Who hasn’t heard of Scrabble? Place your tiles on the board to link in with existing words to form new words. Score the points on the tiles.

Ease to set up / learn

Simplicity itself. Open the board, pick your tiles and off you go. Rules are fairly straightforward to pick up.

Fun Factor

Lot of fun to be had but can also get fairly competitive. It’s a good idea to have a dictionary to hand to check your 12 year old’s claim that ‘quixaji’ is kids slang so of course you oldies wouldn’t have heard of it.

Family Factor

It is recommended for 10 upwards but younger ones can play (and their is an excellent children’s version). However, this is one where the larger vocabulary you have the better you will do so adults have a natural advantage.

Originality

It is the original word game so must score top marks.

Play it again

It is one of those that can become addictive. The fact that it has lasted so long (invented in 1931!) proves it is a true ‘play it again’ star.

Build quality

Not a lot to go wrong here. Board, tiles and tile stand are all decent quality.

Educational

Excellent for building vocabulary and also for thinking strategically as to where you place tiles for maximum benefit.

Value for money

Now that you can pick up the classic version for under a tenner this must be great value.

Overall

If you only have one game in your cupboard it should be Scrabble. Everyone knows it, you get hours of entertainment and even learn a bit at the same time!