The 2021 Travel Scrabble by Mattel has to be one of the worst versions of this beloved board game ever produced, official or otherwise.

I was looking for an easy-to-carry vocabulary-centric board game to play with my friend when we hang out, and this abhorrent version of Scrabble was the only game that I could find.

The set comes with a stiff game board measuring a little less than 18cm on each side, 100 letter tiles measuring about 1cm on each side, 4 tile racks, a tile bag, and a rule sheet. It’s all packed in a sturdy cardboard box no smaller than the game board because it does not fold.
It does not come with any way to keep score.

Although not as portable as it could be, the game board does have a plastic insert that divides the scoring grid and prevents the letter tiles from sliding around. However, the tiles do not lock onto the game board, so they could still fall off if the set is turned upside down.

The letter tiles feel and the print on them is not centred either. Because they are so small, they are difficult to handle and easy to lose. I would say the same thing about the tile racks, too.

What impressed me was how the designers at Mattel, through what I could only describe as sheer simplicity, managed to employ a pause system in the game. The game board, with the letter tiles on it, can be placed back in the box. With the box cover on, the letter tiles will stay in place.

Still, it does not justify the tile bag, an essential component of the game, being just a resealable plastic bag. A cheap cloth sack would have been more acceptable.

The only thing preventing Mattel’s 2021 Travel Scrabble from being the worst Scrabble set ever made is its game board. At least it’s not just a folded piece of paper.

Nevertheless, this is still Mattel’s worst Scrabble set so far because they priced this abomination at RM99.90. The set feels so cheap, and the total cost of the components cannot be more than RM25, yet they are charging almost RM100 for it.

To compare, the full-size standard version of Sahibba, an official local version of the crossword game, is only RM36, and it has better-quality components than the RM149.90 2021 standard Scrabble set by Mattel.
Recently, I have seen Mattel drop its prices as it is switching the standard version of Scrabble with a set that comes with alternate rules and extra components.

However, in my opinion, it is still overpriced.