Scrabble celebrations tonight
Come throw down some tiles with us over a drink or two.
There will be theme word prizes, camaraderie and fun galore!
One of our regulars, Michael L, won the big prize at the Main Event of the recent Michael Wise Memorial Scrabble Tournament this weekend, going 10-2. Congratulations Michael! I'm sure a lot of us will help you celebrate your victory tonight.
On Friday night, Heather and I came in second place in the Pairs Event, beating out the top-rated partners in our final game. It just goes to show you how teamwork can pay off. In light of this, I will endeavour to match up willing participants tonight for some two-on-two games.
So if you're afraid of coming out for the first time, or if you've got a Scrabble buddy that's sitting on the fence about coming out, tonight's for you! We start at 7PM and some of us diehards stay quite late.
Now a recap of last week:
Autumn was the theme, which saw theme word entries such as MULLED (as in cider), FEED (as in the first harvest), GRAPY and VINO (wine season, anyone?) and BURN (as in what is done to leaves). The popular vote picked MULLED, played by newcomer Margaret. The runner up was VINO, played by Kilgour regular Johnny. They both went home with some bar swag, courtesy of Kilgour's.
In what has got to be one of my most humbling moments, I was on the receiving end of a 5-bingo* game. Another regular, Jim N, had the Tile Gods smile down on him as he got down 4 bingos in the first six turns: CORONAE, ESTRONE, SULKING and THUNDER, quickly taking a huge lead, 359-82. When his fifth bingo of UNLAYING came down, I had to challenge. The adjudication came back as acceptable (it even anagrams to UNGAINLY). So I lost my turn and Jim surged ahead 533-185 after just 10 turns each.
Final score: 645-274. Jim could've had a 700+ game if he had seen his outplay bingo of DEMENTIA. I began to question my own sanity after this blowout. It takes great word knowledge, skill and a healthy dose of luck to have an outstanding game like that. I have a newfound respect for Jim after that game.
* A bingo is what we call it when you use all seven tiles on your rack in a single turn. These and other terms are mentioned in the New York Times bestseller Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players.
This book reads like a novel. Some of the characters depicted are real characters, if you get my drift. There are a few Scrabble in the City regulars who would fit right in. Come one, come all tonight. Get your Word Freak on!
iLifer
There will be theme word prizes, camaraderie and fun galore!
One of our regulars, Michael L, won the big prize at the Main Event of the recent Michael Wise Memorial Scrabble Tournament this weekend, going 10-2. Congratulations Michael! I'm sure a lot of us will help you celebrate your victory tonight.
On Friday night, Heather and I came in second place in the Pairs Event, beating out the top-rated partners in our final game. It just goes to show you how teamwork can pay off. In light of this, I will endeavour to match up willing participants tonight for some two-on-two games.
So if you're afraid of coming out for the first time, or if you've got a Scrabble buddy that's sitting on the fence about coming out, tonight's for you! We start at 7PM and some of us diehards stay quite late.
Now a recap of last week:
Autumn was the theme, which saw theme word entries such as MULLED (as in cider), FEED (as in the first harvest), GRAPY and VINO (wine season, anyone?) and BURN (as in what is done to leaves). The popular vote picked MULLED, played by newcomer Margaret. The runner up was VINO, played by Kilgour regular Johnny. They both went home with some bar swag, courtesy of Kilgour's.
In what has got to be one of my most humbling moments, I was on the receiving end of a 5-bingo* game. Another regular, Jim N, had the Tile Gods smile down on him as he got down 4 bingos in the first six turns: CORONAE, ESTRONE, SULKING and THUNDER, quickly taking a huge lead, 359-82. When his fifth bingo of UNLAYING came down, I had to challenge. The adjudication came back as acceptable (it even anagrams to UNGAINLY). So I lost my turn and Jim surged ahead 533-185 after just 10 turns each.
Final score: 645-274. Jim could've had a 700+ game if he had seen his outplay bingo of DEMENTIA. I began to question my own sanity after this blowout. It takes great word knowledge, skill and a healthy dose of luck to have an outstanding game like that. I have a newfound respect for Jim after that game.
* A bingo is what we call it when you use all seven tiles on your rack in a single turn. These and other terms are mentioned in the New York Times bestseller Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players.
This book reads like a novel. Some of the characters depicted are real characters, if you get my drift. There are a few Scrabble in the City regulars who would fit right in. Come one, come all tonight. Get your Word Freak on!
iLifer