There’s no place like South Africa. Our culture, heritage and identity as South Africans is often reflected in our colourful use of words. With that in mind board game lovers will be pleased to know that Scrabble, the classic word-forming game, has now launched a local version.
Leading global toy company, Mattel, unveiled the game on Thursday.
This new version of Scrabble has over 150 local words allowing players to broaden their scoring potential. According to Scrabble South Africa Brand Manager, Angelika Sansotta, the aim is to encourage a wider audience to engage with words and word-play as they will feel more represented.
“South Africans are such a diverse population and a local Scrabble was a great way to bring all of us together in a unified way as we have so many cultures and languages and that can all identify with elements of this game.
“This is an item which will bring all our cultures and languages together,” she says.
This special edition, not only has over 150 local words, but also lets players enjoy a local twist on their Chance Cards, with words like koeksisters and Chakalaka while Strength Cards feature words like Shongololos and Bunny Chow, just to name a few.
Engaging With Local Culture
The development of the game took two years and according to the manufacturer stems from the need of South Africans to own and engage with their own culture and identity through words.
Scrabble has been a staple in the collection of boardgames in households across South Africa. It’s been a tool for wordsmiths to engage with as well as the ideal catalyst for family time.
South Africa is now only 1 of 5 countries to own a local version of this popular boardgame. The four other local versions are from New Zealand, Australia, Italy and Germany. Encouraging our local flavour, “Scrabble South Africa serves as unique way of reminding us of all the South Africanism’s that make us such a magnificent nation” says Sansotta.
Local Is Lekker
The packaging of the Scrabble South Africa is also incredibly unique. Adorned with symbols of local pride, including the Springbok, the national flower, the King Protea, as well as National landmarks like Table Mountain, Scrabble South Africa is a physical representation of the phrase ‘Local is Lekker’.
To create this unique visual representation of our country “we wanted to select a South African illustrator and we came across Toby Newsome, an award winning illustrator working in Cape Town.”
“Toby has worked for some of the leading publishers and advertising agencies in South Africa and abroad, and was selected to take part the 2017 Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature Award Exhibition in Shanghai. His work has made such an impact over the years that we were delighted when he agreed to come on this journey with us” Sansotta explains.
Scrabble South Africa is available in all leading retailers nation-wide.
