More About The History of Boggle

Ok. I picked up my autographed copy of Game Makers (by Phil Orbanes), and he touches upon Boggle in page 167, when discussing the changes that took place at Parker Bros in the 70s. He says that...

"Another powerful seller was the letter cube game Boggle. A failure when first intruduced as part of a low-priced line of games in 1972, it returned in 1976 backed by a clever subway and billboard ad campaign in New York City. It soon was ringing up sales in cash registers everywhere.

Boggle included a plastic gridded base. Under a clear lid, sisteen letter cubes were shaken until they each fell into alignment in the four-by-four-grid. Racing a three minute sand timer, playres wrote down unique words, formed by connecting adjacent letters, as spotted on the grid. Boggle was a million-seller by 1977."

That's all I could get from Phil's book in respect of Boggle. Now, you have to take into account that his book is about the history of Parker Brothers, and not about Boggle in particular. Hence, he only touches upon the game as part of the big picture, and does not dwell on the particular history of the game itself.

So, my obsession continues... I gotta find more about Boggle's origins.

I've asked Phil if he knows more about Boggle. But he's away, and I can only wait for his response.

That's all for now.


Jeff