Despite quarantine, our team spent a good amount of time “travelling” around Southeast Asia to bring them the 2021 Scrabble Tournament for Beginners Southeast Asia. It was after taking the tournament online in Malaysia, Singapore,
and the Philippines in 2020 that Mattel Continental Asia entrusted us
with the task to plan, build, and execute a Scrabble Tournament for the whole region.

#Throwbackto2020:

Despite quarantine, our team spent a good amount of time “travelling” around Southeast Asia to bring them the 2021 Scrabble Tournament for Beginners Southeast Asia. It was after taking the tournament online in Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines in 2020 that Mattel Continental Asia entrusted us with the task to plan, build,
and execute a Scrabble Tournament for the whole region.

Planning a tournament in one place is usually a pretty involved process, but to plan one to take place across four countries was a new kind of beast to wrangle. We called up our friend and World No.1 Scrabble player (2018-2020), Ganesh Asirvatham,
rolled up our sleeves, and braced for the jump!

Our Scrabble weekends went by like a blur of green excitement as we began, once again, to introduce the game to players aged 10 - 12 years old. We know we shouldn’t be, but we’re always surprised to see how quickly they take to the game and how often they express their desire to keep improving to take part in more Scrabble tournaments in the future.

Each year we get to run this tournament is another opportunity for us to rework the materials, streamline communications, and build a better experience for our participants and their teachers. We are so grateful to our Scrabble experts in each country and to Mattel for giving us another whack at spreading the good word about our favourite tabletop game.

How do you introduce a newbie to the world of competitive Scrabble?
How would you do it if that newbie was 9 years old?

We are so proud to have been part of the mammoth effort that was organising the first annual National Interschool Scrabble Tournament 2019 for young and eager Scrabble players. We, too, had to quickly brush up on our Scrabble skills - learning neat tips and tricks along the way. 

From developing concise, yet comprehensive educational materials to connecting with the Malaysian Scrabble Association,
the volunteer body that oversees the vibrant and active Scrabble community in Malaysia,
this project was unlike anything we had ever done before.

But as we dived headfirst into the proverbial pool of Scrabble tiles, our eyes were opened to the many possibilities this game offers. We saw young people coming together and taking interest in expanding their vocabulary,
we saw them developing their social skills, and we saw it happen over a “simple” game of Scrabble.