Gadget of the Week – Scrabble Keyboard

Published on May 31, 2018

Have you perfected the art of making words from a jumble of letters that looks like “EIEEENV?” Do you know exactly how many points a “Q” is worth? Are you constantly scanning the dictionary, looking for new ideas and inspiration?

If you answered yes to any or all of the above, then you might just be a Scrabble fanatic.

This classic board game – which involves using letter tiles to construct words and create complex, interlocking crossword patterns – has been entertaining (and frustrating) wordsmiths for decades.

In addition to the legendary tabletop game, Scrabble has found its place in all sorts of other media, from newspaper games to smartphone apps. Now, you can take the small joys of Scrabble everywhere you go, thanks to this unbelievable keyboard.

An official collaboration between game-maker Hasbro and Massdrop, a community-driven digital retailer, the Scrabble keyboard combines everything a lover of the board game might know and love, into one highly functional package perfect for any techie’s arsenal.

For one thing, the keyboard perfectly pulls in the classic Scrabble fonts and colors – beige, red, blue, and pink – to mimic the feel of the game board. Even better, every single letter key also boasts its Scrabble point value (i.e., ten points for “Z,” one for “A,” and so on). You can also swap out some of your keys for “triple word” or “double letter” buttons, turning every email, report, or blog post into a fun challenge for yourself.

On the technical side, the keyboard also features tactile, Cherry MX Brown switches and LED indicators. You can also purchase a set of keycaps on their own, letting you swap out your current humdrum keyboard for a little bit of nerdy, Scrabblicious fun.

(Yes, "Scrabblicious" is a word. No, no, don’t get the dictionary, that’s cheating!)

Ready to get one of these quixotic, Zoroastrian, amazing – yes, we’re just driving to drive up our word score at this point – keyboards for yourself? You can currently pre-order the Scrabble keyboard for around $160 through Massrop; a set of individual keycaps is available for less than $50. Delivery is estimated to begin in September, 2018.

Think there are any other pieces of fun, funky hardware our team of geeks would love? Be sure to let us know over on Facebook or Twitter, where we keep the geek-speak going 24/7/365!