The most important line for me to be able to hit is the NAPERIES/JAPERIES hook on Row 1. I don't mind a move like this with 4 Ns left, but 13H (I)NCU(D)AL keeps the entire top open nicely. #visionmedium
bad move. but ACUITY can give up so many pts! i don't know. ACUTE 14J also seems wrong. maybe 10G LIEU is fine but i also hate it. i don't know, i hate all my options. what's best here?- 5.5 #strategymedium
Current opening theory dictates that I exchange A. But Quackle likes 8H AL followed by 8G LA, probably to reduce Joey's average score next turn, despite increasing Joey's likelihood of getting a bingo and decreasing mine. #strategysmall
huge lowlight where I completely fail to see the possibility of a word fitting through an I in 3rd position. Andy had a 1/3 chance of winning by 2. I recounted everything after seeing a possible word there would tie. Found Andy underscoring MAW by 2, got pissed off, and was not able to see the possibility of EV(I)CTION. Horrible. Obviously, 9s may exist, and they happen not to. Terrible. #findingSADDEST
Quackle slightly prefers 11B ODA and OCA, sacrificing some points to gain a solid chunk of bingo%. That does make sense. JAGAS overlapping plays still go down after CANOED, and JESTINGS is still wide open, so I shouldn't be scared to make JAGAS plays more accessible after ODA/OCA, especially at a deficit. #strategysmall - forgot to record time.
I liked this to save 11C AXED and 12L XED for next turn then the Z the turn after, but Quackle prefers 11B WAXED. I guess 11 points is a lot to give up and I'm really handcuffing myself with the power tiles by essentially guaranteeing I won't bingo for at least 3 turns. #strategysmall
No floating B for BANDPASS or PASSBAND. That would have been a nice way to get my psyche up. I guess I7 ASP is fine despite the hooks it gives up. I guess Quackle wants that volatility when I'm down quite a bit already. Not to mention my spread is awful. #strategysmall
I think I needed to do K4 VERITY here- while there's no guarantee that I'll dump the Q next turn, it's a little more open, and I do still have 4 chances to draw an I or T. And I score 12 more. #visionmedium
was pretty nervous here for some reason. Just wanted to play something I was sure of. But I was as sure as I could be of MUTER. I then thought it didn't make a difference between MUTER and MITER, but the difference is 13 points. I'm expecting Q(I) 10K, so I should be able to see that I get a much stronger play after that if I keep MI than keeping MU. MI(R) would then be 32. Orry has to forgo QIS to play optimally after MUTER. #endgameSADDEST
-3 exch R actually sims ok, although DOR sims better on 4-ply. main problem with DOR is that it's relatively easy to block and i only hold one hook for it. i thought of GRIND as well but didn't consider -R. #strategysmall
Playing through is better than exchanging, as much as it sucks that I could not pick a vowel. I think I had the right idea if I wanted to take away a key scoring spot and block the L. However, I also think that LAV is better than TAV since I have a more synergystic leave. But the play that sims the best is 2C TR(O)MM(E)L, which I did not know, and I might have even done that if I knew it and saw it. #findingsmall
best is nickel-and-diming with any sequence of C6 (C)U(T), 13A JA(R), A13 (J)o and (Jo)T, which gets 54 points total, whereas this one gets 45. I saw JA(R) as an option over the board and dismissed it too quickly. -9 #endgamelarge
Quackle likes 11E TREYS to score 10 more and restrict the 11 row, but I'm not so sure - between row 11 and SAL I'm pretty likely to bingo with EIRS after NUTSY. #strategysmall if anything.
decided this was worth a shot, even over (OX)IDIZE, since it was an amazing Q setup, and I just win if he lets it go basically. He challenged not based on knowing OXAZINE, OXAZOLE or OXAZEPAM, but on just not liking this. Ugh. #knowledgelarge
I knew TRED* looked strange but i also convinced myself that it was a common english word. Also, I missed L4 FUND(Y), so #findingsadder and #knowledgesaddest for letting the phony go
Sims says G5 (M)U(REX) but I think this is assuming way more openings than Sokol would make, though it also partially blocks 6F plays. I dunno. #strategysadder
H1 GANEF; let's keep some good leaves, open boards, and score. GID keeps an inflexible leave for next turn and i will struggle a bit more to score. -10 #strategylarge
This is top equity, but I'm really disappointed in myself for this move. RORE is a flashing neon sign that Winter has the X or in the best case scenario for me is hoping to get it on his draw. Josh Sokol, please forgive me for not learning my lessons from you. I deserved to get hit with a ZEX bomb for 90 points after this. The play is obviously J10 WRIT. #strategylarge
this move symbolizes everything that is wrong with my scrabble game (i know that sounds hyperbolic, but hear me out). of course i should try to block, but the only thing that looked halfway decent was ADZ. still, the most important thing here is to ask myself how I can lose this game, and it is by him hitting a huge bingo afterwards, and me drawing poorly to RTVY, and him bingoing again. can that happen? absolutely. if i play ADZ, i force him to bingo at the top; row 2 or 3 most likely. I can then overlap his play, blocking any potential bingos, and i'm still up by a lot, and should be heavily favored to win. i even thought about something silly like VIZSLA being possible but if anything i have the V. ZOOID sims best of course. the biggest mistake i made here, and one that i make often, is not having enough empathy to put myself in his shoes and realize he's likely keeping an extremely strong leave. of course i thought the leave was probably pretty good, but it also seemed desperate enough that ZOOID might just block whatever he has, and that there's a decent chance he missed his fish as well. i didn't think he would have the blank. if i give him AEIS? as a leave ADZ DOES sim better than ZOOID, lowering his average score by about 24. with 4-ply ADZ is still on top. the only issue is that the win% diff is so tiny, yet i'm convinced this is a massive error. #strategylarge
#knowledgesad for challenge also can someone make this man please stop bingoing. im asking for my health just nbd
also O10 TENT(H)S but who's counting #findingsaddest #endgamesaddest
Absolutely clutch draw with picking both remaining Ss on just a 3 tile pull. I did bend by accepting the phony, which led to him drawing into his 1st bingo, but there's nothing I can do about his 2nd one except score and dump the V. I also could have left the S off to try scoring with YAEGERS*, which he might not even challenge if both of us really thought YAEGER* was good. #strategymedium
playing PL(ON)G is like 1 pt better than exchanging, and if i wanna exchange, there's way too many Ts out unseen. Gotta go down to just the C. #tacticssad
This is the best equity play, but I was sad about partially blocking RHUMBA. In fact I should have sacrificed two points to preserve RHUMBA with 9E EME. #tacticsmedium
quackle thinks just POGO at 13D, maybe it's not worth blowing up the rack. also playing at 13C might be best. i wanted to start taking out some problematic spots. idk, be aggressive. -4 #strategymedium
B8 RIDABLE or 14B RIDABLE are better #knowledgesad
Also, a standing applause for forgetting how to pronounce MARINERS, thinking it was some dumb American naval force propagandist bull, and therefore challenging it even though I've read the stupid Rime of the Ancient Mariner. The second I stopped the clock I knew I'd fucked up. It's funny how the brain works sometimes. Anyway, the dumbass award goes to me, so everyone get your grubby hands off of my prize, please and thank you.
this was absolutely terrifying. I saw that I didn't have DOGMA through the D in DEFINITE. I saw that I had GLIOMATA with an I or an L. I saw the -MATA suffix more than once. Yet, I miss dOGMATA. #findinglarge
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
This turn was sloppy. At a minimum, I should have seen 15F COOP, which as you all will see, simply cost me 4 points and wouldn't have changed the board much. But even then, 15F COOPT is the play. #visionsmall
oof, this is a bad situation. considered IDS 15A strongly. it sims best. 27 pts is too much to give up. i was trying to go for some lucky big play and didn't want to take the triple. 9J IGGED is also pretty strong; my play is not good. -8 I think one of the main issues with my play, at least earlier on, but also in general, is just that i start freaking out and getting tunnel vision. I'm afraid of losing the game and it makes me only think of a small number of scattered options. I think I improved at this as the tournament progressed. #strategylarge
C: i think i lost it here. this is how to do well at nationals; find the winning play. i cashed in my D too early. i can have that spot later (if he blocks it i have AD/DAH too). i need to play at N13 so that he can't play there!! i was low on time, only about 3 minutes, but i didn't do a good enough job here :( -- the winning play is N13 REI #endgamelarge (it's a small error point-wise, but it loses the game)
A: Actually, REI loses by 2 after I play E4 RAH. (-6)
I didn't like LIBRI because the CN didn't seem to go well with the C in HAPTIC, but I guess I'm also not completely stuck having to use that C. I didn't like CIB(O)L because it's easy enough to dump an S for 30+ and outrun me. Still, that might be the way. C12 CRIB is also interesting, going all in on using the C next turn. This just doesn't hit enough. #strategysmall
13A MAX gives back a lot on column A and row 14, but there is already a lot of scoring potential on this board, and MAX unloads one of my A's and scores one more point. #strategysmall
WOT screams S setup to me. I can't help but feel a bit stumped. I did hesitate to do A12 CUSS just because I thought RAIDINGS* was good (and so did he). I wanted a potential comeback response if Evan were to hit a bingo next turn. With that said, I did not see I8 S(A)UCY which would have been nice middle ground between cleaning up the rack and scoring decently. #findingmedium
ugh this is too difficult. with such a small % chance of winning, i don't know what's right anymore. it seems in these types of situations i have to limit the amount of damage he can do, so something like 4K AY or YA is going to sim best despite keeping a U. the problem with GUY, even though it does play short and keeps a good leave, is that it gives back so many points; i know this but have to hope he can't punish it too much. -3 #strategymedium