Thanks to Scopely and Hasbro, Wordle and Scrabble fans alike can now enjoy a game of Scrabble online, playing against the computer or with friends.
A new officially licensed online Scrabble game lets players go head to head with the computer or play an online multiplayer game with friends, all within a web browser. The new Scrabble for web game was developed by Scopely, a mobile game developer, in partnership with Hasbro. The pair previously collaborated on several mobile games derived from classic board games, including Scrabble GO in 2020, and Yahtzee With Buddies in 2015. There have been multiple Scrabble mobile games, with Scrabble GO replacing the officially licensed Scrabble mobile app from Electronic Arts. Hasbro’s mobile games have been quite popular to date and, with the recent phenomenon that is Wordle, Scrabble online will likely follow suit.
Wordle became an overnight sensation at the end of 2021 and continued to grow exponentially, hitting an all-time high of two million players in a single day. It’s likely the release of Scrabble‘s online version hopes to latch onto Wordle‘s viral success. At its peak, the word puzzle game was snapped up by the New York Times and now there are fears that the New York Times will paywall Wordle and fracture its user base. Wordle‘s allure lay in its simplicity but also its accessibility, as the game could be played in any web browser and didn’t require any downloads or purchases. Scrabble mirrors this and can be accessed through a web browser. Players can opt to create an account using their email address or Facebook, but this is optional.
To play Scrabble online, players simply have to navigate to playscrabble.com and create an account or continue as a guest, though some functionality may be limited to account-holders only. Scrabble.com has three gameplay modes currently: Find A Match, Play a Friend, and Play the Computer. The first two modes offer big potential through online multiplayer and matchmaking, giving players the option to search for friends or other players all over the world. Scrabble‘s online multiplayer uses ELO-based matchmaking, matching players based on their skill and experience levels.
Players who don’t like online multiplayer, or beginner players who just want to practice before facing real players, can opt to play against the computer. Before entering into a game against the computer, players select from a range of difficulty levels from Easy up to Grand Master, plus an option to set a game time limit if desired. While Scrabble online has yet to receive the viral buzz that Wordle did, it promises to please fans of word puzzle games while giving them the option to test their vocabulary skills against their friends, leaning into the element of competition that also popularized Wordle.
Scrabble online aims to make Scrabble easily accessible, letting players enjoy the game within their web browser without the need for any downloads. For some, the online version of the game may be their first introduction to Scrabble and, fortunately, it’s a great, user-friendly representation of the classic board game. While many people are currently working remotely or unable to travel to see friends and family due to the COVID pandemic, which made comparing Wordle scores such a fun thing to to do with friends, Scrabble online will let players enjoy an online digital board game night together even if they’re miles apart.
Source: Scrabble
Suki Newell is a game features writer for Screen Rant and live streamer on Twitch. She resides in Upstate New York with her husband and two rescue dogs.
