Scrabble plus Rubik's cube equals Scruble.

Travel entertainment is getting unplugged and going retro, so leave your e-readers and other electronics at home and consider this: what if you took some of the best-known play patterns from some of the most popular word games and puzzles and combined them in a brand new, unique format to create a 3-D word game? Well, you'd have Scruble Cube, a game with more than 7.4 x [10.sup.45] (that's 7,400 septillion) possible configurations that anyone who can spell can play. Its one-piece design makes it convenient to bring along with you to play anytime, anyplace.

Rated for ages eight and up, Scruble Cube can be played by one to four players. Like the famous puzzle cubes, players rotate and twist the rows and columns, but instead of trying to align certain colors, the goal is to rearrange letters to create new words. One word is formed per turn and can range from three to 16 letters spelled horizontally, vertically, and around multiple faces of the cube. Each of the 96 letter pegs is assigned a point value and all rotate individually to aid in pattern recognition. Letter distribution is based on frequency of occurrence in the English language.

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Players can earn bonus points by using 2X Word Score or 2X Letter Score pieces in their word. If you use eight or more letters or spell a word across multiple faces, you earn additional points. For more challenging play, you can use the included sand timer.

Scruble Cube can be played by just one person as well, following the traditional rules, or, in a unique twist, by trying to solve the cube by returning it to its original configuration with the words "Scruble Cube" in specially colored letters spelled out twice on multiple faces of the cube.

Scruble Cube ($24.95) is both a game and a puzzle--on steroids, or, as they say at the Scruble Cube corporate offices, "We can't guarantee that playing this game will make you a genius, but it might."