Saturday 7 November 2009

The Biggest

After being shown who's boss at Scrabble, I decided to have a rest and only resumed after a week. Playing another opponent, everything was sweet and good and I did what I could.

Click on it to see it full size. Infixing was my craftiest play. As a rule, I play what I've got, but I was one short of an ING with two blanks and one N either available or in the hands of my opponent. Well, had the latter been the case, he would have played to greater effect. So I played ETUI, a pathetic word really, but to clear out the unwanted letters. When a blank arrived next, it meant I could get a word I had discovered some time back - INFIXING for another good score (I had previously occupied the other Triple Word after LATEX made the X available and worthy). Soon after I had seven 7 letter word possibilities as I received the other blank. More than one connected. However, GOTH blocked all of them. So what about the C. Ah, CAMPUSED. Thank you, another 50 on top. The previous eight letter one scored 185, thanks to a six times the score with a Double Letter plus fifty. Result - my highest ever score of 562, picking up two and my opponent losing two.

From the beginning I told my opponents that I cheat. To begin with, you cannot put down a false word. The reason for this is obvious. Sitting at home, unobserved, individuals could consult dictionaries. Some would have them and some would not. So instead not only are false words impossible but the game gives the allowed two letter words as a display and, before playing, words can be checked against the dictionary - precisely the opposite of board Scrabble.

Now I happened to have already the Crossguesser software from 2002, and also there is a free and available Anagram Master with its own text based dictionary (and you can add your own words). I kept how I cheated a secret, but in most areas of life when someone says something that 'finds me out' I admit it. My playing friend in the car said about a defeat and that, "even if I have to use an Anagram generator", he was determined to win. So I said something like, what does he mean "even if". I thus admitted that I use such and said what I use and what is available. Then I popped out to receive some handwritten old sermons to type and put online (over time). Back in the car I was saying that he didn't think I actually thought about these words, did he? And a little later my other opponent said how he had marvelled at me finding ABNEGATE in one game, and must have taken ages for me to find that and place it. No. It was there straight away.

So now they all know, and if my opponents are not using such devices playing me, then more fool them. But they might just be. And I won this game under the new conditions.

Dominic: NOUN 8
Adrian: BEY NE OY 26 [Picked up on afternoon of 6 November]
Dominic: BO AZO 36
Adrian: BORE ZA AL LARI 26
Dominic: ZAS BORE IN SENE 26
Adrian: JEU 26
Dominic: JO POLO 21
Adrian: OP LI JOT PIT 30
Dominic: OP LID VINDED 27
Adrian: SURVIVER 185 [I on Double Letter, two Triple Words]
Dominic: ANE GOY WAGE 26
Adrian: EF FORTE 33
Dominic: LATEX 40
Adrian: INFIX 45
Dominic: QI 11
Adrian: AW TANE HAT 23
Dominic: AH DAW BAD 24 [7 November from usual morning]
Adrian: LI ETUI 7
Dominic: CLINK 22
Adrian: INFIXI*nG 54
Dominic: GAB ODAH GOTH 23
Adrian: CAM*pUSED 63
Dominic: ME OD MOSEY 15
Adrian: YA ET TAI 15 [Out]
Dominic: -2
Adrian: +2

340 Dominic 562 Me [Win by 222]

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