Scrabble Adventures

Much to my surprise, I was able to attend the regular club night. Not having played Scrabble in ages, I wasn’t too optimistic of playing well. Nevertheless, I was just glad to be able to play. Some quick recaps of the three games:

Game 1 vs. Shauna
Not much to report on this one. I had IOU in multiple combinations throughout the game while Shauna was dropping bingos right from turn #1 and getting the power tiles. Stuff like this happens. Even still, I was able to keep the game within a bingo until the very end. Good game Shauna – I owe you one.
FINAL SCORE: 427 – 294 (LOSS)
BINGOS: Me – none; Shauna – VALIANt, WA(R)RANTS, qUIlTING (that’s QUILTING)

Game 2 vs. Lilla
This game was a bit more interesting. Never played Lilla before and the game started off a bit conservative. The board was tight, but we were both scoring and slowly opening things up. I was happy to play NUDZH/H(AFT) for 48 points as I recall studying the Zs a while back. I was a little disappointed that Lilla didn’t even flinch. The next turn I chuckled because she played NURL – I remember that one from Kevin’s studying. A few turns later, I had EEERSV? and had to play through a letter on a fairly tight board. Twelve minutes later, I played rESERVE(R) missing more obvious plays like OVERSEER (duh!). Still, I was able to draw a challenge. Question: if your opponent chews off 12 minutes and then plays RESERVER (sounds fishy), do you challenge? I asked Shelley and she said she would. The rest of the game was just grinding it out.
FINAL SCORE: 398 – 364 (WIN)
BINGOS: Me – ANISEED, rSERVE(R); Lilla – (I)MPARTED (double-double)

Game 3 vs. Shelley (aka "the princess")
I had a great game with Shelley. We joked about her recent email to the mailing list about her being a "princess" because of her car-pool requirements. In any case, it was a fun game that started off very slowly and ugly. I challenged NOTABLES and it pretty much cost me the game as it was on turn 12. I’m flattered that Shelley thinks I’m a good enough player to see bingos, but I know I’m not good.
FINAL SCORE: 349 – 318 (LOSS)
BINGOS: Me – DIrTIES(T); Shelley – NOTaBLE

All in all, I had some good games. I can tell that I’m very rusty from lack of practice or studying. Playing well is nice, but these ‘moral victories’ suck. Maybe as I slowly get back into Scrabble, the wins will follow.

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