Scrabble Showdown facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Scrabble Showdown |
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| Presented by | Justin Willman |
| Narrated by | Randy Thomas |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Pat Finn |
| Running time | 30 minutes (including commercials) |
| Production company(s) | Rubicon Entertainment Hasbro Studios |
| Release | |
| Original network | The Hub |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) |
| Original release | September 3, 2011 – April 15, 2012 |
Scrabble Showdown was an exciting American game show. It aired on The Hub cable network. The show was based on the popular board game Scrabble. Justin Willman was the host. It ran from September 3, 2011, to April 15, 2012.
Contents
How the Game Works
In Scrabble Showdown, two teams competed. Each team had a parent and a child. Their big goal was to win a trip anywhere in the world!
The game had four rounds. If a team won one of the first three rounds, they got a prize. They also earned two "Bonus Scrabble Tiles." These tiles gave them an advantage in the final round. If a round ended in a tie, both teams got a prize and one bonus tile. The team that won the final round won the grand prize trip.
Rounds 1 & 2: Mini-Games
The first two rounds featured different mini-games. These games changed from show to show. Some of the games included "Scrabble Babble," "Scrabble Knockout," "Scrabble Slam," "Scrabble Scream," and "Speedword."
Before the first game, a coin toss decided which team went first. After that, the team that won the previous game got to choose if they wanted to play or pass for the next game.
Scrabble Knockout
In "Scrabble Knockout," the first team picked a category. The other team got the remaining category. The team saw five words, one at a time. Each word had three extra letters mixed in. The first and last letters were always correct.
For example, if the word was LMOLVLIFPOP, the parent would tell the child which wrong letters to "knock out" on the screen. If they picked a wrong letter, a loud sound played, and they had to reset the board. The goal was to solve all five words as fast as possible, within 60 seconds. The second team had to beat the first team's time or solve more words. The faster team won.
Scrabble Babble
"Scrabble Babble" was a guessing game. The parent saw a three-letter word with one blank space, like C A -. The parent had to describe the word to the child without saying any part of it. If the parent accidentally said part of the word, they got a penalty. If they said the whole word, the game ended.
The child had to say the exact word the parent was describing. If they were correct, a four-letter word appeared, then a five-letter word, and so on, up to a seven-letter word. The team that guessed five words the fastest, or got the most words in 60 seconds, won the round.
Scrabble Scream
"Scrabble Scream" was about unscrambling words together. Each word was split into two parts. The first part was always three letters. One player unscrambled these first three letters. Once they were correct, the rest of the word (three, four, or five letters) was shown to the other player. That player then had to unscramble those letters and say the complete word.
For example, if the first part was AES, the first player might say "S-E-A." Then, the rest of the word, like KISC, would appear. The partner would then say "S-I-C-K, SEASICK." After each word, the players switched roles. The first team had 60 seconds to solve five words. The second team had to beat their time or score to win.
Scrabble Slam
In "Scrabble Slam," players from both teams took turns. A player pressed a button to set a timer for the round. A four-letter word appeared on the screen, along with an extra letter. The player had to use the extra letter to "slam" it over one of the letters in the original word to make a new, real word.
For example, if the word was HUNK and the extra letter was T, the player might say, "SLAM THE K" to make the word HUNT. If correct, it was the next player's turn. When time ran out, the player whose turn it was got eliminated. The last team with a player left in the game won the round.
Scrabble Speedword
This game only appeared in one episode. A team stood in front of a large game board with five individual letter screens. These screens could move along tracks. Three screens could be at the top, two in the middle, and three at the bottom.
With 30 seconds on the clock, the parent would shout out a three-letter word that could be made from the five letters on the board. The child had to move the letter screens so the three-letter word appeared at the bottom. The team scored one point for each word they made. The opponents then tried to beat that score.
Round 3: Scrabble Flash
For most episodes, "Scrabble Flash" was played in Round 3. In this round, the team got five large Scrabble Flash cubes, each with a different letter. The first team had thirty seconds to make as many words as possible. Each word needed at least three letters. Every valid word earned one point for each letter used. There was always at least one valid five-letter word they could make.
Both teams played with the same set of letters. The team that was going second was kept in a separate area so they couldn't see or hear the first team play. The team with the higher score won a prize and two "Bonus Scrabble Tiles."
Final Round: Scrabble Lightning
Before the final round, 16 letter tiles were placed on the board. A randomizer made tiles light up. Each team could stop the randomizer. The value of the tiles they stopped on became their "head start" score. The number of tiles that lit up was equal to the number of "Bonus Scrabble Tiles" they earned from earlier rounds.
The game was played on a special Scrabble board. It only had double and triple-word score spaces. A scrambled word appeared on the board, and the host read a clue for it. The first player to buzz in with the correct word earned its value. This value was doubled or tripled if any letter landed on a special score space. Players had to wait until the host finished the clue before buzzing in.
The children played the first word. After that, they alternated words with their parents. The first team to reach 100 points or more won the game and the grand prize trip! If time ran out before anyone reached 100 points, the team with the highest score won.
