The talk started in England, with stories by the BBC and others that Scrabble was going to start allowing the use of proper nouns. When my co-worker Sarah Kelber (of the Reality Check blog) shrieked, I got worried. Scrabble holds a certain place of reverence in my home -- sparking fierce competition and legendary family battles. The thought of a board slathered with words such as with Jwoww or Kyrgyz gave me the shivers.
Turns out that the purists' fears are overblown. Mattel, which has international rights to the game (Hasbro controls it in the U.S.) plans a new version called Scrabble Trickster, with all sorts of gimmicks. Philip Nelkon, promotions manager of Mattel, told the Washington Post that there will be squares on the board calling on players to draw cards. The cards might instruct you to forfeit a letter to an opponent -- or permit you to spell a proper noun.
But here in the U.S., the game will remain the same, Jwoww-less. Phew.