Mattel Announces New, More 'Inclusive' Scrabble

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Facts

• Toy and game manufacturer Mattel announced it will launch a more 'inclusive' and 'collaborative' version of Scrabble, marking the biggest change in the 75-year history of the board game.¹
• The new version, Scrabble Together, will be played on a double-sided board, opposite the traditional Scrabble board. Players will be able to choose which version they want to play based on their experience and competitiveness.²
• Scrabble Together will allow players to form teams and use a simpler scoring system compared to the original version. Helper cards will guide players and/or teams, with the objective of being the first competitor to complete 20 challenges without using up the helper cards.³
• Scrabble Together is marketed to those 8 and older, and it differs from Scrabble Junior, which is more like a crossword puzzle.⁴
• Mattel said in a statement that the new version is the result of research showing that younger players in Britain were less competitive than their older counterparts. Ray Adler, Global Head of Games, said the new game aims to 'bring people together.'⁵
• Scrabble Together will be rolling out across Europe, but the game will not be available in the US since Mattel doesn't hold the game's license there.⁵

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²New York Post, ³Euronews, ⁴The Telegraph and ⁵CNN.

Narratives

• Progressive narrative, as provided by Guardian. This is a smart move to bring people together and make the game more appealing and inclusive to a wider pool of prospective players. Those feigning outrage over this are acting like the classic version is being replaced, but it's not. There's nothing wrong with Mattel bringing the fun of Scrabble to those who have been intimidated, or simply disinterested, in the traditional version.
• Conservative narrative, as provided by The Telegraph. You can add Scrabble to the growing list of board games that are being dumbed down for Gen Z, as younger generations continue to suffer from 'everyone gets a trophy' syndrome. Scrabble Together essentially removes the challenging aspects of the game. This wouldn't be a big deal if it weren’t a symptom of a greater problem — that young people are averse to anything that's not on a screen or involves competition and any risk of failure.

Predictions