National Scrabble Day is a holiday celebrated on April 13th every year, honoring what is likely one of the most iconic games of all time. Scrabble has been around for over 70 years and is played by people worldwide. In fact, this game is sold in over 120 countries and is available in 30 different languages, so perhaps this holiday is one that more people should take the time to celebrate.

The History of Scrabble

The history of National Scrabble Day is elusive, so we’ve decided to discuss the history of the game instead. Scrabble was first created as Criss-Cross—a game based on anagram puzzles and crosswords. Alfred M. Butts developed this game in 1931. Eventually, the game was redesigned and renamed Scrabble. It was marketed to the general public in 1948 by James Brunot and sold in Great Britain in 1954.

Facts About Scrabble

Scrabble is such an intriguing game we couldn’t resist uncovering some fun facts about it. So, without further ado, below are some facts that we think will help people truly appreciate the scope of this day and allow them to celebrate this holiday armed with knowledge.

• Scrabble has not changed much as a game in the past 70 years.
• In competitive play, there are different word lists for various competition levels.
• The National School Scrabble Championship (NASPA) has a rule book that is over 50 pages long.
• In 2014, many new words were added to Scrabble.
• Over 150 million copies of Scrabble have been sold worldwide.
• On average, 30,000 Scrabble games are started every hour.
• If you lined up all the Scrabble tiles ever sold, they would stretch for over 50,000 miles.
• Italian and Portuguese Scrabble have 120 tiles, while the English version has only 100 tiles.
• So many Scrabble tiles have been made that it’s estimated over a million tiles are missing.

Celebrating National Scrabble Day

Anyone wanting to celebrate National Scrabble Day is encouraged to play the game that you probably already own and invite friends and/or family to join you. If you don’t already have a copy of Scrabble, then this is the perfect day to purchase one and join in on the fun that millions of people are already enjoying.

Scrabble is also an excellent opportunity for parents to play with their children to help build word skills and creativity. After you have finished playing this game to your heart’s content, you might want to post to your social media account using the hashtag #NationalScrabbleDay. Now go out there and play some Scrabble!