Scrabble under fire from Daily Mail

By Ellie Gibson Published 11 December, 2008

For featuring words like **** and ****.

The DS version of popular word game Scrabble has been blamed for turning an eight year-old boy into a foul-mouthed little ****.

As reported by - you'll never guess - the Daily Mail, a woman called Tonya Carrington bought the game for her son Ethan.

She tried it out and was "taken aback" when her computer-controlled opponent spelled out the word "tits".

According to the Mail, the game gave the definition for this word as being "'a garden bird' but also 'an informal word for female breasts'". Other words which popped up included "toke" and "sh**".

The computer opponent also played the word 'f***ers' ("'a slang word for chavs'", apparently). "As if that wasn't bad enough," reads the article, "It received a triple score and won the game for the character, whose name was Camilla."

Carrington said she bought the game from Asda, "in a two-for-£25 deal", in a bid to improve her son's English skills. It carries a 3+ age rating but there are no warnings on the box about adult language, which really ****s Carrington off.

She's now banned Ethan from playing the game. "Nintendo is on the Christmas wish-list of every kid, and parents need to be warned," Carrington said.

"I love Scrabble," said Ethan, who definitely wouldn't rather play Mario Kart or a game where you shoot things, "So I was really disappointed when Mum told me I couldn't play it on the DS because of the rude words." Poor little ****er.

A Ubisoft representative told the Mail the game has a Junior setting which prevents any rude words from popping up. But according to Carrington, that's ********: "I read the booklet that came with it, and there was no mention of a junior version," she said.

"It should be made much clearer." Too ****ing right.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (59) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Zomoniac #1 3 years ago

    Great. Now fix the ****ing article. ****s.

  • Goodfella #2 3 years ago

    Lolz

  • Toothball #3 3 years ago

    Ah, it worked the second time I tried. Something was pretty broken.

  • killyourtv #4 3 years ago

    Gotta love Daily Mail. Little cuties

  • andywilkie35 #5 3 years ago

    I must say, that was actually really funny! "and as if that wasn't bad enough, it won the game for the character" !!!

    its like the final kick in the teeth - "it swore at me then walked away with the glory" hahaha

  • Lexx87 #6 3 years ago

    Stupid idiot mums.

  • the_dudefather #7 3 years ago

    it's a legitimate complaint, the game has language it shouldn't have under its current rating, it's not like animal crossing were you can set custom greetings or whatever

    edit: love the comment:
    "It is disgrace. This country is based on Christian principles and through these principles this country became prosperous. Why this country started hating itself? Who these modern politicians want to please by fighting Christianity? What is the ultimate aim of multiculturalism? We've had enough of this "modern" liberal nonsense."

    Those damn scrabble loving immigrants coming over here with their foul language
    Edited by 1 at 11/12/08 @ 09:36

  • Goodfella #8 3 years ago

    "I love Scrabble," said Ethan, who definitely wouldn't rather play Mario Kart or a game where you shoot things

    Hahaha.

    It's sickening though when you get these 'outraged' parents rushing off to the gutter press with their pathetic stories hoping (probably) to get some monetary compensation for their trauma.

    Live with the fact that there are evil words out there instead of smothering your children.

    Ok Ethan, pose for the camera and try and look shocked and upset. Tonya, try and look concerned.

    [link url=http://kotaku.com/5107123/ds-scrabbl e-beats-kid-on-fuckers-triple+word-score
    ]http://ko taku.com/5107123/ds-scrabble-be...[/link]



    Edited by 2 at 11/12/08 @ 09:38

  • DFawkes #9 3 years ago

    I am fuck*** outraged at this ****shit. I'm fed up of those bastard* at the Daily "WE'RE ALL DOOMED!" Mail stirring it. Even if they have a point this time, but still. Bollo*ks.

  • chrisjm #10 3 years ago

    daily mail calls for dictionary to be withdrawn from whsmiths and waterstones for featuring rude words

    idiots

  • aldo_14 #11 3 years ago

    Ah, they can just rebrand it as 'Gordon Ramseys Kitchen Scrabble'.

  • Stu #12 3 years ago

    Agreed that it's a legit complaint, that language shouldn't be in a game rated 3+.

    Of course, the Daily Mail needn't put all the sensationalist spin on it, but then that's the paper's raison d'etre.

  • neilka #13 3 years ago

    Srrrrbrrr rrrrzzz frrr crrrrnzzz

  • towser #14 3 years ago

    quote:
    Ok Ethan, pose for the camera and try and look shocked and upset. Tonya, try and look concerned.

    http://ko taku.com/5107123/ds-scrabble-be...

    LOL @ his pink DS.

    Oh, and Daily Mail, fuck off. That is all.

  • covfan #15 3 years ago

    "Nintendo is on the Christmas wish-list of every kid, and parents need to be warned,"

    If my kid just pit Nintendo on their christmas wishlist I'd slap them for not being specific. (Of course I wouldn't, I don't have kids!)

  • Bealsy #16 3 years ago

    Cunting fucking Daily Mail bullshit, go back to your fucking bandwagon.

    Between them and the Daily Express (someone tell them Diana's definitely dead) they don't have a clue.

  • MrChaz #17 3 years ago

    According to Kotaku the game was pre-owned, so if it's a game that will let you teach it words then it's not Ubisoft's fault.
    Still hilarious though.

  • jonthepymm #18 3 years ago

    Diana is alive. I saw her 15 years ago.

  • neilka #19 3 years ago

    Just wait for their expose on the sick "book shops" preying on our children by selling them "dictionaries" which contain all of these words and more.

    Ban this sick filth!

  • peterv #20 3 years ago

    Daily mail readers are so bloody depressing,when you're on holiday on a greek island enjoying the sun,sea and chilled out atmosphere,you would see these b****rds roaming around the shops with the most miserable expressions and a nasty headline
    about immigrants or kiddy fiddlers poking out from under their arms.

  • youhavenomail #21 3 years ago

    "She tried it out and ... spelled out the word "tits"."

    MILF

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #22 3 years ago

    I'm confused. What is a slang word for chav? Fuckers?

  • kinky_mong #23 3 years ago

    "As if that wasn't bad enough," reads the article, "It received a triple score and won the game for the character, whose name was Camilla."

    I love the fact that they've specified the name of the opponent. So not only was he beaten with the word "f***ers", he was beaten by that bitch who's trampled on our Queen of Hearts memory!!!

    This article has brightened up my morning!

  • Bealsy #24 3 years ago

    Neilka - What are these filthbooks you speak of? "Dictionaries" ? What utter drivel. I already despise these paper beasts and I've yet to fully see one.

  • Rizzle #25 3 years ago

    "Nintendo is on the Christmas wish-list of every kid" - That's actually quite specific, but no child of mine could have Nintendo unless I'm sure they'd feed 'em properly.

  • andromeda #26 3 years ago

    that little chav should count himself lucky, he'll have a good head start for when he hits the terraces at Millwall.

  • KingOfTheC #27 3 years ago

    That is a fantastically funny article, loved it!

  • secombe #28 3 years ago

    The Camilla comment in the article is possibly the best thing I've ever read, bitter, no?!

    Has anyone got the game and can check that it does/doesn't mention the junior mode? I'm somewhat dubious that the computer has come up with those words in what sounds like a short space of time. I'm betting, if anything, that the little angel actually typed them in himself.
    Edited by 1 at 11/12/08 @ 10:36

  • turnget2005 #29 3 years ago

    if my mum would have bought me a scrabble game when i was a kid, would have told her to go fuck herself, and i would been withing in my rights to do so.
    thankfully my mum realised that scrabble is a board game that should be played with the family.
    maybe if this mum would spend a little more time with her child and played the real thing all of this mess would not have happened.


    not to mention the pink DS she bought him, bless that kid!

  • Fleisch #30 3 years ago

    Age rating is the same on actual Scrabble (board?) game. The rules are very simple, if its in the Oxford English Dictionary and its not slang, a proper noun or a foreign word not used in english then it's in the game. So she can't really be suprised, they just upload a dictionary as the word base. If Scrabble and The Oxford English Dictionary are suitable for all ages then there is no reason the DS game should be any different!

    Plus, RTFM PROPERLY. I had a quick peek in it and Junior mode is a menu option clearly labelled and described.

  • rockstar1984 #31 3 years ago

    it says in the article she bought the game from ASDA, but, on Kotaku it says she bought the game pre-owned, ASDA don't sell pre-owned games so someones telling fibs*

    *they don't sell pre-owned games @ the ASDA's I go to.

    EDIT- dapsycho, I agree with you, the whole thing is a bag of shite, just nit-picking.
    Edited by 1 at 11/12/08 @ 11:28

  • dapsycho #32 3 years ago

    TBH I dont think it really matters if the game was new or pre-owned, the whole things a bag of shi*e if you ask me.

  • DrunkenKillfish #33 3 years ago

    I read this yesterday, thought it was well funny. I bet it was him who typed them in, pissed of with getting a girly DS :)
    Still, I went and ordered the game straight away & can't wait to get my hands on it. No such thing as bad publicity!

  • PearOfAnguish #34 3 years ago

    Using the board game I spelt out phrases such as 'tittyfuck' and 'cock gobbler'. I have taken a photo of this and shall be forwarding it to Watchdog forthwith.

  • DrunkenKillfish #35 3 years ago

    GLOL!

  • galerian86 #36 3 years ago

    How much can **** or **** fetch you on Scrabble?

  • danteire #37 3 years ago

    This get even worse. You know those "dictionarys" filled with swears and curses! Some liberal-commie-facist-pedophile-french genius put some IN OUR SCHOOLS. Ban this ******* sick filth now!!!

  • anomagnus #38 3 years ago

    right, SURELY we have hit rock bottom, when scrabble is not conisdered an offensive game.

    christ, i HATE the dailymail

  • ThePissartist #39 3 years ago

    "It carries a 3+ age rating but there are no warnings on the box about adult language, which really ****s Carrington off."

    This article is laugh-out-loud funny.

  • HolyJebus #40 3 years ago

    If anyone was to blame here it would be the classification board anyway, not Nintendo or Ubi. I do doubt that the game has the word "fuckers" though?

  • Snooz #41 3 years ago

    the avreage scrabble board: http://ww w.planetdan.net/pics/misc/scrab...

  • MrScruffier #42 3 years ago

    I used to have this game, I sold it when it claimed a double word score for "Jameshewittisyourrealdad"

    Ban it, ban it now

  • Bluetooth #43 3 years ago

    So why all the blame on Nintendo? The title and the parent is implying that Nintendo made the thing. I suppose "Ubisoft Scrabble " or "OUP Scrabble" doesn't have the same shock factor to it.

  • glaeken #44 3 years ago

    Is fuck or fuckers in the dictionary? I am fairly sure that is slang and going from memory I thought sexual terms in the dictionary were limited to medical type definitions. Unless one of the developers of this game was playing a practical joke by including these terms I actually doubt the veracity of this story.

    I would be interesting to see what the developers have to say about this.

    Edited by 1 at 11/12/08 @ 12:52

  • madgerald Verified Studio Head of PR & Marketing, Colossal Games LTD #45 3 years ago

    Down with this sort of thing.

  • InsincereEd #46 3 years ago

    quote:
    Srrrrbrrr rrrrzzz frrr crrrrnzzz

    I agree completely Mr Dave

  • el_pollo_diablo #47 3 years ago

    Dictionaries should carry an 18 rating too then I suppose.

  • spekkeh #48 3 years ago

    I love filling in the asterisks. I can't find this one though:
    which really ****s Carrington off

    One asterisk short of pisse.. surely it can't be ticks?

  • MasterNameless #49 3 years ago

    @spekkeh

    I got the inpression the scrabble game really fucks her off. Poor Mrs Carrington.

  • Golgo #50 3 years ago

    Let's ban the English language, then, Daily Mail!
    Anyway, tits aren't rude. Got a pair nesting in my garden. And by 'nesting' I don't mean 'fucking'.

  • scouserfuller9 #51 3 years ago

    Why is it whenever the Daily Mail have a problem with games it always has some link with Nintendo?

  • Ryze #52 3 years ago

    ^ no ****ing idea, mate.

  • PlugMonkey #53 3 years ago

    She has a daughter called Destiny. Destiny, for christ's sake. This woman is clearly unsuitable for parenthood.

  • rprince #54 3 years ago

    It's a shame this story couldn't have been angled as a good example to parents. I am highly impressed that this mother has gone to the effort of validating the game before allowing her son to play it. Hats off to her for that. There was no need to run to the Mail about it though.

    Another emphasis should have been on the fact that those words were easily accessible in a game rated 3+. Seems like a clear flaw in the PEGI system. I thought gaming-expert Tanya Byron said PEGI was a good idea?

  • rockstar1984 #55 3 years ago

    "It's a shame this story couldn't have been angled as a good example to parents. I am highly impressed that this mother has gone to the effort of validating the game before allowing her son to play it. Hats off to her for that. There was no need to run to the Mail about it though.

    Another emphasis should have been on the fact that those words were easily accessible in a game rated 3+. Seems like a clear flaw in the PEGI system. I thought gaming-expert Tanya Byron said PEGI was a good idea?"

    I'm sorry to be a prick, actually I'm not sorry at all, you dressed that up to make your comment sound all 'well to do', but it reads as utter nonsense, I need not explain , you just have to read it twice to see why!

    Tanya Byron???

    Goodness me, what the fuck has has gaming come to!
    Edited by 1 at 11/12/08 @ 19:49

  • Camilitus #56 3 years ago

    the daily mail hates me- i'm so happy

  • Capn #57 3 years ago

    Moar liek "Faily Fail"
    AMIRITE.

    I haven't read the article yet, but i'm pretty sure it's gonna have a go at teenage immigrant chavs.

  • WJRA3561 #58 3 years ago

    sick b*rstards how dare they put words in a scrabble game

  • IrateCorpse #59 3 years ago

    You know, I have this game and the Junior Mode is really obvious; it's in the profile creation screen which you can't avoid the first time you play. It could be more obvious what is does but the mode is clearly there and should be used for junior players. I think the fact that it has a junior mode at all grants it a 3+ age rating, since the game can be tailored to suit such players.