The photograph on the left is the game board for the Pocket Edition of the game of Scrabble. This copy was donated to the Museum in 1978. The edition was produced by Selchow & Righter Co. It is smaller than other Scrabble editions, and enables a user to store it in a smaller space such as luggage or a "pocket".
The board, when folded in half, is 17cm long x 10cm wide x .3cm thick. When open, the board is 17cm long x 19.7cm wide x .1cm thick. It is a standard Scrabble board in that it is divided into 225 cells or a matrix of 15X15.
The blue plastic container (right photograph) is an envelope 11cm long x 18cm wide. The envelope has a 3/4 fold over flap and uses metal dome fasteners for closing. A black plastic tray (not in the photo) 9.5cm long x 16.7cm wide is used like a small table to hold the tiles during play of the game.
The 4 "racks" (left photograph) are used to hold a player's tiles. Racks (5.5cm wide x 9.5cm long) are made of rigid plastic. They are flat, and the intent is to place the tiles on the wider left side and hold the rack by the narrow end. When playing, a player must hold the rack somewhat like a hand of playing cards so that an opponent cannot see the tiles placed on it. Because of the physical properties of the tiles, the racks can be placed upside down on a surface and will not drop the tiles.
The "tiles" (in the photo on the right) are made of plastic and covered with a type of vinyl. There are the standard 100 American English tiles stamped with a letter and a value. As can be seen in the photograph, the tiles are available on a single sheet. They are pre-cut, and can easily be separated from the sheet.
Each tile is 1cm square, and is pressure sensitive - that is - when pressed against the rack, the tray, or the board - they stick! This reaction is not because of a "glue" but because of the physical properties of the various plastics used. A type of "static electricity" fosters an adhesive quality between the tiles and the other components of the game.
Last update June 1, 2010