Lexiko
Encyclopedia
Lexiko was a word game
invented by Alfred Butts
. It was a precursor of Scrabble
. The name comes from the Greek
lexicos, meaning of "words."
Lexiko was played with a set of 100 square cardboard tiles, with the same letter distribution later used by Scrabble (see scrabble letter distributions
), but no board. Players drew nine tiles at random, and attempted to construct words from them.
, number games using playing cards or dice
, and letter games (or games that fell into more than one). He noted that, although the most popular games were of the first two (e.g. Chess
and Backgammon
), the best letter game readily available was Anagrams
. Around that time, he was reading The Gold Bug by Edgar Allen Poe and noticed a line containing the English
letter distribution. This gave him an epiphany: Anagrams would be more fun if the most common letters in English were more common in the game. He carefully analyzed letter frequencies in newspapers and other printed works to determine the ideal letter distribution for the game. With a few other changes, he named his project Lexiko. The game design
was rejected by games manufacturers such as Parker Brothers
and Milton Bradley
, but Butts was able to sell copies on his own, though not enough to recoup his development expenses. In 1938, he began work on a board game
based on Lexiko, which he called Criss-Cross Words, which was eventually renamed Scrabble
.
Word game
Word games and puzzles are spoken or board games often designed to test ability with language or to explore its properties.Word games are generally engaged as a source of entertainment, but have been found to serve an educational purpose as well...
invented by Alfred Butts
Alfred Mosher Butts
Alfred Mosher Butts was an American architect and the inventor of the board game Scrabble in 1938.-Personal life:...
. It was a precursor of Scrabble
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
. The name comes from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
lexicos, meaning of "words."
Lexiko was played with a set of 100 square cardboard tiles, with the same letter distribution later used by Scrabble (see scrabble letter distributions
Scrabble letter distributions
Many editions of the word board game Scrabble vary in the letter distribution of the tiles, because the frequency of each letter of the alphabet is different for every language...
), but no board. Players drew nine tiles at random, and attempted to construct words from them.
History
In 1931, Butts wrote a paper entitled "Study of Games." In his paper, he described three categories of games: boardBoard game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
, number games using playing cards or dice
Dice
A die is a small throwable object with multiple resting positions, used for generating random numbers...
, and letter games (or games that fell into more than one). He noted that, although the most popular games were of the first two (e.g. Chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
and Backgammon
Backgammon
Backgammon is one of the oldest board games for two players. The playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice, and players win by removing all of their pieces from the board. There are many variants of backgammon, most of which share common traits...
), the best letter game readily available was Anagrams
Anagrams
Anagrams, Pirate Scrabble, Anagram, Snatch, or Grabscrab is a board-free word game that involves rearranging letter tiles to form words....
. Around that time, he was reading The Gold Bug by Edgar Allen Poe and noticed a line containing the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
letter distribution. This gave him an epiphany: Anagrams would be more fun if the most common letters in English were more common in the game. He carefully analyzed letter frequencies in newspapers and other printed works to determine the ideal letter distribution for the game. With a few other changes, he named his project Lexiko. The game design
Game design
Game design, a subset of game development, is the process of designing the content and rules of a game in the pre-production stage and design of gameplay, environment, storyline, and characters during production stage. The term is also used to describe both the game design embodied in a game as...
was rejected by games manufacturers such as Parker Brothers
Parker Brothers
Parker Brothers is a toy and game manufacturer and brand. Since 1883, the company has published more than 1,800 games; among their best known products are Monopoly, Cluedo , Sorry, Risk, Trivial Pursuit, Ouija, Aggravation, and Probe...
and Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley Company
The Milton Bradley Company is an American game company established by Milton Bradley in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the largest game manufacturer in the United States, and in 1987, it purchased Selchow and Righter,...
, but Butts was able to sell copies on his own, though not enough to recoup his development expenses. In 1938, he began work on a board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
based on Lexiko, which he called Criss-Cross Words, which was eventually renamed Scrabble
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
.