Scrabble

Network: NBC (Repeats: USA)

Running Years: July 1984-March 1990; January 1993-June 1993

Host: Chuck Woolery

Announcers: Jay Stewart, Charlie Tuna

Producer: Reg Grundy

"Scrabble" was and is one of the most popular board games worldwide. You know, that little crossword game where you make the words and the patterns? Well, for those that played it, don't worry, this show wasn't two people playing that game! It based some of the ideas off of the game, but in such a way that the show was a major hit in all age groups, and one of my personal favorites.

RULES (1984-1988):

Two new players, always a man and a woman, began play. A word was shown with one letter of the word and a clue was given. Whoever won the coin toss began, and then selected two tiles from a rack between the players. When they dropped the tiles in front of them, letters came up. The player then selected one of the two letters; if the letter was in the word, it was placed in its proper position, and the player had the chance to guess. If he/she refused to guess, then he/she could try to place the other letter. If that letter was good, then he/she could guess or pick two more tiles.

If the letter was not good (called a "stopper,"), then that player lost control, and his/her opponent got to select one or two more tiles, depending on how many the other player had used up. Three "stoppers" existed per word. However, if all three "stoppers" were found, then the word became a "Speedword," with letters being placed one-by-one until somebody buzzed-in with the correct answer.

Once a player thought he/she knew what the word was, then he/she could take a guess, but only if he/she had control. A correct answer was worth one point, and three points won the match and $500; a wrong answer gave control to the opponent.

Players could also win bonus money if they could guess the word immediately after placing a letter in a blue square ($500 bonus) or a pink square ($1,000 bonus). This didn't affect the outcome of the game, just was some nice bonus cash.

The winner of the game above moved on to the "Scrabble Sprint" to take on the champion. The challenger went first and was presented with three words, one at a time. He/she was given the chance to place letters, one at a time, until he/she knew the word, or until only one letter remained. Time was being kept here, and a wrong answer was a 10-second penalty. Also, if all but one letter was revealed and there was no attempt to guess, then there was a 5-second penalty and the contestant had to do a penalty word. The champion then came on and tried to beat the challenger's time. Whoever completed the three words the fastest won the championship and $1,500.

Champions could play up to 10 games; however, if a champ won five games in a row, then he/she won $20,000; 10 games was worth $40,000. This, by the way, was not additional money; their totals were simply augmented to these amounts.

RULES (1988-1990 and 1993):

The game underwent a major overhaul in 1988, but still stayed true to the original game. Two different preliminary matches were played with the same rules as before, but the first match had the champion play as well. Unlike before, however, these games were timed, so, if time was running out, then the remaining word(s) were played as "Speedwords."

The winners of those matches then played the "Scrabble Sprint" with 4 words. Winning here was worth $1,000, the championship, and the chance to play the "Bonus Sprint."

BONUS GAME ("Bonus Sprint"):

The "Bonus Sprint" gave the champion 10 seconds to try and solve two more words. If he/she was successful, then he/she won a progressive jackpot that started at $5,000 and grew by $1,000 each day not won. A wrong answer at any point lost the game, and it was all or nothing here; no bonus money for just one word!

In the 1993 version, the jackpot was worth $1,000 initially and was added to by the bonus squares in the preliminary game.

There was no bonus money for winning 5 games here, but champs could stay on for up to 5 games.

SOME UNUSUAL TRENDS:

For three months early in the run, contestants were forced to spell the words in the preliminary game. After two players struggled to spell "MOSQUITOS," the rules changed back to the way they were with a funny intro from Chuck: "We changed the rules; you don't have to spell the words anymore!"

Very early on in the run, there was a different scoring system, but, even though I never saw it, I took the time to investigate it, and here's what I found:

Each letter placed in the word was worth $25, or extra money if there were pink or blue bonus squares ($100 and $50, respectively) when the word was guessed correctly. That money was then placed in a pot, and the winner of the game received the money in the pot and then the chance to play the "Scrabble Sprint" against the champion for triple the money. 5 and 10-time winners also received additional bonuses of $20,000 when they reached their respective marks. This system lasted about a year.

A poor sap named Sang set a notorious "Scrabble Sprint" record by taking 87.0 seconds to get three words! I'm willing to bet he didn't see another day!

When bonus money was won, Chuck would hand it out physically to the players; in the last season, though, instead of real money, they were special "Chuckbucks." Pretty corny, if you ask me.

MY REVIEW:

"The television version of everyone's favorite game" was indeed a big hit, and one of my personal favorites, for many reasons. First of all, you didn't have to be a genius to play this game; while you did have to be good at words, none of these words were from the little-known pages in the Oxford Dictionary! Also, despite the serious game, the clues, and Chuck, were very light-hearted and fun to hear. Chuck, in that regard, did an excellent job as host and it's no surprise why he has become one of the most popular game show hosts: he was very quick-witted but also knew when and how to keep the game moving; he also had the gift of being able to laugh at his on-camera screw-ups, some of which were hilarious! The set also looked very much like a "Scrabble" board, full of pink and blue flashing squares, which I thought was a very nice touch. A perfect hybrid of skill and luck, this show has been a longtime favorite of game show fans everywhere, whom I'm sure would love to see this show again someday!

My Grades:

Game Play: A+ (A perfect blend of skill and luck combined with a very light-hearted nature and big bucks for champs made this an excellent game to get up with and watch!)

Host: A+ (Let's face it: Chuck Woolery IS "Scrabble!" This show had his name on it, as he fit into his role as host so perfectly, I don't think anybody else could take his place!)

Set: A- ('80s), B ('90s) (A very fitting set, despite the lack of color, since the game of "Scrabble" really doesn't have that many colors involved! The '90s set, though, was very small and definitely could've been more imaginative.)

Execution: A ('80s), A- ('90s) (An almost-flawless show, I still never saw the need for the major format change in the middle of the run. Also, that change to the bonus squares just adding to the jackpot in the '90s was a big disappointment for me!)

Play-Along Factor: A ("You idiot! Don't place the O!" A popular saying from me while watching this show, along with playing along with the words, could make this a very fun show to watch!)

Overall Grade: A ('80s), A- ('90s)

Despite the inconsistencies among the two versions (and even in the '80s run!), this was a show that was so enjoyable to watch, the format change never bothered me! This is Chuck Woolery at his finest with a very fun game to sit back and play along with; so, if you've never seen the show before, what's wrong with you? Get some episodes! NOW! You'll be sooooo glad you got more than one because you'll be hooked after seeing just that first one!

LET'S SPRINT HOME!