Karen, my Tahoe Scrabble Buddy, notified me of this new creation. Two of the most popular and time-honored tabletop games got the crossover treatment this summer with the release of Monopoly Scrabble.

The play promises to be quicker than a standard Monopoly challenge, thankfully. Why I don't like Monopoly is how terribly long it is to complete. The game maker got it right and promises that rounds can be finished in less than an hour. I'm intrigued because instead of using dice to navigate the Monopoly board, players place Scrabble tiles and move around the edges of the board based on their word scores. Properties can be earned and purchased by making words on special Scrabble spaces. The game maker also insists that other twists, including a community chest and chance cards, further contribute to keeping the gameplay fresh.

And just like in Monopoly, players win by accumulating the highest total of cash and property value by the time the last letter tile is played. Of course, this time having a strong vocabulary may be an advantage to players who prefer not to rely on the luck of the draw.

I own an embarrassing number of varying types of Scrabble games so I'm not certain I will invest in this one. That said, I'm pretty certain my sons would actually play with me if I did get it. Hmmm.

"Floating in a lake, lying in a hammock, playing a bit of Scrabble... that's what I'm in need of." -Karen Walker