How many points will s-c-a-m-m-e-d earn you in Scrabble?
Not nearly enough to make up for the $1 million the owners of the popular board game cheated its longtime marketing guru out of in annual bonuses, according to a new lawsuit by the miffed PR man.
John D. Williams, of Fifth Street Productions, was the face of the legendary word puzzle for so long that he earned the nickname “Mr. Scrabble.”
But Williams’ relationship with game manufacturer Hasbro Inc. deteriorated last summer when the company pulled funding for the annual National Scrabble Championship.
Williams ran the tournament and was the official spokesman for the game for 24 years — promoting it through television, books and even an Emmy-nominated documentary called “Word Freak,” his Manhattan civil suit says.
“To prepare for his duties and role with respect to the National Scrabble Association, Williams immersed himself in the rules of the game and studied strategies tournament players employed to win,” his suit says.
“Williams himself played in numerous tournaments, ultimately competing at the expert level.”
His Greenport, Long Island, company was “a critical component in facilitating the growth of the Scrabble board game, which is now sold in over 120 countries, is available in over 25 languages, and more than 150 million sets have been sold worldwide,” according to court papers.
The wordsmith was promised $10,000 for every 1 percent increase in retail sales of Scrabble products from 2005 through 2013 — but he never saw a dime of those funds, his suit says.
The bonus also includes revenue from spinoffs like Scrabble Boggle, Scrabble Scattergories and Scrabble Apple Crossword.
He’s due a total of $1 million in back pay.
Hasbro Inc. — the board game behemoth based in Rhode Island with an office in Manhattan — also owns Monopoly, Pictionary, Trivial Pursuit and Risk.
A rep for Hasbro did not immediately comment.