Some of these criticisms are just complaints that can apply to games in general. When someone is better than you in a skill based game then they're going to have a big advantage, when you lose you're going to feel bad, etc. When I struggle at charades or Taboo I feel stupid and judged, but that doesn't make them bad, it's just the nature of competition.
I think this is the first case of the Actually Good series conflating personal opinion with a look at the qualities of the game. If memorising from a book debunks a game, then Chess is bad too with the learning of openings. It's a solid ruleset, and supports tournament play. If people being bad or incapable of playing something well makes it bad, then all sport goes out of the window - you don't see short basketball players, or people with poor coordination. People can say it's a game they have bad experiences with (and I'll never play with anyone who takes it seriously because of playing with someone who was actively scouring a dictionary for the 2 letter words), and I think there are more fun games with words out there, but to me it still has to be considered a good game. I have an easier time defending it than say Battleship or Monopoly. To be honest, there is possibly a very good documentary in how the tournament meta has evolved away from knowing words to knowing acceptable combinations of letters, which largely relates to the design of the board rather than the anagram aspect of it. The way it is played feels a long way removed from the designer's intentions
There is no "objectively good" game. When we have discussions like this, we make arguments for our views. However, someone could have taken the exact same information Luke used here to argue that it is indeed better for having a metagame that can be understood and studied, like chess. That hypothetical video may be as valid as Luke's, but the audience might be more convinced of one or the other. Neither is the definitive take.
@@Calpsotoma I think you can evaluate design objectively though. Risk for example has issues with the end game, with a slow progress of attrition to finish. Monopoly is at least interesting in that regard in that it was designed to be frustrating as a lesson in a certain form of capitalism. Scrabble's design is solid, which is why things like Words With Friends ripped it off wholesale. The change in the game's meta has affected the experience of playing it, but it still clearly works and is enjoyed by many. It's not like the case with Cluedo where the movement negatively impacts the game, so you have to excuse that element of the game to enjoy it. At some point, you can highlight enough issues with a design to call it bad. That's why this video feels inconsistent - there are no big design issues with Scrabble, the negativity is towards what people feel the game rewards, but all games reward odd skillsets. Most social deduction games reward belligerence in some form or the other
Even at a pretty high level of chess, there's less memorisation of openings than you might expect. The pros do it, and some nerds do, but you absolutely don't need to memorize chess opening books to be a decently strong player. I suspect it's the same with Scrabble; I'm sure the pros memories dictionaries, but I imagine most tournaments players just use their own vocabularies
The difference is: a Grandmaster with a head full of knowledge about chess will probably beat someone who just read a textbook or three and "learnt" how to play chess without ever actually playing against another person. Whereas in an early example: a Scrabble tournament was won by someone who doesn't even speak the language because he just memorized certain key French words.
The interesting point made by some people is that it is completely inaccessible to people with dyslexia. Of the 'basic' board games covered in this series, this is the only one which seems to exclude a fraction of the population.
I feel like this video really missed an important point about scrabble game play in that it's not a word game, it's a memory and area control game. So much of the decision making process in Scrabble is determining where you want to play your words in order to utilise the best bonuses effectively whilst also making it difficult for your opponent(s) to access bonuses elsewhere. The tactical nature of the area control aspect is great because everyone has equal access to the understanding of the board state and it makes for a level playing field - the skill in how good you are at doing that is a major deciding factor in determining the outcome. The memory aspect of it sucks because it gives different players inherent advantages/handicaps based on the sheer quantity of legal words they know that they can utilise to do this. This makes for games of scrabble with my family woefully one-sided and less fun than if we were collecting sets or something
I like Scrabble but... When I was a kid, my mom would always pull out Scrabble for us (her, me, and my sister) to play as a family. My mom was bad at spelling, so she introduced a rule that you can look up the spelling of a word before playing it (but no browsing through the dictionary to find new words... a rule that I broke quite a few times). Still, even being bad at spelling, my mom knew more words, so she always won. But then... one time at camp, I was playing someone at Scrabble and I learned (by watching my opponent) about the value of almost always trying to playing words parallel to another word. I brought this skill back home and proceeded to clean up the next time we played Scrabble. And from then on, I would always win, my mom would come in second, and my sister would always lose. I enjoyed winning all the time 😀but I could guess that my sister wasn't having much fun. It's a great game if you're good at it... or if you're playing against someone with equal skill. But some people are never going to be good at it, so it's like playing hopscotch against someone with no legs.
I would very much like to see: Is Risk... Actually good? I remember that I really enjoyed playing that game as a kid, but I don't know if I would think the same if I played it again after spending so much time in the hobby.
Scrabble is at its best when both opponents are equal in terms of vocabulary and game knowledge. The one thing I REALLY hate about Scrabble are those moments when you can only play 2-3 letter words and your hand doesn’t change much after the turn. It’s probably the only downside of the game’s mechanics but it’s a big one for me.
The virtual version sucks the fun out of it, in person you do not get all those trial and errors to land on Tich. Here in South Africa we even have a common rule that if your word's legitimacy is challenged, you must provide a suitable definition for your word which will then be checked against the dictionary to determine whether or not it stays. Scrabble is actually really fun if you don't view it as a slow meandering game
5:45 yes, because Hasbro never has an original copy of the game when they make thier spin-offs. And, they always make the rules completely different in the original versions don't they!! Sorry that argument just felt weird, Hasbro is great at not messing up games, they typically just keep it the game and change maybe a rule or 2. They hardly ever add stuff to spice if up in the original versions - that's what they make other versions for
I think some people are mixing up "is it actually good" with "is it for me". I think those are two different things. I'm terrible at drawing and don't enjoy it, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Pictionary is a bad game. For those who are dyslexic or aren't particularly adept at word games I'm sure Scrabble isn't much fun but that doesn't mean its default "not good". Thinking time doesn't automatically equate to boring. Sure, for some people that will be the case of course. You could introduce timers or shot clocks to help with that and limit the dictionary to only being used for challenges. But to say that the thinking time is bad when you could apply the exact same argument to lots of games such as chess doesn't really make sense. If you like word games, Scrabble is good.
This is a perfect response, yes. All of the "this game is bad" arguments are "this game isn't a good experience for some people", which can go for lots of games - as you say, Pictionary. Many physical sports are also just not made to be accessible for certain body types. That doesn't mean that Football is a "bad game".
I find it strange to call a game bad because it's hard for an unskilled player to win. If we apply that logic to sports, then all sports are bad. But you never see basketball be criticized for being inaccessible to short players, or footraces being criticized for being inaccessible to those with asthma. But you do see games like Chess and Scrabble be criticized for being "too smart".
Oh Jesus. Watching this video on a phone turned the Scrabble board into an optical illusion. My eyes keep telling me the lines bow inward toward the center, even though I KNOW they're parallel.
I would definitely been interested in seeing 'Is The Settlers of Catan...Actually Good?'. I believe it's definitely had it's time in the sun to be considered a "classic", and because of that should be looked at in an objective critique.
Just as a small defense of Scrabble, I also have great memories of playing it with my grandma specifically but honestly... one of the best parts of playing (at least with my family) is when we put down funny words or make jokes about the words we've played. I think if you're a person who hates it because everyone else is taking the game too seriously and trying to get the most obscure words for points or whatever, maybe you should just avoid playing with people who do that. :B Just play Swears or Dirty Words Scrabble for fun instead.
I personally love Scrabble. I see it as a game to help improve your vocabulary. Sometimes you end up learning new words and knowing their meaning. I am a sucker for learning Etymology and how words and nouns are called what they are and where they originate from. So I tend to find words that know one thinks of. I have a Harry Potter edition of Scrabble which plays almost the same but has certain mechanics to it that allow you to bend the rules. For example, the Harry Potter edition has cards which you can use to either spell a word backwards should you choose to play it, replace a letter you have in your rack, or sometimes something really silly like the Riddikulus card which allows you to immediatly get a turn if you make one of the other players laugh...It is a pretty ridiculous (pun intended) way to play the game but it gives the game a bit more flavour. If you can find a copy, please do check it out and play it sometime and I think you'll find it a bit more interesting :)
The key to fix to many of the complaints for scabble is simple. You can't just play a word, you must be able to use a word in a sentence. Any electronic version of scrabble needs to let the player swap out tiles until they hit the button to lock in their word and then give other players an option to challenge if they think a word is spelled wrong, made up, or the player can't demonstrate that they know what it means by using it in a sentence.
I act as the Dictionary checker when my mom and grandma play, which is always very entertaining for me. I'm pretty sure I always have more fun than the people paying the game.
I admit to not being that found of spelling games, there is an exception though: "Unspeakable words". It is a Lovecraftian game about some cultists trying to gain power from words. The best part is when someone have a single point of sanity and can make up their own words, it is simple but pretty fun as a drinking game. I could see that game being updated with a board. Scrabble itself is a great game to learn kids how to spell, so it is more of an educational game then a fun one. I think it is something that is best used in school for younger kids and Scrabble in foreign languages could be great for learning to spell in different languages. But for a board game you pick out to play with your friends or family, it is pretty poor. With friends, most games you play on this channel is a better choice and with family, something like Catan is better. It is one of those games like Monopoly that were great once but have aged poorly. I don't really have any problem spelling in a couple of languages, so that part is not really my problem but the game is just less fun then most modern games so why spend my time playing it when I can play something more exciting? I can why people with dyslexia dislike it.
Yes it's actually very good. Promotes memory and spelling, much better if you don't use names like JAMES! lol House rules can help, like minimum of 3 letters which makes things more interesting
Not to riff on anyone's enjoyment of the game but I think "It stood the test of time" is hardly an argument. There are simply a couple of games that have become huge in the public conscious that they're hard to dethrone, depsite having better alternatives. Most of these are older games: scrabble,monopoly or trivial pursuit. These games are in practicly every household, played on family game nights by people that just occasionaly play a game. Most real game ethusiast that I know don't like these games, but newer, better games just no longer have a real chance to get that position again. Even games like Catan and Ticket to ride are simply not as well known and will be bought less often by people not really in the know about board games.
I'd add that its lack of success initially makes it suspect. It seems from this and the backgammon episode that the means to get a game into the cultural lexicon is have famous people play it. Also having a prescribed word list (so I can't use American or British spellings as needed), inability to use alternative spellings like daemon, or even slang limits what a person can bring to the game (house rules notwithstanding). It just seems too constrained given the other option available out there.
Scrabble is a great game, you just have to have more-or-less matched opponents who like word play. I would play Scrabble with my Mom, I would arm wrestle a work buddy; I wouldn't do the reverse.
This is the first game in the series where I am like "No, it's not actually good" Scrabble is just...not a fun game. Yes, it has tournament play but that doesn't mean it is fun. I am pretty sure most scrabble players aren't having fun either, they are just competitive and wanting to win. A game fails when it isn't fun to play. Chess, which is even more skill based and less random, is still more fun than scrabble by a long shot.
The history of Scrabble sounds like a moment of mass hysteria. It seemed to become a hit by accident, one guy bought a load of copies, and then everyone else bought it as well for fear of missing out (even though no one had liked it in the beginning).
The argument that it’s good based on fond memories I think just ties in with the game selling a bucket load in an era and space of time when there wasn’t as much choice or competition. 4 million copies sold in 1954 (and steadily selling well ever since) explains why a copy is in most of our grandparents homes and passed down generations. Me and my wife found a copy on our honeymoon in our accommodation. We played it, had a laugh created a memory. Ain’t played it since. 🤷♂️
I do like playing Scrabble but I admit that I have a whole load of board games that I would rather play with my family and friends instead of Scrabble. is it a good game? I would tend to say for what it is. But I think it belongs in that category of games that are loved more in nostlagia than actual practice although those who play it in a competative sense with tournaments and such are going to feel a lot different about it than a casual gamer, which true of all games in that description.
The French Scrabble Champion... doesn't even speak French, he just learned how the words were written, I think that says a lot about the 'strategy' in the game.
I don't see what not knowing what the word means has to do with strategy. Having a large vocabulary and knowing how to make beautiful sentences with it is a quality, but that quality is not called "strategy", not even close. The strategy part is knowing which tiles you should use now or keep for later, or how to use the positions on the board to your advantage. The guy was a multiple times English speaking Scrabble champion. He had a lot of "Scrabble skills" already, from all of his competitive play in English. The only thing he needed to perform well in French speaking championship was knowing the playable combinations of letters. It doesn't mean that anyone could just learn the words by heart and win a championship. I'm certain if I learnt all these words, I would still suck at Scrabble. I've never been good, at all, with anagrams, so it doesn't matter how many words I know if I can't notice I have the letters to form them. I don't particularly enjoy games which rely on a lot of anticipation, and don't have the best observational skills, so even if I try to figure out the best place to put a word or if I would be better off keeping that K for later or using it know, I will forget/not notice an obvious possibility and make a bad decision more often than not. For many reasons, I don't find the game particularly fun, and it doesn't fit my skillset, I'm bad at it. And that's fine, I just rarely play it, I'm happy with that. I'm also convinced that there have been better word games since (again, I'm bad at them, don't know much about them), but it's another matter entirely. I'm just always extremely puzzled by the conclusions that people draw from the fact that that guy won a championship (in "classical" format, which is the only one used in English tournaments, but least popular than "duplicate" in French competitions) without knowing the meaning of any of the words he played. The only thing that proves is that the meanings of the words don't matter in Scrabble, which I think everybody knew beforehand, and that aside from the knowledge of the dictionary, the rest of the skills are transferable from one language to another, it doesn't mean that they don't exist, just that a champion in one language already has all of the other skills required.
Genuine suggestion for this series somewhere down the line. Is pandemic actually good? I've seen some people who love it and consider it the best game ever, and others who hate it and call it a glorified 1 player game
The time spent "not doing anything" in Scrabble is time I (and my wife) take to look for words, etc. I know this channel is pro-party game -- and there's certainly nothing wrong with that, party games can be awesome -- but there are other ways to play, too. No need to yuck someone else's yum.
I agree. I think the criteria used to decide against Scrabble here is the exact criteria that should've made Monopoly a good game. There's skill and preparation required for Scrabble whereas Monopoly has none. There's downtime in Scrabble, Monopoly has none. Monopoly eliminates players throughout play, Scrabble does not. If Scrabble isn't good based on those parameters as they have said, then surely that makes Monopoly good...
Scrabble is better suited for an educational environment. Like a school or home for kids, when adult want to relax scrabble is more frustrating than fun.
Love this series! In my opinion, Scrabble is... meh? It can be great for children as a teaching tool, but as a game, there just isn't much there. It presents itself as a game where you can be creative with words but punishes creativity by having pre-set points assigned to the letters, so it's really just about who can luck out with the most 'Z's. The most fun I've had with Scrabble is when someone plays a funny word with comedic timing, but there are many party games that better promote that way of fun. I can think of many other word games at the top of my head that I'd rather play than Scrabble.
Scrabbles is a good game. No game can be popular as long as scrabble has while being a poor game unless it is made for young children, like Candyland or Shutes and Ladders.
It is a good game, well designed, and balanced. Do I personally enjoy it? Well no... Not really. But my personal preferences does not change anything regarding the quality of the game
Dyslexia makes this game very stressful. when ever my mom wants to play I have immense anxiety about it. I was always expected to excel at it because many of my relatives play it very competitively and it is just a nightmare.
My family LOVES Scrabble and I have dyslexia as well and I found it really helped me BUT they're attitude about it really helped they were supportive and I'm sorry your family made that game bad for you. If you ever want to try the game again I'd suggest playing with friends who cheer you on and just want some fun (・∀・)
You need to have your own "house rules" to make the game more 'fair' and enjoyable i found... One rule we do, is only allow 2 letter words once the bag has no more letters remaining for example. And also, no names allowed 😂
I think this one is a victim of subjectivity. Luke gives lots of reasons why Scrabble is a good game, admits it's polarising, and then concludes it isn't a good game because he didn't enjoy it?
Yeah, as far as you can objectively define it, it's a good game as the rules flow properly, and it makes for a fair challenge between skilled players. The fact that the tournament metagame is frustrating and almost goes against the original intent of the game shouldn't diminish the value of the original game. Just make sure you play it with reasonable human beings and not ones who thing memorising the two letter words is a satisfying experience...
I'd say Scrabble is quite rewarding for people with more extensive vocabularies. While I like Banagrams and it's quick nature, it can be a bit easy as you're just throwing down pretty basic words which normally aren't played in Scrabble as they get you no points. I personally think Scrabble's good because you're balancing: playing a high scoring word with a long word with a word that leaves you with good letters with preventing other people from playing great words with wanting to play an impressive word. It's a clever mishmash of tactics and luck, a bit like Monopoly. But if you're taking 20 minutes on your go, then I'd advise you not to play it, and definitely not with me.
No, when you play scrabble with someone trying to win (like i do ) it becomes a boring game of short words to maximize play moves . Its far more compeitive , but prertty boring. Same with monopoly when played with good players (and playing by the rules)
But surely it shouldn't be a case of "looking through a dictionary is fun" it should be more to do with the fact that you are getting an education, you are adding depth to your vocabulary. It's a joyful experience to see a word that you think can't be real or believe it to mean something else to then go and find out why the word actually works and it's meaning such as the word "lep" and "james" in the game with Adam and Laurie. Being surprised by something that is a major part of you, something you've had your entire life and something you believe to understand extremely well is wonderfully fun.
I think the problem with Scrabble is there are games that do the same or similar mechanic but better. It's a game that may have started the gimmick of word games but it's been taken over by others.
James that James.
Some of these criticisms are just complaints that can apply to games in general. When someone is better than you in a skill based game then they're going to have a big advantage, when you lose you're going to feel bad, etc. When I struggle at charades or Taboo I feel stupid and judged, but that doesn't make them bad, it's just the nature of competition.
I think this is the first case of the Actually Good series conflating personal opinion with a look at the qualities of the game. If memorising from a book debunks a game, then Chess is bad too with the learning of openings. It's a solid ruleset, and supports tournament play. If people being bad or incapable of playing something well makes it bad, then all sport goes out of the window - you don't see short basketball players, or people with poor coordination.
People can say it's a game they have bad experiences with (and I'll never play with anyone who takes it seriously because of playing with someone who was actively scouring a dictionary for the 2 letter words), and I think there are more fun games with words out there, but to me it still has to be considered a good game. I have an easier time defending it than say Battleship or Monopoly.
To be honest, there is possibly a very good documentary in how the tournament meta has evolved away from knowing words to knowing acceptable combinations of letters, which largely relates to the design of the board rather than the anagram aspect of it. The way it is played feels a long way removed from the designer's intentions
There is no "objectively good" game. When we have discussions like this, we make arguments for our views. However, someone could have taken the exact same information Luke used here to argue that it is indeed better for having a metagame that can be understood and studied, like chess. That hypothetical video may be as valid as Luke's, but the audience might be more convinced of one or the other. Neither is the definitive take.
@@Calpsotoma I think you can evaluate design objectively though. Risk for example has issues with the end game, with a slow progress of attrition to finish. Monopoly is at least interesting in that regard in that it was designed to be frustrating as a lesson in a certain form of capitalism. Scrabble's design is solid, which is why things like Words With Friends ripped it off wholesale. The change in the game's meta has affected the experience of playing it, but it still clearly works and is enjoyed by many.
It's not like the case with Cluedo where the movement negatively impacts the game, so you have to excuse that element of the game to enjoy it. At some point, you can highlight enough issues with a design to call it bad. That's why this video feels inconsistent - there are no big design issues with Scrabble, the negativity is towards what people feel the game rewards, but all games reward odd skillsets. Most social deduction games reward belligerence in some form or the other
Even at a pretty high level of chess, there's less memorisation of openings than you might expect. The pros do it, and some nerds do, but you absolutely don't need to memorize chess opening books to be a decently strong player.
I suspect it's the same with Scrabble; I'm sure the pros memories dictionaries, but I imagine most tournaments players just use their own vocabularies
The difference is: a Grandmaster with a head full of knowledge about chess will probably beat someone who just read a textbook or three and "learnt" how to play chess without ever actually playing against another person. Whereas in an early example: a Scrabble tournament was won by someone who doesn't even speak the language because he just memorized certain key French words.
The interesting point made by some people is that it is completely inaccessible to people with dyslexia. Of the 'basic' board games covered in this series, this is the only one which seems to exclude a fraction of the population.
I feel like this video really missed an important point about scrabble game play in that it's not a word game, it's a memory and area control game. So much of the decision making process in Scrabble is determining where you want to play your words in order to utilise the best bonuses effectively whilst also making it difficult for your opponent(s) to access bonuses elsewhere. The tactical nature of the area control aspect is great because everyone has equal access to the understanding of the board state and it makes for a level playing field - the skill in how good you are at doing that is a major deciding factor in determining the outcome. The memory aspect of it sucks because it gives different players inherent advantages/handicaps based on the sheer quantity of legal words they know that they can utilise to do this. This makes for games of scrabble with my family woefully one-sided and less fun than if we were collecting sets or something
Video idea: Is Actually Good...... Actually Good?
Yes.
The answer is yes.
We need Meltzer star ratings to confirm, that way it’s proper science
I was grooving to the bleeps on this video. 😆
I like Scrabble but...
When I was a kid, my mom would always pull out Scrabble for us (her, me, and my sister) to play as a family. My mom was bad at spelling, so she introduced a rule that you can look up the spelling of a word before playing it (but no browsing through the dictionary to find new words... a rule that I broke quite a few times). Still, even being bad at spelling, my mom knew more words, so she always won. But then... one time at camp, I was playing someone at Scrabble and I learned (by watching my opponent) about the value of almost always trying to playing words parallel to another word. I brought this skill back home and proceeded to clean up the next time we played Scrabble. And from then on, I would always win, my mom would come in second, and my sister would always lose. I enjoyed winning all the time 😀but I could guess that my sister wasn't having much fun. It's a great game if you're good at it... or if you're playing against someone with equal skill. But some people are never going to be good at it, so it's like playing hopscotch against someone with no legs.
I would very much like to see: Is Risk... Actually good?
I remember that I really enjoyed playing that game as a kid, but I don't know if I would think the same if I played it again after spending so much time in the hobby.
Scrabble is at its best when both opponents are equal in terms of vocabulary and game knowledge.
The one thing I REALLY hate about Scrabble are those moments when you can only play 2-3 letter words and your hand doesn’t change much after the turn. It’s probably the only downside of the game’s mechanics but it’s a big one for me.
Consider exchanging some of your tiles in that case.
“The only time it’s okay to say the word Diarrhea in a Public Setting.”
Maybe a The Game of Life video next? Love this series
The virtual version sucks the fun out of it, in person you do not get all those trial and errors to land on Tich. Here in South Africa we even have a common rule that if your word's legitimacy is challenged, you must provide a suitable definition for your word which will then be checked against the dictionary to determine whether or not it stays. Scrabble is actually really fun if you don't view it as a slow meandering game
5:45 yes, because Hasbro never has an original copy of the game when they make thier spin-offs. And, they always make the rules completely different in the original versions don't they!!
Sorry that argument just felt weird, Hasbro is great at not messing up games, they typically just keep it the game and change maybe a rule or 2. They hardly ever add stuff to spice if up in the original versions - that's what they make other versions for
Resounding yes! I love the dynamic, and how every game is different. Learning new words from other players, and also using it to teach kids.
JAMES THAT JAMES
I think some people are mixing up "is it actually good" with "is it for me". I think those are two different things. I'm terrible at drawing and don't enjoy it, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Pictionary is a bad game. For those who are dyslexic or aren't particularly adept at word games I'm sure Scrabble isn't much fun but that doesn't mean its default "not good". Thinking time doesn't automatically equate to boring. Sure, for some people that will be the case of course. You could introduce timers or shot clocks to help with that and limit the dictionary to only being used for challenges. But to say that the thinking time is bad when you could apply the exact same argument to lots of games such as chess doesn't really make sense. If you like word games, Scrabble is good.
This is a perfect response, yes. All of the "this game is bad" arguments are "this game isn't a good experience for some people", which can go for lots of games - as you say, Pictionary. Many physical sports are also just not made to be accessible for certain body types. That doesn't mean that Football is a "bad game".
Scrabble and Upwords are some of my daughter's favorite games to play on family game night
I literally jumped when Luke said my name! Ha thanks for that, made my day!
I find it strange to call a game bad because it's hard for an unskilled player to win. If we apply that logic to sports, then all sports are bad. But you never see basketball be criticized for being inaccessible to short players, or footraces being criticized for being inaccessible to those with asthma. But you do see games like Chess and Scrabble be criticized for being "too smart".
That's why we need chess and scrabble leagues who cannot remember words and cannot plan ahead
There is a hilarious episode of Steptoe & Son where they’re playing Scrabble and the old man is making all naughty words lol.
One of my proudest board gaming moments is using all of my tiles on both my first AND last turn in a game of Scrabble. Killed that game.
Oh Jesus. Watching this video on a phone turned the Scrabble board into an optical illusion. My eyes keep telling me the lines bow inward toward the center, even though I KNOW they're parallel.
I would definitely been interested in seeing 'Is The Settlers of Catan...Actually Good?'. I believe it's definitely had it's time in the sun to be considered a "classic", and because of that should be looked at in an objective critique.
Scrabble is a great game , the first board game i ever played and I still love it to this day
Just as a small defense of Scrabble, I also have great memories of playing it with my grandma specifically but honestly... one of the best parts of playing (at least with my family) is when we put down funny words or make jokes about the words we've played. I think if you're a person who hates it because everyone else is taking the game too seriously and trying to get the most obscure words for points or whatever, maybe you should just avoid playing with people who do that. :B Just play Swears or Dirty Words Scrabble for fun instead.
I personally love Scrabble. I see it as a game to help improve your vocabulary. Sometimes you end up learning new words and knowing their meaning. I am a sucker for learning Etymology and how words and nouns are called what they are and where they originate from. So I tend to find words that know one thinks of.
I have a Harry Potter edition of Scrabble which plays almost the same but has certain mechanics to it that allow you to bend the rules. For example, the Harry Potter edition has cards which you can use to either spell a word backwards should you choose to play it, replace a letter you have in your rack, or sometimes something really silly like the Riddikulus card which allows you to immediatly get a turn if you make one of the other players laugh...It is a pretty ridiculous (pun intended) way to play the game but it gives the game a bit more flavour. If you can find a copy, please do check it out and play it sometime and I think you'll find it a bit more interesting :)
The key to fix to many of the complaints for scabble is simple. You can't just play a word, you must be able to use a word in a sentence. Any electronic version of scrabble needs to let the player swap out tiles until they hit the button to lock in their word and then give other players an option to challenge if they think a word is spelled wrong, made up, or the player can't demonstrate that they know what it means by using it in a sentence.
What I’m learning so far from scrabble is that it really didn’t want to get made
Maybe there’s a reason for that
TBH I'm more concerned that your youtube thumbnail had the scrabble racks with six letters on instead of 7.
The tiles facing the camera say "ADAM BUM"
You’re doing it wrong. It’s best played 1-on-1. Less waiting in between turns. YMMV
I act as the Dictionary checker when my mom and grandma play, which is always very entertaining for me. I'm pretty sure I always have more fun than the people paying the game.
Well, I'm gonna have "Laid" by James stuck in my head for hours now...
I admit to not being that found of spelling games, there is an exception though: "Unspeakable words". It is a Lovecraftian game about some cultists trying to gain power from words. The best part is when someone have a single point of sanity and can make up their own words, it is simple but pretty fun as a drinking game. I could see that game being updated with a board.
Scrabble itself is a great game to learn kids how to spell, so it is more of an educational game then a fun one. I think it is something that is best used in school for younger kids and Scrabble in foreign languages could be great for learning to spell in different languages.
But for a board game you pick out to play with your friends or family, it is pretty poor. With friends, most games you play on this channel is a better choice and with family, something like Catan is better. It is one of those games like Monopoly that were great once but have aged poorly.
I don't really have any problem spelling in a couple of languages, so that part is not really my problem but the game is just less fun then most modern games so why spend my time playing it when I can play something more exciting? I can why people with dyslexia dislike it.
The video in which we have ADAM BUM in plain sight.
Yes it's actually very good. Promotes memory and spelling, much better if you don't use names like JAMES! lol House rules can help, like minimum of 3 letters which makes things more interesting
I voted yes on is it actually good because I confused it with bananagrams
Hahaha I noticed what you did with your opponents tiles...... very mature 😂
Everyone loves a good Adam Bum
Not to riff on anyone's enjoyment of the game but I think "It stood the test of time" is hardly an argument. There are simply a couple of games that have become huge in the public conscious that they're hard to dethrone, depsite having better alternatives. Most of these are older games: scrabble,monopoly or trivial pursuit.
These games are in practicly every household, played on family game nights by people that just occasionaly play a game. Most real game ethusiast that I know don't like these games, but newer, better games just no longer have a real chance to get that position again. Even games like Catan and Ticket to ride are simply not as well known and will be bought less often by people not really in the know about board games.
I'd add that its lack of success initially makes it suspect. It seems from this and the backgammon episode that the means to get a game into the cultural lexicon is have famous people play it.
Also having a prescribed word list (so I can't use American or British spellings as needed), inability to use alternative spellings like daemon, or even slang limits what a person can bring to the game (house rules notwithstanding).
It just seems too constrained given the other option available out there.
Scrabble is a great game, you just have to have more-or-less matched opponents who like word play. I would play Scrabble with my Mom, I would arm wrestle a work buddy; I wouldn't do the reverse.
Just came to this video from adams latest collection starter mentioning it to give a bit thumbs up to Luke Owens D.A.D.
This is the first game in the series where I am like "No, it's not actually good"
Scrabble is just...not a fun game. Yes, it has tournament play but that doesn't mean it is fun. I am pretty sure most scrabble players aren't having fun either, they are just competitive and wanting to win. A game fails when it isn't fun to play. Chess, which is even more skill based and less random, is still more fun than scrabble by a long shot.
love the shirt
The history of Scrabble sounds like a moment of mass hysteria. It seemed to become a hit by accident, one guy bought a load of copies, and then everyone else bought it as well for fear of missing out (even though no one had liked it in the beginning).
Adam Bum
hehehehe
I like disorder. It's a bluffing game. you can win a game of disorder without ever correctly spelling a word or even having a word in mind.
The argument that it’s good based on fond memories I think just ties in with the game selling a bucket load in an era and space of time when there wasn’t as much choice or competition.
4 million copies sold in 1954 (and steadily selling well ever since) explains why a copy is in most of our grandparents homes and passed down generations. Me and my wife found a copy on our honeymoon in our accommodation. We played it, had a laugh created a memory.
Ain’t played it since. 🤷♂️
I do like playing Scrabble but I admit that I have a whole load of board games that I would rather play with my family and friends instead of Scrabble. is it a good game? I would tend to say for what it is. But I think it belongs in that category of games that are loved more in nostlagia than actual practice although those who play it in a competative sense with tournaments and such are going to feel a lot different about it than a casual gamer, which true of all games in that description.
Hang on, according to the scrabble rule book which has a list of all the 2 letter words, the only 2 letter word beginning with z is zo.
But Laurie, you said you love Scrabble! 🙃
The French Scrabble Champion... doesn't even speak French, he just learned how the words were written, I think that says a lot about the 'strategy' in the game.
I don't see what not knowing what the word means has to do with strategy. Having a large vocabulary and knowing how to make beautiful sentences with it is a quality, but that quality is not called "strategy", not even close. The strategy part is knowing which tiles you should use now or keep for later, or how to use the positions on the board to your advantage.
The guy was a multiple times English speaking Scrabble champion. He had a lot of "Scrabble skills" already, from all of his competitive play in English. The only thing he needed to perform well in French speaking championship was knowing the playable combinations of letters. It doesn't mean that anyone could just learn the words by heart and win a championship. I'm certain if I learnt all these words, I would still suck at Scrabble. I've never been good, at all, with anagrams, so it doesn't matter how many words I know if I can't notice I have the letters to form them. I don't particularly enjoy games which rely on a lot of anticipation, and don't have the best observational skills, so even if I try to figure out the best place to put a word or if I would be better off keeping that K for later or using it know, I will forget/not notice an obvious possibility and make a bad decision more often than not. For many reasons, I don't find the game particularly fun, and it doesn't fit my skillset, I'm bad at it. And that's fine, I just rarely play it, I'm happy with that. I'm also convinced that there have been better word games since (again, I'm bad at them, don't know much about them), but it's another matter entirely.
I'm just always extremely puzzled by the conclusions that people draw from the fact that that guy won a championship (in "classical" format, which is the only one used in English tournaments, but least popular than "duplicate" in French competitions) without knowing the meaning of any of the words he played. The only thing that proves is that the meanings of the words don't matter in Scrabble, which I think everybody knew beforehand, and that aside from the knowledge of the dictionary, the rest of the skills are transferable from one language to another, it doesn't mean that they don't exist, just that a champion in one language already has all of the other skills required.
Scrabble is about knowing 2 letter words and landing bonuses. Its not about making good/longer words.
Adam Bum?
Genuine suggestion for this series somewhere down the line. Is pandemic actually good? I've seen some people who love it and consider it the best game ever, and others who hate it and call it a glorified 1 player game
Yes
Super Punch-Out: the connoisseur's choice!
The time spent "not doing anything" in Scrabble is time I (and my wife) take to look for words, etc. I know this channel is pro-party game -- and there's certainly nothing wrong with that, party games can be awesome -- but there are other ways to play, too. No need to yuck someone else's yum.
I agree. I think the criteria used to decide against Scrabble here is the exact criteria that should've made Monopoly a good game. There's skill and preparation required for Scrabble whereas Monopoly has none.
There's downtime in Scrabble, Monopoly has none.
Monopoly eliminates players throughout play, Scrabble does not.
If Scrabble isn't good based on those parameters as they have said, then surely that makes Monopoly good...
Scrabble is better suited for an educational environment. Like a school or home for kids, when adult want to relax scrabble is more frustrating than fun.
She’s still makes me play. Now on table top online ;-;
Love this series!
In my opinion, Scrabble is... meh? It can be great for children as a teaching tool, but as a game, there just isn't much there. It presents itself as a game where you can be creative with words but punishes creativity by having pre-set points assigned to the letters, so it's really just about who can luck out with the most 'Z's.
The most fun I've had with Scrabble is when someone plays a funny word with comedic timing, but there are many party games that better promote that way of fun.
I can think of many other word games at the top of my head that I'd rather play than Scrabble.
Scrabbles is a good game. No game can be popular as long as scrabble has while being a poor game unless it is made for young children, like Candyland or Shutes and Ladders.
Absolutely love Scrabble. I beat everyone at this.
It is a good game, well designed, and balanced. Do I personally enjoy it? Well no... Not really. But my personal preferences does not change anything regarding the quality of the game
Dyslexia makes this game very stressful. when ever my mom wants to play I have immense anxiety about it. I was always expected to excel at it because many of my relatives play it very competitively and it is just a nightmare.
My family LOVES Scrabble and I have dyslexia as well and I found it really helped me BUT they're attitude about it really helped they were supportive and I'm sorry your family made that game bad for you. If you ever want to try the game again I'd suggest playing with friends who cheer you on and just want some fun (・∀・)
You need to have your own "house rules" to make the game more 'fair' and enjoyable i found...
One rule we do, is only allow 2 letter words once the bag has no more letters remaining for example.
And also, no names allowed 😂
That is...not a regulation Scrabble board.
Lol, I know right? There were double letter blocks missing in the middle row
@@martinoviljoen5512 not just that. In fact the only things accurate are the outer rows (A and O) and rows (1 and 15).
Nobed isnt a word, but Boned is.
I think this one is a victim of subjectivity. Luke gives lots of reasons why Scrabble is a good game, admits it's polarising, and then concludes it isn't a good game because he didn't enjoy it?
Yeah, as far as you can objectively define it, it's a good game as the rules flow properly, and it makes for a fair challenge between skilled players. The fact that the tournament metagame is frustrating and almost goes against the original intent of the game shouldn't diminish the value of the original game. Just make sure you play it with reasonable human beings and not ones who thing memorising the two letter words is a satisfying experience...
I'd say Scrabble is quite rewarding for people with more extensive vocabularies.
While I like Banagrams and it's quick nature, it can be a bit easy as you're just throwing down pretty basic words which normally aren't played in Scrabble as they get you no points.
I personally think Scrabble's good because you're balancing: playing a high scoring word with a long word with a word that leaves you with good letters with preventing other people from playing great words with wanting to play an impressive word.
It's a clever mishmash of tactics and luck, a bit like Monopoly.
But if you're taking 20 minutes on your go, then I'd advise you not to play it, and definitely not with me.
Also...Scrabble is good when you're good at Scrabble.
"ADAM BUM"
I made it into a video.. #winning
No, when you play scrabble with someone trying to win (like i do ) it becomes a boring game of short words to maximize play moves . Its far more compeitive , but prertty boring. Same with monopoly when played with good players (and playing by the rules)
Adam Bum... lol
No swear words in the US version!? ROBBED!
Hahaha Adam Bum
upwords is a good version
That t shirt is the only one of its kind and I hate that fact.
This view, this horrible understanding of top level Scrabble players, upsets me. We’re not snobs, idiot, but yeah we play competitively. Duh!
I was early... then realised I wasn't first 😔
Don't worry. The last time I was early, I was watching PhenomaNerds.
But surely it shouldn't be a case of "looking through a dictionary is fun" it should be more to do with the fact that you are getting an education, you are adding depth to your vocabulary. It's a joyful experience to see a word that you think can't be real or believe it to mean something else to then go and find out why the word actually works and it's meaning such as the word "lep" and "james" in the game with Adam and Laurie. Being surprised by something that is a major part of you, something you've had your entire life and something you believe to understand extremely well is wonderfully fun.
It *was* actually good, but the boardgaming universe simply has moved on and Scrabble just can't live up to modern day standards anymore.
Prefer the elegance of the uk dictionary...
I think the problem with Scrabble is there are games that do the same or similar mechanic but better. It's a game that may have started the gimmick of word games but it's been taken over by others.
Lol ADAM BUM
"Is Scrabble a good game?" Not in my opinion. I've not a strong speller to begin with, so I've never enjoyed the game.
I’m going to say no
i cant spell so . . .
If you have a decent understanding of the English language, yes. If you are a dum dum like me... then scrabble sucks.
Upwords is better.
Wow I'm early
Honestly....I don't know
Primus sucks!
Its alright. People hate it because its way more popular than other more nuanced and better designed board games
Chess is awful. Just play Go. It's infinitely more fun and accessible.