Scrabble: Junior Edition

Our almost 3 year old son loves this game and asks to play it multiple times every day. He's fascinated with letters and has recently started reading. I thought this game would be a fun way for him to learn a few words. He has already learned all the preprinted words on the board. He has also learned how to take turns and follow the game rules. The only shortcomings that I see are:
1) the cardboard letters and board, which are not very durable or cleanable
2) there should be some alternate pre-printed game boards avaliable to keep the interest level up for a longer time

We had fun playing this with our 4 year old and 7 year old grandsons over a weekend. The four year old very quickly picked up and played the simpler version, while the seven year old was into the strategy right away!

I brought this assuming that it will help my preschooler learn spelling and begin putting words together but the junior side has words filled in with the pictures and she now looks at the pic to make up the word easily.. Doesnt help with reading.. I havent yet tried the older kids side of the toy yet.

I purchased this game for my 6yo son, as he was learning to read and begin to spell simple words. He also loves math, so I thought this game would just be a smaller version of the classic game with an easier (but still strategic) method of play with the scoring. But I was wrong.

The game is made very cheaply. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. But the letter "tiles" are made of cardboard, and they are so lightweight (as opposed to the wood tiles of classic Scrabble) that the slightest breeze (for example as someone walks by the table) upsets them. This frustrated my son to no end, and he gave up on this very quickly.

THe scoring directions are also disappointing. Every letter is worth 1 point, and you either have 1 side of the board with some words already on it, or a blank board (no double or triple point squares, etc). That takes the strategy right out of the game.

Finally the board was way too small, or the squares were too big. The result was a very limited number of total squares, so the board filled up very quickly, even when using 3 or 4 letter words. Some people complain about a game that never seems to end. Well, I don't particulary care for a game that is over in just 5 minutes.

I plan to get a regular Scrabble game and simplify the rules so he can grow into it.

I bought this game for my seven year old grandson's b'day. My grandson and his family have spent hours playing scrabble junior together. The added bonus to this product is it's "grow with me" capability. This game can be used on the beginners side as children learn the concept of spelling and then flips to a regular scrabble board when they become able to form their own words.