Saturday, August 31, 2013

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Mark Your Calendars

Hi everyone,

I'm excited to announce that our THIRD rated tournament for this year is now on the NASPA calendar, for November 16 at Cosmic Oasis.  It will still be a single-day event, but 8 games this time.  The fee will stay at $35, though; 8 games for the price of 7.  :)

Watch cross-tables.com for the official announcement and flyer soon!

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Club Tomorrow (8/25)

Well I apologize for sounding like a broken record, but I won't be able to make club again tomorrow.  Also, we had several that went and played at Indy today and are getting back late tonight, so numbers may be pretty slim.  So, if you're one of the ones that can make it, please post a comment.

I hope to get back in the swing of things soon, if not next week, then for sure the official monthly meeting the week after.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Results from Sunday, Aug. 18

Five people slung tiles Sunday at Bob Evans. Everyone except Cheryl got in at least four games, and Betty made us all pay.

 Betty 4-0, +230    Bingoes: EMIRATES 78, SKILLED 87
Will 3-1, +244       Bingoes: GREATENS 77, GENTLES 64, DELETION 74, TALLIES 85,
       OPENEST 65
Cheryl 1-2, -44
Victoria 1-3, -187  Bingoes: WEIRDER 80, CARLINE 83
Jan 1-4, -243          Bingoes: ALINERS 62, FAIRIES 71

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Club Tomorrow (8/18)

I won't be able to make club tomorrow.  What about others?

Thursday, August 15, 2013

August Official Meeting Results

Below are the results of Sunday's official meeting.  I've updated the monthly stats link also.  Thanks for Will for collecting Sunday's stats in my absence!

Will 4-1, +308   Bingoes: DESOLATE 62, GRATINS 63, CANNIEST 80, NAIVETE 70, NEWTONS 64, ANOLYTE 88
Betty 3-2, +46   Bingoes: ARENOUS 73, RATIONED 70, SNORTERS 74, SAUCIER 70, NETLESS 72
Victoria 2-3, -160   Bingoes: PAINTERS 83, FANNERS 71, EROSION 74, SATIRE 70, ANTICAR 63, RENTING 73
Janny 1-3, -147   Bingoes: ROTATES 61
David 0-1, -7   Bingoes: MINGLERS 63

Friday, August 9, 2013

Club on Sunday, Aug. 11

I plan to be at club on Sunday. It's the official monthly meeting, correct?

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Dispatch from nationals, finale

Day 5: Three games and it's over, having gone far too fast. With a record of 15 and 13, I'm hoping for at least one win, which would guarantee a winning record. I've climbed within hailing distance of the leaders, which, considering my start, leaves me pretty happy no matter what happens.

Game 29: The morning starts wonderfully: Going first, I pull SCRIBERS out of the bag and play it, and opponent challenges. Two turns later, with a vowel-heavy rack, I play EULOGIAE through the U that my opponent just played. I'm up by 130 points and manage to maintain a healthy lead, then I seal the game when, with both blanks, I play ENGRAILS for 66. I make a dumb late mistake, front-hooking an A onto VIS, but I follow with FLAW for 42. Final score: 453-333. I'm going to finish with a winning record. Woohoo!

Game 30: Opponent opens  with QUANT for 48 followed by DALLIED for 67, but I answer her bingo with DOWDIEST for 89, then TREATER for 70. Three turns later I have PIRATES for 63, and a few high-scoring small plays keeps me out of trouble. Final score: 436-351. Record: 17-13.

Game 31: In a rematch from game 22, which I lost by 10, opponent opens with QUOTE for 48 and gradually increases her lead. On turn 4, I play JINGOIST for 68 (JOISTING also would have played, but I wasn't as sure of it). Opponent answers with RAVENING for 89, but I then play JAUK for 45, followed by APHONIAS for 72, using the first blank. Opponent regains the lead, but I draw the second blank and play TORNADO for 70. With a crowded board and little in the bag, we make a series of small plays, and I squeak out a win, 425-409.

Final record: 18-13, +964. I finish in 21st place, after having dropped to 121st place after game 5. I finished in the top 10 in points scored, more than 12,000, and average score, 411.5. I have better than average luck, drawing 34 of the 62 blanks, but I played well, too: 62 bingoes, exactly 2 per game, compared to 36 for my opponents. My rating is now 1451, a 164-point gain, and I find out later that I won $150 for second-best performance over my seeding. I can identify at least two games that I could have won, but other than that, this was an overwhelming success, and a blast to boot.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Dispatch from nationals, Day 4

Game 1: I wish I had this game back. After trailing by 20 points or less most of the game, I finally took a lead on a 52-point XI/AX play. Two turns later, I was ahead by 14 and opponent had exchanged. Finally I had a bingo rack, with a few tiles available for an eight, but no obvious 7-tile bingo spots. I dithered for a long time, going more than 3 minutes overtime, and finally I played a desperation phony: REALEST, placing the E under MUCIN to make MUCINE*, for 78 points. Opponent held but wisely didn't challenge, because she had a 61-point bingo and knew I would lose 40 points on time. When it was over, I lost by 10.

Game 2: Playing the No. 24 seed, I got off to an unusual start. I drew first, but with four Es, I exchanged. On my second turn, I bingoed with MINUTEST for 70, but I drew three Es, three Os and a U, so I exchanged again. And again it paid off: I played UNSTOWED off the U in MINUTEST for 86. So my first four turns were: exchange, bingo, exchange, bingo. Unfortunately, opponent was keeping up, with the bingo AEDILES and high-scoring short plays. On turn 12, opponent had a 15-point lead, and with two tiles in the bag, I had the Q and a U, with only one spot to make a decent play. Opponent took a long time, laying down a P on a 30-point spot, then picking it up and shuffling tiles. Finally he looked up and said, "Pass." I could hardly believe it. I double-checked the score, checked my tracking for the nine unseen tiles, and made my play: QUIRE/ERE, with the Qon a double-letter and the R on a double-word, for 51 points. Opponent was stunned. He'd overlooked the possible hot spot, thinking that with the junk left over, I couldn't make a decent play, and he'd passed because he didn't want to risk getting stuck with the Q. So one game after apparently handing over a game, I stole one back.

Game 3: On turn 2, opponent bingoed with MEDIANS for 78. One turn later, I answered with DELATION for 70 to take a brief, narrow lead. It was back and forth for several turns, and then opponent played SMUGGER for 80. That was during a four-turn stretch when I averaged 38 points a turn, but I couldn't regain the lead, and I lost by 14, 428-414.

Game 4: I had my chances, with two bingoes -- MARKETED for 71 and AROUSING for 62 -- plus FAUX for 58 and HIVER for 51, but I hurt myself by trying to hook an S onto DE on a bingo play and getting it challenged off. The game ended with opponent winning by 1 point, so I requested a recount. I'm embarrassed to say I had three math errors, overcounting by 2 on one play and undercounting on two other plays by a total of 5. Opponent undercounted on one play, and once we fixed our mistakes, I had won by 3 points. I'm not proud of that win.

Game 5: Challenges were my friend in this game. I challenged off REGALIAS* on turn 5, then my subsequent 48-point play of KNAWE survived opponent's challenge. Later, I played FATTIES for 85 and an unrecorded bingo for 80. I allowed a phony when opponent played MONEY for 49, placing the N above OILIEST. (NOILY is good, but not NOILIER* or NOILIEST*.) By then, though, I had enough of a lead, and I won, 460-391.

Game 6: Opponent drew both blanks and played each for bingoes, but I was able to hang close until the end. I had SUNBEAM for 74, plus JARRED for 42 and AALS on a busy spot for 41, but it wasn't quite enough: I lost, 377-354.

Game 7: I had gradually built a 50-point lead when luck started falling my way. I played ACROBAT for 73, opponent answered with TINNERS for 66, but I had MAESTRI for 75 and then HAW in a rich spot for 57. Final score: 456-339.

I had a consistent pattern on Day 4: W, L, W, L, W, L, W. That was fine by me: With three games left, I already had exceeded my "expected wins" of 11, and one win in the final three games would guarantee a winning record.

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Results for August 4, 2013

NAME
W - L
SPREAD
BINGOES

David
4 - 0
+661
  ESTIV(A)L 80       REALISE 64
        REACHE(D) 80       RATLINE 71
        SEN(D)ING 71       UnEARTHS 74 72
Betty
3 - 1
+298
  SUSTAIN 73       TORTURES 69
Victoria
3 - 1
+29
  GUILDERS 64       LAWINES 72
        RETINAE 69       ANISOLE 72
        DIORI(T)ES 62      
Janny
2 - 2
-66
  RETAIL(S) 68       DaNGL(E)RS 63
Cheryl
0 - 4
-344
         
Jan
0 - 4
-578
  ENTRIES 66