Software:The Computer Edition of Scrabble

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The Computer Edition of Scrabble
Developer(s)Peter Turcan
Psion
Leisure Genius
Publisher(s)Little Genius, Sinclair Research, Leisure Genius, Virgin Games
Platform(s)Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Atari ST, BBC Micro, Apple II, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, Mac, MSX, Sinclair QL, Einstein, Thomson MO5/MO6, Thomson TO7/TO8/TO9, ZX Spectrum
Release
  • EU: 9 September 1982
[1] (Apple II)
Genre(s)Strategy
Mode(s)Single-player

The Computer Edition of Scrabble, also known as Computer Scrabble is a computer version of the board game Scrabble, licensed from J. W. Spear & Sons and released by Little Genius for the Apple II in 1982. It was subsequently released for most home computers of the time.

Gameplay

The Computer Edition of Scrabble is a game which features on-screen versions of the game board, tiles, and game pieces. The game uses a clock for which the user can define the time limit for turns, in which the player must place a word before the time runs out. The game also has options for lightning-timing and tournament-timing to be used instead. The player can view the rack of available letters at the bottom of the screen and type a word composed of these letters, and if the game accepts the word then the player uses the cursor on the game board to position the word on-screen and score the move. The player may also pass a turn, request a hint for one playable word, and see the values of the tiles at any time by using a pull-down menu.[2]

Development

Computer Scrabble was initially developed by Peter Turcan at the University of Reading[3] on an ICL mainframe as part of his PhD research into word structures and then ported to the 48K disc-based Apple II via an Intertec Superbrain.[4]

Little Genius licensed the game to Psion[5][6] who developed a version for the 48K ZX Spectrum which was marketed by Sinclair Research[7] in 1983. Unlike the Apple version which accessed a 9,100 word dictionary from disc, Psion used a Huffman compression algorithm to store a 12,000 word dictionary within the tape-based ZX Spectrum's 48K memory.[3]

In 1984, Little Genius formed an associate company, Leisure Genius, which developed and published versions for the Commodore 64 and BBC Micro.[7] Leisure Genius was bought by Virgin Games in 1986[8] and continued to sell the original versions while also releasing ports for newer machines.[9]

Reception

In 1988, Dragon gave the Macintosh version of the game 3 out of 5 stars.[2] Macworld reviewed the Macintosh version of Computer Scrabble, praising its faithfulness to the original board game, and challenging AI opponent. They also praise Scrabble's graphics, stating that the "game board is well designed, with premium-word and -letter squares that are easy to distinguish." Macworld criticizes its incompatibility with older keyboards, stating that "pressing any key on the bottom row produces the letter to its left", and a glitch where the game refuses any valid words entered, requiring the game to be rebooted.[10]

M. Evan Brooks reviewed the computer editions of Risk, Monopoly, Scrabble, and Clue for Computer Gaming World, and stated that "In this reviewer's opinion, Scrabble is the weakest product (given cumbersome play and graphics), while Risk and Clue: Master Detective are the strongest."[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Show Preview". Personal Computer World 5 (9): 120. September 1982. https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerWorld1982-09/page/120. Retrieved 1 June 2024. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia; Lesser, Kirk (March 1988). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (131): 82. https://archive.org/details/dragon-magazine-270/Dragon%20Magazine%20131/page/82/. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "12,000 Words Into 48K Will Go!". Computer and Video Games (EMAP) (24): 126. October 1983. https://archive.org/details/computer-and-videogames-024/page/n125/. Retrieved 31 May 2024. 
  4. ↑ "Apple Games". Practical Computing (IPC) (1): 134. January 1983. https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Practical-Computing/80s/Practical-Computing-1983-01-S-OCR.pdf. Retrieved 31 May 2024. 
  5. ↑ "Psion Scrabble beats writers with 11,000 word memory". Your Computer (IPC) (8): 49. June 1983. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=163&page=49. Retrieved 31 May 2024. 
  6. ↑ "Misquoted!". Popular Computing Weekly (Sunshine Publications) (19): 66. 12 May 1983. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=2754&page=7. Retrieved 31 May 2024. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Off the board for Scrabble". Popular Computing Weekly (Sunshine Publications) (5): 5. 2 February 1984. https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-02-02/page/n3. Retrieved 31 May 2024. 
  8. ↑ "Virgin Hops Into Bed". Crash (Newsfield) (29): 11. June 1986. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=996&page=11. Retrieved 31 May 2024. 
  9. ↑ "Scrabble". ACE (Future Publishing) (6): 68. March 1988. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=1732&page=68. Retrieved 31 May 2024. 
  10. ↑ Abes, Cathy (March 1988). "War of the Words: Computer Scrabble Review". Macworld (Mac Publishing): 183–184. https://archive.org/details/MacWorld_8803_March_1988/page/n187. 
  11. ↑ Brooks, M. Evan (March 1990). "CLASSIC CONVERSIONS". Computer Gaming World 1 (69): 44–45. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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