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What we can learn from Srabulous

August 12, 2008



Hasbro has managed the Scrabulous challenge about as well as can be expected. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the game, it is essentially a knock-off of Scrabble adapted for the Internet. It allows people to play the game (sometimes many, many games) with people all over the world while communicating with each other as they do so. Created by two brothers from India, Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla, it became by far the biggest revenue driver for Facebook.  Hasbro took legal action and the brothers blinked (kind of) and replaced the game with a version that is not so obviously a copy of Scrabble.  Scrabulous fans are not too happy with Hasbro right now but they'll get over it.

The advantage that the Agarwalla brothers had in adapting Scrabble was not so much that they understood the Internet intellectually but that they understood it intuitively. They and many others of their generation are creatures of the Internet and understand instinctively what their cohort wants, which appears to be a strong desire to connect with others through play (and possibly avoid working). In short, their design for Scrabulous came primarily from their gut and not their heads.

So, it seems to me that among the lessons learned from this experience is that smart toy manufacturers are going to have to employ people who don’t just intellecutally understand the Internet but who live in it and breathe its virtual air. In short, toy manufacturers need to find the “pirates” before the “pirates” find them. Once found, co-opt them by employing them. 

If manufacturers do that then they have the makings of an organization that protects its own by giving this new game playing generation what they want, how they want it and when they want it . . . before someone else does. 


Posted by Richard Gottlieb on August 12, 2008 | Comments (6)


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August 13, 2008
In response to: What we can learn from Srabulous
John commented:

Yeah, 'we will get over it'. I no longer play any version of Scrabble online and I also eliminated a planned purchase of the traditional board game as I was going to introduce the game to my kids. My friends have done the same. They took a million fans of the game and thew them in the trash, hopefully it's just the beginning of more failure for this poorly managed company.




August 13, 2008
In response to: What we can learn from Srabulous
greg commented:

Assuming they didn't bother to try to work out a deal with the brothers prior to taking legal action, I think Hasbro made a big mistake. They had a million or more fans of Scrabulous and took the game away. Playing the game online is different that 'in person' with your friends/family. Both versions could have co-existed and supported each other....




August 13, 2008
In response to: What we can learn from Srabulous
Mary Couzin commented:

I agree that both online and board game versions can co-exist and support one another and they do now with Hasbro's/EA's Scrabble online.

I understand that people tend to root for the underdog, and not the big companies, but what about intellectual property rights? Hasbro waited to shut it down until they had their own version up and running. I'm guessing that took some time to accomplish.

That demonstrated they cared about the fans and hoped to bring them over to their legitimate version.

BTW, Hasbro's stock price is high and climbing, not generally the result of a poorly managed company.




August 16, 2008
In response to: What we can learn from Srabulous
Richard commented:

Thank you Greg and John for for sharing your passion about Scrabulous and your concerns about the way it was handled by Hasbro. Thank you Mary for your insights as well.
John, I do hope you will reconsider you decision to not give your chldren the wonderful gift of Scrabble. Many consider it truly the greaterst game ever invented and liken it to baseball in its perfect mathematical tension.




August 16, 2008
In response to: What we can learn from Srabulous
Richard commented:

Greg, believe me that the Hasbro people spent a great deal of time weighing their options and were confronted with a classc "lose - lose" situation.
To make an extreme but apt comparison, don't you think it's a bit like your neighbor telling the public that they can use your bath tub to bathe.

It's a nice gesture by your neighbor but at your expense. People might not understand why you stood in the door and told people they couldn't come in. Believe me you would not be popular.




August 22, 2008
In response to: What we can learn from Srabulous
Scouge commented:

Bah Humbug, er I mean Bah Hasbro





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