Scrabulous!

I sometimes wonder a bit about the people I play Scrabulous with.

Not Scrabble. Usually I only play the classic board game with the only willing participant around, my boyfriend. Though perhaps the recent addition of a deluxe spinning Scrabble board (from his parents; for Christmas) to my collection of games will broaden my horizons.

No, Scrabulous – of www.scrabulous.com – is an identical concept to the original Hasbro staple, or, in laymen’s terms, a complete and utter rip-off. At least that’s what the current litigation against them claims.

It’s not really my concern, as a year-long fan of Scrabulous, but I’d have to disagree with the lawsuit. I mean, please! Scrabble isn’t capitalizing on any internet-based gaming ventures at the moment, and anyone who gets the concept of Scrabulous – or even seeks it out – is most likely someone who has purchased at least ONE official Hasbro-approved Scrabble set. I’ve owned at least two (one being the aforementioned *deluxe* edition), my roommate has one and my future live-in boyfriend has one. Hasbro, you’ve done it. You can lay off the poor folks at www.scrabulous.com - you’ve achieved your goal. We’ve all bought at least one of your effing games, not even considering which other Hasbro delights in which we may have invested over the years – who the hell, by the way, never owned Monopoly? I had one that was missing the racecar piece. I think I didn’t even know that a racecar piece existed until I was in college, maybe. I was always the Scottie dog.

But that all being said, I love Scrabulous! Yeah, I have my gripes – sometimes all the damn rooms are full, other players may not deign to play you based on your rating, and of course the occasionally hellacious lag, which, while you’re trying to submit, can ruin a game.

Still, I could kill hours playing Scrabulous. I generally rock at it, and it’s great practice for later when I need to trounce on my poor unsuspecting boyfriend. Plus, I need something to help me wile away the hours while everyone else is at work!