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#player1 Rod Rod
#player2 Evans Evans
>Rod: ?ADNRSU 8H ASUNDeR +68 68
>Evans: ADEELNU K5 UNA.ELED +86 86
#note Always nice to start with a double-double bingo.
>Rod: EFIY 12K .EIFY +32 100
>Evans: ?BENPST M3 BESPr.NT +72 158
#note Always nice to follow it up with a second bingo.
>Rod: AFLMNOW 9B WOLFMAN +68 168
#note Two interesting things about this play: One, it's phony. It looked a little funny to me, but I had no way of knowing, so I didn't risk it. I didn't want to lose a turn and fall even further behind. The other interesting tidbit? Rod misscored this play by one point, announcing 68 instead of 69. Remember that: one point. It might be important later.
>Evans: BDIRRTV 4L V.RB +24 182
#note Considered VIBRANT to be a little more defensive, but this is pretty clearly better.
>Rod: OPX 10A POX +30 198
>Evans: DGIIRTV E9 .RIGID +22 204
#note It comes down to this versus VIRGIN 6F. The DT leave is clearly better than the TV with my play, but the V can be a board-wrecking tile in this position if placed in the right spot, and I don't feel like playing defense with a four-point lead. FRIGID keeps the board a little bit more open -- it's a close game and it's his turn, so I'm going to need a little luck to keep up. Quackle thinks VIRGIN is six points better, but I'm not so sure.
>Rod: HOOST A10 .HOTOS +36 234
>Evans: GIITUVZ O12 .UTZ +48 252
#note First I saw GLITZ, which looked pretty cool. Then this looked cooler.
>Rod: ACLMY O1 CYM.AL +45 279
>Evans: AGIIITV 12C VI.IA +18 270
#note Again, mindful of the V's board-blocking ability -- it's a matter of choosing between this and VIGIAS I3, and I chose the play that looked more likely to keep my options open down the road.
>Rod: EEW 7G EWE +17 296
>Evans: CEGIKST H12 SKEG +41 311
#note Close between SKEG and SICK. Opted for the play with the slightly better leave.
>Rod: AO N2 OA. +23 319
>Evans: ACDIOTU 14J OUTAC. +20 331
#note On this dying board, I think it might be best to simply take the points, rather than overthink about leave values that might not amount to anything. DACOIT in the same spot is an interesting option, since it's six more points -- I opted instead to ditch the unwieldy U and have better scoring options next turn. Not sure what the best option is here.
>Rod: EIL C12 .ILE +14 333
>Evans: DEINORR 10E .ODE +23 354
#note I think this is my fatal mistake. At first glance the rack looks fairly bingo-prone -- there are lots of plays like OR, ORE and ORC that I can make to keep the potent DINER leave and go fishing. But this looks like the wrong board and the wrong pool for that -- I could hit the J or the Q and miss my bingo fish, or I could hit a bingo and have it either score virtually nothing or, more likely, not play at all. I think it's best to take whatever points I can get while I can still get them -- which this play does. Right idea, wrong play. RIDER in the same spot is much better -- RODE keeps two R's with a third one unseen, and it's just asking for trouble. File under "obvious foreshadowing."
>Rod: EH D14 EH +22 355
>Evans: EINQRRT 11D Q. +22 376
#note Looks pretty obvious, yes?
>Rod: AGIJN D4 JINGA. +30 385
>Evans: EINRRRT 5B TR.ER +10 386
#note Best. I have to block IOTA, and I have to dump two R's in the process to ensure an out for next turn. Nothing else here makes sense.
>Rod: AEIOT E3 TO.A +15 400
>Evans: INR 15H .IRN +9 395
#note Low on time, I miss my highest-scoring outplay -- INERT L10, which is exactly one point better! I play GIRN for 9 and out, bringing me to 399 with the two points on Rod's rack. If I'd only seen INERT, the final score would have been exactly 400-400, which I've gotta say, would have been the coolest final score I've ever been a part of. On the other hand, if Rod had announced 69 for his bingo nine turns ago rather than 68, the endgame would have been unwinnable and I'd have been playing for a 401-400 loss at best. In any event, a crazy way to lose a game.
>Evans: (EI) +4 399
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