There's not a whole lot that can be added to or changed for the basic game of Scrabble. Which is fine, as Scrabble is a splendid game which has stood the test of time with little change. The main point of having a board game on a handheld is to have the fun of the game without the bother of carting around a big board and lots of little pieces.

Scrabble for the DS is a good port of the board game, with a clean and simple interface and some nice features.

Scrabble for the DS offers either a single-player mode against the AI, or multi-player either with Hotseat or Wi-fi play. Happily, players don't have to have multiple copies of the game to play online. There are three different games, Classic, Speed and Slam. Classic is regular Scrabble, Speed is Scrabble with a timer, and Slam is a variation of card games like Dutch Blitz and Blink with letters instead of numbers. Slam is fun, but really isn't anything like Scrabble. The players all play at the same time, and try to place letters on top of existing letters in a stack in the middle to form legal words. The first player to use all of their cards wins.

The interface is easy to understand and use. The different modes of play and options are accessed through a simple menu. The online multi-player is easy to set up, as well. During play, players will drag the letters with the stylus. Scrabble offers a decent amount of features, including training, a dictionary, the ability to challenge and player ranking, all of which adds to the overall game.

The board is small, of course, but the colors of the extra point spaces are familiar to Scrabble fans. The pink is more of a reddish orange, though. The board can be zoomed closer with the stylus, but this means the whole board can't be seen. Various options include having a timer, or having hints. As players advance, they can earn more themes for the board layouts.

I prefer to play actual board games, instead of playing them on the PC or the console. However, having a handheld version is handy when traveling, as it is definitely quieter and less annoying to others. Scrabble for the DS is a well-designed edition of a family favorite, and is a good addition for anyone's DS library.

Gameplay: 7.0
Playing Scrabble on the DS is fun enough if you either can’t find someone to play with or you are traveling. It’s easy to pick up and play and offers some good options and features. Also, it can help you practice in case you want to beat out a favorite opponent.

Graphics: 6.0
The look of the game is fine, but nothing to get excited about.

Sound: 6.0
The sound is unmemorable.

Difficulty: Medium
The game is as easy or difficult as desired, according to which options are chosen.

Concept: 7.0
Nothing new, but the execution is good.

Multiplayer: 7.5
Playing against others is a lot of fun when stuck somewhere while traveling or in the car.

Overall: 7.0
This edition of Scrabble for the DS is a good traveling companion. It’s easy to play and pass around, and the ability to share the game with others without multiple cartridges is great. The various option settings and the training and ranking features add to the overall experience. A good game for the summer!