letter is, the more tiles bear the letter. Letters that are the least frequently used have the greatest point values.
3. Points are scored by adding the point value for each letter played for the word(s) created by a player. Special squares on the board may double or triple individual letter point values or the total word value.
4. The game ends when all tiles are used and one player has no tiles remaining. The player with the highest point score wins.
There are several advantages to purchasing the Deluxe Scrabble as compared to the regular Scrabble game:
1. The entire board sits on a Lazy Susan so that each player can turn the board to an upright position for ease of reading.
2. A plastic grid keeps the played tiles from moving when the board is turned. This is also very good if you have pets or small children that can accidentally bump the table: the played tiles will usually stay in place.
3. The tiles are dark cherry with a gold letter painted on. This makes the tiles much easier to read than the standard Scrabble which uses birch-colored tiles with black letters.
4. A cloth bag is included for easy mixing of the tiles instead of a plastic bag. It's easier to keep the tiles from spilling out of the cloth bag during play.
5. All of the racks, tiles, bag, rules and timer are stored in the bottom tray of the Lazy Suzan for storage.
I have only seen two disadvantages purchasing the Deluxe Scrabble as compared to the regular Scrabble game:
1. Deluxe Scrabble is more expensive.
2. Deluxe Scrabble requires more storage space than regular Scrabble since the board doesn't fold in the center.
Whether you get the Deluxe Scrabble or regular Scrabble, you will be ensured many hours of educational fun when you play. Also, this is a truly great game that both children and adults can play together. It doesn't require any special adapters, a computer or special software; it just requires two or more game-loving people that know how to read, write and add.
If you're an avid Scrabble player, I highly recommend getting the Official Scrabble Player's Dictionary. It can help immensely when you can't figure out what to do with a rack of seemingly unusable tiles.
Customer Review: Same great game, but new board has pros and cons...
Summary: 5 Stars
Everyone agrees that Scrabble is one of the greatest word games ever invented. That said, I'm only going to review the quality of this particular edition. First the pros: The tiles seem to be of excellent quality. Complaints about the painted, solid wood tiles of this edition seem unwarranted to me. Also the cloth bag is good quality, and has the Scrabble logo sewn onto it. The tile trays put me off at first... I thought I'd miss the old wooden trays. The truth is, I like the way these new plastic trays prevent the tiles from sliding off. I also like that the letter frequencies are printed on the trays, although this should have been done at the factory instead of providing stickers that need to be attached. Take extra care when applying these, or else shoddy looking bubbles can form under the stickers. And of course, the lazy-Susan is still here from the last deluxe edition with an added storage tray that doubles as a sort of booster seat for the game board (i.e., the game board can be low for playing on a table, or about 2 inches off the ground for playing on uneven surfaces)
Now the cons: In big capital letters, The Playing Surface. The playing surface is simply molded cardboard. The featured reviewer who praises how the board has a "plastic grid that conveniently holds letters in place" is referring to the previous incarnation of Scrabble Deluxe. My parents own that version, which is much more durable than this version. Spill one glass of ice tea on this new version and it will be stained for life. This poor design choice is unfortunate, because the game board itself 'looks' better than the older version. Also, the raised ridges on the board are much more subtle than before. Some people may prefer this change, but I do not -- the tiles are not held fast.
All in all, my advice is this: If you're playing this game with all your adult friends, buy this version and keep your drinks away from it. If you're buying this to play with your kids or grandkids. Either shop around for the previous version, or just buy the ... standard version.
This was and is still my mother's favorite board game. I have fond memories of playing Scrabble with her, even when I was only just learning to read/spell. My crowning moment was having nearly all vowels, and spelling "setae," forcing my overly literate mother to check that the word actually existed. Proof that studying worms in the second grade is always a good idea.
Customer Review: Not worth the money
Summary: 1 Stars
Let me preface this review by saying I don't think the game Scrabble deserves one star. I love Scrabble and the rating is only about the quality of this particular edition.
My parents own the old Deluxe edition which I have played for many years. When my boyfriend and I decided to boy an edition of Scrabble for ourselves, this was immediately what I wanted. I love the ridges on the board, the turntable, and the quality of the trays and tiles of the old Deluxe edition.
Sadly, this is a far inferior edition. And for the price, I this it's pretty shocking.
Problems:
* The tiles are poorly made. Examples: The white "ink" on the letter E came off completely onto my friend's finger during a game, leaving only the engraving of an E on the tile itself. This was the first time the game was used. The tiles are all different sizes. Seriously. When you line them up on the tray, they don't all line up at the top and they're different widths. The letters are not all stamped in the center of the tiles, some skew to the left, to the top, to the right, you get the idea.
* The trays are cheap plastic. This may not bother some people, but I love the feel of the old, wooden trays. It's nice that the tile distribution is printed on each tray, but they feel flimsy.
* The board is made of the same cheap plastic and the ridges are extremely shallow. One of the main draws of the Deluxe edition is the ridges because they keep the tiles in place. These ones don't. Instead, they help create a terrain of peaks and valleys when the tiles get shifted during play.
* The turntable doesn't raise the board very high off the table so it doesn't clear the trays when turned. This means everybody has to pick up their trays or keep them far away from the board if you want to turn it between each play.
* And a personal preference: I don't like the dark tiles. They're more difficult to read than the traditional blond wood (probably because they're not printed well, the ink is somewhat transparent).
Save yourself some money and do what we did: find an older Deluxe Scrabble on eBay and stay away from this one. If you really want it, I bet you can find a lot of people getting rid of it online.
Customer Review: The Logophile's Pulpit
Summary: 5 Stars
The greatest wordgame in its finest form. You get all the necessities:- 100 smooth, wooden tiles;
- 1 purple, suede (though I believe this varies) bag;
- 1 un-foldable, sturdy wooden board with bevelled grid-lines to keep tiles relatively stable and a board-spinning, rotatable platter underneath (I find this gives the perfect opportunity to sneak a peek at your vulnerable opponent's expression as you're rotating the board to show hir you've just scored 171 points by forming a nonuple-scored word [over two triple-word squares]);
- scoring paraphernalia;
- gaming booklet (instructions, playing guide and tips, 2-letter word-list with definitions).
SCRABBLE(R) is impossibly simple to learn and simply impossible to master. Form words from 7 tiles picked at random from the bag, aiming to place high-value letters and words on ``premium squares'' that affect either a single letter or the entire word(s) formed. 50 bonus points are given if a word is formed that incorporates all 7 letters from a player's rack (commonly referred to as a `bingo').
I believe there is such thing as a SCRABBLE(R) gene, possessed by those for whom this rapidly develops from a vaguely interesting pastime into a dictionary-dogearing obsession. Either way, it works well as a game for both competitive and social play, and its educational merits are unquestionable.
As with all other SCRABBLE(R) sets, losing tiles can seriously unbalance the game until replacements are ordered. The only real gripe I have with this package is that placed tiles are not as immovable as I'd like -- the Deluxe Travel SCRABBLE(R) set has the upper hand in that department. On the other hand, I should probably refrain from hurling the board through the kitchen window so often (and eat the Q).
Seriously though, every household should have a SCRABBLE(R) set -- this makes a great buy (or a great gift!) for those who would like to up the ante on the quality of the components. Enjoy!