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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 most common let ... [...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. Personal life 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. He died on April 4, 1993, nine days before his 94th birthday. ''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 and bingo; move games, such as chess and checkers; and word games, such as anagrams. Butts was a resident ... [...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 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. The name ''Scrabble'' is a trademark of Mattel in most of the world, except in the United States and Canada, where it is a trademark of Hasbro, under the brands of both of its subsidiaries, Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers. 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 and half of British homes have a ''Scrabble'' set. There are approximately 4,000 ''Scrabble'' clubs around the world. Game details The game is played by two to four players on a square game board imprinted with a 15×15 grid of cells (individually known as " ... [...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 was bitten by a gold-colored bug. 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 comical dialect speech. Poe submitted "T ... [...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 linear dimensions (length, width, height, diameter, perimeter), area, or volume. Size can also be measured in terms of mass, especially when assuming a density range. In mathematical terms, "size (mathematics), size is a concept abstracted from the process of measuring by 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 include measures such as human height and human body weig ... [...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 T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stefan Fatsis
Stefan Fatsis (; born April 1, 1963) is an 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. He 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), about the subculture ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Word Freak
''Word Freak'' is a non-fiction 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 August 2011. The new edition (18th printing) includes a new 3 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Board Game
Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a competition between two or more players. To show a few examples: in checkers (British English name 'draughts'), a player wins by capturing all opposing pieces, while Eurogames often end with a calculation of final scores. '' Pandemic'' is a cooperative game where players all win or lose as a team, and peg solitaire is a puzzle for one person. There are many varieties of board games. Their representation of real-life situations can range from having no inherent theme, such as checkers, to having a specific theme and narrative, such as ''Cluedo''. Rules can range from the very simple, such as in snakes and ladders; to deeply complex, as in ''Advanced Squad Leader''. Play components now often include custom figures or shaped counters, and distin ... [...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 in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the largest game manufacturer in the United States. It became a division of Hasbro in 1984. History Foundation 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 very 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 likely an old English game. Bradley conceived the idea of making a purely American game. He created ''The Checkered Game of Life'', which had players move along a track from Infancy to Happy Old Age, in which t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parker Brothers
Parker Brothers (known by 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. Among its products were ''Monopoly (game), Monopoly'', Cluedo, Clue (licensed from the British publisher and known as ''Cluedo'' outside of North America), ''Sorry! (game), Sorry!'', ''Risk (game), Risk'', ''Trivial Pursuit'', ''Ouija'', ''Aggravation (board game), Aggravation'', ''Bop It'', ''Scrabble'' (under a joint partnership with Milton Bradley Company, Milton Bradley in North America and Canada), and ''Probe (parlor game), Probe''. The trade name became defunct with former products being marketed under the "Hasbro Gaming" label with the logo shown on Monopoly (game), Monopoly games. History Parker Brothers was founded by George Swinnerton Parker, George S. Parker. Parker's philosophy deviated from the prevalent theme of board game design; he believed th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Game Design
Game design is the art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game for entertainment or for educational, exercise, or experimental purposes. Increasingly, elements and principles of game design are also applied to other interactions, in the form of gamification. Game designer and developer Robert Zubek defines game design by breaking it down into its elements, which he says are the following: * Gameplay, which is the interaction between the player and the mechanics and systems * Game mechanics, Mechanics and systems, which are the rules and objects in the game * Player experience, which is how users feel when they're playing the game Games such as board games, card games, dice games, casino games, role-playing games, sports, video games, Wargame (video games), war games, or simulation games benefit from the principles of game design. Academically, game design is part of game studies, while game theory studies strategic decision making (primarily in non-game situations) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States, and of American literature. Poe was one of the country's earliest practitioners of the short story, and considered to be the inventor of the detective fiction genre, as well as a significant contributor to the emerging genre of science fiction. Poe is the first well-known American writer to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career. Poe was born in Boston, the second child of actors David and Elizabeth "Eliza" Poe. His father abandoned the family in 1810, and when his mother died the following year, Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan of Richmond, Virginia. They never formally adopted him, but he was with them well ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
