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Triple-word score: Scrabble DS rocks some dirty words

1:11 PM on 09.27.2007, Dale North 32 comments

Triple-word score: Scrabble DS rocks some dirty words photo
     Serious Time

Ubisoft had to issue a statement after it was found that the Nintendo DS title Scrabble 2007 contained an offense solution word in the anagram part of game play.

An article in the Belfast Telegraph reports that a father and daughter playing Scrabble 2007 were stumped on a five-letter anagram. Stuck, they hit the "give-up" option to find that the solution was the word "lesbo," a derogatory slang term for lesbian. The father, Zachary McAdam, said that he "nearly fell out of his chair," and then proceeded to "look it up" to make sure he wasn't over-reacting.

It turns out that this title uses 277,000 approved words from the Chambers Official Scrabble Dictionary. 

A statement from Ubisoft apologized and added:

"The dictionary includes words used in the English language, but that may be considered unusual or offensive. It is for this reason that the game includes a 'junior' option which will prevent the player and computer using these 'unusual' or 'offensive' words in playing. However, 'lesbo' is not considered as offensive by the official dictionary and therefore is playable in both options."

Remind me not to invite these two to my annual Drunken Dirty Word Scrabble Tournaments. 

[Via Next-Gen


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blehman's Avatar
blehman at 09/27/2007 13:15
Heh,heh,heh. Lesbo. Nice find Dale
DJDuffy 's Avatar
DJDuffy at 09/27/2007 13:17
Shame on you Ubisoft! That's one game I won't be supporting...as far as I'm concerned, "lesbo" is a derogatory term.
Myrmidon16's Avatar
Myrmidon16 at 09/27/2007 13:19
i think this makes me want to get the game. or just play real scrabble and spell dirty words that way
Snaileb 's Avatar
Snaileb at 09/27/2007 13:25
Duffy don't be such a Lesbot.
needsmoretits's Avatar
needsmoretits at 09/27/2007 13:31
I've got a 7 letter word for them; PUSSIES.

In all seriousness though, lesbo is pretty damn derogatory. Oh well. Like I need a DS to play Scrabble anyway.
BahamutZero's Avatar
BahamutZero at 09/27/2007 13:32
I will poown anyone in scrabble. with words like "poown"
BahamutZero's Avatar
BahamutZero at 09/27/2007 13:32
"ZOMG" is especially devastating
DJDuffy 's Avatar
DJDuffy at 09/27/2007 13:34
@ Snaileb

damn breeders. love u too!
Lance Cardigan's Avatar
Lance Cardigan at 09/27/2007 13:48
l
e
destructoid
b
o
Lance Cardigan's Avatar
Lance Cardigan at 09/27/2007 13:49
damn it....didnt work.
you get it tho.
MrFudge's Avatar
MrFudge at 09/27/2007 13:59
All I see is 'Mew'. Am I not dirty enough?
Cheeburga's Avatar
Cheeburga at 09/27/2007 14:12
Hahah, win. :]
KamikazeTutor's Avatar
KamikazeTutor at 09/27/2007 14:14
Lesbo? That's a word in the dictionary? Which one? The Slangonary?
TheBastardSonOfAtari's Avatar
TheBastardSonOfAtari at 09/27/2007 14:19
I play this on my DS & you can spell CUNT, which is none too shabby if on a Triple Word Score.
brad drac's Avatar
brad drac at 09/27/2007 14:22
Bah. Lesbo is no more offensive than queermo, and anyone offended by queermo is a faghandler.
Dale North's Avatar
Dale North at 09/27/2007 14:26
hahah @ braddrac
deanhatescoffee's Avatar
deanhatescoffee at 09/27/2007 14:48
LOL @ brad drac. Really though, what about "lesbo" is derogatory? Is it the term itself, or the way people use it? If the derogatoriness stems from the way it's used then I say that there should be no issue with the word "lesbo" being in Scrabble; however, if the word "lesbo" is itself offensive (as dictionary.com would lead me to believe) then what the hell are the Chambers Official Scrabble Dictionary people smoking? They should know better. We expect that kind of insolence from Destructoid, naturally, but not from a well-respected family game.
Necros's Avatar
Necros at 09/27/2007 14:53
This! Is! Lesbos!
SourGr8pes's Avatar
SourGr8pes at 09/27/2007 15:17
Well, what else do you call someone from the isle of Lesbos then?
MechaMonkey's Avatar
MechaMonkey at 09/27/2007 16:23
Dictionary.com says:

les·bo /ˈlɛzboʊ/ –noun, plural -bos. Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.
a lesbian.

Ubisoft loses.
grrza's Avatar
grrza at 09/27/2007 16:48
meh, if it's in the official scrabble dictionary, then shouldn't Hasboro or Mattel or whoever be the ones under fire? It's not like Ubisoft invented the rules for scrabble for jeebus sake.
BlindsideDork's Avatar
BlindsideDork at 09/27/2007 17:03
bios
Kageroth's Avatar
Kageroth at 09/27/2007 18:11
Wow the local rag on a gaming site, things are looking up for NI :D
timmet's Avatar
timmet at 09/27/2007 20:41
If they altered it, you guys would complain that the video game didn't follow the book.

But seriously, it's the scrabble dictionaries fault.
entropyman's Avatar
entropyman at 09/27/2007 21:10
I was actually playing this the other day and it let me use jizz- I won because it was a triple word score.... funny that this article came out
3dd13's Avatar
3dd13 at 09/28/2007 05:23
Douchebag FTW
wardrox's Avatar
wardrox at 09/28/2007 07:34
Ha, English ftw!
Variable Gear's Avatar
Variable Gear at 09/28/2007 14:57
Is "Spastic" one of the 277,000 approved words from the Chambers Official Scrabble Dictionary.

I hope so!
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