Entry tags:
Scrabble
I'm definitely getting better at Scrabble. Yesterday, I decided not to put down a word worth 20 points as I was really close to having a rack that might make a seven-letter word. The gamble paid off. I picked up two very good letters and was able to put down a 72 point word today.
A month ago, I would never have done that.
I'm also becoming far more aware of the end game.![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
megamole and I are slugging out an endgame on a board that has no space for any long words. I'm very conscious of the need to get rid of the higher scoring tiles first. Not so much as to get the score, as to avoid them being negative against me at the end of the game.
I was in a game last week where the scores were totally equal and it was clear that whoever got out first would win. I managed to clear my rack with a move that scored all of 3 points. It's the only turn I've ever played where the score literally didn't matter. As long as I got out, I would win.
I'm still terrible at spotting anagrams.megamole is actually a much better player than I am. He can spot anagrams in seconds that can take me half an hour playing around with pencil and paper. Face to face, he'll be beating me for a long time to come. Online, it's more even becasue I can take half an hour to do my turn, play around with a pencil and the dictionary, bounce ideas off waveney, have a cup of tea, etc.
I am getting better at positions though. I knew I could manage a 7-letter word today. I had RETAIN_ as my tiles. You really can't go wrong with that. However, the only double word square that was reachable on the board meant that I needed to have K as my third or fourth letter. Hence, I looked at endings, took out 'iest' as a possible ending, made 'nark' out of the rest and checked to see if 'narkiest' was a valid word - which it was.
I wouldn't even have thought of that approach before I started playing online. I'd have tried to make a word with the letters on my rack, then have looked for a place on the board to put it, and used the first position that I spotted. Now, I look to find the high value spots on the board and go out of my way to find a way of using them.
A month ago, I would never have done that.
I'm also becoming far more aware of the end game.
megamole and I are slugging out an endgame on a board that has no space for any long words. I'm very conscious of the need to get rid of the higher scoring tiles first. Not so much as to get the score, as to avoid them being negative against me at the end of the game.I was in a game last week where the scores were totally equal and it was clear that whoever got out first would win. I managed to clear my rack with a move that scored all of 3 points. It's the only turn I've ever played where the score literally didn't matter. As long as I got out, I would win.
I'm still terrible at spotting anagrams.
megamole is actually a much better player than I am. He can spot anagrams in seconds that can take me half an hour playing around with pencil and paper. Face to face, he'll be beating me for a long time to come. Online, it's more even becasue I can take half an hour to do my turn, play around with a pencil and the dictionary, bounce ideas off waveney, have a cup of tea, etc.I am getting better at positions though. I knew I could manage a 7-letter word today. I had RETAIN_ as my tiles. You really can't go wrong with that. However, the only double word square that was reachable on the board meant that I needed to have K as my third or fourth letter. Hence, I looked at endings, took out 'iest' as a possible ending, made 'nark' out of the rest and checked to see if 'narkiest' was a valid word - which it was.
I wouldn't even have thought of that approach before I started playing online. I'd have tried to make a word with the letters on my rack, then have looked for a place on the board to put it, and used the first position that I spotted. Now, I look to find the high value spots on the board and go out of my way to find a way of using them.
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Beyond that you've given me some things to think on, muhahaha.
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