Scrabble: The Deluxe Computer Edition

The Good
I reviewed the CD-ROM version of Scrabble, put out by Hasbro a few months ago, and was impressed with it. But I recently discovered a DOS Scrabble game, and I am equally impressed, if not more impressed.

The game only takes up about 5MB on the hard drive, and is very simple to play. If you've ever played Scrabble before, you know the rules. If you haven't, well... You must have recently crawled out of a cave somewhere. It's been around since 1948, so there is no excuse :)

The Graphics are very nice on a VGA screen, although not as detailed as the CD-ROM version, they are fantastic for 1990.

The control is done by mouse, and it very simple. One click to pick up a tile and one click to drop it.

But the options are what makes this game stand out from the CD-ROM version.

1) You can set the game so that no 2-letter words or no words ending in "S" can be used. Why? It makes the game harder to play. A lot of the BIG scoring plays are in fact done by using 2-letter words. And no "S" Words just makes it harder to play off your opponents words.

2) The biggest plus to this version is the "Edit Board" feature (which was originally supposed to be included in the CD-ROM Version, but was removed at the last moment). It allows you to set up the board to a certain position, similar to setup up a chess board, and also create the racks to use. This feature is fantastic for those who want to practice puzzles from the "Everything Scrabble" and "The Official Scrablle Puzzle Book" Books. These books have puzzles that help your gameplay and they are a pain in the ass to set up on a conventional board. Kudos to Virgin Interactive for putting this fantastic feature into its program.

The Bad
There are a few minor things that bug me about this game.

First, the interface is all mouse-based. At first, I thought it was cool, but it becomes frustrating when you need to Anagram a set of letters, or find a certain word pattern. It's all done with the mouse, and it's a pain.

And second, there is no Solitare mode (which is on the CD-ROM Version). The only way you can play a solitare game is to actually play against yourself using a 2 person game. While that is interesting, it's not the same as playing a solitare game.

The Bottom Line
This is a great version of Scrabble. If you are a serious player, The Edit Board feature is perfect.

Both this version and the CD-ROM are equally good, and both have their pros and cons. What should on the CD-ROM is found in the one and vice versa.

Bottom Line: A great computer version of a classic Board Game.