The owners of Scrabble have banned players from using "offensive" words, sparking a furious backlash from players who have accused the company of "virtue signalling".
The toy company Mattel, which owns the rights to the board game outside North America, has removed 400 derogatory terms from its official list of playable words.
Although Mattel has refused to publish the list, the game's official word checker reveals that it includes racial slurs against those of black, Pakistani and Irish origin.
However, David Webb, a British Scrabble grandmaster, accused Mattel of pandering to "wokeness".
Mr Webb told The Times: "Mattel are not responding to any demands or conflicts from within the Scrabble world, which is international, inclusive and friendly. Therefore its actions are seen by many as virtue signalling, making a token gesture or 'woke'."
The ruling – which follows a similar move by the American rights owner Hasbro – affects competition-level Scrabble, which is played by thousands of people at international tournaments.
www.telegraph.co.uk
