Lake George, game by game, what I learned/thought/did...
Game 1: I couldn't get myself together. I forgot that ZA was a word, and that WAKE had a front hook. Yeah. Go me.
Game 2: I ran with my early lead, which was 148-28 on turn 2, 341-197 turn 6, and finished 436-410 on turn 14. I was playing a pretty bad defensive game, but wasn't drawing anything I could figure out how to play better. My tiles from turn 7 to 13: AAACDEGIILNOU (then I drew the K - yay!); my scores averaged around 14, his probably around 30. He burned through way more tiles, which was part of the problem - I couldn't figure out how to play mine without opening things - and drew things with points. But, I blocked all the bingos, when he had a blank and better word knowledge than me, which is something, I guess.
Game 3: Ended by him saying "how can you play so badly and still win?" Ha. He tried EX(C)EDiNG* and asked later why I challenged it. Is exceeding not a common word? Am I confused? I got away with FEELY* and found the only playable bingo in DEINPT?, which took me awhile to get to - they're all fairly common, but I often miss STIPEND when studying.
Game 4: I really wanted to play EXORDIAL but held myself back 'cause I didn't really know it. Got challenged on HOS+. Had racks that taunted me like AELNOUS and AADEEOR. Missed ARAMIDS, and felt there was something in the rack, but I don't know that one yet.
Game 5: Got distracted and didn't have a chance to challenge TOC* before she'd gotten tiles out of the bag. It all happened too fast, and made me cranky. Also, put down GOATED* and moved hand over clock while I was staring at my rack, so I thought she'd hit it and said hold, and she took the letters back. Argh. Tried AUSSIEs*, which was taken off, but later set up ULU next to the triple lane in an unblockable way with the last S?, which took me to the end.
Game 6: Too much trust. Let FLYNN* and TARSuLS* go. Had cute (T)ROOZ for 42, PILA(F) with underhook AG to triple for 37. Left a meaty triple lane open so I could trade. He got A(S)HORE through it, but I was rewarded by pulling out a bingo. Was up at the end, when he played off my DEPICT for DEPICTORAL* - I challenge and it's good and I lose, so it stays and I barely get any spread points. Nice play.
Game 7: Good letter synergy, she seemed distracted, and I chanced and got away with AVAS*/AIRIEST.
Game 8: Why did I let BUP* go? More importantly, BUPS*/DEADENS? The voice in the back of my head needs to be more assertive. Also, I only played 41 tiles this game. Bad.
Game 9: This one was close all the way, and I probably won by challenging off the creative DOLEFINS* on turn 4. Again with thinking someone hit their clock when they didn't. I thought she went out and dumped my letters, turns out she hadn't, and she had mistracked, and now knew my rack. Boo. Thank goodness I still won or I would've been extra-cranky. First time I've ever passed in a game. She passed back. I should've just let it end there, but played. I was further ahead at the pass turn than at the end.
Game 10: His first two turns were BUM and GENUSES, mine were TORPORs and BLOwIES(T). I held the lead to the end without too much trouble. I saw the lovely FIL(L)ETI(N)G, but he blocked it. Toward the end, I was fairly confident that he had a bingo rack, and couldn't block all the lanes, so I tried to bump them out to give me access to a triple. Didn't quite work, but was glad to have seen the opportunity.
Day three was the day of ridiculous vowelitis.
Game 11: I had AIRWISe fairly early, which he held, and then I got a little too creative with AMORALS* later, which he challenged. Nuts. I got AREOLAS two turns later, but would've needed another few turns and some openings and extra tiles in the bag or something to actually catch up.
Game 12: Turn 3, I play SWIRL vertically in the B row, SWIRL ending just above the triple, and he plays KAE/KI/AR/EL, dangling KAE right above the triple. I hope all game to draw SYN or SYLI or one of many SY words and never manage. Even a ?Y with something and I probably would've played it for the style (and actual) points. It was not to be. I drew poo. CZARIN(A)S for 108 was save #1. His phony INrEACH* which I actually managed to challenge (instead of my usual logic of "he could've played many other bingos, including ARCHINE, so why choose that") meant I knew his rack, and got all the way through to the end not letting him bingo, and scoring well enough, and pressuring him on time to pull the win. My power tiles were SSXZ. I drew six Us by throwing them back twice and picking them up again. I'm quite proud of that game.
Game 13: ABLATEs early was completely study recall. I didn't fully trust it, but it was early and I played it, and go figure, it's good. RECLOAK* looked really plausible, but alas, was challenged. Knowing my tiles, he set me up for LOCKE(R) for 51 on the next turn, which was friendlier than he meant to be. I had DEFERRA(L) to pull a decent lead, and got the second blank later for eVASION (which I tend to miss on quizzes. I like to call it VANIOSE*) -- I also had SWINGLE/SLEWING later, but didn't trust either enough to play them. I have all of my racks from this game, so will get to mess with it more later. I'm proud of myself for muddling through QIIILOO, EEILOOU and EINNNOU in the middle.
Game 14: I had an early lead, with a lucky TASTI(N)GS through his KNAVE (I was about to trade), and Z(I)NE through his TWINE, and then CANDIeS/REC to his RE, to make it 251-163 after turn 7. I fast played a bit, blocked things up, and then proceeded to draw nothing but vowels from turn 13 to the end four turns later. Again with the not wanting to open the board by playing more than a couple tiles, but every two vowels, I drew two more. I had over 10 minutes left at the end.
Game 15: To bookend my ability to look like I can't play this game, I played the same person as I did for game 1, again didn't bingo, again didn't break 300. From turn 7 to the end (turn 15), I was opening things, leaving balanced racks, and it felt like running in circles. I had BURIALS and GERBILS on separate turns and couldn't play them. I left myself ELOS on two racks (best leave/points/board opportunities to bingo that I could see), and drew EEF and MOO, respectively. I left myself ALISE twice, with an N to play through or a T to start from, and drew OY and PI. I couldn't figure this one out. She has the same initals as I do, and was rated 5 below me. It was my third place to lose, and she stole it. I think she is my nemesis. At least she seems friendly.
Bingo list later. It's Taco Tuesday and I'm hungry.
Game 2: I ran with my early lead, which was 148-28 on turn 2, 341-197 turn 6, and finished 436-410 on turn 14. I was playing a pretty bad defensive game, but wasn't drawing anything I could figure out how to play better. My tiles from turn 7 to 13: AAACDEGIILNOU (then I drew the K - yay!); my scores averaged around 14, his probably around 30. He burned through way more tiles, which was part of the problem - I couldn't figure out how to play mine without opening things - and drew things with points. But, I blocked all the bingos, when he had a blank and better word knowledge than me, which is something, I guess.
Game 3: Ended by him saying "how can you play so badly and still win?" Ha. He tried EX(C)EDiNG* and asked later why I challenged it. Is exceeding not a common word? Am I confused? I got away with FEELY* and found the only playable bingo in DEINPT?, which took me awhile to get to - they're all fairly common, but I often miss STIPEND when studying.
Game 4: I really wanted to play EXORDIAL but held myself back 'cause I didn't really know it. Got challenged on HOS+. Had racks that taunted me like AELNOUS and AADEEOR. Missed ARAMIDS, and felt there was something in the rack, but I don't know that one yet.
Game 5: Got distracted and didn't have a chance to challenge TOC* before she'd gotten tiles out of the bag. It all happened too fast, and made me cranky. Also, put down GOATED* and moved hand over clock while I was staring at my rack, so I thought she'd hit it and said hold, and she took the letters back. Argh. Tried AUSSIEs*, which was taken off, but later set up ULU next to the triple lane in an unblockable way with the last S?, which took me to the end.
Game 6: Too much trust. Let FLYNN* and TARSuLS* go. Had cute (T)ROOZ for 42, PILA(F) with underhook AG to triple for 37. Left a meaty triple lane open so I could trade. He got A(S)HORE through it, but I was rewarded by pulling out a bingo. Was up at the end, when he played off my DEPICT for DEPICTORAL* - I challenge and it's good and I lose, so it stays and I barely get any spread points. Nice play.
Game 7: Good letter synergy, she seemed distracted, and I chanced and got away with AVAS*/AIRIEST.
Game 8: Why did I let BUP* go? More importantly, BUPS*/DEADENS? The voice in the back of my head needs to be more assertive. Also, I only played 41 tiles this game. Bad.
Game 9: This one was close all the way, and I probably won by challenging off the creative DOLEFINS* on turn 4. Again with thinking someone hit their clock when they didn't. I thought she went out and dumped my letters, turns out she hadn't, and she had mistracked, and now knew my rack. Boo. Thank goodness I still won or I would've been extra-cranky. First time I've ever passed in a game. She passed back. I should've just let it end there, but played. I was further ahead at the pass turn than at the end.
Game 10: His first two turns were BUM and GENUSES, mine were TORPORs and BLOwIES(T). I held the lead to the end without too much trouble. I saw the lovely FIL(L)ETI(N)G, but he blocked it. Toward the end, I was fairly confident that he had a bingo rack, and couldn't block all the lanes, so I tried to bump them out to give me access to a triple. Didn't quite work, but was glad to have seen the opportunity.
Day three was the day of ridiculous vowelitis.
Game 11: I had AIRWISe fairly early, which he held, and then I got a little too creative with AMORALS* later, which he challenged. Nuts. I got AREOLAS two turns later, but would've needed another few turns and some openings and extra tiles in the bag or something to actually catch up.
Game 12: Turn 3, I play SWIRL vertically in the B row, SWIRL ending just above the triple, and he plays KAE/KI/AR/EL, dangling KAE right above the triple. I hope all game to draw SYN or SYLI or one of many SY words and never manage. Even a ?Y with something and I probably would've played it for the style (and actual) points. It was not to be. I drew poo. CZARIN(A)S for 108 was save #1. His phony INrEACH* which I actually managed to challenge (instead of my usual logic of "he could've played many other bingos, including ARCHINE, so why choose that") meant I knew his rack, and got all the way through to the end not letting him bingo, and scoring well enough, and pressuring him on time to pull the win. My power tiles were SSXZ. I drew six Us by throwing them back twice and picking them up again. I'm quite proud of that game.
Game 13: ABLATEs early was completely study recall. I didn't fully trust it, but it was early and I played it, and go figure, it's good. RECLOAK* looked really plausible, but alas, was challenged. Knowing my tiles, he set me up for LOCKE(R) for 51 on the next turn, which was friendlier than he meant to be. I had DEFERRA(L) to pull a decent lead, and got the second blank later for eVASION (which I tend to miss on quizzes. I like to call it VANIOSE*) -- I also had SWINGLE/SLEWING later, but didn't trust either enough to play them. I have all of my racks from this game, so will get to mess with it more later. I'm proud of myself for muddling through QIIILOO, EEILOOU and EINNNOU in the middle.
Game 14: I had an early lead, with a lucky TASTI(N)GS through his KNAVE (I was about to trade), and Z(I)NE through his TWINE, and then CANDIeS/REC to his RE, to make it 251-163 after turn 7. I fast played a bit, blocked things up, and then proceeded to draw nothing but vowels from turn 13 to the end four turns later. Again with the not wanting to open the board by playing more than a couple tiles, but every two vowels, I drew two more. I had over 10 minutes left at the end.
Game 15: To bookend my ability to look like I can't play this game, I played the same person as I did for game 1, again didn't bingo, again didn't break 300. From turn 7 to the end (turn 15), I was opening things, leaving balanced racks, and it felt like running in circles. I had BURIALS and GERBILS on separate turns and couldn't play them. I left myself ELOS on two racks (best leave/points/board opportunities to bingo that I could see), and drew EEF and MOO, respectively. I left myself ALISE twice, with an N to play through or a T to start from, and drew OY and PI. I couldn't figure this one out. She has the same initals as I do, and was rated 5 below me. It was my third place to lose, and she stole it. I think she is my nemesis. At least she seems friendly.
Bingo list later. It's Taco Tuesday and I'm hungry.