National Scrabble Day
Plan around National Scrabble Day 🔡 with the Obscure Holiday Calendar app, including alerts, art packs, and instant sharing.
Overview
National Scrabble Day is celebrated annually on April 13th, marking the birth of Alfred Butts, the architect who invented the beloved word game. It's a day for Scrabble enthusiasts to honor the classic board game by playing, expanding their vocabulary, and enjoying the intellectual challenge and social fun it provides.
Origin and story
Scrabble was invented by architect Alfred Butts during the Great Depression, who determined letter frequencies by analyzing the front page of The New York Times.
The game was originally known as 'Criss-Crosswords' before it was officially renamed Scrabble.
Quick facts
- DateApril 13
- TypeGames & Fun
- Great forGame nights, Families, Puzzle fans
Also on this date
Ways to celebrate
Scrabble's letter values weren't a guess — they came from one unemployed architect counting letters in newspapers by hand.
Meet the inventor and his motive
Alfred Mosher Butts, an out-of-work architect during the Great Depression, invented the game in 1938 hoping Americans could use a distraction from bleak economic times, combining anagram and crossword mechanics into something built on both skill and chance.
Know how the tile values were actually set
Butts determined the frequency and point value of each letter by manually counting how often letters appeared on the front pages of the New York Times, the New York Herald Tribune, and The Saturday Evening Post — the same basic point system still used today.
Read the fuller history
Helpful resources:
Did you know?
Every major game manufacturer rejected Butts' invention at first; it wasn't until 1948, when his friend James Brunot took over redesigning and renaming it "Scrabble," and a Macy's executive discovered it in 1952, that the game actually took off — by 1954, a million copies had sold.
Fun facts
- Scrabble was invented by architect Alfred Butts during the Great Depression, who determined letter frequencies by analyzing the front page of The New York Times.
- The game was originally known as 'Criss-Crosswords' before it was officially renamed Scrabble.
- It is estimated that one out of every three American homes has a Scrabble set, and over 150 million sets have been sold worldwide.
Sources and attribution
Scrabble: How It Began (America Comes Alive)
External links may lead to third-party websites.
Continue your streak
Open one more holiday before you go to build daily momentum.
FAQ
- When is National Scrabble Day?
- It is observed on April 13 each year.
- What is National Scrabble Day?
- National Scrabble Day is celebrated annually on April 13th, marking the birth of Alfred Butts, the architect who invented the beloved word game. It's a day for Scrabble enthusiasts to honor the classic board game by playing, expanding their vocabulary, and enjoying the intellectual challenge and social fun it provides.
- How do people celebrate National Scrabble Day?
- Play a game of Scrabble and consider its Depression-era origin — unemployed architect Alfred Mosher Butts set each letter's value by manually counting letter frequency in newspapers.
Get the app
Thousands of obscure holidays, daily widgets, reminders, and fun facts—free on iOS and Android.