Mattel launches a two-sided Scrabble board for team play in Europe.

Scrabble in Europe is getting a makeover with a double-sided board introduced by Mattel. This new version, called Scrabble Together, is designed to be more team-oriented and less intimidating for those who find word games challenging.

The updated Scrabble board is the first significant change in over 75 years, aiming to make the game more inclusive. Players can now switch between the classic version and Scrabble Together, depending on their preference.

Toy companies, including Mattel, have been creating easier or different versions of board games to appeal to a wider audience. Scrabble Together targets players of all ages, making it accessible for everyone.

A survey revealed that many people in the U.K. have looked up words during Scrabble to see if they're real or tried to invent new ones to win. The future of this new Scrabble version in places outside Europe, like the U.S., is still uncertain due to different companies owning the rights in various regions.

Scrabble has evolved since its creation in 1931, from being called 'Lexiko' to 'Criss-Crosswords' before settling on its current name. Today, Scrabble is available in 28 languages and has sold more than 165 million games worldwide, competing with newer word games like Bananagrams and Wordle.