Fans of Scrabble can now enjoy the challenge of a new similar board game, Scrabble Together. This quicker-paced casual game provides players with word challenges to complete in a team environment which can be enjoyed by family and friends of all skill levels.
- Mattel has created Scrabble Together in order to bring in a new target audience of players to word games that find regular Scrabble too intimidating or difficult to play.
- As part of this, the classic board game will now be sold alongside Scrabble Together as part of a set with a double-sided board.
- Requiring less overall knowledge of the Scrabble Dictionary, the new version of the popular word game is intended to be more accessible, collaborative and faster-paced.
- Alongside Scrabble Junior which has two difficulty levels (beginner and advanced), Scrabble Together can act as a perfect bridge for players wanting to build up their skillset enough to play the full game.
- The update to include Scrabble Together on the opposite face of the board has been seen by many as the biggest change to the original game board since its publication in 1948.
- World Scrabble Championship winner and two-time UK National Scrabble Championship winner Brett Smitheram believes Scrabble Together will appeal more to younger players looking for teamwork and collaboration rather than competitive games where they can lose.
- However, the release of Scrabble Together is likely to cause some confusion among Scrabble lovers who have played it the same way since its publication without any problems.
Comparing Scrabble with Scrabble Together
Scrabble Together should be seen as a variation on the original game rather than as an entirely new game. Due to this, it shares many commonalities through its emphasis on word building through letter tiles and similar board layout.
| Feature | Scrabble | Scrabble Together |
| Number of players | 2 – 4 players. | 2 – 4 players. |
| Recommended age range | 10 years and up. | 8 years and up. |
| Game duration | Typically a longer game. | Typically a shorter game. |
| Number of pieces | 100 letter tiles (including blanks). | 100 letter tiles (including blanks), 20 beginner goal cards, 30 standard goal cards and 6 helper cards. |
| Point scoring? | Yes. | No. |
| Premium squares? | Needed to increase the points score of a letter or a word. | Needed to complete specific goals. |
| Game format | To play individually. | To play as a team. |
| Perfect for: | Serious players. | Casual players. |
Scrabble Together features
Scrabble Together is sold as part of a double board game set that contains the original game of Scrabble on the opposite face of the board. As Mattel is the manufacturer, the game is only available to purchase outside of North American in English, French, German and Spanish languages as of 2024.
- Easy to understand and with minimal instructions needed, players win or lose as a team by completing a variety of goals that can act as a perfect introduction to the full game of Scrabble.
- Goal cards offer various challenges to players related to word length, individual letters and word placement.
- Players can make the game less or more challenging by choosing to solve beginner goals or standard goals.
- Helper cards are used to help players complete goals through a number of different ways.
- Each time a goal card is completed, the team will move one step closer to completing the game.
- Whereas ordinary Scrabble contains premium squares that affect the total points score of a word, players need to land on premium squares in Scrabble Together for the completion of certain goals.
- Teams that successfully complete 20 goal cards will win the game but any goal left unsolved after using all of the helper cards will result in a loss
- Due to its format, Scrabble Together is perfect for those who enjoy playing faster word games in a casual, cooperative setting without the need to count point scores in a complicated way.
How to play Scrabble Together
Unlike regular Scrabble, players will need to work cooperatively to win the game as a group. Rather than focusing on maximising point scores, players only need to focus on how to complete each goal card they are presented with to win the game.
- To begin, make sure your Scrabble board is flipped over to the correct side to play Scrabble Together. You will notice that the game’s premium squares are marked with diamonds, triangles, squares and crosses rather than words and the background is pale blue. Players can decide before the game begins whether or not they would like to accept help from other players on their turns.
- Next, each player should take 7 letters from the bag and place them on their respective racks. Only rack letters can be used to form the first word but in later turns they must be combined with the letters already placed on the board.
- Take three goal cards from either the beginner or standard pile and place them face up next to the deck. Take a thorough look over these as they will be your current goals to solve.
- Players will take turns to play words that solve each goal. After considering each goal, the first player should play a word that corresponds to one of the given tasks. If there is the possibility to do so, you can even solve more than one goal at a time within one turn.
- Once each goal has been completed, its corresponding card can be placed in a completed card pile. Each card completed will need to be replaced by a new card from the goal pile.
- Likewise, rack letters will need to be replenished back up to 7 after each new word is played, by taking additional letters from the bag (unless the bag is empty). Play will continue clockwise after the first word has been played and new words must connect to existing board letters.
- If you are struggling to complete a goal, 6 different helper cards can be used to help you overcome it or avoid the goal (temporarily or permanently) depending upon the goal deck being used.
- Each of these cards can only be used once and should be drawn from the pile, so you won’t know what you are going to receive beforehand. After being used, they will be eliminated from the game.
- To win the game, a team must complete 20 goal cards, including through the help of helper cards to refresh or complete goals. The beginner goal deck has 20 cards and every card must be completed once, while the standard goal deck has 30 cards which allows 10 cards to remain unsolved.
- A team will lose the game if they cannot complete a goal and there are no helper cards available to provide them assistance.
What are goal cards in Scrabble Together?
Goal cards in Scrabble Together are used to encourage different ways of making words and can feature tasks related to word length, individual letters and word placement. Some examples include:
- Play a two-letter word.
- Play a word containing at least two different vowels.
- Play a word that does not contain A or E.
- Play a vertical word.
- Extend a vertical word already on the board.
- Play a word connected to the first letter of an existing word on the board.
- Play a word that touches the edge of the board.
- Play on two different premium squares.
What’s more, each goal card even contains a handy hint to give you some ideas for regular Scrabble play. Remember, if you get really stuck you can try using a helper card to get you out of trouble!
What are helper cards in Scrabble Together?
Helper cards in Scrabble Together are available to use throughout the game to assist players who are stuck and are looking for a way to get past a goal. There are 6 different types of helper cards available for teams to use which are:
- Refresh goals – To switch your current 3 goal cards with other cards from the goal pile.
- Trade tiles – To trade tiles from your rack with the rack of another player.
- Make a blank – To switch one of the tiles on the rack for a blank tile.
- Exchange tiles – To exchange tiles on the rack with other tiles in the bag.
- Extra tile – To allow an extra tile to be added from the bag to a player’s rack.
- Complete a goal – To allow a goal to be automatically passed to the completed goals pile.
Rather than drawing helper cards at random, players should ideally draw one from the pile each time they are needed. However as Scrabble Together is a team game, players can decide before each game begins any custom rules they would like to implement to make the game more or less challenging, such as which goal deck to use, the use piles to draw cards and whether to discuss moves with other players.