As I said, I’m always happy to play with another Doper … and I’ve been on a losing streak recently. 
(Though I did win two games in a three-game match this morning – including one where I played a Z on a TLS that scored in both directions.)
Did you steal my technique guide? 
I spend pretty much the entire game looking for places to put seven-tile words, so I either win by 200 or lose by 200.
Me, I like to play against idiots. The illiterate also make good opponents for boosting one’s ego. I regularly destroy my three-year-old daughter at the game, which is always good for a laugh.
Then she goes and kicks my ass at Candy Land.
Do we need to open a Candy Land strategy thread for ya Hal?
So, based on this thread I went over and joined and have played several easy games. And I have a couple of questions. I used to play scrabble, but always with 4 players, so the two player timed thing was a bit different for me. I basically got my ass handed to me and my rating number? got pretty low and people declined to play with me.
- Is that because they don’t get a big enough bump for beating a lowly player like me?
Follow on question, I sort of got used to the time limit thing by playing the computer bot. So in the last game I played I was winning and time was almost up and all of a sudden I got a request to add 400 extra seconds to the game. Well I had crappy letters (3 u’s) and no hope of getting any different letters and was confused and it was my turn with the clock running, so I declined. I didn’t even know you could extend the time. I know RTFM, but how do you handle this? Is there some sort of etiquette involved here? Did I breach it? Note I did not set up the table just accepted an invite to play. So confused:confused:
This (because the way in which one actually WINS the game upsets my worldview so I’m unable to accept it all), plus I avoid playing against my sister (hi!), and when I start to lose by 200 (the other option never actually happens) I start plying the other players with more beer so everyone abandons the game faster.
Seconding most of what MadTheSwine said (it sounds like he’d kick my butt!)…
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KNOW THY TWOS! You can opt not to deploy them if you’re having a kitchen table game with friends who would mock you for it, but if you want to play someone to win, you need to have them down pat and not be embarrassed to use them with insouciance. There are only like a hundred of them (they added more recently, grr), so I keep them on a credit card sized piece of laminate in my wallet for cribbing on the bus, etc.
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Keep an eye open for parallel plays, and watch the color squares
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I typically never use an S unless I’ve got a really good use for it, or I have three of them. Similarly I will hang onto a blank or two for probably longer than is always prudent (see bingo fishing as vice below).
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Keep track of where the high value letters are (still in the bag? In my opponents rack?), and in general try to go through as many letters as quickly as seems reasonable- the more letters you personally play, the more point values you’re getting to spend. Don’t be too miserly.
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Don’t be afraid to swap tiles if your rack is hopelessly hopeless: nickel-and-diming away several turns for six points each because you weren’t willing to selectively ditch some of a rack reading like A I I I I I V is folly. Just skipping a turn is almost always a bad idea, unless you know why exactly you’re doing it.
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Watch for common letter combinations in English and try to keep them together: if i have the opportunity to hang on to, say, “I N G” or “O U T” or “E N T” or something like that with everything else being equal, I’ll be more inclined to hold them back and fish for an easy bingo completion.
Unfortunately bingo fishing is my vice lately, and I will sometimes torture my game in the vain hopes of pulling out a bingo. Sometimes it happens 5 times a game, sometimes none, and it’s poor strategy to put all your eggs in one basket.
I really don’t play online enough to answer these questions,twickster should be able to help.
I personally don’t like playing people with really low ratings because they are, in general, not very good players, which makes for an incredibly unamusing game. Can’t speak for others as to why they don’t want to play you, but assume it’s something like that.
Just keep playing people at roughly your current rating level and you’ll build back up to what your “real” rating is. When I first signed up there, I plummeted to about 1000 while I figured things out and got used to playing by the clock (which does definitely take some getting used to). If you play people who have pretty much the same rating as you, if you’re actually better than that you’ll build back up fairly quickly to a more realistic rating. [At this point, alas, I’ve been stuck at high 1600s for about a month, but am reluctant to accept that I’m not actually better than that. rueful smiley]
Re: time – sometimes the site lags. If it does, mention it in chat, and the other person will generally give you a time extension if you need one – and it’s courteous to do the same for them. In a game with a pal, I’ll give the time extension also, esp. if we’re chatting while we play. Other than that – you see the clock, you understand the rules, I’m not obliged to give you the time, esp. if my not giving you the time means I’ll win. The opponent may think I’m an asshole and not want to play with me again, but fuck 'em. (Note: I’m talking the standard 10/10 game – I suspect the people who play speed games are a lot more ruthless about time, but I don’t play speed games so I don’t know.)
Thanks twickster, that basically answers my question. I just felt bad about not giving the extra time, but I want to be able to play other people too, so that means winning sometimes. Next up get a mouse so I can move tiles faster.
I just discovered my edition of Scrabble has a few play hints in the back of the rule book. One which surprised me was their claim that good players will on average discard their whole hand two or three times a game. I’ve been trying it but can’t say it’s transformed my play, although it’s only been a few games so far. What do others here think on that?
I play on Lexulous as Skkylla, exclusively in the SOWPODS rooms. I’m from the UK and I find it very frustrating when the TWL dictionary rejects what I know as perfectly good words. My scores improved when I paid more attention to my end game. When I’m down to seven tiles I try to see how I can finish in two moves, preferably with a long word as my last play, so as to catch my opponent with several tiles in their hand. It’s also very important at this stage to be aware of the tiles your opponent has so as not to leave them a good opening.
I find that strange and very bad advice.I think it will transform your play by losing a lot more. What edition is it?
Good players rarely have to trade 2 or 3 times a game,let alone all the tiles. The average among good or great players is certainly less than one trade per game.This goes back to rack balance,keeping flexible letters to improve your chances of a bingo,even if I have a really bad rack, many times I can find a scoring play worth near my average play,or if need be block a premium square that has been opened.
I looked at 10 games from the NSA 2008 championship tourney,in those 10 games there were four trades total(by four different players) and never for all the tiles.
I notice that you are in Australia.I have heard that in some parts of the world it is considered tacky to use a TWS unless you have a bingo(or really BIG score),thats the only reason I could figure to trade so much. Is that how you play?
Sorry for the triple post.
I really wish they would all use the same dictionary,OWL preferably.
Yes. Just by knowing what your opponent has left can win you some games.If I am losing ,or in a close game,first thing I do when all the tiles are drawn is figure out if my opponent is gonna be stuck with an unplayable tile.
… and, if necessary, “make it so.” I’ve been known to play something less than amazing on the last open “I” if I know my opponent has the Q.
Don’t mind me…just taking notes…
Or if you know they have an “x” and there’s an open triple letter so they can make the word “EX” or “OX” twice…stick something else in there that may only get you four points but will ensure they don’t make 50. Or use up a triple word even if you don’t have anything huge so they don’t play something bigger.
My SO and I will purposefully block or use the TWS/TLS if we can’t use it well to prevent the other from using it. I’ve gotten 6 point words just to stop him from scoring big there. Tacky or not, it’s a game and part of it is strategy of tile placement opportunities.