3L REI.... but then I have to find CRENATION after C2 CHOIR and C1 ICHOR are blocked. Also N4 CIRRI is better than this because it does not allow 6M MIG. #endgamemedium (-10)
Matt's suggestion of H12 (TE)DY after the game seems to be correct. That and 13M GA(T) are the only winning plays. They outrun bingos in every scenario. #strategysaddest
I'm probably a favorite to hit one of the S hooks, but I'm also up and wanted to shut down the easy lines. I thought ALEW was an interjection and I didn't think ALEWS was a word which is very sad. Maybe K11 F(I)N is fine here. #strategysaddest
totally at a loss because I didn't know GUGGLE. I tried to push the issue as a result. KUGEL might have been better if it weren't for his range of mostly consos. #knowledgesmall
I kinda like giving so little back with TORN, but QUIN may just be fine. QUINT plays will give me hooks. There's also NOR which gives even less back, the I and M hooks aren't really dangerous. Looks like a better version of TORN, I can get some INN plays too. I often feel compelled in these games to give back no hooks at all, but that doesn't mean TORN is the most defensive play. QUIN is fine for offence. #tacticssmall
Wayyyy to many points to lose out on here. Not only was I unsure of M8 LITHOES (LITHOS* isn't good), but 13B HOSTILE plays for 90! I could have had much more on this turn. #visionlarge
Well, I like to think that if I had had to see it, I would've spotted F1 PEACE, which Dave saw but correctly forced me to see by blocking the much easier L1 EALE; but EA and EE at 11J both get the job done. I must have been tired. #endgamelarge
jeez, sigh, totally missed the anagram of OPES -- PESO. even 6H OP is pretty decent. OPES is just like "here be my guest and score some points / bingo". -7 #knowledgemedium
the best play here is probably fishing the G with (PI)G, followed by 5 extra points for GRO(IN), which I missed. This reduces counterplay maximally, but it's not good enough #findingmedium
Tough move here. My hope was that reparalleling MIS with ISO would help me open more of the board on subsequent turns, but particularly blocky AMIS hooks like the one Vince played are bad news. Sim actually prefers LIS slightly over MIS on that basis, allowing many fewer points per turn to Vince by allowing fewer hooks and less lucrative plays down the L column. #strategysmall
i held for another 3-4 minutes, and decided that it's very likely good and i had to let it go. i'm glad i didn't make a steam challenge. about my play - i wasn't super enthused about blocking some lanes but i just don't know how to catch up without scoring points. i decided i was going to need to get lucky so i thought scoring 32 pts and bingoing asap next turn was better than fishing. H7 SIR sims best though by win %, it makes sense. #tacticssmall
i chickened out on (G)LUER -- was pretty sure but if i'm wrong i probably lose the game. my move also wins 100% of the time but i wasn't totally sure i would win, i had about 30 seconds and i saw that i just might outrun M10 NOIR, although i wasn't sure. too much nervousness early left me scrambling for time. -1 #endgamesmall
I tunneled on fishing for 8A NON(QUOTA). Instead, since I don't have a good play using the U, I should keep column D open. J6 WOON# is best, but I didn't know (HEBE)N#; F6 WO(OH)OO# is second. #knowledgemedium
very much wanted this to be the best play, but since almost no A's and only 2 U's remain, I2 TE/SQUAMAE is better. Also, just dropping the T at O3. She almost bit on SQUAMA, so thought she would challenge this own. #strategysmall
Of the generated plays that empty the bag, J12 SIFT is best, blocking the highest-scoring possible Z play, 15K Z(Y)MES. IF avoids the situations where Dennis bingos out and I am stuck with the Z, but it scores little and falls behind SIFT and several other plays in the sim. #strategylarge
My opponent's clearly been fishing and the pool looks spanking, so I figured I needed to block bingos but what I also really needed to do was keep scoring. 4H VEN(o)M is great here #strategysaddest #findingsaddest
#knowledgesad for challenge There's like 7 bingos I can draw into after J13 SRI, but 6 of them make CHER and there's no way Kaia's not taking that spot or bingoing there herself. But I could still probably draw into N3 (O)RDERiNG?
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.
Scored as 36. QANAT has the best equity, but the best play is O3 VALONIA, which blocks high-scoring bingos on columns N and O. Also, I might as well play my I off, given that six more I's are unseen. #strategymedium
I seriously considered playing 1A WAZ(O)OING* before deciding that it was more likely that the blank was in the bag and I could draw it to win than WAZOOING* being a word. This isn't actually the best play. C1 ZO(A) saves 1A WA(ZO)O and wins about 50% of the time as opposed to this which wins about 30% of the time. #endgamelarge
almost played ANNO(Y), which would have blocked RALLYE unwittingly. I wanted to block REFRAINS stuff, which is obviously far less of a factor given RALLYE. I thought this did a good job outrunning 14E plays. I could play EAU at L11 to also block the dangerous REFRAINS hook as well as scoring plays to the Y, but I was more worried about getting outrun from 53 ahead instead of 62 ahead, and that would allow Jackson time to play something on the N column like OE maybe, since EAU protects that sort of opening. #visionsaddest for RALLYE again.
It is preferable to play thru this rack over exchanging, although exchanging down to CEN or CEIN doesn't sim too far back. 12H INU(R)E does score 6 more but I honestly didn't love the prospect of keeping CII here. I probably should have gone with INURE, nothing is really that good here. #strategysmall
shiiiiiit I missed FREMD. #findinglarge I was also close to exchanging here, and I think it is fine, especially cause DEFT doesn't take an S so overlaps may not leave me with much. ERST sims best, followed by EMRST then DERST then DEFT quite a bit below #tacticssmall as well for the DOUBLE FAIL!!1
HONE is better because it just bingos more and scores more. CONE also takes an S hook and I didn't see it. ONE also might be the play because it doesn't create the S hook #strategysmall
EXED much better, fewer points, but blocks Wendy's best chance at winning COXES making LORDINGS also good, didn't know that was valid. #endgameSAD #knowledgeSAD #strategySAD
i don't think i'm that far off from being right. he's about to bingo again, and if he doesn't hit the H i can maybe get some big points back. maybe J7 R(E)X would block his bingo, but idk. #strategymedium?
however, in 2017, I won against Joe Edley, thinking I had cashed, but everything else did not go my way and I ended up right outside the money. I saw WEEPIE and was just too uneasy about its validity to play it. I knew that I could afford a few small mistakes, so long as I didn't lose a turn. Though, I had lost a turn to Karl earlier in the tournament and still won that game. WEEPIE is obviously a word and I just have no self-confidence. #knowledgesmall
i saw YOWZA but didn't like the leave and what i thought was worse defense. guess i was wrong though. ZONARY has much worse defense; lots of overlaps i guess, or plays through the Z. -3 #strategysmall
This is part of where I lost the game. I needed to play 5I WOOD here with more Os and another D to draw. Not sure why I didn't spot that. #visionmedium
This has the highest valuation, but Quackle prefers the safer 11G CoNIINE. INClINE takes D, R, and S, all of which can easily end a seven-letter bingo to bring Michael back into this game. #tacticssmall
Yea, I suppose I could try to reparallel with my J on row 2 now, but maybe let's do C3 DJINNI instead. I did overestimate future scoring prospects with the J, which aren't as abundant as I once thought. I should have just dumped it now. #strategylarge
J2 KUNA holding on to the S was my other option here and maybe I need to do that. After KUIAS I'm pretty much committed to bingoing to the R of AIRILY. #strategysmall
This is a bad play: it blocks row 12 and the BESCOURS hook, opens a D/N hook that I don't have, and scores only 12 points. Quackle strongly prefers 9F LIMA, which keeps the highest-scoring lanes open and scores 21 points. I like J2 MILIA, which scores the same as LIMA and keeps a better leave. #strategymedium
The sim is saying not to bingo here, which I'm not sure about but seems plausible. I probably need some outbingo on the A column at this point. Bingoing right now has terrible endgame timing, but maybe I draw the Z and some vowels. I dunno. #strategysaddest
didn't see GHEE 11B OTB, definitely like that more because it gets rid of the G. I at least liked this for potential SQU plays down the line, or ENQUIRE and stuff like that #findingsmall