Customer Reviews for Scrabble Champion Edition

Scrabble Champion Edition
by Encore

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Software Reviews of Scrabble Champion Edition

Customer Review: Dissapointment
Summary: 1 Stars

After using Hasbro Scrabble Complete for many years I was really excited about a 2007 edition. It was such a dissapointment to see the terrible graphics and elementary platform produced by Encore. I have uninstalled it and went back to my Hasbro edition. Don't waste your money on this loser.

Customer Review: Champion Shampion!
Summary: 3 Stars

I purchased this version of Scrabble because of its updated dictionary -- the previous "Complete" edition doesn't recognize "qi" and "za", among others, as words.
Is it me or is the game rigged? When playing a higher level computer competitor, I often end up with a rack full of vowels. This happens so frequently that I'm forced to make several exchanges during the course of the game, thereby entitling the computer to invariably emerge victorious. Harumph! I've always enjoyed the game but my ego's been bruised and battered during what has now become a love-hate relationship.

Customer Review: Good, but disappointing
Summary: 3 Stars

I own two previous versions of Scrabble. Version 1 is called "blue" as it came in a blue box. It was a basic game with online capability. Version 2 was called "red" as it came in a red box. The dictionary was updated, graphics redone and cool mini games were added. This truly allowed you to increase skill.

There is Scrabble Online which I do not own, however this one was marketed as "Champion Edition", so I went straight for it. Graphics are great and you can play a relaxed game or a timed one which can go strict tournament mode (25 minutes total per player) or a timer based on a per-turn basis. Multiple computer levels let you find an opponent that will challenge you but not necessarily intimidate. The dictionary has been updated again to OPSD4 which will mean a lot to the scrabbleholics out there (present company included). To the unfamiliar, words like KA, QI, OI and KI are now valid.

Where this game falls short is in skill building. The minigames are gone. You can get hints when in not in tournament mode, and regardless of your playing preference you will get a pleasant chime when you have made the play the computer would suggest (which, by the way is based not only on score but the tiles you leave in your rack and the scoring opportunities left for your opponent). After the game is complete you can look back through the game history. It would have been nice to see what the computer would have suggested at each turn but this is not an option. A champion (or a budding one) could make great use of such a simple addition. After a tournament match you are ranked according to National Scrabble Association rules. It takes a few games for the rank to become relevant. Of course this is not applicable to true NSA rankings, but it gives you an idea how you might rate.

There is no online option either. For this I suppose it is necessary to purchase the other "Scrabble Online". I suppose Champions are not interested in playing online.

As I browsed the folder where Scrabble Champion Edition was installed, I was suprised to see a "Quackle" licensing readme. For the uninitiated, Quackle is a freely developed program for Mac/Windows/Unix that is considered the smartest computer player available. It seems that Scrabble Champion Edition might little more than a pretty graphical frontend for a freely available program. I have used Quackle and the user interface is lacking in some areas. The notion that I may have bought free program does bug me, however Scrabble is noticeably easier to work with than Quackle.

Pros: Graphically pleasing, multiple computer skill levels, hints in non-tournament mode.
Cons: No online play. No skill building mini-games. No computer suggestions when reviewing games (which is available in Quackle). Is it just a pretty face for an otherwise free program?

For a casual player this could be what you're looking for. If you aspire to tournament level you might find this so-called "Champion Edition" lacking.

Customer Review: Faulty product release -- no laptop support!
Summary: 1 Stars

Are you a Scrabble fan who owns a laptop? Then forget this product -- you likely won't be able to install it, regardless of your operating system.

Incredibly, Encore has released a product that only runs on desktop machines. And, more galling, the package doesn't reflect this limitation. So you have to buy the game, try to install it, and when you can't (and it may crash your system; it did mine) you have to go to the web site to find out the publisher's engineers dismissed those of us who migrated to laptop technology. In essence, their lack of support for portables says: too bad.

I'm thinking of a seven-letter, two-word phrase to describe my reaction to this astonishingly cavalier ruse by Encore. Can you think of it?