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Lexiko
''Lexiko'' was a word game invented by Alfred Mosher Butts. It was a precursor of ''Scrabble''. The name comes from the Greek , meaning "of or for words". ''Lexiko'' was played with a set of 100 square cardboard tiles, with the same letter distribution later used by ''Scrabble'' (see Scrabble letter distributions), but no board. Players drew nine tiles at random, and attempted to construct words from them. History In 1931, Butts wrote a paper entitled "Study of Games." In his paper, he described three categories of games: board, number games using playing cards or dice, and letter games (or games that fell into more than one). He noted that, although the most popular games were of the first two (e.g., chess and backgammon), the best letter game readily available was Anagrams. Around that time, he was reading " The Gold-Bug" by Edgar Allan Poe and noticed a line containing the English letter distribution. This gave him an epiphany: Anagrams would be more fun if the mos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alfred Mosher Butts
Alfred Mosher Butts (April 13, 1899 – April 4, 1993) was an American architect, famous for inventing the board game ''Scrabble'' in 1938. Biography Alfred Mosher Butts was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, on April 13, 1899, to Allison Butts and Arrie Elizabeth Mosher. His father was a lawyer, and his mother a high school teacher. Alfred attended Poughkeepsie High School and graduated in 1917. He then graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in architecture in 1924. He was also an amateur artist, and six of his drawings were acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Butts and his wife, Nina, who died circa 1979, were married for 54 years; they had no children. He died on April 4, 1993, nine days before his 94th birthday. Board games ''Scrabble'' In the early 1930s, after working as an architect but now unemployed, Butts set out to design a board game. He studied existing games and found that games fell into three categories: number games, such as dice ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scrabble
''Scrabble'' is a word game in which two to four players score points by placing tiles, each bearing a single letter, onto a Board game, game board divided into a 15×15 grid of squares. The tiles must form words that, in crossword fashion, read left to right in rows or downward in columns and are included in a standard dictionary or lexicon. American architect Alfred Mosher Butts invented the game in 1931. ''Scrabble'' is produced in the United States and Canada by Hasbro, under the brands of both of its subsidiaries, Milton Bradley Company, Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers. Mattel owns the rights to manufacture ''Scrabble'' outside the U.S. and Canada. As of 2008, the game is sold in 121 countries and is available in more than 30 languages; approximately 150 million sets have been sold worldwide, and roughly one-third of American homes and half of British homes have a ''Scrabble'' set. There are approximately 4,000 ''Scrabble'' clubs around the world. Equipment ''Scrabble ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Size
Size in general is the Magnitude (mathematics), magnitude or dimensions of a thing. More specifically, ''geometrical size'' (or ''spatial size'') can refer to three geometrical measures: length, area, or volume. Length can be generalized to other linear dimensions (width, height, diameter, perimeter). Size can also be measured in terms of mass, especially when assuming a density range. In mathematical terms, "size is a concept abstracted from the process of measuring by Comparison, comparing a longer to a shorter". Size is determined by the process of comparing or measuring objects, which results in the determination of the magnitude of a quantity, such as length or mass, relative to a unit of measurement. Such a magnitude is usually expressed as a numerical value of Units of measurement, units on a previously established spatial scale, such as meters or inches. The sizes with which humans tend to be most familiar are body dimensions (measures of anthropometry), which i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Party Games
Party games are games that are played at social gatherings to facilitate interaction and provide entertainment and recreation. Categories include (explicit) icebreaker, parlour (indoor), picnic (outdoor), and large group games.Frankel, Lillian; Frankel, Godfrey; and Anderson, Doug (2007). ''Party Games for Adults'', p.7. Sterling. .Sheila Anne Barry (1987). ''The World's Best Party Games'', p.3. Sterling. . Other types include pairing off (partnered) games, and parlour races. Different games will generate different atmospheres so the party game may merely be intended as an icebreakers, or the sole purpose for or structure of the party. As such, party games aim to include players of various skill levels and player-elimination is rare. Party games are intended to be played socially, and are designed to be easy for new players to learn.McGonigal, Jane (2011). ''Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World'', unpaginated. Penguin. . Characteristics ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stefan Fatsis
Stefan Fatsis ( ; born April 1, 1963) is an American author and journalist. He regularly appears as a guest on National Public Radio's '' All Things Considered'' daily radio news program and as a panelist on Slate's sports podcast '' Hang Up and Listen''. He is a former staff reporter for ''The Wall Street Journal''. Biography Fatsis grew up in Pelham, New York. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1985 with a degree in American civilization. He was a staff writer for the '' Daily Pennsylvanian'' as an undergraduate. From 1985 to 1994 he was a reporter for The Associated Press in Athens, Greece; Philadelphia; Boston; and New York. He wrote about sports for ''The Wall Street Journal'' from 1995 to 2006. Fatsis is the author of three books: ''Wild and Outside: How a Renegade Minor League Revived the Spirit of Baseball in America's Heartland'' (1995); '' Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players'' (2001), a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Word Freak
''Word Freak'' is a nonfiction narrative by Stefan Fatsis published in 2001 (). The book is subtitled ''Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive SCRABBLE Players''. Fatsis, a sports reporter for ''The Wall Street Journal'', introduces the reader to the world of competitive Scrabble through a narrative of his slow transformation from "a good living room player" into a player ranked as expert by the National Scrabble Association. Fatsis's humorous approach and descriptions of fellow competitive Scrabble players are interspersed with game strategies as the reader follows his ascent through the ranks of tournament players. The book also covers the history of the game, how tournaments are run, and the background politics of the Scrabble scene. ''Word Freak'' is a ''New York Times'' Bestseller and ''New York Times'' Notable Book. A 10th anniversary paperback edition of Word Freak came out in 2011. The new edition (18th printing) includes a new 30-page ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Board Game
A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the term "board game" are between the 1840s and 1850s. While game boards are a necessary and sufficient condition of this genre, card games that do not use a standard deck of cards, as well as games that use neither cards nor a game board, are often colloquially included, with some referring to this genre generally as "table and board games" or simply "tabletop games". Eras Ancient era Board games have been played, traveled, and evolved in most cultures and societies throughout history Board games have been discovered in a number of archaeological sites. The oldest discovered gaming pieces were discovered in southwest Turkey, a set of elaborate sculptured stones in sets of four designed for a chess-like game, which were created during the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milton Bradley Company
Milton Bradley Company or simply Milton Bradley (MB) was an American board game manufacturer established by Milton Bradley (1836-1911) in Springfield, Massachusetts, Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the largest game manufacturer in the United States. It was acquired by Hasbro in 1984, and merged with their subsidiary Parker Brothers in 1998. The brand name continued to be used by Hasbro until 2009. History Foundation file:Milton bradley portrait.jpg, left, 150px, Milton Bradley, founder Milton Bradley found success making board games. In 1860, Milton Bradley moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, and set up the state's first color lithography shop. Its graphic design of Abraham Lincoln sold well, until Lincoln grew his beard and rendered the likeness out-of-date. Struggling to find a new way to use his lithography machine, Bradley visited his friend George Tapley. Tapley challenged him to a game, most li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parker Brothers
Parker Brothers (known as Parker outside of North America) was an American toy and game manufacturer which in 1991 became a brand of Hasbro. More than 1,800 games were published under the Parker Brothers name since 1883. It remained family owned until bought in 1968, and branched into Nerf toys and media. Among its products were ''Monopoly'', '' Clue'' (licensed from the British publisher and known as ''Cluedo'' outside of North America), '' Sorry!'', ''Risk'', ''Trivial Pursuit'', '' Ouija'', '' Aggravation'', ''Bop It'', ''Scrabble'' (under a joint partnership with Milton Bradley in the United States and Canada), and '' Probe''. In the 21st century, the trade name ceased use, with former products being marketed under the "Hasbro Gaming" label, with the logo shown on ''Monopoly'' games. History Parker Brothers was founded by George Swinnerton Parker. Parker's philosophy deviated from the prevalent theme of board game design; he believed that games should be played for enj ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Game Design
Game design is the process of creating and shaping the mechanics, systems, rules, and gameplay of a game. Game design processes apply to board games, card games, dice games, casino games, role-playing games, sports, Wargame (video games), war games, or simulation games.In ''Elements of Game Design'', game designer Robert Zubek defines game design by breaking it down into three elements: * Game mechanics and systems, which are the rules and objects in the game. * Gameplay, which is the interaction between the player and the mechanics and systems. In ''Chris Crawford on Game Design'', the author summarizes gameplay as "what the player does". * Player experience, which is how users feel when they are playing the game. In Academy, academic research, game design falls within the field of game studies (not to be confused with game theory, which studies strategic decision making, primarily in non-game situations). Process of design Game design is part of a game's development from conc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as one of the central figures of Romanticism and Gothic fiction in the United States and of early American literature. Poe was one of the country's first successful practitioners of the short story, and is generally considered to be the inventor of the detective fiction genre. In addition, he is credited with contributing significantly to the emergence of science fiction. He is the first well-known American writer to earn a living exclusively through writing, which resulted in a financially difficult life and career.. Poe was born in Boston. He was the second child of actors David Poe Jr., David and Eliza Poe, Elizabeth "Eliza" Poe. His father abandoned the family in 1810, and when Eliza died the following year, Poe was taken in by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Gold-Bug
"The Gold-Bug" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe published in 1843. The plot follows William Legrand, who becomes fixated on an unusual gold-colored bug he has discovered. His servant Jupiter fears that Legrand is going insane and goes to Legrand's friend, an unnamed narrator, who agrees to visit his old friend. Legrand pulls the other two into an adventure after deciphering a secret message that will lead to a buried treasure. The story, set on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, is often compared with Poe's "tales of ratiocination" as an early form of detective fiction. Poe became aware of the public's interest in secret writing in 1840 and asked readers to challenge his skills as a code-breaker. He took advantage of the popularity of cryptography as he was writing "The Gold-Bug", and the success of the story centers on one such cryptogram. Modern critics have judged the characterization of Legrand's servant Jupiter as racist, especially because of his dial ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
