Editing Scrabble (section)

===Evolution of the rules===
The "box rules" included in each copy of the North American edition have been edited four times: in 1953, 1976, 1989, and 1999.<ref name="sauter">{{cite web |url=http://www.donaldsauter.com/scrabble-rules.htm |title=Scrabble – a Brief History and Evolution of the Rules, 1949–1999 |website=DonaldSauter.com |date=September 2010}}</ref>

The major changes in 1953 were as follows.
* It was made clear that:
** words could be played through single letters already on the board,
** a player could play a word parallel and immediately adjacent to an existing word provided all crossing words formed were valid,
** the effect of two premium squares was to be compounded multiplicatively.
* The previously unspecified penalty for having one's play successfully challenged was stated: withdrawal of tiles and loss of turn.

The major changes in 1976 were as follows.
* It was made clear that the blank tile beats an A when drawing to see who goes first.
* A player could pass their turn, doing nothing.
* A loss-of-turn penalty was added for challenging an acceptable play.
* If final scores are tied, the player whose score was highest before adjusting for unplayed tiles is the winner;<ref>{{cite web|title=Scrabble Game Rules|url=http://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/Scrabble_(2003).pdf|publisher=Hasbro|access-date=February 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916165951/http://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/Scrabble_%282003%29.pdf|archive-date=September 16, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> in tournament play, a tie is counted as half a win for both players.<ref name=":0" />

The editorial changes made in 1989 did not affect gameplay.<ref name="sauter" />

The major changes in 1999 were as follows.
* It was made clear that:
** a tile can be shifted or replaced until the play has been scored,
** a challenge applies to all the words made in the given play.
* Playing all seven tiles is officially called a "bingo" in North America and a "bonus" elsewhere.
* A change in the wording of the rules could have been interpreted as meaning that a player may form more than one word on one row on a single turn.