LexulousFoundation:, India (5 July 2006)Location:Kolkata, IndiaKey People:Rajat Agarwalla, Co-founder Jayant Agarwalla, Co-founderServices:Online word gameNum Employees:2 (January 2008)Url:Alexa:113,992Website Type:Language:Registration:RequiredRevenue:$3,000 per yearLaunch Date:2005Current Status:ActiveLexulous (formerly Scrabulous) is an online based on the commercial. It is run by an Indian company of the same name on a dedicated website, and is also available within the social networking site Facebook.The Scrabulous website was launched in 2005, and the game was added to Facebook as an application in 2007, quickly becoming the most popular game on Facebook.
Jul 05, 2006 Lexulous (formerly Scrabulous) is an online word game based on the commercial board game Scrabble. It is run by an Indian company of the same name on a dedicated website, and is also available within the social networking site Facebook. We round up 10 super simple or classic games you can play with friends or family of any age group online and with Internet speeds as notoriously slow as the Philippines’.
Due to lawsuits, the game was removed from Facebook in 2008, first for North American users and later worldwide, with the Scrabulous website following suit.A ruling by Delhi High Court allowed Calcutta-based Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla to retain the right to post their word game online, but they were not allowed to use Scrabulous, Scrabble or any other “similar sounding” name. Thus on 27 September 2008, a new website was launched using the new moniker 'Lexulous'. It has a live version and practice mode, and an option for.On 20 December 2008, Hasbro withdrew their lawsuit against RJ Softwares.
On 1 January 2009, Lexulous was activated on Facebook. As of 23 March 2009, the application had about 585,000 monthly active users. ' version had about 586,000 while ' version had 357,000 users. HistoryThe Scrabulous company was founded by Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla, both commerce graduates of,.
The Scrabulous website was created at the end of 2005, after the Agarwalla brothers, Rajat and Jayant, who had won numerous Scrabble tournaments, felt the need for a free gaming site where the popular game could be played. It was initially made available as 'BingoBinge', with the site moving to Scrabulous on 5 July 2006.In 2006 the website had 20,000 registered users, but after the developers made an application for the popular social networking website Facebook it had been added to 840,000 user pages, with more than 500,000 users daily, giving it 'the most active users of any game that can be played over Facebook'. Legal and copyright issuesScrabulous faced legal issues due to its resemblance to along with a similar name. It also copied the board layout, rules, and at one stage the number of tiles. These issues forced the removal of the game from Facebook in mid-2008 and its eventual rebranding.
The rights to Scrabble are currently owned within the US and by Hasbro, and throughout the rest of the world by.According to Anthony Falzone — head of the Fair Use Project at Stanford University — copyright laws do not allow someone to freely copy the particular expression of an idea. In his article in the, Jamin Brophy-Warren has said that Hasbro Inc. Has refused to comment on legal matters, while the creators have mentioned informing the company about their site. The former Scrabulous website made several references to Scrabble, and previously provided a link to the rules of Scrabble and promoted itself as the best place to play Scrabble online.It was reported that Hasbro made an attempt to acquire Scrabulous in January 2008 for an undisclosed sum in the range of $10 million.
The game had been generating advertising revenue of over $25,000 a month for the Agarwalla brothers, however they refused to sell their application to Hasbro, instead requesting a 'multiple' of $10 million. It was reported that the Agarwallas had also been looking for other potential suitors who would be willing to pay higher premiums.
Fan protestAs of October 2007, the term Scrabulous was registered as a trademark and service mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, but on February 2008 it was officially abandoned by the applicant. Hasbro threatened to shut Scrabulous down via legal means in January 2008. Facebook was also asked to pull Scrabulous from its site's application database, but initially demurred.In reaction to the news that the Facebook application was in legal jeopardy, two groups made a 'SCRABULOUS' music video spoof of the Fergie song 'Glamorous.'
The video from web entertainment group TastesLikeTV.com professes 'L, T, S, and R / Ain't gonna get you very far,' while the YouTube video created by Team Awesome Productions says that Scrabulous is the 'swappy, swappy.' Both viral web videos were mentioned in the February 22, 2008 issue of.Mattel launched its official version of online Scrabble, Scrabble by Mattel, on Facebook in late March 2008. As Hasbro controls the rights to Scrabble for North America with Mattel holding them for the rest of the world, the Facebook application is available only to players outside the United States and Canada. Scrabulous users reacted by creating a group called Save Scrabulous, asking Facebook to shut down the game on its site.
Reportedly more than 54,000 fans have joined this group. It had also been reported that Scrabulous fans had written to Hasbro and Mattel demanding that the companies make 'the right decision', and threatened to stop buying Mattel and Hasbro products if they shut down Scrabulous. LawsuitOn 24 July 2008, Hasbro formally sued Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla, along with their company, RJ Softwares. The suit claimed Scrabulous violated the and infringed upon Hasbro's rights. On 29 July 2008, Scrabulous was shut down on Facebook for users in North America, with the error message, 'Scrabulous is disabled for US and Canadian users until further notice.'
Less than a month later, the game was also pulled in all other countries but India.On 26 September 2008, the Scrabulous web site was suspended. This followed a ruling by the that although the game Scrabble itself could not be copyrighted, and the Agarwalla brothers could therefore continue to offer their similar game online, they were however not permitted to use the name Scrabulous or any other name similar to that of Scrabble. Launch of LexulousThe day after the Delhi High Court ruling, the game was once more made available online under the new name 'Lexulous'. Whilst the game had an appearance overhaul, it still maintained the essential elements of the Scrabulous version including all of its past records, user IDs, and saved information.Lexulous also altered the layout of the game to differentiate it more from Scrabble. This change occurred on 3 December 2008, and saw score multipliers moved around the board, and the point score of tiles no longer matching those of Scrabble. In addition a player is now given 8 tiles to play with instead of the traditional 7 tiles. A 4x multiplier had been added to the game, however this feature was removed the next day.As of early 2011, one of the original Lexulous features, ordinary seven-letter Scrabble (including solitaire and versus the robot) became available again on the Lexulous website for users outside of USA and Canada.
WordscraperSee main article:. Wordscraper is a Scrabble-based word game application available on Facebook, also created by the Agarwalla brothers, which received an influx of people from the closure of Scrabulous in North America. It was reported inaccurately that was released after Scrabulous was shut down; however the application has been available since January 2008. Media and popularityBeing one of the very first applications launched on Facebook, Scrabulous enjoyed relatively large popularity.
It was featured in PC World's 100 best products of 2008. See also.External links., apps.facebook.com., lexulous.comNotes and References. Web site:. 2014-04-01. News: Guha. Jan 4, 2009.
Diligent Media Corporation Ltd. December 1, 2013. 'Scrabulous' disappears from Facebook after Hasbro suit. News:. Brothers get court nod for online wordplay, but can’t call it Scrabulous. Calcutta, India.
News:. Sivaraman. News:. Hindustan Times. News:. The New York Times. Stone.
News:. 2007-12-21., facebook.com. News:. The Telegraph. Paris.
News: Shailaja. The Chronicle of Higher Education. 2007-12-21.
News:. Wall Street Journal Online. Brophy-Warren.
News: Kevin. Chicago Tribune. 2008-01-14. News:.
The Legality. 2008-01-27. Web site:. 2008-08-02. Web site:. 2008-08-04.
India Knowledge@Wharton Scrabble over Scrabulous. News:. Huffington Post. 2008-07-29.
Web site:. US Patent and Trademark Office. Web site:. Wordcreation.info. News: Caroline.
2008-01-14. News:. 2008-01-16. News: Caroline. 2008-02-04. Web site:.
2008-02-16. Web site:. Team Awesome Productions. News:. The Independent. Foley. News:.
The New York Times. Timmons. Web site:.
Facebook. News:.
Wong, Wailin. Chicago Tribune.
Dead. News: Goel. New York Times.
2009-07-29. News:. Hachman. News:.
Calcutta, India. News:. New York Times. Timmons.
Sullivan, Mark, ed.
Our Review by Bonnie Eisenman on June 24th, 2009
Lexulous (formerly Scrabulous) is a Scrabble competitor that has long outdone Scrabble in the online arena. The iPhone version is sadly lackluster compared to its online counterpart, but for Scrabble fans, it's still a decent app and a good complement to
Developer: RJ Softwares
Price: $1.99 (Sale price; regular $3.99)
Version Reviewed: 1.2
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Finally, the day has arrived! Lexulous is in the App Store. Lexulous is an online reincarnation of Scrabble playable on both a dedicated site and through Facebook; it was originally called 'Scrabulous,' but lawyers took issue with that and a name-change was mandated. Surprisingly, the Lexulous Facebook app trumps the official Scrabble app in terms of both finesse and popularity, with over 500,000 daily users and, in my opinion at least, a far better interface than the official Facebook version of Scrabble. Until recently, however, you couldn't take your Lexulous games with you on the go, which is the iPhone Scrabble app's killer feature. [Read my review of EA's Scrabble app here.] Price: $1.99 (Sale price; regular $3.99)
Version Reviewed: 1.2
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As a longtime Lexulous fan, I was immensely excited to see its appearance in the App Store. Unfortunately, for me, the initial release back in May was a huge letdown, lacking basic features like friend-to-friend challenges. Is it better now? Definitely. Is it up to par with the official Scrabble app? Unfortunately, the answer for the moment is still 'no,' but it's still a good app in its own right, especially if you're tied to the online version of Lexulous. As with the Scrabble app, if you manage multiple games on Lexulous, you'll have access to all of them at the touch of a finger thanks to Facebook Connect.
Before I continue, here's a quick overview of how the app works. For newcomers, it's important to note that Lexulous is a different game than Scrabble, despite the obvious resemblance. You play with hands of 8 tiles, bingoes can be made with either 7 or 8 tiles, it's a 15x15 grid, and bonus word squares are placed in different spots. Despite that, it's largely the same Scrabble game that everyone knows and loves.
When you first start, you'll have to log in with Facebook Connect; if you don't have an account, you can create one in-app. From there, you can view your current games; challenge a friend; join a game; or host a table of your own. And, of course, you can play Scrabble...er, Lexulous. Sorry. The in-game screen is much has you would expect. You can see your hand; place tiles; see the current score; and so on. Double-tapping zooms in on the board (it automatically switches to this zoomed view when you try to place a tile). There are buttons to swap your tiles, play the word you've set down, and to pass your turn located beneath your hand. There are also buttons for refreshing, shuffling your tiles, and for recalling all of your tiles on the board. By tapping the 'Next' button in the top-right corner, you can jump to your next active game. (If you have no turns pending, you'll go back to the main 'My Games' screen.)
Some of the other features are harder to find. For example, to access the player-to-player chat, you have to tap on the bar with your names. Also, there's no move list. And to access the dictionary, you have to go to a separate screen, unlike the official Scrabble app, which has a button on the main game screen. The two-letter word list requires you to go to a separate screen, and then click on the list.
Lexulous' greatest strength is, quite simply, that it's a fun game. After all, Scrabble is the most celebrated of word games; Lexulous just adds a few extra dimensions with its 8-tile hands and slightly varied rules, and it's still as great a game as ever. Also, Lexulous has one definite benefit over Scrabble: its user pool. There are far more Lexulous users than Scrabble users, it seems, so it's easier to start a game. You can also start international games, if you happen to be multilingual!
All's not perfect, though. I love Lexulous online because it's better than all of the other Scrabble alternatives, and it has a degree of polish and ease of use that just makes me a dedicated fan. However...
Problems.The first time I opened the Lexulous app after the recent update, I ran into a few problems immediately. I was trying, you see, to play the word 'JOE.' (Yes, 'JOE' is a valid word.) 'JOE' also involved the words 'ER' and 'OE,' both of which are valid. And then I hit 'Play,' and received the bizarre message: 'One or more of your words is invalid. Please try again.'
Talk about frustrating! Fortunately, restarting the app allowed me to place the word. That's the only actual problem I've had, thank goodness! Lexulous is apparently crash-free and runs perfectly fine with minimal (if any) lag.
Annoyances.
Sadly, Lexulous doesn't fair so well when it comes to the little things. There's no animation, for example, when you transition from zoomed-out to zoomed-in; the result is that it feels choppy and disjointed, especially for an iPhone app where appearances are paramount. I hate having the dictionary a page away, where I can't see my tiles or the board, and the same goes for the two-letter word list. Accessing the chat is completely unintuitive. Perhaps most baffling is the omission of a moves list for your current game. Its complete absence is nothing short of shameful. And one awesome feature online is the ability to write yourself 'notes' so that you can remember words for later. I also miss the progress graph.
Sadly, Lexulous doesn't fair so well when it comes to the little things. There's no animation, for example, when you transition from zoomed-out to zoomed-in; the result is that it feels choppy and disjointed, especially for an iPhone app where appearances are paramount. I hate having the dictionary a page away, where I can't see my tiles or the board, and the same goes for the two-letter word list. Accessing the chat is completely unintuitive. Perhaps most baffling is the omission of a moves list for your current game. Its complete absence is nothing short of shameful. And one awesome feature online is the ability to write yourself 'notes' so that you can remember words for later. I also miss the progress graph.
It should be noted that Lexulous was originally released without a dictionary, the ability to send challenges to your friends, and so on. The new update addresses a lot of previous problems and makes it decently functional, but the implementation feels simply unfriendly to power users like myself, and I can't help but feel that the team initially released an unfinished product and is fixing it as they go. I also miss things like Scrabble's unique 'Teacher' feature, which reveals the highest-point word to you after your turn was over.
Lexulous online distinguishes itself because of its clean, accessible interface that makes intense play sessions easy and quick. The iPhone app, however, lacks that ephemeral quality that I keep calling 'polish.'
Decision TimeSo, is Lexulous a worthwhile buy? For the moment, at least, I'm torn. It's a mediocre implementation of an amazing online version, while the official Scrabble app is a great game crippled by a mediocre online interface. For many Scrabble lovers, the decision will boil down to Lexulous versus Scrabble; from the days of Scrabulous, such has been the battle.
And, unfortunately, this is where Scrabble wins. You see, Scrabble has 'Pass 'n' Play' (one iPhone, multiplayer), ordinary multiplayer (multiple iPhones, local), Facebook Connect multiplayer, Solitaire mode (you-vs-nobody), and a Computer VS mode with three difficulty levels. Lexulous, sadly, only has Facebook Connect. Why can't we at least have LEX the robot, the AI which allows for single-player games on the online side of things?
I am still a firm fan of Lexulous, and if you're a heavy user of the online version, investing in the app is probably the way to go. Diehard Scrabble fans will probably want both. But if Lexulous wants to truly compete with EA's giant as the only Scrabble app you'll need, they're going to need to pour a lot more effort into the mobile version. It feels incomplete as-is, and I really don't see why the team can't fix basic interface annoyances. Lexulous has the potential to be a Scrabble-killer; it's already proven that online. I'm just hoping that RJ Softwares decides to continue with their updates.
As of today, though, Lexulous is also half the price of Scrabble. (It's on sale for $1.99.) At that price, any user of Lexulous online can afford to give this one a go. Really, it allows you to play the game that we all know and love—and while Lexulous-for-the-iPhone is far from perfect, it still manages to accomplish that basic goal.
iPad Screenshots
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