Once upon a time... or in 1986, PROTILES were introduced
into tournament SCRABBLE® play by
Bob Schoenman, an expert-level player. Prior to 1986, wooden tiles from
SCRABBLE® sets were used. Many players complained about the indented letters
on these wooden tiles, finding them easily "brailled" inside the tile bag.
PROTILES made from plastic, uniform in size and shape, with letters/numbers
silk-screened atop, instead of indented into the surface of the tiles, were
the answer.
Since 1987, PROTILES have been featured as the Official
Tournament Tiles at all North American SCRABBLE® Championships.
PROTILES have also made official appearances at the 1993, 1997, and 2001
World SCRABBLE® Championships, and the 1988 and 2000 Canadian National
SCRABBLE® Championships.
More than 30,000 sets of PROTILES have been sold to
players all over the world.
Introduced in 1990, another PROTILES design--featuring
a clear plastic cap and plug with an imprinted piece of paper
sandwiched in between--was produced for three years. In 1996,
this PROTILES style was sold to Roy Peshkin.
In 1996, a new and improved style of PROTILES
was introduced. Manufactured with a double-injection molding
process similar to the one used in creating telephone keys,
these PROTILES feature letters and numbers molded into
the body of the tile. With letters and numbers that will never
wear off, this style of PROTILES is the closest thing to lifetime
tiles you can get!
World Class Protiles are the newest members of the
Protiles family. Introduced in September 2004 and designed to fit
Mattel deluxe boards,
these tiles can also be used on Hasbro deluxe boards. World Class
Protiles are square instead of rectangular, weigh 25% more than the
current versions of Protiles, and their length and width are the same
dimension as the width of current tiles.
Silkscreen Pink Ribbon tiles were introduced in the Summer of 2006. Each set contains 4 blanks - two "pink ribbon" blanks and two regular blanks - and is packaged in a
clear cello bag and tied with pink raffia ribbon.
For each "Pink Ribbon" set purchased, Protiles will donate $5 to the
Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
As of June 2008, $740 has been donated to the Komen Foundation, and 40 additional sets of "Pink Ribbon" tiles
have been donated to various worthy causes.
Read more about Pink Ribbon tiles in
this Seattle Times article.
In 2006, Protiles celebrates its 20th Anniversary with a new color in the double
injection molded lifetime series: AGAVE BLUE.
Order your Agave Blue tiles today!
