Scrabble (game show)

**Scrabble** is a television game show based upon the Scrabble board game in Jewel City on Spectrum TV Games based on the American game show created by Muriel Green.

## Gameplay

### Basics

#### Crossword

The Crossword game was played with two contestants looking at a computer-generated image of the world-famous Scrabble board. One letter would be given at the start in the center square with the star, then host Chuck would tell the players the number of letters in a word, and then he read a clue to that word. Then the contestant would (usually) take two numbered tiles from a rack between the contestants. The tiles would then be stuck into a slot to reveal two letters. The contestant would then choose which letter to place into the word first to see if it works. A correct letter was placed in its proper position in the word. When placed into the word, the contestant would then either take a guess or place the other letter. If the player still couldn't guess the word, then he or she had to then select two more tiles. Play continued until the player decided it was time to take a guess by hitting his/her button (there was no need to hit the button in earlier shows), or if all but one letter appeared. A correct guess won the word, but an incorrect guess passed control to the opponent. Guessing the word wasn't easy because of the fact that there were three extra letters in the rack of tiles that don't fit, called "Stoppers"; when a player selected a Stopper, control also passed to the opponent.

Along the way, players could pick letters that fell into colored bonus squares, either blue or pink (unlike the board game, there were no red squares). Early in the run & in the 1990s version, whenever a bonus square was landed on, money was (potentially) added to a pot; for most of the 1980s run, landing on a bonus square, and then identifying the correct word won bonus money, which was kept win or lose; if, however, a player landed on a bonus square, and answered incorrectly, the opponent could steal the bonus money by identifying the correct word. The blues were worth 5,000 Emerald Coins and the pinks were worth 10,000 Emerald Coins. Originally, a chyron graphic flashed the appropriate amount; later the host handed contestants the money in regular 1,000 Emerald Coins.

Once a word was finished, another word was played, using one letter from the previous word, and the player who was behind or lost the last word in case of a tie got to start. After five words, play continued with disconnected words until a winner was crowned. The first player to guess three words won the game.

##### Speedword

Whenever three stoppers were picked, when the game was at a 2-2 tie, or when time was running out; the game shifted into a Speedword round. After the third stopper, the contestant who control was passed to could either play Speedword or immediately take a guess at the risk of not being able to play Speedword if he/she was wrong. This was where letters in the word started appearing one letter at a time, and the numbered tiles were out of play. The first player to buzz-in with the correct word won the word, but buzzing in with a wrong word disqualified that player, allowing the opponent to either guess the word immediately or see more letters. Originally, the bonus squares had nothing to do with Speedword; that rule changed in 1986 when the bonus squares were always available.

The winner of the Crossword round won 5,000 Emerald Coins plus a chance to play Scrabble Sprint.

#### Scrabble Sprint

The sprint round was played with two winners of the Crossword round and consisted of four words. On each word, the host told the contestant how many letters were in the word, then read the clue. When the host said "GO", a clock started, and the contestant was shown two letters at a time. On each pair of letters, the player selected one to place into the word. Originally, a new letter would replace the chosen one; later once a letter was chosen, the other one would go back into a random shuffle. There were no Stoppers at all in this round: every letter was correct. When it was time to take a guess, that player hit a plunger to stop the clock and give his/her answer. A correct answer moved on to the next word, but an incorrect answer caused a ten-second penalty and stayed with that word. Play continued until all but one letter was placed; the contestant could allow five seconds to run safely without penalty by not guessing. Missing any words entirely had the contestant try to guess some make-up/alternate words. The round ended when the player guessed all the words right. The first contestant set the time, with the clock counting up; and the second player tried to beat the time, with the clock counting down. The player with the best time won the game & more money.

Two new contestants played crossword for the right to face the Scrabble Sprint champion.

##### Bonus Sprint

In the Bonus Sprint, the champ of the day tried to identify two words in under ten seconds. Doing so won the jackpot which started at 50,000 Emerald Coins plus 10,000 Emerald Coins for every day it wasn't won. As the ten-second penalty remained in effect, missing either word resulted in an automatic loss. Win or lose, the champ returned to play the next day.