Will: Close, but there are more than enough bingoes that still go down along column L that I absolutely need to play BENJES here instead; I probably also do a bit better in endgames by going out in one. #strategylarge
I'm down, so I guess I need to be aggressive by playing L2 ETCHInG. I didn't want to do it because there was still an F, two Ls, and an R unseen. IDK, maybe I distract my opponent with this while I hope to bingo elsewhere. big oof. #strategysmall
I think I would have been rather insane to fish off the M with 6G M(EW) even though Ed is more unlikely to block a 3x3 when there's only 1 tile that fits in the 4th position in this case. Despite giving back potential D1-D4 or D1-D4 plays, C2 SMARTED still comes out on top in the sim. It's slightly worth it for 3 more now even if Ed seemed to be fishing his last 2 turns. #strategysmall
13M GU(T). I thought 1H UNRO(V)E was a huge strategic error after the game, but it's too close to be making short blocking plays, I need to score. It's still a mistake though. #strategysadder
Championship Player likes 4F PROTEI, which is an awesome find but doesn't block FARL. Of the plays that block FARL, CP prefers K9 PUERIlE. PUERIlE also wins the sim, with O13 ORE/IRE close behind; OUT is too much of a sacrifice. I suppose now is the time to confess that I wasn't certain of INCLINER. #strategymedium
K10 IS bings way more. Whatever I play here, he's going to know I'm close to a bing. I might as well increase the bing % and fish the S instead of the N. #strategylarge because this is way worse for bing %.
Knock knock. Who's there? Definitely not Nits. Maybe one of the shades from Book VI of the Aeneid. #knowledgesaddest for phony and #knowledgesad for challenge
Will: Didn't notice that OUTVAUNT plays at 14F. There's already a gigantic S hook on the board so making another one isn't quite the same problem it would normally be, and OUTVAUNT doesn't open a 9x lane for Josh. #findingsmall #strategysmall
why does she have to have another P? PAS there was great. this move is not so good. i was nervous as i usually am in a game like this where my opponent keeps bingoing and i have to play perfectly to win, so somehow i thought i had the last two Ss. but since there is an unseen S, that makes taking the QUODS hook important, and doing so with O1 ANSA looks pretty good here. i still don't like how closed the board is though; my bingo % after ANSA is abysmal, and i kill a good scoring lane for only 30.. idk. -5.5 #strategymedium #focus
I think 3I WUD could have been done here to open up a 2nd lane. The extra points immediately were not worth it. Gotta love new themes sometimes, right? That's the beauty of Scrabble. #visionmeh
outruns most out-bingos, but not all of them. Had I been sure of CLODPOLE, I might have played that, since most of her bingos fit there. I think CLODPOLE should win the most games, since I don't foresee losing in any endgames that don't involve bingos. 32 draws seem to win for Chloe after WOODLICE, and 27 after C(L)ODpOLE, so a slight edge to blocking. If it were the beginning of the tournament, WOODLICE would be the best play for spread. #knowledgesmall
Q suggests TEW E9. I much prefer WINE I5 to this but at this point I'm simply fighting off a mental breakdown of thinking that I'm the worst scrabble player in the world #findingsad
spent 54 minutes looking for something that wasn't N1 AdHESIO(N) and didn't spot N4 ApHO(N)IES. #knowledgesad you know who needs to spend more time on StudyCade? This gal <-----
This play isn't bad. It is a sound play. But the leave after 12H BE(S)TOW, which I didn't see, is much less clunky. The score I average next turn is several points higher after BESTOW than KOEL, and it is more than enough to offset the 1 extra point David will average after I make the more open move. BESTOW is the play since I can save my K to score again next turn. #findingmedium
I did not want to make this play. It's almost certain that Noah has another E here, as otherwise he would have kept his E and played FIST/FAST. Also, there are 8 unseen E's. This means that he's going to be able to access the O column a crushing amount of the time, and I'll be left with row 14 and whatever counterplay his O column play leaves me with, which is peanuts. I basically had to hope here that he just didn't have an E, which meant no A or I last turn either. I considered NIX 11E as well, to keep things open. NIX looks better because I draw COWED 12B which sets up SCOWED. #strategysmall
Really confusing turn. Basically after EA I wanted whatever my play was here to limit the damage from AXE hooks. Sadly, I saw 10H NEAT and I guess didn't fully appreciate how effectively it accomplishes that task while keeping my vowel. #tacticsmedium
should definitely find a block of AEFRSTW here. This gives way too much back. TEAWARES and SOFTWARE. I think I probably missed both. His leave after JUN basically never contains an F or W, so there are so many reasons why this is a bad play. #findinglarge
Sid pointed out SNUG J8, which sims even with FUGIO, but is probably a little bit better. Quackle always underrates defensive moves like that. Another option, which I didn't see, is OUZEL C11. OUZEL wins the sim, but I like SNUG best. (-1) #visionsmall
I think I briefly thought the E in BIVALENT was an I (lmao) and didn't play L12 WAUR. Seems pretty lost regardless, not sure what I'm supposed to do. I thought If I drew XZ and some vowels I might have a chance. #strategysaddest
missed all the other bings here. Sadface. RECYCLER I should see, RECOVERY I should see. mERCERY I don't play because it opens a 3x3, I'd best play CE(L)ERY for 28. Also thought he might challenge this. #findinglarge
Wondered about EFIRS vs EIRS here. I thought EFIRS was slightly stronger for bingos next turn and also just more balanced in general, the F can be used for scoring as well as bingos. However, EIRS is remarkably stronge than EFIRS here, mostly because of the floaters on the board I imagine. EFIRS might hit a similar amount of 7s but definitely not nearly as many 8s. #tacticssmll
interesting position, depending how I view his odd placement of BLITE. it could be something weird like a scoring rack where he wants too make two spots, or a K. most likely is probably an X. not really sure. it's hard to justify blocking the X bomb cause my plays there are pretty bad and leave the G column. I could also counter-setup with ZA/BA, which mmight actually be fine anyways. this play was a sort of counter-setup, keeping 12a possibilities and h1 possibilities. Q thinks it's way too big a sacrifice, that I should just play YA. i'll call this a #strategymedium
I honestly thought he had taken away a ticket back into the game, but unfortunately I did not see my bing to the O, once again. Damn. If I had only thought about this rack as more than a "play ENTICES/IGLOOS if he doesn't block and play it with KIS if he does block" #findinglarge #knowledgelarge
13G PYE is probably slightly better. I didn't play it because I wanted to more completely block row 14 bingos. I figured my opponent must be on really good stuff to only play 1 tile. The problem is that after 13D PEONY, I basically guarantee that I Q stick myself. I could not find anything better so I just ate the Q. #strategysaddest
Yea, the V is bad enough that 4 points isn't quite worth it to do this over L1 DRAV(E). ADM is that much more flexible than AV is on this board. #strategysmall
I did intentionally choose this over J4 WEKAS and WAKES just because I have another S to make SKAS. I probably overvalued the K5 hotspot and he would probably sniff my setup and play defensively. WAKES and WEKAS are simming a couple points ahead of KAS despite my bingo % being roughly equal between WEKAS and KAS. #strategysmall
Played ZHOS quite quickly but didn't stop to think of N2 SHASH, which scores 9 more and draws into a boatload of heavy Z plays on column A or at the very least O1 ZO/ZOO. #findingmedium 14:42
Huge mistake. Probably my biggest of this tournament. I didn't realize 1) How many bingos were in the pool starting with PE and ending with some IN pattern and 2) That I could most likely outrun these scenarios. I was concerned about a refish after I made a play like K2 QAD(I) and only wanted to give him one shot. I just assumed the bingos would score too much and that I would always lose. A play like J3 DA(F)TLY is really strong here keeping 1 in the bag and saving QI. #strategysaddest
This partial block of the REDTAILS floaters was in response to his short exchange, but this is phony. I think this time GETAS is the play even with a strong range implied. #strategylarge
just play X(U). This was stupidly fancy and cost me the game. It just seemed to fit my Nationals profile. Also shout out to PAN(CREATIN). #tacticslarge
1st live tourney for me in 2.5 years! The drive to Holden, MA was well worth it. I stopped off in CT on the way there the day before to hang out with another buddy and had a great time with him too. Despite some word knowledge errors I made this tourney, it felt nice to use real equipment when it mattered most. So here it goes: I saw SLEEPED* but correctly passed that up. Unfortunately, I thought SPEEL was a noun and not a verb, so I chickened out of SPEELED. #knowledgelarge
oh shit C3 ENVIR(O)N is an option here. Dig for the blank again, perhaps give myself better tempo, but it doesn't seem like it's the right play. Hm.. This whole game was hm. O7 LEVIN is better at least. #findingsmall
very low on time, saw I had L(I)MN 2G if he tried to slowplay.This is -4 compared to C5 (U)LVA, and slightly worse than 6 other plays at least. #endgamesmall
i just make bad decisions when i'm sucking. i think i'd only won 2 games this whole day by now, and even though i did see BEVEL at 11K i thought HEME was better for some reason. i just want points now even though he can score a lot overlapping me, and EHM? is a perfectly good leave. -8 #strategylarge
Your play: RURP. I chickened out of SPURRER and bizarrely didn't play PURR for 4 more, probably distracted by my deliberations over SPURRER's validity. #knowledgelarge
Looks like FUGIO is a bit better; WU is certainly worse than the IOW after FUGU, but FUGU gives back the big easy E hook and FUGIO scores 4 more. #tacticssmall