My Best Phoneys
I like to think of playing a game of Scrabble as two brains under glass going head to head. Each player is shut off from the outer world and must rely solely on memory.
Sometimes words are known so well that they are played nearly automatically, without thought. But other words lie in the hazy reaches of the players' memory. And just beyond the thickening fog is a hall of mirrors where the gremlins of imagination threaten to trick you into thinking that random configurations of words are indeed words. (How's that for mixed metaphors?)
Here's a board from this past weekend's tournament:
Can you find the word that doesn't quite look right?
If you guessed FUNDAGES* you are quite right. My opponent played FUND, and I had AGES on my rack. My thinking involved the financial reports of foundations, which were surely called FUNDAGE* reports. Right? As ridiculous as it now seems, it made so much sense at the time. It scored 39 points.
It was toward the end of the game and my opponent was far behind as well as probably a bit dejected, so she let it be.
Here's another board from the same tournament. Can you find the phoney?
Although James Joyce would have been proud, there are so many reasons why DUBLINER is so bad. I had just had RELUBING* challenged off the board when my opponent played his third bingo (DRILLING after having played OUTDONE and OUTFLEW). I quickly and confidently played DUBLINER* for 86 points, which he allowed after some thought. A few turns later I played XI for 52 and I was back in the hunt. But then he pulled away, handing me my first loss.
He was the same opponent that in our first game I had to challenge three of his phoney bingos off the board. THose were PAILERS*, TENNETS* (TENETS is good), and ENOSITE* (INOSITE is good). So I gave him a piece of his own medicine back.
I would have laughed FUNDAGES* off the board.... fundage... maybe. But not fundages. Tut tut tut.
But give it a few years, it probably will become proper wordage.
Do many players photograph their boards upon conclusion of the games?
As far as I know, I was the only one taking pictures at this tournament. But I'm the only one with a website about Scrabble.
Some players write down what is played on a small board on their scoresheet. I think taking a picture after the conclusion is a much easier way.
The opening play was QUITE. I see that later I played ISM. If I had also an E at that time, then I could have played a snapback: MESQUITE for 57. MEZQUITE is also good.