Welsh Scrabble sells out in shops

Scrabble in Welsh has sold out

The Welsh language version of Scrabble has sold out in the shops before Christmas.

Licence-holders Leisure Trends produced 2,500 editions of the word board game for Mattel and they flew off the shelves in weeks.

Now keen wordsmiths will have to wait until the end of January until a fresh supply reaches the shops.

The Welsh Books Council, which distributed the game in Wales, said sales were "better than anticipated."

The game was launched at the National Eisteddfod at y Faenol near Bangor in 2005.

There are so few games available in the Welsh language, this is a chance they may have missed Gwawr Dafydd, Bys a Bawd, Llanrwst

After the first 2,500 games were sold shops were told they could have a further six games each by mid November, and that no more would be available after that until at least the end of January.

One reason for the quick sales is the interest in the game from many schools.

The game is produces in the Far East so it takes time for supplies to reach Wales.

"The game has sold exceptionally well," said a spokesman for the Welsh Books Council.

"It has done better than expected and a number of shops are waiting for supplies," he added.

Most popular

In Llanrwst the owner of the Bys a Bawd shop confirmed they had "tens" of people ringing them looking for a copy of the game.

"It's a pity the company did not forsee how much interest there would be in this game, especially at this time of year when family and friends get together," said Gwawr Dafydd.

Scrabble has been produced in 29 languages

"There are so few games available in the Welsh language, this is a chance they may have missed," she added.

One customer in Siop y Morfa in Y Rhyl travelled from Gerrigydrudion to buy the game - an 84-mile round trip.

"When this was launched at the National Eisteddfod people said it would make an ideal Christmas present, but many people lost out because they don't start to shop in earnest until about three weeks before the big day," said owner Dafydd Timothy.

"You can't point the finger at anyone because it's a massive venture and no-one wants their fingers burnt financially by producing or ordering too much.

"It is brilliant that a Welsh language game has been so popular," he added.

According to Mattel, Scrabble is the most popular word game in the world.

The game is available in 29 languages and a 100m copies have been sold.