97-463: The UK National Scrabble Championship (NSC) is a British national scrabble tournament, held annually since its inception in 1971 (except 1995, 2020, and 2021). While it was formerly organised by Mattel , the copyright owner of Scrabble in the UK, since 2014 it has been organised by Association of British Scrabble Players (ABSP). It is one of five major scrabble tournaments in the UK. The other four comprise
194-457: A syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herman Hassenfeld and is incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island . Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of Kenner , Milton Bradley , Parker Brothers , and Wizards of
291-529: A 50-point bonus is added, and the score for this play is 38 + 50 = 88 {\displaystyle 38+50=88} points. Player 2 plays RECO(UN)TS E4 through the word UN. Because this word covers two DWS squares, the score for this word is quadrupled, and the score for the play is ( 1 + 1 + 3 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 ) × 2 × 2 = 40 {\displaystyle (1+1+3+1+1+1+1+1)\times 2\times 2=40} points. Player 1
388-407: A detailed article that Hasbro came close to buying Lionsgate , exploring options to expand its entertainment division and bolster its content production capabilities due to interest in film and television ventures, but the deal fell through. On February 16, 2018, Saban Brands appointed Hasbro as the global master toy licensee for Power Rangers with a future collaboration and option to purchase
485-453: A few sets himself but was not successful in selling the game to any major game manufacturers of the day. In 1948, James Brunot, a resident of Newtown, Connecticut , and one of the few owners of the original Criss-Crosswords game, bought the rights to manufacture the game in exchange for granting Butts a royalty on every unit sold. Although he left most of the game (including the distribution of letters) unchanged, Brunot slightly rearranged
582-482: A hypodermic needle-shaped water gun tagged by the press as a "junior junkie" kit. Both were recalled. Romper Room and its toy line had continued success, although Action for Children's Television citizens group considered the program to be an advertising channel for toys. Merrill Hassenfeld took over as CEO in 1974, and his son Stephen D. Hassenfeld became president. The company became profitable once again but had mixed results due to cash flow problems from increasing
679-654: A makeover, with rides being redone and renamed to Hasbro properties. Construction was begun later that month and scheduled to wrap up in late 2020. On August 22, 2019, Hasbro announced its purchase of Entertainment One for about US$ 4 billion. The deal was completed on December 30, 2019. On October 24, 2019, Hasbro announced the closing of Backflip Studios, while its Wizards of the Coast subsidiary purchased Tuque Games in October. On February 28, 2020, Hasbro announced that Campbell Arnott's former CMO David McNeil had joined
776-420: A manufacturer of infant products and the world's largest bib producer, and Knickerbocker Toy Company, a struggling Warner Communications subsidiary. Hasbro paid 37% of its stock to Warner, which was paid into Hasbro's executive-controlled voting trust, and also received a cash infusion. In 1984, Alan G. Hassenfeld took over as president from his brother Stephen, who continued as CEO and chairman. That same year,
873-414: A new five-year contract. As of fiscal year 2012, Goldner had a total calculated compensation of $ 9,684,285. On July 9, 2013, Backflip Studios sold a 70% stake in the company to Hasbro for $ 112 million in cash. On November 6, 2012, it was rumored that The Walt Disney Company was discussing a multi-billion dollar deal to acquire Hasbro. While Hasbro declined to discuss the rumor, advisors stated there
970-523: A new subsidiary called Hasbro Entertainment , founded on August 16, 2023. The company celebrated their 100th anniversary on December 6, 2023. Three Polish-Jewish brothers, Herman, Hillel, and Henry Hassenfeld, founded Hassenfeld Brothers in Providence, Rhode Island , in late 1923, a company selling textile remnants. Over the next two decades, the company expanded to produce pencil cases and school supplies. On January 8, 1926, Hassenfeld Brothers
1067-560: A number of major college-level dictionaries, principally those published by Merriam-Webster. If a word appears, at least historically, in any one of the dictionaries, it is included in the NWL and the OSPD. If the word has only an offensive meaning, it is included only in the NWL. The key difference between the OSPD and the NWL is that the OSPD is marketed for "home and school" use, without words which their source dictionaries judged offensive, rendering
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#17328021496591164-504: A player has made a play and not yet drawn a tile, any other player may choose to challenge any or all words formed by the play. The challenged word(s) are then searched in the agreed-upon word list or dictionary, and if one or more of them is found to be unacceptable, the play is removed from the board, and the player scores zero for that turn. If all challenged words are acceptable, the challenger loses their turn. In tournament play, players are not entitled to know which word(s) are invalid or
1261-521: A player successfully challenges, the opponent must reveal any replacement tiles before returning them to the bag. Tens of thousands play club and tournament Scrabble worldwide. The rules and equipment in tournament Scrabble differ somewhat from those typically found in casual play. For example, all tournament (and most club) games are played with a game clock and a set time control , and are only between two players (or occasionally, two teams of players). A player who goes overtime does not immediately lose
1358-447: A player who plays out adds twice this sum, and the opponent's score is unchanged. The score for a play is determined as follows: Scoreless turns can occur when a player passes, exchanges tiles, loses a challenge, or otherwise makes an illegal move. A scoreless turn can also occur if a play consists of only blank tiles, but this is extremely unlikely in actual play. See the example board at right. Suppose Player 1 plays QUITE 8D, with
1455-663: A proper noun, have unrelated meanings and are therefore acceptable in major Scrabble lexicons. Acronyms and abbreviations are generally not allowed unless they have separate entries (such as AWOL , RADAR , SCUBA , and WYSIWYG ). Variant spellings, slang or offensive terms, archaic or obsolete terms, and specialized jargon words are acceptable if they meet all other criteria for acceptability, but archaic spellings (e.g., NEEDE or MAKETH) are generally not acceptable words. Foreign words are not allowed in English-language Scrabble unless they have been incorporated into
1552-536: A similar problem occurs in other languages like French, Dutch, Italian, and German. J is also difficult to play due to its low frequency and a scarcity of words having it at the end. C and V may be troublesome in the endgame, since no two-letter words with them exist, except for CH in the Collins Scrabble Words lexicon. In 1938, the American architect Alfred Mosher Butts created the game as
1649-539: A single letter, onto a game board divided into a 15×15 grid of squares. The tiles must form words that, in crossword fashion, read left to right in rows or downward in columns and are included in a standard dictionary or lexicon . American architect Alfred Mosher Butts invented the game in 1938. Scrabble is produced in the United States and Canada by Hasbro , under the brands of both of its subsidiaries, Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers . Mattel owns
1746-468: A square game board imprinted with a 15×15 grid of cells (individually known as "squares"), each of which accommodates a single letter tile. In official club and tournament games, play is between two players or, occasionally, between two teams, each of which collaborates on a single rack. The board is marked with "premium" squares, which multiply the number of points awarded: eight dark red "triple-word" squares, 17 pale red "double-word" squares, of which one,
1843-405: A successfully challenged play is nearly universal: the offending player removes the tiles played and forfeits their turn. (In some online games, an option known as "void" may be used, wherein unacceptable words are automatically rejected by the program. The player is then required to make another play, with no penalty applied.) The penalty for an unsuccessful challenge (where all words challenged in
1940-566: A television cooking show. Two new 1970s toys were public relations disasters. One of the toys was named Javelin Darts which were similar to the ancient Roman plumbata . On December 19, 1988, the Consumer Product Safety Commission banned lawn darts from sale in the United States due to their hazards as a flying projectile with a sharp metal point causing multiple deaths. The other toy was named The Hypo-Squirt,
2037-399: A variation on an earlier word game he invented, called Lexiko . The two games had the same set of letter tiles, whose distributions and point values Butts worked out by performing a frequency analysis of letters from various sources, including The New York Times . The new game, which he called Criss-Crosswords, added the 15×15 gameboard and the crossword-style gameplay. He manufactured
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#17328021496592134-411: Is ( 3 + 1 + 1 + 10 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 ) × 3 = 57 {\displaystyle (3+1+1+10+1+1+1+1)\times 3=57} points. The Q is not doubled, as the Q was not played on this turn. Player 1 plays INFaNCY 9D with a blank A, forming five 2-letter words, QI, UN, IF, TA, and EN. Because several additional words were formed, each new word
2231-464: Is 4.5, with the figure rounded up). In the second-highest division, the top 10% qualify. Additionally, extra qualification places are allocated for players rated 170 or above. [1] Until 2013, qualifiers competed in a semi-final held in another part of the UK, involving 60 qualifiers from six NSC qualifiers competing in a 14-game stage, with the top two playing in a best-of-five final held in London. Since
2328-507: Is NWL2023, effective February 2024, and the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary , published by Merriam-Webster , is currently in its seventh edition of 2022. NWL includes all current OSPD words, plus several hundred offensive words and genericized trademarks such as KLEENEX; as of 2020, it no longer includes words judged to be personally applicable offensive slurs. The NWL and OSPD are compiled using
2425-606: Is a joint venture of Discovery Communications, Inc. and Hasbro. Scrabble was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2004. The "box rules" included in each copy of the North American edition have been edited four times: in 1953, 1976, 1989, and 1999. The major changes in 1953 were as follows. The major changes in 1976 were as follows. The editorial changes made in 1989 did not affect gameplay. The major changes in 1999 were as follows. Before
2522-519: Is ahead 136–97. All words of length 2 to 15 letters that appear in the agreed-upon dictionary or lexicon are acceptable words in Scrabble , as are all their inflected forms and plurals. Words that contain apostrophes, are hyphenated or capitalized (such as proper nouns ) are generally not allowed unless they also appear as acceptable entries; for example, words such as HERES , JACK and TEXAS , while typically containing an apostrophe or considered
2619-412: Is one of the most versatile tiles in English-language Scrabble because it can be appended to many words to pluralize them (or in the case of most verbs , convert them to the third person singular present tense, as in the word PLUMMETS); Alfred Butts included only four S tiles to avoid making the game "too easy". Q is considered the most troublesome letter, as almost all words with it also contain U ;
2716-537: Is scored separately. The score for this play, without the 50-point bonus, is ( 1 + 1 + 4 + 2 × 0 + 1 + 2 × 3 + 4 ) + ( 10 + 1 ) + ( 1 + 1 ) + ( 1 + 4 ) + ( 1 + 2 × 0 ) + ( 1 + 1 ) = 38 {\displaystyle (1+1+4+2\times 0+1+2\times 3+4)+(10+1)+(1+1)+(1+4)+(1+2\times 0)+(1+1)=38} points. Because all 7 tiles were played on this turn,
2813-425: Is split into at least two divisions based on players' ratings, and placings are determined by the number of wins, then by accumulated point differences (called the spread). In each one-day local tournament designated as an NSC qualifier, players who finish in the top 25% in the top division qualify, with decimals rounded to the nearest integer. For example, if there are 18 players, the top 5 will qualify (since 25% of 18
2910-470: The BBC Four and subsequently BBC Two program Marcus Brigstocke ''s Trophy People . In 2012, Paul Gallen became the first player from Northern Ireland to win the title. Numbers in parentheses are the total numbers of championships won by that player, up to and including that year. Scrabble Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by placing tiles, each bearing
3007-522: The Black Lives Matter movement, with the company's head of games saying: "Can you imagine any other game where you can score points and win by using a racial epithet? It’s long overdue." This does not exclude players from playing these words, as it is within the rules of the game to play unacceptable words (at the risk of losing a challenge). There are two popular competition word lists for English-language Scrabble: The first predominates in
National Scrabble Championship (UK) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3104-705: The Chambers and Collins English dictionaries, but recent editorial decisions have caused greater discrepancies between CSW and NWL. CSW is commonly used to adjudicate major tournaments outside North America. Tournaments are also played using CSW in North America, particularly since Hasbro ceased to control tournament play in 2009. NASPA , the Word Game Players Organization , and Collins Coalition (CoCo) all sanction CSW tournaments, using separate Elo rating systems. The penalty for
3201-706: The Entertainment One (now Lionsgate Canada ) acquisition on December 30, 2019, franchises like Peppa Pig and PJ Masks . Hasbro also spawned TV shows to promote its products, such as Family Game Night on the Discovery Family network. It is the former parent of mass media and entertainment company Entertainment One . Hasbro sold Entertainment One to Lionsgate on December 27, 2023, however, it kept eOne's family brands and eOne's stake in Astley Baker Davies , placing them into
3298-472: The G.I. Joe toy in 1964 which they termed an " action figure " in order to market it to boys who wouldn't want to play with dolls. In 1964 and 1965, G.I. Joe accounted for two-thirds of Hassenfeld's sales. The company had previously sold toys under the Hasbro trade name, and it shortened its name to Hasbro Industries on July 12, 1968, and sold a minor stake in the corporation to the public. The Vietnam War
3395-527: The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary less fit for official Scrabble play. The OSPD is available in bookstores, while the NWL is available only through NASPA . In all other English-speaking countries, the competition word list is Collins Scrabble Words 2021 edition, known as CSW21 (Versions of this lexicon before 2007 were known as SOWPODS ). Historically, this list has contained all OTCWL words plus words sourced from
3492-777: The UK Open , the British Isles Elimination Scrabble Tournament (BEST), the British Matchplay Scrabble Championship (BMSC) and the UK Masters. The current UK champion is Paul Allan. In 1971, author and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth visited Bristol Prison whilst conducting research for a book and noticed the inmates playing Scrabble; at around the same time, he also saw the Royal Family playing
3589-491: The "premium" squares of the board and simplified the rules; he also renamed the game Scrabble , a real word that means "scratch frantically". In 1949, Brunot and his family made sets in a converted former schoolhouse in Dodgingtown, Connecticut , a section of Newtown. They made 2,400 sets that year but lost money. According to legend, Scrabble ' s big break came in 1952 when Jack Straus, president of Macy's , played
3686-465: The 1983 International Tokyo Toy Show [ ja ] , the company licensed the toylines and subsequently launched the successful Transformers toy line along with a children's animated TV series two years later. With the toys and TV series being popular, Stephen Hassenfeld posed with the toys for a People magazine cover photo. In 1982, Hasbro produced the successful toy franchise My Little Pony . In 1983, they purchased GLENCO Infant Items,
3783-685: The ABSP replaced Mattel as the sponsor of the NSC in 2014, qualifiers now compete in a 17-game final held over a weekend in November, with no best-of-5 final. The final, like a normal Scrabble tournament, orders players based on number of wins, followed by number of spread points. The player who finishes first after 17 games is crowned the UK National Scrabble Champion and wins a cash prize of £1,000. Smaller cash prizes are also awarded to
3880-643: The CEO and chairman of the board. Between 1978 and 1981, Stephen reduced the Hasbro product line by one-third and its new products by one-half. Hasbro focused on simple, low-cost, longer life-cycle toys like Mr. Potato Head. Hasbro thus stayed out of the electronic games field which went bust in the early 1980s. In 1982, Hasbro revived its G.I. Joe line with the help of Marvel Comics , as an anti-terrorist special forces team based on current events. Following an interest in Takara 's Diaclone and Micro Change toylines in
3977-449: The Coast was bought in a deal worth $ 325 million. Wizards of the Coast is now a subsidiary of Hasbro and has Avalon Hill as its division. In 2001 money-losing Hasbro Interactive was sold to Infogrames , a French software concern, for $ 100 million. Hasbro entered the building block toy with its Built to Rule line in 2003, which did not hold together well or were too hard for the targeted age group, thus ended in 2005. In 2004,
National Scrabble Championship (UK) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4074-548: The Coast , among others. As of August 2020, over 81.5% of its shares were held by large financial institutions. Mr. Potato Head serves as Hasbro’s iconic, official mascot along with its preschool children’s subsidiary Playskool . Among Hasbro's products are Transformers , G.I. Joe , Power Rangers , Rom the Space Knight , Micronauts , M.A.S.K. , Monopoly , Furby , Nerf , Potato Head , Ouija boards , Play-Doh , Twister , and My Little Pony , and with
4171-513: The Coast subsidiary "posted revenue of $ 816 million last year, up 24% from 2019, fueled by what Hasbro says were record years for" Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering . ICv2 reported, "the WotC and Digital Gaming segment is over $ 112 million more than the operating profit for Hasbro's entire consumer products segment" and that "Wizards of the Coast on its own is also more profitable than Hasbro's consumer products segment [...]. From
4268-486: The English language, such as the words QI , KILIM, and PATISSERIE. Vulgar and offensive words are generally excluded from the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary but allowed in club and tournament play. The North American Scrabble Players Association removed slurs from its lexicon in 2020, after conducting a poll of its members. Mattel removed 400 derogatory terms from its official word list in 2021, in response to
4365-566: The Far East as an important market to expand. In 1992, Hasbro purchased Nomura Toys Ltd. in Japan, and majority ownership of Palmyra, a Southeast Asian toy distributor. These increased the proportion of international sales from 22% in 1985 to 45% ($ 1.28 billion) in 1995. In 1993, Hasbro lost its bid for J. W. Spear & Sons , a U.K.-based game maker, to Mattel . In the US, Hasbro's growth since 1980
4462-832: The Hasbro Toy Group. Meanwhile, Mattel purchased Fisher-Price and retook the top spot in the toy industry. Hasbro Interactive was started in 1995 and released the Monopoly game on CD-ROM. Mattel also proposed a merger that year, but was turned down by the Hasbro board in 1996 due to antitrust issues and Justice Department investigation into exclusionary policies between toy manufacturers and toy retailers, particularly Toys "R" Us . In 1998, Hasbro bought Avalon Hill for $ 6 million and Galoob for $ 220 million. That same year, Milton Bradley merged with Parker Bros. to form Hasbro Games. In 1999, Hasbro paid $ 325 million for rights to Pokémon toys. The same year, Wizards of
4559-448: The Q on a DLS and the E on the center star. Because the center star is a DWS, the score for this play is ( 2 × 10 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 ) × 2 = 48 {\displaystyle (2\times 10+1+1+1+1)\times 2=48} points. Player 2 extends the play to form the word MES(QUITE) 8A with the M on the TWS at 8A. The score for this play
4656-621: The U.S., Canada, and Thailand, and the second in English Scrabble in the rest of the world. There is also a large community of competitive Collins players in North America, with its own NASPA rating system. Today's NASPA Word List (NWL), published by NASPA Games , descends from the Official Tournament and Club Word List (a non-bowdlerized version of the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary ) and its companion Long Words List for longer words. The current version of NWL
4753-412: The UK on January 19, 1955. In 1986, Selchow and Righter was sold to Coleco , which soon afterward went bankrupt . Hasbro then purchased Coleco's assets in 1989, including Scrabble and Parcheesi . Mattel then acquired JW Spear in 1994. Since then, Hasbro has owned the rights to manufacture Scrabble in the U.S. and Canada, and Mattel has held the rights to manufacture the game in other parts of
4850-476: The board, however, the choice is fixed. Other language sets use different letter set distributions with different point values. Tiles are usually made of wood or plastic and are 19 by 19 millimetres (0.75 in × 0.75 in) square and 4 mm (0.16 in) thick, making them slightly smaller than the squares on the board. Only the rosewood tiles of the deluxe edition vary in width up to 2 mm (0.08 in) for different letters. Travelling versions of
4947-476: The book Everything Scrabble by Joe Edley and John D. Williams Jr. (revised edition, Pocket Books , 2001) and the Scrabble FAQ. When available, separate records are listed based upon different official word lists: To date, new editions or revisions of these lists have not been considered substantial enough to warrant separate record-keeping. Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. ( / ˈ h æ z b r oʊ / ;
SECTION 50
#17328021496595044-623: The building block market since the failure of the Built to Rule line, Hasbro re-entered the market with the Kre-O line in late 2011, starting with some Transformers -based sets. In 2012, Hasbro received a $ 1.6 million tax credit from the state of Rhode Island with a promise to create 245 new jobs in the state. Instead, they laid off more than 125 workers. This was followed in 2013 with further layoffs of North American workers, amounting to 10% of its salaried employees. Meanwhile, CEO Brian Goldner signed
5141-399: The center square (H8), is marked with a star or other symbol, 12 dark blue "triple-letter" squares, and 24 pale blue "double-letter" squares. In 2008, Hasbro changed the colors of the premium squares to orange for TW, red for DW, blue for DL, and green for TL, but the original premium square color scheme is still preferred for Scrabble boards used in tournaments. In an English-language set,
5238-403: The chairman position. However, the executives clashed and Shea left after a few months, and Stephen and Alan returned to their previous positions. On June 6, 1985, the company changed its name again to just Hasbro, Inc. The Jumpstarters toys were the subject of a lawsuit in 1985 when Hasbro sued a toy manufacturer for selling toys based on their Transformers design. Hasbro won the suit. In
5335-683: The company as the managing director for Pacific operations. On September 30, 2020, Renegade Game Studios announced they had acquired licensing for creating tabletop games for multiple Hasbro brands. Several of the games would be using the 5E role-playing system owned by Hasbro's subsidiary Wizards of the Coast. On February 25, 2021, during the 2021 Investor Event, Hasbro announced a company reorganization with three divisions: Consumer Products, Entertainment, and Wizards & Digital. The Wall Street Journal reported that "Hasbro's net revenue fell 8% last year to $ 5.47 billion, due in part to retail shutdowns related to Covid-19," however, its Wizards of
5432-495: The company entered into a deal with Paramount Home Entertainment to release its programs based on its games and toys on VHS and DVD. In 2008, Hasbro acquired game maker Cranium, Inc. for $ 77.5 million. The deal was announced on January 4 and closed on January 25. Hasbro and Universal Pictures signed an agreement in February 2008 to derive four films from seven Hasbro properties for production. In May, Bennett Schneir
5529-522: The company having gone from sales of $ 104 million in the year he took control to 1989 sales of over $ 1.4 billion. Alan succeeded Stephen as chairman and CEO. In 1991, Hasbro purchased Tonka Corp. for $ 486 million, along with its units Parker Brothers , the maker of Monopoly , and Kenner Products . Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers were merged into one division. Alan moved to expand Hasbro overseas with new units in Greece, Hungary, and Mexico. Alan saw
5626-490: The company introduced Flubber , but reports of sore throats and rashes from the product and knock-offs prompted an investigation by the Food and Drug Administration and a voluntary recall by Hassenfeld Brothers. The company was approached in 1963 to license a toy based on The Lieutenant , which they turned down because they did not want to be tied to a possibly short-lived television series. Instead, Hassenfeld Brothers produced
5723-485: The company praise from Greenpeace executive director Phil Radford , who said: "The new Hasbro policy will also increase the recycled and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper in its toy packaging. Hasbro's new commitments are great news for Indonesian rainforests and the people and wildlife that depend on them." By April 2011, Hasbro started 360 Manufacturing Services, a contract OEM game manufacturing operating out of Hasbro's USA plant. Having been absent from
5820-553: The company to post a $ 1 million loss for the year. In 1970, Hasbro began a plan of diversification and opened the Romper Room Nursery School franchise chain to cash in on President Richard Nixon 's Family Assistance Plan which subsidized day care for working mothers. By 1975, the company had ended the nursery chain. Hasbro also entered the cookware field with the Galloping Gourmet line based on
5917-503: The company was the nation's sixth best-selling toymaker, and then acquired the Milton Bradley Company , which was the nation's fifth best-selling toymaker. This brought The Game of Life , Twister , Easy Money , and Playskool into the Hasbro fold and on September 10 transformed Hasbro into Hasbro Bradley . Stephen Hassenfeld became the merged company's president and CEO, with Milton Bradley chief James Shea Jr. taking
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#17328021496596014-528: The company's treatment of the Empire Pencil subsidiary as Empire received lower levels of capital spending relative to profits than did the toy division. With Merrill's death in 1979, Harold did not recognize Stephen's authority as the successor to the chairman and CEO position. As a solution, Hasbro spun off Empire Pencil in 1980, which was the nation's largest pencil maker, with Harold trading his Hasbro shares for those of Empire. Stephen then became both
6111-609: The control of its chief content officer. Hasbro announced that it would launch its own convention, named HasCon , and featuring "all things Hasbro" in 2016, with the inaugural event being held at the Rhode Island Convention Center in September 2017. On November 15, 2017, Mattel, Inc. rejected an offer from the company. At the time, Mattel's worth was $ 5 billion, while Hasbro's worth was about $ 11 billion. On February 27, 2018, Variety reported in
6208-461: The definitions of any challenged words. Penalties for unsuccessfully challenging an acceptable play vary in club and tournament play and are described in greater detail below. The game ends when either: At the end of the game, each player's score is reduced by the sum of the values of their unplayed tiles; if a player plays out, the sum of all other players' unplayed tiles is added to that player's score. This rule differs slightly in most tournaments;
6305-530: The end of 2015, Disney gave Hasbro a chance to gain the license given their work on Star Wars , which led to a Descendants license. DCP was also attempting to evolve the brand from one of them less as damsels and more as heroines. In September 2014, Disney announced that Hasbro would be the doll licensee for the Disney Princess line starting on January 1, 2016. On July 13, 2016, Hasbro acquired Dublin-based Boulder Media Limited and placed it under
6402-401: The franchise. On May 1, 2018, Hasbro agreed to purchase Power Rangers and other entertainment assets from Saban Brands for $ 522 million in cash and stock with the licensing fee recently paid with credit. The sale, which also collaborated with My Pet Monster , Popples , Julius Jr. , Treehouse Detectives and additional properties, was expected to close in the second quarter until it
6499-744: The game (as in chess ), but is instead assessed a 10-point penalty per minute. Also, the original wooden tiles are not allowed in tournaments as it is possible for players to "feel" the tiles in the bag (especially blank tiles); thus, molded plastic tiles are often used. Players are allowed tracking sheets containing the tile distribution, from which tiles can be crossed off as they are played. Regularly held major tournaments include: Other important tournaments include: Scrabble clubs typically meet weekly and may typically hold one or more open, sanctioned tournaments per year. The following records were achieved during international competitive club or tournament play, according to authoritative sources, including
6596-488: The game contains 100 tiles, 98 of which are marked with a letter and a point value ranging from 1 to 10. The number of points for each lettered tile is based on the letter's frequency in standard English. Commonly used letters such as vowels are worth one point, while less common letters score higher, with Q and Z each worth 10 points. The game also has two blank tiles that are unmarked and carry no point value. The blank tiles can be used as substitutes for any letter; once laid on
6693-605: The game in a British TV documentary. He placed a small ad in The Times inviting anyone interested in taking part in a National Scrabble Championship to contact him. Hundreds replied, and after he contacted the game's owners at the time, J. W. Spear & Sons , the Championships were born. Stephen Haskell won the Championships in 1971 with an aggregate of 1345 points from 3 games. Regional qualifying events were introduced in 1976. The Championships continued to be decided by
6790-421: The game often have smaller tiles (e.g. 13 mm × 13 mm (0.51 in × 0.51 in)); sometimes they are magnetic to keep them in place. The capital letter is printed in black at the centre of the tile face and the letter's point value is printed in a smaller font at the bottom right corner. Most modern replacement tile sets come at 18 mm × 20 mm (0.7 in × 0.8 in). S
6887-424: The game on vacation. Upon returning from vacation, he was surprised to find that his store did not carry the game. He placed a large order, and within a year, "everyone had to have one". In 1952, unable to meet demand himself, Brunot licensed the manufacturing rights to Long Island-based Selchow and Righter , one of the manufacturers that, like Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley Company , had previously rejected
6984-476: The game, a word list or dictionary is selected in order to adjudicate any challenges during the game. In tournament play, the word list is specified in advance, typically the NASPA Word List , the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary , or Collins Scrabble Words . All 100 tiles are placed into an opaque bag. To decide which player plays first, each player draws one tile from the bag. The player who picks
7081-478: The game. "It's a nice little game. It will sell well in bookstores," Selchow and Righter president Harriet T. Righter remembered saying about Scrabble when she first saw it. In its second year as a Selchow and Righter product, 1954, nearly four million sets were sold. Selchow and Righter then bought the trademark to the game in 1972. Meanwhile, JW Spear acquired the rights to sell the game in Australia and
7178-748: The hotel when it opened in 2019. Hasbro granted Kingsmen Creatives a license to build a chain of NERF Action Xperience family entertainment centers, with the first to be opened in Singapore in fall/winter 2019. In November, the company issued a license for family entertainment centers to Kilburn Live, who were to launch a new division for the centers. That December, the company granted a license for theme parks to Imagine Resorts and Hotels, co-founded by Bruce Neviaser. Neviaser had previously co-founded Great Lakes Companies, which launched Great Wolf Resorts indoor waterpark resorts. On December 18, 2019, Hasbro and West Edmonton Mall announced that Galaxyland would get
7275-520: The intent to sell its last two factories, in Ireland and East Longmeadow, Massachusetts (including its 360 Manufacturing Services), to Cartamundi . The deal was set to close in sixty days. Hasbro signed a five-year deal with Cartamundi to produce their board games at the East Longmeadow plant. With Mattel adding two competing lines, and the expiration of their Disney Princess license at
7372-650: The late 1980s, Hasbro moved to increase international sales by taking toys overseas that had failed in the US market and selling them for as much as four times the original price. This increased international sales from $ 268 million in 1985 to $ 433 million in 1988. In 1988, Hasbro purchased part of Coleco Industries' indoor and outdoor children's furniture and ride-on toy product lines for $ 21 million including two just closed manufacturing plants in Amsterdam, New York. In July 1989, Hasbro acquired bankrupt Coleco for $ 85 million. Stephen Hassenfeld died later that year with
7469-400: The letter closest to "A" goes first, with blanks taking precedence over the letter A. Each player then draws seven tiles and places them on their rack, hidden from other players. On every turn, the player at turn can perform one of the following options: The first play of the game must consist of at least two tiles and cover the center square (H8). Any play thereafter must use at least one of
7566-521: The mid-1980s, Hasbro moved past Mattel to become the world's largest toy company. Hasbro then moved to outsell Mattel's Barbie in the fashion doll market with the 1986 introduction of Jem , a record producer/rock musician dual identity fashion doll. Jem initially posted strong sales but plummeted and was withdrawn from the market in 1987. Hasbro followed up in 1988 with Maxie , a Barbie-sized blonde doll, so that Barbie clothing and accessories would fit. Maxie lasted until 1990. Under Alan's initiative in
7663-526: The number of toys in the line to offset G.I. Joe's declining sales. Hasbro ended the G.I. Joe line in 1975 because of the rising prices of plastic and crude oil. In 1977, Hasbro's losses were $ 2.5 million, and the company held a large debt load. That same year, Hasbro acquired licensing rights to Peanuts cartoon characters. With the financial situation poor, Hasbro's bankers made the company temporarily stop dividend payments in early 1979. The toy division's losses increased Harold Hassenfeld's resentment regarding
7760-489: The plastic fields during World War II to support its toy line. The Hassenfeld brothers, immigrants from Ulanów , Poland, also spent the war years helping to rescue and employ fellow Jews from Ulanów; Jacob Klapper, a holocaust survivor born in Ulanów, recalled being told when he arrived in the United States that Hassenfeld Brothers would employ any survivor from Ulanów, no questions asked. Hassenfeld Brothers' first popular toy
7857-430: The play are deemed valid) varies considerably, including: Under tournament rules, a player may request to "hold" the opponent's play to consider whether to challenge it, provided that the opponent has not yet drawn replacement tiles. The holding player's clock still runs, and the opponent cannot draw replacement tiles for 15 seconds or until the hold is released but may draw tiles afterward (which must be kept separate). If
7954-401: The player's tiles to form a "main word" (containing all of the player's played tiles in a straight line) reading left-to-right or top-to-bottom. Diagonal plays are not allowed. At least one tile must be adjacent (horizontally or vertically) to a tile already on the board. If the play includes a blank tile, the player must designate the letter the blank represents; that letter remains unchanged for
8051-432: The rest of the game unless the play is challenged off. The player announces the score for that play, and then draws tiles from the bag equal to the number of tiles played, so that there are seven tiles on their rack. If there are not enough tiles, the player draws any remaining tiles instead. If the game is played using a clock , the player starts the opponent's clock after announcing the score and before drawing tiles. If
8148-675: The revival of the My Little Pony franchise, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic , which became the network's highest-rated program and attracted a significant cult following among teens and adults . The Hub Network was rebranded as Discovery Family on October 13, 2014. In 2013, Hasbro renewed its deal to produce Marvel Comics and Star Wars toys through at least 2020. In 2011, Greenpeace accused Hasbro of purchasing paper for its packaging from ancient forests in Indonesia. Hasbro changed its paper purchasing policy, earning
8245-418: The rights to manufacture Scrabble outside the U.S. and Canada. As of 2008, the game is sold in 121 countries and is available in more than 30 languages; approximately 150 million sets have been sold worldwide, and roughly one-third of American homes and half of British homes have a Scrabble set. There are approximately 4,000 Scrabble clubs around the world. The game is played by two to four players on
8342-406: The three-game cumulative score method until 1988. In 1989, a hybrid format was introduced, in which the winner had to win all of his/her four games with the highest score possible. From 1990, the Championships have been exclusively 'play to win' format with no relation to points totals. The format has changed several times over the years. It has regional qualifying competitions. A Scrabble tournament
8439-427: The top 10 players, plus a ratings prize for the player who improves their ABSP rating higher than all other players. In 2018, the finals were held in London. The highest score under the cumulative score method was 1863 in three games by Nigel Ingham from Nottingham in 1987. The youngest champion was 15-year-old Allan Saldanha in 1993, and the oldest was 57-year-old Jake Jacobs in 2006, when the championship featured in
8536-432: The world. In 1984, Scrabble was turned into a daytime game show on NBC . The Scrabble game show ran from July 1984 to March 1990, with a second run from January to June 1993. The show was hosted by Chuck Woolery . Its tagline in promotional broadcasts was, "Every man dies; not every man truly Scrabbles." In 2011, a new TV variation of Scrabble , called Scrabble Showdown , aired on The Hub cable channel, which
8633-603: Was Mr. Potato Head , which the company purchased from George Lerner in 1952. In 1954, the company became a Disney major licensee. In 1960, Henry died and Merrill took over the parent company, and his older brother Harold ran the pencil-making business of Empire Pencil. Hassenfeld Brothers expanded to Canada with Hassenfeld Brothers (Canada) Ltd. in 1961. In 1962, Hasbro purchased the former Potter & Johnston manufacturing company building on Newport Avenue in Pawtucket, Rhode Island . The Pawtucket plant facilities were eventually expanded to over 300,000 square feet. In 1963
8730-489: Was "absolutely nothing going on" they knew of between the two companies. Additionally, financial analysts said the deal was illogical, as the rumor came out just a week after Disney had acquired Lucasfilm . Hasbro was named by Fortune magazine as one of the top 100 companies to work for in 2013, citing that the "company enhanced its vacation policy by giving new employees three weeks off in their first year instead of having to wait five years." On November 12, 2014, it
8827-431: Was at its height in 1969, so Hasbro redesigned GI Joe to be less militaristic and more adventure-oriented. Its promotional efforts included the catchphrase "Boy Oh Boy! It's A Hasbro Toy!" in television commercials and print ads. Also in 1969, Hasbro bought Burt Claster Enterprises which produced " Romper Room " and had just begun a Romper Room toy line. A month-long Teamsters strike and Far Eastern supplier troubles caused
8924-546: Was finished with Saban's collab. On October 19, 2018, the company announced plans to cut jobs amounting to less than 10% of its 5,000-plus global workforce in response to changes in how consumers buy toys. In 2018, Hasbro signed a number of licensing agreements for hospitality deals based on Hasbro brands. On May 1, 2018, the Monopoly Mansion hotel agreement was announced by Hasbro, with M101 Holdings overseeing construction and M101's Sirocco Group assigned to manage
9021-486: Was formed for TV development, production and distribution. On December 11, 2012, Hasbro transferred all entertainment divisions to Hasbro Studios, including their LA-based film group, and Cake Mix Studio, the company's Rhode Island–based producer of commercials and short form content. Hasbro collaborated with Discovery on The Hub , a cable television network targeting younger children and families, which launched on October 10, 2010. The venture found unexpected success with
9118-458: Was from acquisitions and the leveraging of the new assets. New product development was not as successful except for film and TV tie-in product lines with Jurassic Park and Barney . Thus, US sales were stagnant in the early 1990s, falling from 1993 to 1995. To turn domestic performance around in 1994, Hasbro merged the Hasbro Toy, Playskool, Playskool Baby, Kenner, and Kid Dimension units into
9215-604: Was hired to lead its Hasbro Films division, while Hasbro also reacquired series based on their properties from Sunbow Productions . The year of his promotion to CEO of Hasbro, Brian Goldner was named CEO of the year by News Corp affiliate website MarketWatch .com. Goldner became the first person not from the founding Hassenfeld family to hold the position. In 2009, the Milton Bradley and Parker Bros. brands were retired after eleven years and eight years of Hasbro ownership respectively. That same year, Hasbro Studios
9312-547: Was incorporated in Rhode Island; Hillel left for another textile business while Henry took charge of the corporation. They began making their own pencils after their pencil supplier began making pencil cases as well. Hassenfeld Brothers produced modeling clay and then doctor and nurse kits as their first toys, and they became primarily a toy company by 1942. Hillel died in 1943 and Henry Hassenfeld became CEO, while his son Anthony Merrill became president. The company entered
9409-417: Was reported that Hasbro was in talks to buy DreamWorks Animation . The proposal reportedly calls for the combined company to take the name "DreamWorks-Hasbro" and for Jeffrey Katzenberg to become its chairman, but as a matter of policy, neither Hasbro nor DWA publicly comment on mergers and acquisitions. Two days later, the talks were reported to have fallen through. On July 14, 2015, the company announced
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