I RATE ADS

Why, Hasbro, why? Why did you murder Scrabulous?

Anyone living in the dark ages (or not working in an office with a computer) may not realize that yesterday marked the end of the glorious Scrabulous era; an era during which friends all over the world could compete in an online version of Scrabble on Facebook. It provided stress relief, a challenge, a way to stay in touch with friends, and more.

But in their infinite wisdom, the suits at Hasbro filed a lawsuit which ultimately led to the demise of Scrabulous. While it was clearly a ripoff of the Scrabble game–owned and trademarked by Hasbro–the online social networking version was doing more good than harm. A whole new generation of kids began playing Scrabble. Adults rekindled their love for the forgotten game. How could this possibly have hurt Hasbro? Were the developers of Scrabulous also selling an offline version of the game, distributing it to every toy store in the world, so as to strike a fatal blow to the ancient game of Scrabble? No. Instead, because of a refueled passion for the game, it’s likely that Hasbro’s sales of the physical Scrabble game increased. You can’t take Scrabulous to the beach, or play it at a family reunion.

Because I don’t work for Hasbro, nor am I one of the developers of Scrabulous, I can’t say whether or not Hasbro explored more rational solutions to their problem. Solutions like paying them for a brilliant adaptation of Scrabble and rebranding it. But I can say for sure that forcing them to take Scrabulous down was the wrong move. Bloggers and fans of Scrabulous all over America are cursing the name of Hasbro today, as they surf the internet looking for other enjoyable ways to wile away their boring day. That can’t be good for your corporate image.

Save Scrabulous.