i think i just flat out missed PReSOLD, and probably 5H DROPLeTS too. i think i forgot polders had an anagram, but i can't remember. -16 #knowledgelarge
since i'm at a disadvantage even after i bingo, quackle actually prefers i volatilize it a bit with M5 TACRINE. i didn't want to fall behind again to a lucky X, but i do need more scoring spots since there's a potentially big one in the left of row 12. -3 #tacticssmall
think I just gotta pull the trigger on DUNCH here. I figured he knew BENDYS so wasn't worried about making another S hook, although CHOMPS is harder to block. NQRU also isn't very good here, I really need a couple more vowels to make it a decent leave, so it's really not so much less risky than PQR, just less shitty. given the difficulty of blocking CHOMPS I should just play DUNCH. #tacticssmall
CP likes this, saying it wins 95%, but it's surely dependent on full confidence in CASTLINGS. Given that I did not have that confidence, a great option is 11D VOW/VAW, setting up SOZ/SAZ to follow up in the endgame, also winning 95% because the bingos Bradley does get down score so much less. Unfortunately, I burned a huge amount of time grappling with this position and somehow still didn't generate VOW/VAW, leaving me vulnerable to time pressure on my next move. #strategysmall #timelarge
L7 SHARDED. I knew SHARDING* was a phony and that SHARD was a noun, but I also felt like there was a bingo in this rack and got confused with HADDIES. #KNOWLEDGESADDEST
glad I remembered VALANCE taking a D and VALENCE only taking an S. However, I didn't remember VALENCY, which is definitely the play, as although it doesn't double a letter already on my rack, making 8-letter words less likely, it takes no hook, making 7-letter words completely unplayable. Not only that, but VALENCE takes the 3-letter PRE(VALENCE) extension, whereas VALENCY does not. TRIVALENCE is also a word, but neither Bryn nor I knew of it. #knowledgesmall
I missed the R hook on JAKE and the L hook for PATAGIA (which I straight up just didn't know, I thought it maybe took an S or nothing). Once I saw that B9 (BA)IRNS guaranteed the win I didn't really think too hard. #visionsaddest #knowledgesaddest
ESTANCIA got blocked, which I would have seen this time. Clearly things are not going my way this game. I think I needed to do N1 ACETA here and create better scoring opportunities. #findingmeh
Missed two bingos here after he surprisingly blocked ANALYSTS K5. SATYRALS# and STAYSA(I)L. I have no excuse for the latter other than of course I would miss a Y bingo. This turn was also fascinating because I wondered how much the A improved my leave. If I play K9 SAY, I score 1 less, and don't block the triple. However, I understcored SAY by 2 in my head. Still, as somewhat expected, SAY is a much better play than SA(T)AY. I should have gathered that conclusion over the board. #findingsaddest #strategysad
Yes, I saw 2A PANADA, and I absolutely should have played it--it scores better, keeps better, turns over one more tile for the blanks, and creates a high-scoring lane on column A, which I may need because I am behind. #strategymedium
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
INTU is clearly a better leave than ETU but i think 7G WAIN sims best partially because i can bingo through the N? i'm not totally sure. my bingo % goes up after it. #tacticssmall
this is likely wrong. a good player like Joey would be setting up a heavy tile to hit the spot at 10F after my inevitable bingo. i should dump the R there. I considered it but thought he might just be keeping low tiles himself and trying to race me to the bingo, and then OR would be easy for him to bingo to since it has so many hooks, etc. hard choice. i also considered abort for a while. -1.5 #strategysmall
Not bad, but VIEW M1 accomplishes a lot of the same things while also devaluing Row 1 and scoring 6 more points. One upside to the N6 placement is that it neutralizes threats like RITZ N7. (-5) #strategymedium
I thought the A(V)A play was genius, which it was, setting up Q(A)t/t(OY) and Qu(AY) unblockable. Sadly it gives me an out I somehow failed to see!!! And then I play this for some really stupid reason. Maybe hoping she missed Qu(AY)? #endgamesaddest
7F UPO sims best, and I probably would have played that if I had seen H8 RaMSHORN; Kenji's best play after UPO is B7 RAMSHOrN. CAPOT is bad even if RaMSHORN doesn't exist, because of Kenji's next play. #knowledgelarge
Will: Only two Es left so the odds of Josh paralleling this aren't as bad as usual. Josh: Adding a #knowledgesmall for Will for challenging ENTERINGS. Will, if you wanna play with the big boys, you gotta tag EVERYTHING.
Drawing the X was so painful, but at least I felt the game was somewhat even at this point despite my attempts to sabotage it with BUR(F)I(s). I had realized at this point that my play had allowed -AX words and was really upset. Also, I could be better off here playing POX and keeping the F considering Noah's last play. I think the defense is well worth it here. #tacticssmall
It's none of Jay's BEESWAX what I have on my rack (except if he tracked correctly which he did). Sadly there is no spot for this cool bingo and I would go on to miss F1 WAXE(r)S saving multiple out plays with BE. #endgamelarge
A: The best plays are exchanges: Quackle's pick is to exchange all 7, followed by other exchanges keeping the S and maybe one other tile. Keeping the S seems right because it is essential for column O and also useful on column N making ZITIS. GIRT blocks column D and leaves 6 in the bag, making it impossible for me to play two bingos. #strategysmall
C: Worse yet, a few years ago, I prepared a spreadsheet of all the blank bingos with 5 or fewer solutions, and have looked at the top 3,000 8s maybe 50 times each. One of these blanagrams is ?AEILNNO, with four solutions. If I had recognized this, I might have found mINNEOL(A) E4, but that seemed like the least promising lane, and I didn't give it enough time. All those hundreds of hours I've spent looking at those lists, and then I miss something from there. But it pays to remember that all the study in the world can't guarantee that you'll find the word. It merely increases your chances of finding it.
I didn't have much time here and decided I just needed to play fast and I missed K3 (G)OETY. I also wasn't sure of 12H (C)OUTHY. #timesaddest #knowledgesaddest
thought about ENMOVE# but didn't like it. Thought this was a good time to block SHOVELED, since it didn't seem like a big equity swing. But ENMOVE is too good. #knowledgesaddest
saw TUNNY and RUNNY but not RUNTY, which is what I would have chosen. I knew EIT was worse than EIR but felt the R in UNDERLIE gave the leave a nice boost. However, if I had seen that there were many T's to duplicate, I wouldn't have made this decision. Who knows if I ever would have spotted RUNTY. This was overthinking and bad playfinding. #findingsmall
Pretty significant mistake by getting too greedy. Just take the guaranteed bingo with NOTIFIER. Why can't TONIFIER* be good if TONIFIES and TONIFIED are good along with NOTIFIER, NOTIFIES, and NOTIFIED? Good challenge Beth. #knowledgesad #dictionaryflawslarge
Most interesting position of the game is here. I spent a while considering the merits of E4 GLAD and E4 GLADE -- the X setup is beautiful and massive, and hitting an A or O with 4/5 draws seems pretty likely. It is probably pretty important for me to hold the E and only play E4 GLAD on the offchance that I miss every vowel draw. Ultimately, I chickened out and decided to take the guaranteed points. But it seems like blocking lanes to the E + scoring + setting up a SECOND X bomb outweigh the security of crushing the spot now. After the game, I pointed out the potential setup to Josh, and he said something like "that would've made the game interesting. " So there's that. #strategysad I guess.
POND has the high valuation, but N5 ADORNS wins more often, because it blocks the lanes on columns L and N without opening an easy lane on column O. #tacticssmall
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
super conservative here in not playing WHAP, but I should have realized that WHA was better than WAP. I think I was a bit overloaded with options here. This is a bad play. #tacticsmedium
I needed to pay better attention to the pool. My opponent is unlikely to bingo. I don't need to block the A column. In fact, I kinda need it to stay open for myself. L2 JO(L) is fine. #strategysmall
Quackle hates this play, and I agree that it is unsound. My idea was to generate turnover for the blank while setting up a marginal lane on column N that is difficult for Noah to close (without opening another lane or sacrificing points) or to hit, because I have the last E. I considered 12H DOWSE, but Noah usually has one or more of DRRRS and can close the board easily by playing on column M. I did not consider any fishing plays. L8 WE is best by far, setting up OKES on column M and tempting a play at 8L that opens lanes for 8s. #strategylarge
I totally fucked up and thought he had BINGERS and that I was blocking bingos through the N. Even if he did have BINGERS this still gives back B(OK) plays. #STRATEGYSADDEST
missing the beautiful (JIN)GKO at 10F. This seemed better than GE(C)K for draws at RESEX* which I hope I would have remembered is invalid. #findingSADDEST
I realized after I played this that I missed A10 LAVAGE, which both I and the sim prefer over BAGEL. The equity play, A12 VEGA, performs equally with LAVAGE. #strategysmall
UTA sims a lot worse than 6F AA; it says I bingo a lot more often with DESTU than ADES. wow, i had no idea that DESTU was better, and the three extra points make it worth it. (-4.5) #tacticsmedium
I'm lucky this isn't a huge blunder because I did not realize I was emptying the bag with this play. Only I3 DO is better since it bingos more. #strategysad
Sigh, I spelled out GREWING on my rack and stared at it for 30 seconds before deciding against it. I should've been more deliberate to really think it over, but I'm trying really hard to go faster these days and in general I find it's helping me a lot. The pathway I could've taken to realizing GREWING is good is that I think my intuition is that there's something in DEEGRW, but that DEEGRW + S = SWEDGER, so whatever's in DEEGRW has to not be WEDGER, and is thus probably GREWED, thus making GREWING likelier to be good. #knowledgelarge
big oofs all around here, frens. 15A FOREtOL(D), 15A OvERFOL(D), 15A FORsLOE(D) 15B REFLOO(D)s all would have been fine #KNOWLEDGESADDEST #FINDINGSADDEST #VISIONSADDEST
the Lewises say hi. Hi Lewises! wasn't sure enough of webless or aweless for that matter, although i liked the second more. but i should find tWELvES. bingos with two blanks are hard. #knowledgelarge -9