People: Feb. 25, 1985

Five years ago, Alfred Butts was content to be unknown as the man who invented Scrabble, one of the most popular board games of all time, with an estimated 90 million games sold over three decades. Then Butts' wife died, and the widower, who is a retired architect, found that even his own creation was no consolation since at least two people are required to play. So he went back to the tile board to see if he still had the magic touch. The result is called, appropriately, Alfred's Other Game. Related to Scrabble, though not quite zygomorphically (40 points in...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!