| Player 1 |
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#player1 Ken_Kasney Ken Kasney
#player2 Noah Noah
>Ken_Kasney: AJY 8G JAY +26 26
>Noah: ACSTUXY J4 TAXUS +42 42
#note The only things that score comparably to this are XYST and SAX, but this keeps a nicer leave and gives back a comparable amount.
>Ken_Kasney: HIM K5 HIM +39 65
>Noah: CEFIOTY 9F FOY +25 67
#note It seems like a row 9 play is right here. FOCI L2 is okay too but it seemed like there was no reason to keep ETY here instead of better leaves. FOY, COY, and COTE seemed like the best choices on row 9. IFY is usually much worse than CEIT and this position did not seem significantly different from usual in that regard. COY was a solid option, as it makes Ken's snapbacks weaker, but row 10 plays often give good reparallels on row 11, after FOY, whereas after COY, Ken still has row 10 plays that don't give back reparallels that are as strong. Combined with the much stronger leave of FOY, it seemed better.
>Ken_Kasney: III -III +0 65
#note Ken exchanged some three tiles.
>Noah: CEEFIIT 10E CETE +31 98
#note This play looks like it departs from the past turn's logic, but COY still gave back a row 10 spot while CETE doesn't give back something comparable -- only smaller JOTA plays and an S hook that would've already been an issue. Also, FII and CII are closer in strength. Hence CETE.
>Ken_Kasney: IW 4H WI. +10 75
>Noah: AFIIIOZ -FIIIO +0 98
#note If one intends to exchange here, ZA looks like the clear keep, since it fits nicely at 11F. On the other hand, there are other choices like (C)OIF (C)IAO, ZOA 3G, ZA 11F, and OI L4. OI seems poor because FII looks pretty ugly here, the Is in particular, which don't really do anything. This is the same reason I passed up ZA -- it keeps a terrible leave that I am unlikely to have much to do with next turn, and gives me less control over the game next turn, in a game state where control is important. With FIIIO you have fewer ways to make plays, and are either forced to make the best dump or exchange. This is the same reason not to do ZOA. Due to the FIIZ combination again not doing a whole lot here, along with the 6 extra points, I prefer COIF to CIAO. Finally, while COIF scores decently, I think it actually depreciates the value of my Z by blocking 11F and also gives Ken more to work with. Quackle likes COIF more in a 2-ply sim, on the strength of points.
>Ken_Kasney: KR I3 K.R +18 93
>Noah: ?ALOSWZ 11F ZA +37 135
#note I think this is a big error. ZAS just makes it so much harder for him to win, and his dinks could well imply an S. This isn't just hindsight bias, as I realized this just after I played ZA and well before he had set down STROUDs.
>Ken_Kasney: ?DORSTU 12G STROUDs +78 171
>Noah: ?ELORSW M6 bROWLE.S +78 213
#note The highest scoring bingo.
>Ken_Kasney: DOQ K11 Q.OD +28 199
>Noah: AEEEEHP 8L H.PE +39 252
#note Not the best of leaves, but 39 points with no S is pure gold on this board.
>Ken_Kasney: GIN H12 .ING +15 214
>Noah: AEEEILV 9L E.E +15 267
#note This is where the game gets very difficult. The board is fairly closed, but there are certainly spots to worry about, namely the E on column O, the N and G on rows 14 and 15, and the (QUOD)S hook. As the leader, I'd like to weaken at least one of these spots here, without opening anything comparable. Of the available two tile plays, E(W)E does this best while keeping a balanced leave. There's not a lot to do here with four tiles, but with three tiles there are VEE(P) and VI(N)E and with 5 there is a bevy of N2 plays. Of those, LIEVE and LEAVE are undesirable for giving away row 1 hooks (CLEAVE, SLEAVE, SLIEVE). LEVEE and ALIVE are, however reasonable. These N2 plays seem preferable to VEEP/VINE, as they block off similarly strong spots while scoring more, and the leaves are roughly equal. The scoring spots on column O and M are better than those allowed by VEEP/VINE, but that's okay since they are not likely to cause huge swings, and will often benefit me as well as him. Of LEVEE and ALIVE, I think I prefer LEVEE because the EE leave seems weaker here than on most boards (EE is not so good at making strong non bingo plays in general, while AI in particular fit next to the L and E does not), and because the row O scoring spot given up by LEVEE is not as strong as the one given up by ALIVE. This makes the decision between LEVEE and EWE. LEVEE scores more, blocks more and gets close to the S, which is huge on this board, and turnover seems okay here since the pool looks less ugly than most pools. AEILV doesn't seem amazing on this board, though it bingos more than AI next turn and scores decently on column N. Quackle 2-ply sim likes EWE by a bit here, and I think I like LEVEE by a bit.
>Ken_Kasney: IIII -IIII +0 214
#note Ken exchanged some four tiles here.
>Noah: AAEILTV 14F VI.A +15 282
#note VITAE seems very strong here, blocking the most dangerous lane and scoring more than VINA. AELT is not so great here. (PE)A is cool, but though it will draw me a fair number of bingos, I prefer playing it safer by taking some good points and giving back fewer big spots where he can score and bingo to.
>Ken_Kasney: IIII -IIII +0 214
#note Ken exchanged some four tiles here.
>Noah: AAEEELT 10M .EA +12 294
#note AEELT isn't so great here. Just play TELAE N2 and block the most dangerous lane! The E is by far Ken's best way of getting back in the game, and TELAE doesn't give back enough to be worth forgoing.
>Ken_Kasney: NU 4F UN... +8 222
>Noah: AEEILOT L14 OE +6 300
#note OA(K) seems really strong here, but opening up good places to bingo that aren't easily blocked isn't the name of this game. However, I think I made the same mistake I made in previous turns here: playing short and leaving the E instead of blocking it with a long play. I can outrun most QUODS plays at this point, while the E is a much bigger threat. TELOI N2 doesn't give away anything huge (like its counterparts: ETOILE, OLEATE and TOILE), while blocking the most worrisome available lane and scoring well enough.
>Ken_Kasney: ALR 15L .ARL +12 234
>Noah: AEIILTT O6 TI. +3 303
#note Another short-playing error. Though I blocked the E, I can just do LITAI N2 and score more while not keeping much worse or giving back much worse.
>Ken_Kasney: B 7I B.. +20 254
>Noah: AEILSTV F2 VA. +14 317
#note Having drawn the S, I am now in extremely good shape.
>Ken_Kasney: DEEELRR 2D RE.EL +8 262
#note Actual rack.
>Noah: BEILNST 1G BEN +25 342
#note I definitely need to take out 1G here, and this seemed like the best leave to keep because of NNN left in the pool.
>Ken_Kasney: DEIN 1A DINE +21 283
>Noah: GILNPST 3B PINT. +19 361
#note Hard to say what the best way to maximize spread here is, but this seemed like a pretty safe win, scoring okay and allowing only 60-70 point bingos that give me back some way to score. Is there a way this fails, and, if so, is there a better option?
>Ken_Kasney: ACIOT N2 COATI +22 305
>Noah: AGGLNSU 5B GLUGS +21 382
#note Low on time at this point. The best endgame Quackle finds is LUNGS, which saves G(O)A forcing him to do FROM instead of FOAM.
>Ken_Kasney: DFIMOOR 4L FO.M +24 329
>Noah: AN B5 .AN +6 388
#note One of the most mentally taxing games I've played recently, with lots of tough strategic decisions. I seem to have made a systematic error in this game by playing short, with as many as 5 plays where I should've played a 5 tile play instead of a 2-3 one. I'm lucky to have not gotten burnt by these errors, but I could have very easily been.
>Noah: (DIOR) +10 398
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