| Player 1 |
|
#player1 Mack Mack
#player2 Matt Matt
>Mack: AEIOQRR H7 QI +22 22
>Matt: AEIJPRT 7H .I +12 12
#note A very interesting choice for Matt here. QI, exchanging the J, TAJ at G8 or I8, I6 PIT and PITA, and I7 IT are all reasonable options. Despite their defensive qualities, QI, IT, PIT, and PITA seem inferior to TAJ and exch. J since the J is practically useless on this board. If Matt plays TAJ, the I8 placement definitely seems optimal in order to prevent sixes down from H10. However, trading the J apparently bingos 62% of the time whereas TAJ only results in a bingo 33% of the time. Quackle has numerous plays neck and neck, but I prefer trading the J since such a high bingo percentage seems difficult to resist.
>Mack: AABEORR 6I BORA +12 34
#note BORA, ABO, ARROBA, and OAR appear to be the standout options here. I feel that Matt's last play certainly may imply an S, and thus rejected ARROBA. Although ABO sets up RAI and AB above ABO, Matt is so likely to play in that spot that ABO seems inferior to the other alternatives. I think BORA is probably slightly superior to OAR; neither play is significantly more defensive than the other, and I don't think retaining the B is worth a 6 point sacrifice.
>Matt: AAEJPRT 5J JAPE +43 55
#note JAPER is another choice, but JAPE seems much better both due to the superior leave and since the hooks allowed by JAPE are much less dangerous than the hook permitted by JAPER.
>Mack: ACEEKRT K4 C..ETAKER +80 114
#note At first I was disappointed that he blocked CARETAKE, until I happened to see this...
>Matt: ABDEIRT N3 REDBAIT +81 136
#note BANGO!
>Mack: EGIILRW L9 WILE +31 145
#note I also considered 10F WIGLIKE to unload the G and achieve more turnover, but I felt the defensive merits and superior score warranted that I play WILE here.
>Matt: DEINNTU 12D INDENTU.. +72 208
#note Very nice!
>Mack: AGHILMR H10 LI.GAM +27 172
#note Quackle much prefers 8M HIM, but, given the score, I think after Matt blocks columns D,E, and F, I will be very hard pressed to overcome the deficit. Although I leave the O8 hotspot open, I feel I need to immediately pounce on the opportunity to open a lane so that Matt cannot quickly shut the entire board down. After LINGAM, I will have at least two chances to draw a bingo before the board becomes locked; for this reason, I opted to play LINGAM over HIM.
>Matt: ?EENRTT E6 RENiTE.T +64 272
#note Bingos through the A on 14H score four more, but Matt's selection closes many more lanes and, being up a hundred points after his bingo, I think he definitely made the correct play.
>Mack: AEHINRY O6 YIN +33 205
#note Although I block the O column, I feel at this point I need to maximize my chances of coming back with only one bingo instead of two. The board is quickly becoming locked, and bingoing twice will be quite challenging; if I take YIN now and Matt has a mediocre rack, I might easily be able to overcome my deficit with a single bingo.
>Matt: ACOOPUX D3 COXA +28 300
#note Quackle likes A8 CAPON, but that play seems too aggressive with a hundred point lead. COXA nicely obstructs the D and F columns, leaving only rows 14 and 15, neither of which are particularly easy for me to hit, as the only available bingo lanes. I definitely think COXA is best here.
>Mack: AEHLNRU 8A UHLA. +27 232
#note At this point, my top priority has to be continuing to open new bingo lanes if I want any chance at a comeback; hence, I chose UHLAN. Quackle concurs.
>Matt: DIOPUUY 10B POU.Y +24 324
#note C4 DOPILY scores ten more, but POUTY seems better in order to shut down column A and to eschew the horrific UU leave.
>Mack: AEFNRSV F4 ARF +28 260
#note I was quite hesitant to play ARF since it obstructed rows 3 and 4, but at this point I need to keep scoring and hope that I can somehow sneak back into this game with one bingo. I strongly considered O1 AVER, but given the shortage of A's, E's, and I's, I felt that I needed to keep the more bingo prone ENVS instead of FNS. Also, although rows 3 and 4 remain open after AVER, the C will be extremely hard to bingo through with an FNS leave and a bingo through the O will likely not score sufficient points for me to come back with a single bingo. Since I will probably need a miraculous bingo through the M to win at this point, I felt that blocking rows three and four with ARF was less detrimental than keeping an all-consonant leave with AVER.
>Matt: DEGIISU 15H .ISGUIDE +89 413
#note Nice find!
>Mack: EGMNSSV J10 SM.G +23 283
#note At this point, the game is virtually over; Quackle ranks SMUG best.
>Matt: ?AEOOVZ 3F ZOO +29 442
#note F12 DOZE scores more, but the superior leave after ZOO makes the difference negligible.
>Mack: ENNSSTV I1 VENT +22 305
#note STOVE scores a lot more, but I figured I may as well try to draw a miracle 3*3. Of course, I would need a ton of help from Matt, but since spread doesn't matter I figured I'd give it a try.
>Matt: ?AEFOOV 1G VA. +27 469
#note Although FOVEA scores better, it allows relatively high scoring plays using the J2 hotspot so is inferior to VAV.
>Mack: ELNORSS 10J ...NS +24 329
#note Quackle wants me to fish off one tile and hope for something through the U on A8, but Matt will just block.
>Matt: ?EFHOOW M2 HOW. +29 498
>Mack: DELORS O1 SLED +33 362
#note Despite allowing L3 DOPA, SLED is my best endgame.
>Matt: ?EFO L3 dO.. +35 533
>Mack: OR 14N OR +12 374
#note Congrats to Matt on a very well-played game and well-deserved win!
>Mack: (EF) +10 384
|
