TORONTO, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ – Digraphs’ crowdfunding campaign goes live August 10, 2017via http://bit.ly/digraphs-ks to fund the company’s first production run. Digraphs is an accessory for Scrabble that introduces eight new tiles, each with two letters instead of one. It adds a fun and simple twist to a game that’s remained largely unchanged since it was trademarked in 1948.
A game changer, Digraphs provides the opportunity for higher scoring with more points up for grabs while requiring you to think a bit differently as you play. A ‘digraph’ is the combination of two letters representing one sound, as in gr or th. There are over 650 digraphs in the English language, each with varying levels of frequency.
PHOTOGRAPHY
A selection of hi-resolution and web-ready images can be found here: http://bit.ly/digraphs-photos
VIDEO
http://bit.ly/digraphs-vid
The eight Digraphs tiles are simply added to your existing Scrabble game and can be used in one of three ways. Using the ‘GR’ tile as an example, you can:
Play the ‘G’ and receive its regular 2 points; or
Play the ‘R’ and receive its regular 1 point; or
Play the ‘GR’ and receive its 13 Digraphs points.
(Full rules can be found here: http://bit.ly/digraphs-rules)
Digraphs first presented itself in a dream had by co-founder Shawn Topp. Growing up playing board games with his family – from Monopoly to Clue to Rummikub – Scrabble remains to this day a Sunday evening ritual with his father.
“Aside from the friendly banter and bragging rights earned with each victory, the real value is in the time spent together; an analog experience that seems increasingly rare in the digital era. Putting your phone down for an hour provides a refreshing break from the scrolling, liking, and searching that inevitably creeps into our daily routines,” says Topp, whose hope is that Digraphs will reinforce the joy of spending time with family and friends by bringing something fresh, fun and clever to a game people already know and love.
Over the years, Topp and his father tested the concept by cutting hand-written tiles out of paper, tweaking the letter combinations, changing the assigned points while getting a feel for the game. The idea stuck with him for nearly a decade until the timing was right to turn his dream into a reality. After 18 months of design, product development, testing and finding the right manufacturer, Topp, and business partner Darren Shea, are now ready to share their story with the world.
The founders believe that strong literacy leads to more fulfilling lives, a stronger economy, and a more enlightened society. Reading and writing have played a major role in the co-founders own lives and felt it was important to support and promote literacy. They have established a partnership with Frontier College, a national charitable literacy organization that recruits and trains volunteers to deliver literacy programs to children, youth, and adults in communities across Canada.
In addition to donating a percentage of profits, Digraphs hopes to volunteer at events, participate in workshops and participate in Frontier College’s annual Scrabble® Corporate Challenge event.
The founders plan to wrap up their Kickstarter campaign (and signal their official launch) on September 8, 2017 to coincide with International Literacy Day.
STATS
- 1 in 3 households in North America have a Scrabble game
(~137,000,000 households = ~46,000,000 Scrabble games in N.A.) - 53% of homes in Great Britain own a Scrabble game
(~27,000,000 households = ~14,310,000 Scrabble games in G.B.) - Over 150,000,000 Scrabble games have been sold in 121 countries around the world.
- Every hour, ~30,000 games of Scrabble are started.
FOUNDER BIOS
Shawn Topp
Born and raised in Toronto, Shawn runs a creative agency called Outskirts, which develops communications strategies for companies and brands. Previously, he was the CMO for SPiN Global (chain of ping-pong social clubs) in New York City. He has had an affinity for board games his entire life as they’ve been a catalyst for time spent with family and friends.
In the quiet still of night, Shawn enjoys writing tales of science fiction and speculative literature. One of those tales, “The Inklings”, was published in 2016.
Darren Shea
Darren is an established designer and developer with over a decade of experience in the creative industry. After sharpening his skills at leading agencies across the country, Darren is now the Founder and CEO of Nyeus Inc., a Toronto-based digital and design studio.
With a sharp eye for design and a passion for problem solving, Darren helps brands strengthen their presence digitally, and turns projects from idea to reality.
Kickstarter Campaign Page: http://bit.ly/digraphs-ks
Digraphs Website: https://www.playdigraphs.com
SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter: http://twitter.com/playdigraphs
Facebook: http://facebook.com/playdigraphs
Instagram: http://instagram.com/playdigraphs
SOURCE Digraphs Game Corporation
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