although this game is not realistically winnable, i can get some spread back by continuing to fish, for example, H12 BELT is just a couple points below but it keeps a much better leave. i partially thought GLOTTALS* was good. -5 #strategymedium #knowledgemedium
Because I'm the only one with 5 wins, by taking this game I will guarantee myself the tournament win. ANOR is a decent leave for the board because I have the ABA hook and the APE/OPE hooks. MAP doesn't sim too far back of more aggresive options like J8 (T)AP setting up my A and 7F/9F PA setting up my O. For the same reason I would not be a fan of TAP because that takes too many unseen hooks, I can say the same thing about either placement of PA. Maybe J6 PO(T)MAN is probably the play to keep a slightly better leave and not give back hooks to Mark. #findingsmall
Definitely wasn't sure how to approach this turn. Given that I needed to win this game as opposed to trying to cut spread due to having a large spread lead over Mark, I wasn't in any mood to parallel all the floaters I'm gonna want to have later on. As it turns out, this was a lame and unaggressive move. I think B8 (c)OMPONE was the play I was looking for here to stay withing striking distance and not shut the board down. #findinglarge
Sim despises this. I get it, EEIO is weak despite the lopsided C/V ratio unseen and I'm still just letting the LABS hook sit there undisturbed. I was close to doing 11E ZODIAC but balked at the possibility of Vince opening column A with a play from 12A, creating situations with multiple very dangerous bingo lines available. 10D AIZLE is a fine way to score nearly as well as ZODIAC, block a couple lines, and make it more difficult to open the left side of the board while also scoring anything. #strategylarge
Again, major consonant overload to come - the EIIL leave should combine with the pool to hit some plays on row 1 that Marlon can't really address. Still, keeping two Is is avoidable here with plays like 4A LUDIC, 4C DUCI, and perhaps best of all, 2F LIRA; CP actually picks 2F DURAL, really going all in on drawing consonants to the leave of EII. Makes sense to me. #strategysmall 5:22
wrote down BYRON* here, didn't play it. Didn't know D(O)RMY surely. I also wrote down "NOT BEST" next to my play because I really didn't like it. #knowledgemedium
I chose REAL over ORAL because there were 7 E's unseen and no O's. But I did not consider what the benefit of keeping the O would be, and now that I am considering it I don't see any significant benefit; EE > EO, and even triplicate E's are fine. I should just play ORAL. Quackle prefers C12 NOR but that's ridiculous with IIIM unseen. #strategymedium
D1 hORSIES. I didn't consider putting a letter in the triple would be better. Also, despite being about 8 fewer points than all the other bingos, J4 vIROSES sims second best just barely behind D1 hORSIES. #strategysad
Yes, I saw 14F GRIT. And then I saw KITING, and then I saw TIRING which undoubles my R's and saves the K for 14F, and meanwhile I forgot about GRIT. But I have to draw an A for 14F KA or else the sacrifice isn't worth it. Actually, the best plays are at L10: GYRI, RYKE, and KYRIE block row 14, and GYRI in particular saves the K for 14F and doesn't take any of the four unseen S's. #tacticsmedium
#knowledgesad for challenging LEAR AND A WHOLE ASS #KNOWLEDGESADDEST FOR O8 eL(E)GISES O8 SE(E)LInGS and O8 EL(E)GIStS oh my GOD because I instead phonied with ELOGISES*
10L PEH is better, presumably because it blocks the high-scoring bingo lanes in columns L and M. I like EDH because it keeps my vowel, and I can score well with 10M EF next turn. #strategysmall
noticed him noticing S(CENT) finally and didn't notice my bing in the minute or so preceding this realization. ABSENTEE missed for the nth time #findingSADDEST
or C(A)NTORIS, S(T)RONTIC seems too volatile, would much rather put a T in the 2x2 lane. Quackle obviously disagrees. This might be because S(T)RONTIC is a lot better for the board in the long run. #tacticssmall
i did actually see BUSLOAD but i didn't love using my S like that. dunno, DRUB is overall pretty weak, i suppose. should just take the points. -5 #strategymedium
i did consider G10 DUNG but i didn't want to open it up for him after his last play or two. his rack kind of smelled of blanks (i can smell them) and i thought i should keep it a bit closed. i maybe could play H1 GNAR too, or 5M GOD or something. either way, i'm in decent shape. -3.5 #strategysmall
TOMCAT is just better. Forgot Noah had just studied his 5s and got pretty far alphabetically. I saw TOMCAT but convinced myself I would try to exploit his weaknesses that didn't actually exist anymore #strategysmall
Yet another example of Quackle being bad at pre-endgames: it says three plays win 100%, namely this, 1L FAGS, and M11 ZIG; and FAGS has by far the highest valuation. Upon further investigation, FAGS loses when I draw an I (3/8) and Carl plays 14L LEIs setting up 13J ODIC(!), which I cannot block without being Z-stuck. ZIG and ZAGS win 100%, and ZIG is slightly better, threatening plays at 1L-1O and 5B-5E. #tacticssmall (-0.5)
thought it might be PREFOLIATE* but yeah, never was going to be sure of PERFOLIATE, which is best here. Dave Wiegand thought CARPETBED* was good, as did I. #knowledgesaddest
Quackle prefers N1 ALUMNI, which apparently wins 100%. I was trying to prevent bingos. But Quackle hates MI, and indeed something like 15H sELENIC or O1 SILICONEs can still outrun. #tacticslarge
noooo just play B(O)W. i think i wanted him to waste some equity but why not try to bingo again. i'm trying to consciously fish a little less but blowing up INRST with a nice G to bingo through is just silly. -6.5 #strategymedium
wow didn't consider L1 JAWL(I)NE! it's nice to not open the O column. I think I prefer it by a bit, setting up the scoring spot is okay as well with my lead. #visionsmall
Only did this because I know Peter left the punchless IOST on his previous play, but it's still better to play something more traditional undoubling and keeping my vowel like just 4B WREN. #strategymedium
I did not know 4B S(C)ABLAND. Maybe B5 AB if I had to do this one over again as that's 10 more and now there's only so much I can do to block after VOCAL. #findingmedium
this was wrong, point blank. I need to play BI N8. Realized I really want my A after hitting the clock. Too used to keeping QI over QA. I also know he didn't have an I last move, so maybe QUA G4 and hope he doesn't have the last A or some other big play? #strategymedium
14E R(A)ND is the kind of play that I have a really hard time seeing. It sims best, but I'm not sure what is actually best since I assume a human would play very differently from Quackle. On the other hand, the EDS/EDH hook is difficult to block without the hooks. I dunno. #strategysadder
wow, quackle wants me to play it at 8F. how often will that work? i suppose the thing is that if he underlaps with an O, i can re-underlap? -1.5 #tacticssmall
could not be 100% sure of COGG(E)D, so given Glenn's challenge-y nature of years past, I couln't pull the trigger despite being pretty confident. #knowledgesmall
14M KIT sims best, but I was worried about O7 bingos ending in IEST or EST. What I didn't see during the game is that I can also definitely lose to plays like N4 BONACIS, 6H VIB(R)ANCE, and 6G COVE(R)ING, so 14M KIT is probably best. #strategysaddest
I was hesitant to play 11A GODWIT just because it doesn't address the B10 hotspot, but 4 more points is fine and ITW isn't doing much on this board. John isn't going to shut down the lanes in CAPTAIN when he's behind. #strategymedium
5A CIG sets up a potent lane on column A that Joey will almost certainly take. I suppose Quackle's idea is that he would play at 15O some of the time (more often than I would expect from a human opponent) or that his column A play would make a lane on column B. My idea with REGIUS was to set up (DANK)E(R) and hope that Joey doesn't see it. #tacticssmall
Sim slightly prefers G1 VIMS; it scores a lot more and doesn't offer parallels thanks to the V. In fact, VERMIL yields more points to Andrew on his next turn than VIMS does. Obviously, I do much better on my own next turn holding the S, but still #strategysmall
WEEDIER only plays in Collins! :( WEIRD might just give up too many points. JEWED or WIDEN sim better partially for that reason -- i also bingo slightly more often after JEWED. -2 #strategysmall
I felt like a moron after this - I really, truly was weighing BOIL vs LOBI against Noel's leave of TIRES and somehow brain farted and played BOIL, which allows 20% more bingos than LOBI. I remember realizing I had made a big mistake even before Noel played his bingo. #strategylarge 18:52
wow, this is a plain bad play. i don't think i even looked that long, FAUGH seemed obvious to me. but surely 13L AHOY for 34 is great, and E10 FUGIO looks good too. -10 #findinglarge
EUV just sucks way too much as a leave; AURA cannot be right. AHURU looks decent, but i am liking 6L UVA here. there's only one E and S left and i don't have much other hope. i also sorta like M6 VAU, but less. this is very difficult. -9 #strategylarge
I6 HE(R)BAGED is available here as my only decent chance back into the game. But I talked myself out of it! I also talked myself out of DEBAG! I have played too many games in which an option I am unsure of is invalid and reveals to me that I was too hasty with the comeback attempt. Scrabble is psychological warfare sometimes, and I am all but shielded from it. B(A)DGE is also not as bad as it looks, since 4 R's and 3 D's are already gone. #knowledgelarge
bad! by far the best play is the excellent 11J AMUCK. i have the case S, score 28 pts, and go for letters like the Z to score a lot with. i thought of AMUCKS/AMUCK on my rack, but didn't quite look hard enough. LUCK is very weak and is the type of game-losing play i make way too often. the fact that it takes a Y makes it even worse. 9J MUCK is ok if i don't think of AMUCK. -15.5 #strategylarge #findinglarge
i always absolutely hate having to make decisions like this. is AW a fish? it seems like i just have to score. quackle likes it too, but it also likes 11C EARWIG. upon further thought, i think i would have played EARWIG if i'd seen it. #tacticssmall