MIAMI (CBS4) – It’s National Scrabble Day!

I confess: I hated Scrabble growing up.  I had no patience for a long game and all the fights over whether something was a word or not.

But now, I’m a Words with Friends addict.  The game, almost identical to Scrabble, can be played on everything from your smartphone to Facebook to your Kindle.

Millions, like me, now play Words with Friends or the online version of Scrabble every day, in part, because we can, at our own pace, when we have time to, and there are no fights over whether something is a word or not.

It’s so addictive, Alec Baldwin got kicked off a plane for refusing to stop playing.

It also doesn’t hurt that they say it can make you smarter and keep your brain sharp, especially as you age.

And it’s helped lead to a Scrabble renaissance: there are world championships with tens of thousands of dollars in prizes, Scrabble furniture, dresses, earrings and other accessories.

The National Scrabble School Championship started today in Orlando.

So go spell some triple words with triple letters and celebrate!  Happy National Scrabble Day!