Selchow and Righter was a 19th- and 20th-century game manufacturer best known for the games '' Parcheesi'' and '' Scrabble''. It was based in Bay Shore, New York. It dates back to

1867 Events January–March * January 1 – The Covington–Cincinnati Suspension Bridge opens between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky, in the United States, becoming the longest single-span bridge in the world. It was renamed a ...

when it was founded as E. G. Selchow & Co. In 1880, to reflect his new partnership with John Righter, the company name was changed to Selchow and Righter. Games were also produced by Chaffee & Selchow, particularly between 1897 and 1902. Until the mid-twentieth century Selchow and Righter was considered a " jobber", a game company that produced and licensed other peoples' games. Under the leadership of John Righter's daughter,

Harriet T. Righter Harriet T. Righter (February 24, 1878 – June 8, 1982) was an American businesswoman, the president of Selchow and Righter, a game company, which was co-founded by her father. Her best-known addition to the company's properties was Scrabble, whic ...

, who was the company's president from 1923 to 1954, Selchow and Righter began manufacturing games, and put more emphasis on advertising and marketing campaigns. Their first hit was '' Parcheesi'', which they purchased the rights to in 1870 and trademarked in 1874. In 1952 they licensed '' Scrabble'' from James Brunot, then purchased that trademark in 1972. Other notable S&R games include ''

Anagrams An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into ''nag a ram'', also the word ...

'' (

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

), which is a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

word game, originally published by Selchow and Righter, '' Jotto'' (

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

), which was licensed by Selchow and Righter in the 1970s, and Trivial Pursuit which was licensed from ''Horn Abbot'' in 1982. Other games which were produced by Selchow and Righter: *''Allstate Travel Games (from the box cover: "Designed specifically for use in auto. For ages six to 14")'' *''Assembly Line'' *''Blast Off'' *''Cap-It'' *''Cargoes'' *''Cabby'' *''Dr.Tangle'' *''Games Galore!'' *''Globe-Trotters'' *''Go for Broke'' *''Home Team Baseball'' *''Huggin' the Rail'' *''Jamboree'' *''Straightaway'' (1961) – based on the 1961–1962 television series '' Straightaway'' *''Karate'' (1964) *''Meet the Presidents'' * ''Plantem'' (sometime between 1928 and 1955, described as a “colorful intensely interesting game for young and old!”) 2, 3, or 4 players roll dice with letters Y, R, G, W, and P to signify colors yellow, red, green, white and purple, the colors of the flowers you “plant” on your board. The last side of the die has a black dot which when rolled allows you to steal a flower from another’s garden. Your goal is to complete your garden (five rows with five flowers each) first. *''Whodunit'' (1972) A similar game to '' Clue'' in which 6 players move around the board as investigators, obtaining opportunities to view other player's "alibi" tokens and collecting other "clues" to the identify of the murderer, weapon used, room in which committed, and a new category: motive. ''Whodunit'' draws on a similar setting and character types, including a colonel and maid, but in which the suspects are not the players. *''Mr. Ree!'' (1937) *''Prospecting'' *''Speed'' *''Super Market'' *''Snake Eyes'' *''

The Game of Alice in Wonderland ''The Game of Alice in Wonderland'', subtitled "The dream-child moving through a land of wonders strange and new in a friendly chat with bird or beast and half believes it true", is a bespoke card game published in 1882 by Selchow and Righter. It ...

Coleco Industries Coleco Industries, Inc. was an American company founded in 1932 by Maurice Greenberg as The Connecticut Leather Company. It was a successful toy company in the 1980s, mass-producing versions of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and its video game conso ...

in 1986 for $75 million USD in cash and notes. Coleco Industries purchased the games from Selchow & Righter, but not the trademark of the company's name. The trademark for "Righter" in the commercial use of games and entertainment remains under the control of the Righter Family; specifically, Philip Righter, the great-great-grandson of John Righter, the company's original co-founder. In 1989, Coleco declared bankruptcy and its primary assets were purchased by Hasbro for in cash, plus options to buy one million shares of Hasbro stock at a price of $28.85 (at the time the deal closed, Hasbro stock was worth only $20 a share). Trojan Powder Coating, Tri-State Powder Coating, and Williams Architecture now occupy the site of the former Selchow and Righter building.

References

External links

MobyGames ProfileGiant Bomb Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selchow and Righter Board game publishing companies Game manufacturers Defunct companies based in New York (state) Manufacturing companies established in 1867 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1986 Former Hasbro subsidiaries