Welcome to the Jerusalem Scrabble Club
COME PLAY WITH US … VISITORS ALWAYS WELCOME!
*** NEW PLAYERS: CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ***
Director: Elana Simons, 054 220 6238, elanalibby@gmail.com
THIS WEEK AT THE CLUB
Season 82, Week 13 of 25 – October 29, 2024
Now that the chagim are over, we can get back to the serious business of winning games and improving ratings. It was a pleasure to see the return of regulars such as Lesley, Bernard, Gordon and Hilda. Each member of our club brings his or her own playing style and personality, and, paradoxically, we only realize how much they were missed when we see them again.
Tortured on the rack: Two players sitting side by side and facing different opponents both grimaced when they saw their respective letters: TIAOEII and ETUIIE – which was just six letters. Why do awful racks always look like too many letters? Perhaps the seventh would turn out a lifesaver, perhaps not. Had this player been able to place ETUI, a small container or purse, a healthy dose of consonants on his next pick could have set him right. But never despair: Play off your superfluous vowels if you can, or change. Such decisions always depend on the comparative scores and on how far the game has proceeded.
Player A was stumped by his final rack, which was the friendly-looking DEINOT? His opponent then played the vertical WAGER, an S hook on top of which could theoretically have yielded Player A a bingo – except that there aren’t any allowable bingos with A’s letter combination in our dictionary. (Collins allows STONIED, as well as DITONES, but that’s another dictionary, and another club.) Player A’s situation was bingo or bust and he wrestled with the problem for seven minutes over time, to no avail, giving his opponent a bonanza in points.
Keep an eye on the clock: Time management is in many ways as important as rack management. Expert opinion holds that any decision between comparable moves should be taken within two minutes.
JudyM was gratified to play VANG and have it frowned over by an excellent player who decided, however, not to challenge. Referring to a rope on a ship, it could be a welcome lifeline for any holder of the dreaded V. (According to the god Google, V is the most unpopular Scrabble letter – there are no two-letter V-words – followed by C. As for vowels, U is considered the least useful now that several U-less words using the Q are acceptable in WOW24.)
Anyone that hasn’t yet sponsored Dahlia for her ALYN bicycle ride this year it’s not too late!! It takes place in November and any donation you can afford will be happily received. You can either catch her at the club to give her cash or you can donate via her personal page on the ALYN website https://sponsor.alyn.org/dfriedman ELS
If you missed the opportunity to communicate your hilite in person at the club you can email it to judymo@netvision.net.il or WhatsApp it (054-5552355) up until noon the following day. If you wish to mark any occasion by bringing refreshments to the club, please check with Susan up to a week in advance.
WWW: DavidS, Roger, Richard, May, Gordon
WOW: JUNIPERS (Joel), WHORLED (Yaakov), GADGETRY (Rita)
PHOW: SURRIES (Steve), ALANITE (Dahlia)
High Win, High Loss, High Triple:
A: 553 (Dahlia), 415 (Joel), 1414 (DavidS)
B1: 475 (May), 371 (JonathanB), 1243 (Richard)
Scores over 500: 533 (Dahlia), 512 (DavidS)
100-pt play: FANCIER 116 (Dahlia), JOISTED 109 (Roger)
Attendance: 29