Michael Graves Design™ Scrabble

List Price: $22.99 Discount Price: $69.99

Features:

• Can you spell S-T-Y-L-E?
• Rediscover the classic board game, now with Michael Graves’ signature touch
• Use the plastic carrying case to take the game to the coffee house or on vacation
• For 2–4 players; ages 8 yrs. and up
• 2.8Hx7.6Wx13.2L"
• For 2-4 People

Customer Reviews:

Disappointing. [Posted on 2007-01-26]
I purchased this special "designer" Scrabble set with the expectation that it would be superior to the "original" set I already owned. While the plastic case, stainless steel game board, and aluminum tile holders are nice, there are a few flaws.

One flaw is the large gap in the middle of the game board where the board folds. It is somewhat annoying when trying to form words across the middle of the board. I'm sure the designers could have overcome this somehow, maybe by changing the way the board folds.

Another flaw: the grid painted onto the game board is not big enough. If you're spelling a word from the top of the game board down to the middle, the plastic tiles extend past the outer edge of the grid.

Also, the paperless scoring system is a bit confusing. It may take a few games to get the hang of it.

When you pay a premium price for something, you expect something better than the standard edition. I think these flaws should have been discovered and fixed before this set was released.

collectible; not as playable as other versions [Posted on 2008-06-26]
I have eight versions of Scrabble, and this is one of them. It's great for travel, and is water resistant--with it's stainless steel playing surface, paperless scoring, plastic case, and rubber-like carrying pouch!

The scoring is a bit like an abacus: the bottom row scores 1-20 points, with each hole counting as one point; the top row scores 20-300 points, with each hole counting as twenty. It is tricky--especially for those who aren't real quick with mental math (i.e. my husband). At home, we resort to using paper. ;-)

The metal board is always curved one way or another, so when you fold it in half to put it back in the case, it doesn't always go so well...

As was mentioned in an earlier review, the gap between the halves of the board is rather large, and when you're playing, you mentally break the board there. I've built a word parallel to another before realizing it, because one was above the break, and one was below.

Lastly, the squares on the board really aren't big enough for the tiles. I'm not sure how THAT one got overlooked in planning and production, but if you're making words with more than three letters, you'll notice.

Overall, I still like this set. It gets a lot of attention by passersby because it's "pretty" or "cool," and it is great for the beach or pool-side. It's not the most well-conceived set, but for those who crave just ONE MORE version, go for it. ;-)

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