Cheap Scrabble (Jewel Case) (Software) (Windows 95, Macintosh) Price

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Customer Reviews of Scrabble (Jewel Case)

This is a great game -- even on Windows XP!
I was worried after reading some of the reviews that this version (written for Windows 3.1/95) would not work well on newer computers. But I purchased it anyway, and installed it on a new computer (Jan 2002) running Windows XP. It works great! When I start up the game, the operating system/game seems to be smart enough to figure out what to set the colors and/or screen resolution to, and the game comes up fine. When I exit the game, the computer screen goes back to its original settings. This is all automatic, and you can just sit back and enjoy the game. I love Scrabble, and this computer version is really, really fun to play. Its nice to be able to take as long as you want to play on your turn without your opponent getting impatient, and its nice to not have to wait very long for your opponent to make their move. The dictionary used may be slightly out of date, and there are some new words that would be nice to be able to use. However, there is no provision for being able to add new words. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend this game -- even though its a very old version -- to anyone who likes to play Scrabble.

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A Good Buy
I really enjoy the computer version of the Scrabble board game. When playing against the computer, you can choose to play between one to three opponents, depending on how fast you want the game to go. Separate statistics are compiled for two, three and four person games. The game loads quickly, and the graphics are good, although the angle the board is set at can make it a little hard to read the point values of the squares. My only complaint is that your monitor must be set at 256 colors, so I have to reset this everytime I play the game...it's not a big deal, but it is a little inconvenient.

I would definitely recommend this software.

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Great program that could be better
Considering the piddling yuan you'll spend, this is a fine program and every Scrabble player ought to have it. For serious players it works well as a practice opponent. (Better than your mother-in-law.) However, as others have pointed out, it has a few flaws.

It does actually play on the Windows XP platform (at least on my machine) but imperfectly. It takes a yuga to load and doesn't exactly unload in a jiffy. It dozes while you're cogitating and wakes up slowly; and if you saunter away from the game for half an hour or so it may freeze up. It's done that on me twice this week and both times I had to control-alternate-delete to recover.

The design is not exactly Da Vinci or even Madison Avenue spiffy. The PASS button is very close to some other buttons. I hit it after checking DEFINE LAST instead of DONE which is about an inch away, and lost a turn. Also the first few times I played I got lost in the opening menu and couldn't figure out how to load Maven, the computer player. Turns out that even though I had signed in I still had to hit the OKAY button (in effect signing in again) in order to get to the screen that allows me to load Maven. If you miss that OKAY you will have no computer opponent and will have to start all over again.

If the "music" (and I use the word music advisably) is not to your liking you can turn it off. The VERY annoying chortles Maven makes after a play, especially the gloating sounds after she goes **BINGO!** with something like "zeugmas," are not to be endured for long. If you want Maven to go first you have to PASS, but sometimes she'll just pass right after you. (A strategy tip: if you set Maven at a high ranking, say 1800 or above, keep the game closed. Maven will open it up at every chance and will make a lot of seven-letter plays, and you will get buried.)

Speaking of how the cyborg Maven plays, remember she can zoom through her dictionary in a split second and find EVERY obscure word, so don't feel bad when you lose. If you set her lower, say 1400 for the average player, she will make plenty of mistakes, such as adding an unnecessary "s" to a word instead of saving the "s" for the next play, and she will EXCHANGE her letters a lot, giving you more plays.

Beware that some words that are in The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary 3rd Edition (don't play without it!) are not in Maven's dictionary, so you WILL get challenged and "poof!" will go your play, followed by Maven making an 86-point monstrosity. VERY annoying.

Still this program is a lot of fun to play, and Maven can make some very creative plays. She plays a wide-open game leaving triple-word setups all over the place, and she doesn't play much defense, which is nice.

She keeps track of all the results and gives you a rating based on your play against her. She posts your top play and your top game and how many wins you have. (Also your spouse's or your alter-ego's top score, etc.) The Review Games program that goes over your games and gives hints (under the MINI GAMES menu) is a little awkward to use and needs a better design. I haven't tried the two- and three-word practice games, etc. also under the same menu, but maybe I should!

Bottom line: until Hasbro gets serious and builds a really great Scrabble program--and they can and they will, I believe, since this is a big seller--this will have to do. It's not bad, especially when you think about the days before there were any Scrabble programs at all. In fact, it can be addictive. Watch out! Play a couple of games and the next thing you know it's lunch time. Furthermore, if you play enough games, you might get good enough to actually beat your mother-in-law. Good luck.