Origin year places a game in the year its rules were first fixed in writing. Wikipedia notes rugby football's "rules were first put down in written (codified) form in 1845," even though students had already been playing an informal version "since at least the early 1820s." Browsing by origin year separates when a game's rules were formalized from when it was actually first played.
Facts
Comparison
Era of Origin 1870s
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Sources
1. Wikipedia: Scrabble
WikipediaScrabble, History sectionQuote, Scrabble, History section
In 1931 in Poughkeepsie, New York, the American architect Alfred Mosher Butts created the game as a variation on an earlier word game he invented, called Lexiko.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Scrabble grouped with games like Charades and Trivial Pursuit?
Scrabble is the tree's one dedicated word game and is grouped here rather than given its own singleton category.
Party and Word Games covers social games played in a group for entertainment rather than sustained strategic depth, including Charades, Pictionary, Taboo and Trivial Pursuit. Scrabble is included as the tree's one dedicated word game, grouped here rather than given its own singleton category, since it shares the casual group setting of the other games in this family.