National Scrabble Day

Celebrated on 04/13/2026

Quick Fact

National Scrabble Day is celebrated on April 13, the birthday of Alfred Mosher Butts, the game's inventor. The first Scrabble game was sold in 1949, and today it is sold in 121 countries and 29 languages.

Origins and Establishment of National Scrabble Day

National Scrabble Day was created to honor the birthday of Alfred Mosher Butts, the architect who invented the game in 1938. Butts spent years perfecting the tile distribution and board layout, originally calling it "Criss-Crosswords." The game was trademarked as Scrabble in 1948, and National Scrabble Day was established to celebrate the enduring popularity of this word game.

Evolution and Modern Commemoration

Initially, Scrabble struggled to gain traction until Macy's began stocking it in the 1950s. The game's popularity soared, leading to the first National Scrabble Championship in 1978. Today, National Scrabble Day is celebrated with tournaments, online challenges, and social media campaigns. The North American Scrabble Players Association (NASPA) often organizes special events, and fans share their highest-scoring words using #NationalScrabbleDay.

Facts & General Observations

• Over 150 million Scrabble sets have been sold worldwide.
• The highest possible score for a single word is 1,778 points (for "oxyphenbutazone").
• The most common two-letter word in Scrabble is "qi," a variant of "chi."

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