‘Scrabble’ And ‘Trivial Pursuit’ Go From Games To Game Shows

If the past several years have taught entertainment observers anything, it’s that Hollywood loves reusing existing franchises. From myriad “Fast and Furious” remakes to live-action versions of Disney animated classics to the umpteenth “Star Wars” production, studios much prefer selling new adventures with known entities than relying on fickle fans to take to a new cast of characters.

In the case of The CW, relying on known properties has taken on a twist. The network premiered two game shows based on board games — “Scrabble” and “Trivial Pursuit” — that have remained mainstays of American living rooms for decades, both of which had prior television adaptations.

Linguistic Strategy

The original television version of “Scrabble,” hosted by Chuck Woolery, largely featured crossword-like puzzles, in which contestants tried to guess a word while filling in the word’s letters one at a time. This 1980s version featured wordplay but few characteristics unique to “Scrabble,” along with several features (e.g., the dreaded “stopper” — a letter not in the word) absent from the board game.

The current version, hosted by Raven-Symone, starts out similarly to the 1980s show, albeit without the “stoppers.” In the first segment, two players guess scrambled words based on a one-word clue. Even in this crossword-like portion of the game, Scrabble scoring conventions still apply, with rarer letters (e.g., “Q,” “Z,” etc.) earning contestants more points.

The last two rounds of the current “Scrabble” show closely resemble the board game. The second segment features contestants competing head-to-head to assemble words, each using letters from the same four predetermined racks of seven letters each. The contestant with the most points at the end of the second segment goes on to the bonus round, which features the chance to form seven words from seven predetermined racks of letters. Contestants who score 100 points, based on the board game’s traditional scoring, in the bonus round leave with $1,000; those achieving 150 points win $5,000; and contestants finishing with at least 200 points win the maximum prize of $10,000.

Using the board game’s traditional scoring rules, and allowing contestants to assemble their own words, introduces far more elements of strategy and intrigue to this version of the game show compared to its 1980s predecessor. In watching the first two half-hour episodes (which air together as a one-hour block), one got the impression that the contestants who play Scrabble regularly had an easier time understanding and exploiting the similarities between the TV and board game versions.

On the other hand, the strategy elements that make this version of “Scrabble” more complex than the NBC show also make it a tougher watch for viewers who do not play the board game regularly. Understanding the game’s nuances — how to add letters to existing words to make new words, create “mini-words” at the intersection of various words, maximize double and triple letter and word scores, etc. — could prove difficult to understand and confusing to follow for Scrabble novices.

But other game shows have faced, and overcome, similar obstacles. In the 1960s, producers famously complained that the original version of “Jeopardy!” featured material too tough for a broad audience. Whether “Scrabble” can attract and retain viewers beyond cult players of the board game may determine its ultimate success.

Burton’s Better Reboot

Nearly four years ago, Twitter chatter and an online petition helped win LeVar Burton a very public tryout as a quiz show host following the death of Alex Trebek. Burton didn’t claim the permanent hosting job at “Jeopardy!,” but The CW came up with a compelling consolation prize, enlisting Burton to emcee the latest version of a “Trivial Pursuit” television show.

The game features three distinct segments, each borrowing the famous “pie wedge” motif that made the Trivial Pursuit board game a smash hit in the early 1980s. In the first segment, Burton poses a series of 18 buzz-in questions, three for each of the six wedge categories; players accumulate points and wedges, with the highest two scoring players advancing.

In the second segment, two players go head-to-head, answering questions of increasing difficulty (and point value) from five of the six wedge categories. The high scorer goes on to the bonus round, in which a contestant correctly answering questions in all six wedge categories within one minute receives the top prize of $20,000. (No word on why “Scrabble” features a maximum prize of half the amount of the show immediately following it, other than the declining viewership dynamic leading to the “shrinkflation” of many game show prizes.)

In hosting the first two half-hour episodes of “Trivial Pursuit,” Burton showed none of the nervousness he demonstrated during his turn at “Jeopardy!” Perhaps hosting a new show from scratch, rather than trying to fill the shoes of a game show legend, removed pressure in a way that allowed Burton’s hosting skills to shine.

In contrast to the 1980s version of “Scrabble,” which aired for seven seasons on NBC, few viewers probably remember the two television versions of “Trivial Pursuit” that aired briefly in the 1990s and 2000s. The current version bears little resemblance to the 1990s show hosted by Wink Martindale — and no matter. The CW’s version of “Trivial Pursuit” stays true to its board game origins and provides a lively addition to the quiz show/trivia genre.

“Scrabble” airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central, and “Trivial Pursuit” airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. Eastern/8 p.m. Central, on most CW affiliates. Episodes are also available for next-day streaming online.

Chris Jacobs is founder and CEO of Juniper Research Group, a policy consulting firm based in Washington, and author of the book “The Case Against Single Payer.” He appeared in the 1995 “Jeopardy!” Teen Tournament and is on Twitter: @chrisjacobsHC.