Scribbage
Encyclopedia
Scribbage is a classic dice
word game
published in 1959 by the E. S. Lowe Company. 13 dice are rolled which have various letters on each side. Each letter is given a point value depending on its frequency in the English language. A timer is flipped and the player has to put the dice into words either left-to-right or up-and-down. The words must adjoin each other as in crossword puzzles or Scrabble
. The player must stop at the end of the time and points are counted. The player adds up the points of the letters used and subtracts the amount from the unused letters. Scribbage can be played with two or more players.
A nearly identical game called Crossword Cubes from game maker Selchow and Righter
(makers of Scrabble
) uses 14 cubes instead of 13.
Scribbage has nothing in common with Cribbage.
How to Play
Scribbage is a spelling game similar to Scrabble. The parts are a set of 13 letter dice and a timer. Each face of the dice is stamped with a letter and a number with the exception of two which show Jokers. The number represents to the letter's frequency in English.
Each player in turn throws the letter dice and turns over the timer. The player must make as many words as possible before the timer runs out. All words must be connected in a crossword style. The two Jokers can be used as any letter.
The play is scored by adding the points in all words formed. Any letters used in two words are counted in each word. The player reduces this score by the total of the numbers on any unused letters. So it's possible, if unusual, to have a negative score.
The game can either be played for a set number of rounds or until a certain score is reached.
Dice
A die is a small throwable object with multiple resting positions, used for generating random numbers...
word game
Word game
Word games and puzzles are spoken or board games often designed to test ability with language or to explore its properties.Word games are generally engaged as a source of entertainment, but have been found to serve an educational purpose as well...
published in 1959 by the E. S. Lowe Company. 13 dice are rolled which have various letters on each side. Each letter is given a point value depending on its frequency in the English language. A timer is flipped and the player has to put the dice into words either left-to-right or up-and-down. The words must adjoin each other as in crossword puzzles or Scrabble
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
. The player must stop at the end of the time and points are counted. The player adds up the points of the letters used and subtracts the amount from the unused letters. Scribbage can be played with two or more players.
A nearly identical game called Crossword Cubes from game maker Selchow and Righter
Selchow and Righter
Selchow and Righter was a 19th century Bay Shore, New York game manufacturer best known for the games Parcheesi and Scrabble.It dates back to 1867when it was founded as E.G. Selchow & Co...
(makers of Scrabble
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
) uses 14 cubes instead of 13.
Scribbage has nothing in common with Cribbage.
How to Play
Scribbage is a spelling game similar to Scrabble. The parts are a set of 13 letter dice and a timer. Each face of the dice is stamped with a letter and a number with the exception of two which show Jokers. The number represents to the letter's frequency in English.
Each player in turn throws the letter dice and turns over the timer. The player must make as many words as possible before the timer runs out. All words must be connected in a crossword style. The two Jokers can be used as any letter.
The play is scored by adding the points in all words formed. Any letters used in two words are counted in each word. The player reduces this score by the total of the numbers on any unused letters. So it's possible, if unusual, to have a negative score.
The game can either be played for a set number of rounds or until a certain score is reached.