I'm a longtime Scrabble player, dating back to playing at my grandmother's dinner table in Great Falls. Now, my grandma will try to lie to you and tell you she did not cheat. Trust me, she did. I have very vivid memories of those days, down to the smell of oranges and coffee that often filled my grandmother's kitchen. I remember that old brown box that held the Scrabble game - and, the sound of the tiles as we reached into the plastic bag to collect them. After the age of 10, though, I don't remember playing Scrabble at all! Instead, it was the phone and the mall and probably boys that occupied my time. It wasn't until college that I rekindled my love for the game. My college roommate's dad ALWAYS wanted to play "Scrabbies" as he called it. I think we fired up the board a couple times to keep him quiet.

When I got married, I thought life was going to be all about board games! I mean, now I have a partner living in my house! Turns out Derek HATES board games and never wanted to play. When I goaded him to play Scrabble, he resisted for a long time. He knows I'm a word nerd and I think he was scared to play! When he finally agreed... he walloped me the first six games or so! Now, we play every couple months - and, we're pretty competitive.

But, what am I supposed to do when he's not there? I can't very well play Scrabble by myself! Then, I discovered Scrabulous and my life changed forever. Scrabulous offers interactive games where you can play either against the computer or against people from all over the world. The first night, I played for about 5 hours straight! No wonder my eyes are starting to fail!!! I don't feel pathetic saying that, either. According to the NY Times, 70,000 people play Scrabulous every day!

Now, though, Scrabulous is in jeopardy! Hasbro, the company that makes Scrabble, is reportedly trying to shut it down (copyright issues, etc.) They may have good reason to do so. Sales of the board game are declining and Hasbro is blaming Scrabulous for that. I say Scrabulous can only help Scrabble sales in the long run. A whole new generation of young people is now being exposed to the game. They'll eventually get tired of only playing online (or, like me, they'll start to go blind!) and they'll turn to the traditional old game. They'll miss the sound of the tiles. They'll miss the thrill of actually seeing your competitors face fall when you use a "Z" on a triple letter score. They'll miss that memory of their grandmother and they'll need a Scrabble board to bring it back.

Please, Scrabulous, stay strong! Me and my 70,000 fellow word nerds need you!