2020-12-28 20:53:16

Hi All,

On December 20, 2009, RS Games released the first accessible online version of the classic board game Monopoly. Since then, we have grown to over 20 titles and kept a tradition of releasing a new game on December 20 of each year to celebrate our anniversary. This year we are celebrating 11 years, and are thrilled to announce the launch of another first in the world of online games for the blind; an accessible version of the classic word game Scrabble!
Scrabble requires version 2.2 of the RS Games client, which is now available for download for Windows and Mac. The new version includes enhancements necessary for Scrabble to function and fixes a bug where Voice chat did not work for Mac users.
Additionally, we have released a new version of the RS Games web client with some enhancements to improve the experience for sighted players when playing Scrabble. This is still very much a work in progress, but we hope you'll give it a try and let us know of any feedback you may have. Support for Scrabble in the iOS app is coming soon.

To find out more and start playing, visit our website, www.rsgames.org.

Enjoy, and happy holidays from all of us at RS Games!

Regards,
Mike
Co-Founder, RS Games
www.rsgames.org

2020-12-28 21:06:30

This is actually a cool release for sure, something unique we have been missing.
However, since I never actually played Scrabble, I am curious is it normal that for each square on the grid, the client just says blank square? Don't they have some names, like A1, B1 and so on? As it stands, finding the center square has to be done by manually counting and using the arrow keys, unless there are some grid navigation shortcuts I missed.

Also, in regards to the web client, are there any improvements planned for blind users? It could definitely do with some modernisation.

Still, quite a nice update and definitely a great idea.

2020-12-28 22:38:51

Yes, currently the squares do not have labels in line with the actual physical game. Adding coordinates is not a bad idea. I would however not want them to interfere with being able to quickly scan through the squares that have letters placed on them. We will think about the best way to accomplish this.

Our long-term goal is to develop a modern web client with sound support and other features, but are unsure when we will have the time to implement it. Ryan and I are full-time software engineers now so unfortunately do not have as much time to dedicate to RS games as in years past. We are however glad that we could bring everyone this release which, as far as we know, is the first accessible electronic version of Scrabble.

Regards,
Mike
Co-Founder, RS Games
www.rsgames.org

2020-12-29 03:21:05

This is cool, but will you start fixing bugs in your other games too?

Prier practice and preparation prevents piss poor performance!

2020-12-29 10:18:25

Hello Mike, when will this be available please on the ios version, since whenever I select it I am just logged out.

2020-12-29 10:52:37

If anyone is still wondering, pressing c in the game will move you to the center square.

End of Post!
Leos signing off.
CFN ID: LeosKhai. (Always looking to fight people)
Discord: leos_khai

2020-12-29 12:25:53 (edited by keyIsFull 2020-12-29 12:33:35)

Hello Mike, I have a huge bug to report. If you play a blank tile, you are asked to replace it with some other letter. If you then recall your tiles, you get this letter back and the standard point value of the letter, meaning oyu can play the blank and actually get points for the letter you are  using the blank to fill. In addition, I am unsure of what dictionary you are using, but it is not the OSPD4 because there are many wordds that should be accepted that are not. Here are some of the words I have found that should be accepted and are not: qi, zen, fae, atired, aa, biz. A lot of these are extremely important words in the game, and being unable to play them is unacceptable if one wants to use this adaptation to become adept at scrabble. I have linked a copy of a really robust dictionary that you could use to replace it instead which has all of these words and more. https://www.dropbox.com/s/6hc31l1dj7et1 … 9.txt?dl=1

I like to sleep, Sleep is good,
This is how I do it: Lie on a nice warm cozy bed, and dream dreams about how to rule the world!
Follow @TheGreatAthlon5 on twitter for humorous facts and game updates!
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2020-12-29 12:49:24

@3 thanks for your reply. In regards to coordinates, they should not interfere with quick scanning if you make it so that the letter is always announced first, while on empty squares, it would be the opposite. So for example, a square with B would say, B, C2. While an empty square would say, C2, empty.

2020-12-29 13:55:34

When I download the Windows installer for version 2.2, I get a "This app can't run on this PC message." Why is this? I'm using a Dell Latitude E6540 with the latest version of Windows 10 64-bit installed.

Grab my Adventure at C: stages Right here.

2020-12-29 15:36:19

I am firmly -against coordinates for squares, or, if we have them, it should be togglable. I don't give a damn what the coordinates are; I only care if 1. the square is empty or not, 2. what letter is on it if it's not empty and 3. what point modifier is in the square (double word/letter, triple word/letter). I have played hundreds of games of Scrabble during my life, and I have absolutely -never heard of anyone using a coordinates system, sighted or otherwise.

Check out my Manamon text walkthrough at the following link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/z8ls3rc3f4mkb … n.txt?dl=1

2020-12-29 16:04:52

Right now I have extreme difficulty figuring out where people are playing in the later parts of the game. As more words get built, more options open up, which makes finding new letters that were just placed on the board kind of hard. I think the coordinate system would solve that issue.

2020-12-29 16:08:02

In scrabble tournaments, where the players have to write down exactly what words they played and how many points they were worth, they do use coordinates. Also, as the previous post said, it could be used to indicate where the last word was played which is definitely useful as the board gets crowded.

I like to sleep, Sleep is good,
This is how I do it: Lie on a nice warm cozy bed, and dream dreams about how to rule the world!
Follow @TheGreatAthlon5 on twitter for humorous facts and game updates!
If you like my posts, thumb me up!

2020-12-29 17:51:17

An argument could also be made that in a normal game of scrabble, you can see where on the board someone is placing new letters in real time, whereas right now there's no way for RS to communicate that information. Coordinates would even that playing field. I disagree with having coordinates read first on a blank square but second on a filled square. That's inconsistent and would get confusing. I would have them always read last, as they aren't always needed.

2020-12-29 18:13:34

I've never had to use them, and I don't want to see them unless I choose to...so I'd still like to see them togglable, not there by default and unable to be removed or skipped or whatnot.
However, I was apparently wrong about coordinates in tournament play, so thank you for correcting me on that.

Check out my Manamon text walkthrough at the following link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/z8ls3rc3f4mkb … n.txt?dl=1

2020-12-29 21:09:12

@9

Please see https://rsgames.org/troubleshooting.php , as there's a link to the Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable you now need for the game to run correctly on Windows.
Mac users need not apply.

2020-12-29 21:25:19

Why are new games getting added when so many other problems exist that should be fixed first?

2020-12-29 21:59:03

Making the coordinates system togglable should not be that hard I assume, since you can already toggle whether you can hear letters phonetically. That being said, of course you don't need such a system when playing on a real board, or when sighted people play.

2020-12-29 23:18:23

When I played Scrabble over a real board, I would use my hands to look at the board both after an opponent made a move, and occasionally during my turn. Roving the board is important, since later in the game when there are letters going every which way and words are everywhere, it's harder to keep track. Coordinates wouldn't help me at all in this regard, since I'd want to check the board for a good play no matter what my opponent played.

Check out my Manamon text walkthrough at the following link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/z8ls3rc3f4mkb … n.txt?dl=1

2021-01-02 14:18:58

loving the game, here are a few suggestions for hot keys that in my opinion will make the game much more enjoyable and easier to use

hotkeys
-jumps you to the last word made
-toggles between the different words on the board
-toggles between the different unused double/tripple scores on the board
-allow player to still view letters with numbers during there opponent turn
rules
-option to set a target score for victory
-option to set minimum/maximum amount of letters to use for a word

can i get a peace double harmony burger? no chaos

2021-01-05 23:54:47

First, thank you so much for putting in the work to create this game, as with all the others you have made. As for coordinates, I am firvantly against this idea without a toggle. I do not easily understand spatial concepts and while I can locate words and make new ones off of them via connections, if I actually had to understand the location of the squares to play, I would be doomed. I actually think, in this regard, I have the ability to play something digitally which would confuse me no end with a physical board, because I can look at the words without really comprehending the wheres.