TLW96 - Nomads Results

Evan 10: AGEIIST (- 34)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o
S
OWL U K
P E A C I N G J O
HEM D WO
Y I E E
V B
I F
ZONAE
L I E D A
OD B
T I E R
Y A H E
A
S
S T R I G A T E
Things are getting very interesting, with both players holding racks full of bonus potential.
Evan decides that the tiles to ditch are GI, and I agree with him. Looking at the unseen tiles,
there are far more consonants than vowels to come, including four N’s and four R’s, either
of which would combine beautifully with AEIST. The real question is where to ditch GI.
The three prime candidates are k3d, j9d, and c1a. Evan plays the boldest of the three,
making JOG/GI. It’s a straight race to see who can pick the bonus first...
GI k3d 14 306
Stewart 10: ADERT MU (+20)
Evan’s previous move has worked out perfectly for him. If he’d played GI anywhere else,
Stewart would have had MATURED at k1d for 86. Denied his bonus, Stewart has the
choice of continuing to fish for a bonus, or trying to maximise his score. The bottom right
corner of the board offers several opportunities: MUD at m14a for 21 leaves a lovely RATE
on the rack, but it’s probably best to play more tiles and extend the lead. There are a couple
of nice 5-letter plays; best is DATUM at k14a, but not far behind is Stewart’s play of
MUTED.
MUTED k14a 30 356
Evan 11: A E I S T E N (- 50)
Evan gets the bonus he was fishing for, although TENIASES at b14a would have scored 5
more points and been less risky.
TRAINEES h11a 66 372
Stewart 11: A R CLLRT (-16)
Behind for the first time, and with a horrid rack, things have definitely gone downhill fast
for Stewart. Being a northerner, CLARTS leapt out at me, but Stewart’s southern roots
conspire against him on this occasion, and he has to settle for CARLS instead.
CARLS o7d 21 377
28
Unseen:
AAEEIOOOUUU
CDFLLMNNNNP
RRRRSTTTVX
Score:
Evan 292
Stewart 326
A E G I I S T
Evan
Evan 12: A F N O P S T (- 5)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o
S
OWL U K
P E A C I N G J O G
HEM D WO I
Y I E E
V B
I F C
ZONAE A
L I E D A R
OD B L
T I E T R A I N E E S
Y A H E
A
S M U T E D
S T R I G A T E
Considering how much dross there was in the bag, this is a great pick-up. The question is
how best to utilise the riches on his rack... Evan decides to take the points immediately,
playing FAST using the S for JOGS. However this sets up FASTI, and the possibility of an
immediate comeback for Stewart with NIX for 36, or even worse, a move such as FLUX at
l1a for 42.
With the GIF hook available, it would be far better to hold back the S and take the points
there. FOP for 30 looks great, leaving ANST, but with lousy tiles in the bag and few
openings for bonuses a better play is FONT for 28, setting up a high-scoring play from
o1 involving FONTS.
FAST l1d 38 410
Stewart 12: LRT RROU (-33)
From Stewart’s perspective, the unseen tiles are IOOU NNNPVX. Is there any possibility
of eking out a win? Somehow he needs a high-scoring move involving the X, and the best
possibilities still appear to be at the top of the board. I’m not sure I’d have seen it, but
the move the computer likes best is TORR at k12a for 18. It leaves LU on Stewart’s rack,
giving the possibility of FLUX, so a pickup which include NIX might still be good
enough. Stewart’s move of UR at m13a has the advantage of leaving three tiles in the
bag, but there’s surely insufficient potential left on his rack.
UR m13a 12 389
Evan 13: N O P NNOV (+21)
Evan has a 21-point lead, with IOULRRTX unseen. What’s the worst that Stewart could
do? I suppose it has to be FLUX, FLIX or FIXT at l1a for 42, and unless the X is in the bag
he has to have one of ‘em. For that reason it might make sense to play a move that blocks
these plays - for example ANON at l2a. However Evan adopts the alternative strategy of
maximizing his score. EEVN is a difficult word to see; perhaps the presence of “Ev”
helped him spot it! The other good thing about EEVN is that it leaves two vowels on
29
Unseen:
IOOUU
LNNRRRTVX
Score:
Evan 372
Stewart 377
A F N O P S T
Evan