Scrabble

Scrabble brings to the Game Boy Color the principle of the famous word game in which players form words from letter tiles on the board and try to score as many points as possible based on the value of the letters used and the bonus squares on the board. The handheld version automatically checks the validity of words and calculates the score, which removes the need to keep a dictionary at hand or settle disputes among players at the table about whether the words used were valid - something that, in the paper version, could occasionally hold up an entire game considerably, especially when players couldn't agree on whether a given word actually existed in the language.

The game offers matches against computer opponents with varying levels of difficulty, making it possible to play even without a human fellow player on hand whenever the player feels like exercising their vocabulary. On the small GBC display, the board is shown clearly, albeit logically simplified compared to a physical board with wooden tiles, and the D-pad and buttons handle both selecting and placing letters without unnecessary complications or lengthy menu navigation while searching for a suitable word. The bonus squares that multiply the value of a letter or an entire word remain in their traditional positions, so experienced players can carry over their proven tactics from the board version.

For word game fans, this was a practical way to play Scrabble anytime, without having to set up a physical board and find an opponent willing to devote enough time and attention to the game. The port preserves the core strategy of the original - weighing the point value of words against advantageous positions on the board - and even with the passage of time it works as a solid, if modest, handheld version of the beloved family classic for travel and moments of leisure at home when you don't feel like reaching for the bulky game box. Word games also have the advantage of training the player's vocabulary, so Scrabble on GBC functioned not just as entertainment but unobtrusively also as a small mental exercise for the whole family.