It’s hard to believe that it’s been a decade since my grandparents were
introduced into the wonderful world of computers when my grandma
received one for her birthday. She took to it quickly, and before long,
we were e-mailing each other and chatting over instant messenger. This
year, she even joined Facebook. For the most part, Grandma uses her
computer to keep in touch with friends and relatives. But she also likes
to play a game now and then, and her favorite is Scrabble.
Scrabble has long been a board game of choice in my family, and scarcely
a visit with Grandma and Grandpa seems to go by without at least one
instance of us trying to outfox each other on the Scrabble board. When
we’re at their house, we still play the traditional way once in a while,
since it’s not very easy for three people to crowd around the computer.
But mostly, Grandpa sits out and Grandma and I challenge each other,
and with the computer keeping score, the game goes by pretty quickly.
The rules are the same as in the traditional board game. Each person
gets seven letters to start out with, and as tiles are used, more must
be drawn. This can be done automatically or by selecting individual
turned-over tiles that hover around the board by clicking on them with
the mouse. When Grandma and I play, we decide who goes first, and that
person is Player 1. The game keeps track of how much time we’re taking,
so it’s easy to tell if one person’s turn is dragging on a little longer
than it should. It’s interesting to compare the two players’ times at
various points in the game.
Another nice feature of the game
is that if you try to play a word that the computer rejects, you still
have your turn. Hence, you really don’t have to shrink away from playing
something if you’re not sure about it. Revealing your letters to your
opponent isn’t even an issue because that’s just something you have to
get used to when you’re playing this game. You will see each other’s
tiles, unless you turn away from the computer every time it’s the other
player’s turn.
When my grandparents play each other, they
always point out possible words to one another. I like a bit more
competition, so Grandma and I keep our suggestions to a minimum, though
we do find that once in a while, we can’t resist speaking up. (Now that
she’s on Facebook, I’ve been trying to get her to give Lexulous a whirl
so we can conduct a long-distance game, with the added benefit of not
being able to see each other’s tiles, but that hasn’t happened quite
yet.)
Playing on the computer, you don’t have to worry about
tiles slip-sliding away. If you have a deluxe board, that’s not as much
of a problem, but it can still be an issue, especially if somebody is
clumsy and flings an arm across the board or an overly inquisitive cat
decides to tiptoe through the tiles. The tiles on the computer are
staying put. And the computer keeps track of the score, so there can be
no accusation of false score-keeping, and nobody has to deal with the
headache of math in addition to verbal skills.
It’s pretty
basic stuff as games go, but Scrabble is one of my favorite computer
games, even though I don’t own a copy myself. The graphics are clean and
attractive, and there's a fun fireworks effect that comes up if you're
lucky enough to use all seven of your tiles in one turn. I’ve played it
many times, and my grandparents have played it many more. Installation
was easy, and we’ve never had a problem getting it to come up when we
play. There are sound effects that you may choose to disable if you’re
more inclined to think of Scrabble as a quiet game, ensuring that the
virtual experience will be as much like the old-fashioned one as
possible, but more streamlined. It’s hard to improve on a game that’s so
great already. But in several small ways, the computer version does.
Just try not to be too competitive...
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