Scrabble-

If your kids are like mine, they are always looking for some unsuspecting soul they can con into playing a board game. If board games are popular fare at your house, you will definitely want to take a look at the new series of games available from Hasbro Interactive. I will be reviewing several others in coming issues, but we will start with "Scrabble."

"Scrabble" is an extremely educational game and one which has been tested over time for what seems like centuries. Who has not tried their hand at "Scrabble" at one time or another? This is a great game for building vocabulary skills in children and adults. There are world-class "Scrabble" tournaments which pit champion against champion. This new CD-ROM program utilizes an artificial intelligence called Maven. The developer has taught Maven to learn. By having Maven read every reference he could find on playing "Scrabble" he was able to produce an opponent who can challenge the masters...and usually win! Not to worry, if set at the novice level you will have a chance of beating Maven, but you will have to work at it. I found my words like 'cat' and 'dog' weren't quite 'championship' words.

The game board looks just like the real thing. The environment has a nice 3-D feel which makes the game seem a bit more "real." A large monitor would be nice for this program as I found the "double word score" tiles a bit difficult to read on my average size monitor. Many different sound effects and musical backgrounds (not annoying ones!) make this a nice game to enjoy alone or with friends. Still like the social interaction of a regular board game? You can play against the computer or up to four friends. If you can't find a friend, you can even set "Scrabble" up to play against friends on the Internet. Various difficulty levels make this program appropriate for most kids ages eight and older as well as adults. Merriam-Webster's "Official Scrabble Players Dictionary" is included and accessible with the click of a mouse. You can challenge any word Maven puts on the screen, although I wouldn't recommend the humiliation. You will find him challenging you from time to time and the dictionary may help you out. If you do not know the meaning of a word placed on the board simply click "define last word" and a small dictionary screen pops up. This was a great added feature!

Our family found this game educational as well as entertaining. "Scrabble" has entered the 90's with this newest edition, but it still carries the same charm it did when we were young. I will still keep my old "Scrabble" set around, but I have a feeling I will be doing more cleaning up of letter tiles than playing the game.

Grading:

Educational value- 5
Entertainment value- 4
Use of medium- 5
Age- 8+

See all Scrabble programs at Amazon!