Product Description

The most convivial scrabble set includes: a grid style board, which can be turned easily to allow play to pass from player to player. Raised grid surface keeps tiles in place whilst turning.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5261 in Toys & Games
• Brand: Mattel
• Model: 5011363535790
• Dimensions: 20.00" h x 2.00" w x 20.00" l, 5.00 pounds

Features

• Item may vary from picture

Amazon.co.uk Review
This is a new luxury edition of the ever popular world famous word game for two to four players.

The object of the game is to compete for the highest score by forming interlocking words in crossword fashion on the Scrabble board using tiles displaying letters with various score values. Higher scores can be obtained by using the tiles in locations and combinations that make the most use of the letter values and premium squares(eg: triple-letter score, double-word score etc) on the board.

The manufacturers recommend that it is suitable for people age 10 years of age upwards which is more or less accurate but slightly younger children could play, especially if there is some measure of supervision.

The contents have all been designed to enhance their look and to increase their function. The large board, 38 cm square, has a rotating base allowing it be turned easily during play, a polished wooden frame, and an embossed playing surface with a raised grid to keep the tiles in place. There are 100 wooden tiles of various values, and 4 storage racks on which players arrange their tiles, and a velvet bag stores and holds the tiles. Also included is an excellent booklet explaining in a straightforward and clear manner all aspects of the game.

"Every word counts when you're playing this deluxe version of the world's most popular word game."--Susan Naylor

Manufacturer's Description
Did you know you have something in common with Mel Gibson, Sting, Keanu Reeves, Joan Collins And Queen Elizabeth II ? You all play a game that's sold in 121 countries round the world.

A most luxurious Scrabble set, an ideal gift for the Scrabble player. Contains a highly finished wooden framed board with a raised grid to keep the wooden tiles in place. All the contents are made to the highest quality.

Box Contents

Customer Reviews

A total disappointment. Cheaply made rubbish.
I was totally disappointed to offer this 'deluxe' version of Scrabble as a gift this Christmas. I purchased it on the understanding that it has a 'Highly finished wooden framed board with rotating base' which it simply isn't. The board is made from injection moulded plastic which doesn't fool anyone for wood.
It also claims to include a 'velvet tilebag' - which again it doesn't. The tile bag is mock polymer velvet which feels even cheaper that the original Scrabble bag.

Notice a trend? Plastic, plastic plastic. Cheap plastic too.

It looks as if they tried to make it look extra classy by simulating what a Scrabble board would look like were it painted on a canvas using oil paint. But it instead just looks cheap and can be vaguely hard to read if the angle/light is wrong due to glare.

To add salt to the wound, they now fail to provide you with a score pad and pencil, instead, you have to photocopy the score sheet in the middle pages of the booklet. Now that is deluxe..

I'm not the only one complaining - check out the amazon.com website reviews.

A letter to Mattel is in the post.

A huge disappointment which will be returned and my money refunded.

An abomination of a Scrabble set
Let me first make this clear - I adore the game of Scrabble. Having played the odd game with family and friends over the years, I began to take a serious interest in the game at the end of 2002, and have since improved my game to that of tournament level. Ask anyone that I have spoken to on the scene, and you will get a similar answer; 'If you want a decent board, you're almost certainly going to have to order from abroad.' The sad truth is, they are all correct. The faults with this board are legion. The idea that this is a wooden board is a complete fallacy. It sort of looks like wood, but in the end appears to be some kind of plastic - the kind often found on cheap furniture. The raised divisions between the squares are so shallow, that they might as well not be there. Worst crime of all though is the size of the squares. Many serious players now use 'protiles' which are infinitely superior to any provided in a normal Scrabble set, being clearer, more durable, and having no raised lettering allowing one to 'feel' the letters coming from the bag. With this board, the makers have clearly found that they could shave of a little more of the cost of production by shrinking the squares just enough so that protiles won't fit. In the set I saw, they didn't even provide wooden tile racks.

My advice, therefore, would be this: If you are looking for a family set, or one for a casual player, then stick to the 'Original' version, which is about a third the price, and differs little in quality. If you are in any way serious about this wonderful game, then check online for some custom board makers in America or Canada. They are more pricey, but you do get what you pay for.

Scrabble, but not "Deluxe"
I bought this as a Christmas gift for my wife who is a long time Scrabble fan. I wanted to give her the best Scrabble set I could find and was lured in by the descriptions of this set. Although my wife was very happy for the gift, I was quite disappointed with it.
* The wooden board is actually a wooden frame with a metal (?) playfield. Re-reading the description, I don't understand why I got the idea that the whole board would be wood, but it does not look as splendid as I had hoped. On top of it all, the nice wood is adorned with a crappy plastic "Scrabble" plate that really ruins the impression. The rotation device works well for us though.
* The letter racks are plastic. That is a downer in a "deluxe" set! Looks and feels cheap.
* The velvet bag is not really velvet! It is "velvety plastic". I would rather pay extra for real fabric than save the money on this cheap stuff. It is supposed to be Deluxe!

I really got the feeling that Mattel is manufacturing these sets for just a little bit more money but charges threefold more. I feel tricked.