"Scrabble"

[pondlife]

Idea I had - a Scrabble-type game (modified enough to avoid the wrath of Hasbro and Mattel's lawyers), complete with a computer player.

Ideally the dictionary would be loaded from a text file, and would learn (i.e if the user plays an unknown word, they are challenged/asked to confirm, and if they confirm, the word is added to the dictionary).

Should you accept this challenge:
- bing for xscrabble for a GPL-ed computer player algorithm
- Look at http://www.lexulous.com/ for inspiration
- Perhaps call it LetterBox? (no! no more Rock...  ...Box names!)

pondlife

(jdgordon edit: sorry, couldnt resist... have to tow the company line....)

[froggyman]

I think this would be a great addition to rockbox.

[Llorean]

I'm not sure how much of a benefit "learning" has. It's just as likely to let people accidentally confirm typos.

There's a few standard scrabble dictionaries out there. It may just be best to include as many of these as are available, and let the user select among them, or load a custom dictionary in advance (and then let any editing take place outside the context of the game).

[JdGordon]

doesnt letterbox sound more like an addition to mpegplayer than scrabble? surely it should be called rocksbrabox?

[cool_walking_]

No, letterbox sounds like some sort of magical "mail client on a DAP without internet access".  rocksbrabox sounds like a catalogue of undergarments.

How about "confabulate"?

[Llorean]

How about something simple like "Wordplay"?

[cool_walking_]

I think that sounds more like a crossword.

[JdGordon]

rockwordplaybox ?

... tradition.... TRADITION! (dah daaaaah DAH) TRADITION!

[cool_walking_]

Screw tradition! Rockbox is progressive (look how ahead of the times we are - debating the name before we have the product)!  Always looking to the future!

!

I like confabulate because:
1. it has "ab" from "scrabble".
2. you'll probably have to look it up in the dictionary.
3. "To fill in gaps in one's memory with fabrications that one believes to be facts."

[Llorean]

I still like "Wordplay" better, honestly. "Confabulate" is about getting it wrong, the opposite of the goal in Scrabble. If the game were about bluffing people into thinking a word was real, or similar, it might be more appropriate.

But Scrabble is a game played with words - wordplay. A crossword could/would simply be named "crossword" and is less play and more mental exercise. A solo activity.

[cool_walking_]

Bluffing is the best part of the game.

[Llorean]

Are we talking about the same game here?

Scrabble, in a digital form, is played with programmed dictionaries. It's impossible to bluff.

[JdGordon]

the rules got sanatized as it crossed the pond.. american rules are boring..

[cool_walking_]

I played an online version once.... You don't bluff the computer, you bluff the human opponent.  The opponent has the option to call you out on any word you place, and if they're right, your word must be retracted and you suffer a point penalty.  If your word is valid, the challenger suffers a point penalty.  I suppose the computer player could have some sort of "chance" thing where it randomly calls you out or doesn't.

[Llorean]

The online version I last played wouldn't even let you place words not in the dictionary.