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One side of the board has the traditional Scrabble board layout with red triple word scores in their places and a big pink kiss of double word score squares in an X shape. This side of the board is for playing Scrabble in the normal way but it has Simpsons pictures on the squares that are not extra point squares. This side of the board is in muted colours (not that colourful to be honest) but the snippets of faces from the Simpsons are quite amusing and there are several that I can’t put a name to.
The flip side of the board is what makes this game a bit more special and unique than the traditional Scrabble game. It has the heads of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie clearly visible on the board in that lovely bright yellow. There are special squares with extra points but there are more of them and this does make playing the game a bit more fun.
Quads and Quins
The top left hand corner of the board is the way to go as in this corner of the board is the purple quadruple word square as well as four quadruple letter squares and three quintuple letter squares. You won’t find these in any of the other quarters of the board. Imagine the scores you could make with a Z or a Q word here.
More Do-Nuts Mmm
Another difference with this version of Scrabble and the traditional game is that you can use Simpsons words. The instruction booklet contains a glossary of words that can be used including doh, donut, mmm, scratchy and aycarumba. Some of the words you would be allowed to play anyway such as couch, bald, itchy and zombie. But, just knowing that you are allowed to play some name words and silly words does add a little something to the game.
A different feature of this version of the game compared with the original is that cards can be used. Each player is dealt one card which can be played at their turn if required. This adds a little extra help such as the ability to exchange four of your tiles in the bag rather than forfeit a go to exchange all seven. Other cards may give you extra points for playing a specific category word (e.g. an extra 10 points for playing an animal). It does help to keep the game flowing when children are playing. You can play the card if you want to but you don’t have to. Some of the cards are red which are either good (e.g. twins : get another go), bad (e.g. detention or getting drunk : miss a turn), or just damn funny (the Ned good neighbour card : you play your turn and give your points to another player).
The chance of getting high scores is greater with this version of the game because there are simply more high scoring squares on the board. It is therefore easier for children to get a good score most turns which does hold their interest in the game. The best part of the game for me is that it doesn’t dissolve into a war like Monopoly where competitiveness usually gets a bit firey. You can decide to finish the game at anytime and simply just see who has the highest score.
Obviously this game is best suited to children who are old enough to read and spell reasonably well, unless your child is exceptionally bright, that means around age 8 and upwards. If you have never watched the Simpsons or are not a fan, this game is probably not for you. A full five stars from me.
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