High-scoring “˜Scrabulous’ threatened

Scrabulous, an online version of the game Scrabble, has become one of the most widely used applications on Facebook, adding just another reason for UCLA students to spend time on the social-networking Web site.

But Hasbro Inc. and Mattel Inc., who own the rights to Scrabble, which is unaffiliated with Scrabulous, are not so thrilled with the sudden popularity of the online game. And as Hasbro and Mattel threaten legal action, claiming copyright and trademark infringement, thousands of Facebook users are fighting to rescue the online game.

“Scrabulous is something new and fun to do on Facebook,” said Kyle Wood, a second-year undeclared student. “I think it would be a shame to take the application off Facebook, because it’s letting kids from our generation rediscover a classic board game.”

Scrabulous has become popular among Facebook users because of its innovative spin on a new game and its accessibility, Wood said.

Others like Scrabulous because it brings a game from students’ youth to the 21st-century age of the Internet.

“Before I saw Scrabulous on Facebook, I hadn’t really played Scrabble since I was a kid,” said Babak Shahrivar, a third-year English student. “The coolest thing about Scrabulous was that you could access it right online.”

Normally, Facebook is used by students to keep in touch with friends, Shahrivar said, but Scrabulous arose when Facebook needed something new.

The application reaches out to anyone looking for entertainment on the site beyond perusing photos and writing on friends’ walls, he said.

Scrabulous allows users not only to keep in touch with friends, but to challenge them.

“Scrabulous is a good way to kill time and test your mental abilities,” said Jason Wyman, second-year political science student. “It’s a fun way to compete against your friends and see how you match up to them.”

Scrabulous users, like Shahrivar and Wyman, are putting up a fight ““ at least 40 different “Save Scrabulous” groups have popped up on Facebook, the largest of which has attracted over 45,000 members.

The founder of the largest “Save Scrabulous” Facebook group, for instance, is Jason Madhosingh, a 30-year-old New Yorker who works in marketing.

“I actually started the group a few months ago when Scrabulous was having problems with its Web server,” Madhosingh said. “I was trying to rally people to donate money to help Scrabulous improve the servers and to help people play Scrabble. Since that time it’s really taken a life of its own, and it’s been amazing to see people so passionate about this brand.”

Wood said the uproar caused by Hasbro’s legal threats is a result of the sheer convenience of Scrabulous.

The game is turn-based, with one partner playing at a time. It does not require players to be online simultaneously, and multiple games can be played at any one time.

“Despite how much I really like to play Scrabble,” Wood said. “I usually don’t have the time to get out a board, find all the tiles, and locate a partner to play with, so I don’t play. But Scrabulous, an online version of a game I really like, lets me play with friends.”

Scrabulous allows players to take as much or as little time as they want on a game, Wood said, perfect for college students with busy schedules.

“I don’t have to sit down for hours to play,” he said. “Using Scrabulous, I can play for a while, leave, and then come back to my game.”

Madhosingh said what Scrabulous fans really want is to be acknowledged by the companies who own Scrabble.

“I think there are a lot of consumers who just want to engage,” he said. “What they’re looking for is largely a reaction and interaction with these companies. I think that what they’re all really apprehensive about is that there will be no engagement with them as consumers and as people interested in this brand.”

Many Scrabble fans, whether players online or on a board, simply want to know that Hasbro and Mattel are listening, he said.

“A lot of people are very frustrated that they can’t get anything but a form letter from these companies,” he said.

Madhosingh referenced a letter sent out by Scrabble officials urging fans to switch to legal Scrabble sites. The letter is the only acknowledgement fans have gotten thus far.

“We are not surprised that fans have thoroughly enjoyed playing Scrabulous on Facebook.com,” Scrabble officials said in the letter. “What consumers may not realize, however, is that Scrabulous is an illegally copied online version of the world’s most popular word game.”

The founders of Scrabulous, as well as Scrabble founders Hasbro and Mattel, could not be reached for comment.

Hasbro Inc. owns the rights to the word game in the U.S. and Canada, while Mattel Inc. owns the rights elsewhere.

The online version of the game was created by Rajat Agarwalla and Jayant Agarwalla, two brothers from Calcutta, India. The game is one of the top 10 most downloaded applications on Facebook, according to ABC News, and can also be played at the Agarwallas’ Web site.

Scrabulous attracts 545,478 daily active users, according to the application’s Web site.

But, despite its popularity, the online version of the game infringes on Hasbro’s trademark, Hasbro spokesman Gary Serba said in a statement to ABC News. The company is discussing options with the parties involved, hoping to find a solution.

Fans of the virtual Scrabble game are crossing their fingers that it will be saved.

“I think Scrabulous could really get people back into Scrabble,” Wyman said. “And that’s what Hasbro missed. They’re protecting their interests, but also taking the chance that a new generation of Scrabble players was being born.”

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