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Andy Played Five Games and Does That Seem Weird To Anybody Else?

1st Andy Bohnsack played five games of the board game called "Scrabble" and won all of them. Wait. five? I thought the Madison club only played four games per night. Huh. His scorecard says that he played two games the first round, and those things are pretty factual... anyway. That mysterious first round resulted in wins over both Joe and Betty, getting the night off to a good start with five combined bingos, including EMERSION (n. basically the opposite of IMMERSION) against Joe. Next up in Andy's docket was Gail, whose nice find of TAJINES (n. a Moroccan earthenware pot, or the food cooked in such a pot) was not enough to overcome Andy's AVOIDER and ATHIRST (adj. thirsty). While those first three wins were pretty good, the real star in Andy's crown was his streak-busting defeat of Thomas, 400-363. For his efforts in ending the 11-game run, he will receive 5 greenish-gray rectangles. Riding high on the wings of victory, Andy then came out on top in a 7-bingo bonanza against Bryan. Bryan played RIFLEMEN, REGICIDE, and MONSTERS, while Andy played FONDANT, HUSKIER, ANTERIOR, and, finally, QUARTER for 104 points. Despite that high-scoring Q play, the Q tile remains one of the worst tiles in the game. Do not be fooled by its false promises of bountiful points!

2nd Lynda Finn also played five games, but unlike Andy,  at least allowed one of her opponents to taste the rich ambrosia of victory, going 4-1 +51. Her night got off to a slow start, as she was held bingoless against Bryan, but she recovered in time to beat both Barb and Susan in round two. Against Susan, she played the bingo of the week, NETIZENS (n. a frequent user of the Internet). For her final act, she achieved the elusive "Double Reinke Perfecto", taking down Charles and then Thomas by a combined 24 points. A rematch of the two games is happening in three weeks and will be available on Pay-Per-View for the low cost of $39.99. Don't miss out as the twins seek revenge!

3rd Charles Reinke amassed a lot of spread, but not enough wins, and ended up in third with his 3-1 +520 record. His first round 399-360 win over Dave was marked by his low-probability find of SHIVAHS (n. a seven-day period of mourning in Judaism). He picked up a bunch of spread against Mary, aided by his plays of FACTORS and KAISERS (n. a German emperor, also KAISERIN, his wife). Though he was defeated by Lynda in the third game, he still found it within himself to play one more game, and, paired against Dennis, he made it count, winning 573-283. If there was a prize for "largest margin of victory", he would have won it, but there isn't, so he doesn't. Sorry. Better luck next time!

Someone Stop Thomas Before It's Too Late, Oh No, Please, No.....

1st Thomas Reinke, for the second week in a row, navigated the stormy waters of the Madison Scrabble Club without encountering a single iceberg, going 4-0 +518. Faced with Andy in the first round, he earned victory by playing LAVATORY and (foreshadowing alert) TRIODES. Feeling that a mere +74 spread wasn't enough, he then vowed to win his next 2 games by a combined 1000 points. He came up short of this lofty and, frankly, laughably unrealistic goal, but still managed to earn a pair of big wins against Dennis and Helen. In the last game, with perfect nights on the line for both players, Thomas defeated Bryan 437-392, playing CANINES, HEARTILY, and (again!) TRIODES. With that win, he has now won nine straight; the club had better act fast if they wish to stop him from earning the $5 prize for winning 10 straight. Something in the vein of Nancy Kerrigan might do the trick.

2nd Bryan Benwitz topped the pack of four 3-1 players with his +266 spread. He opened up his night with a convincing win over Susan, 443-249. This was followed up by a close win over Charles, 421-386. His bingos of DOTTRELS (n. a shorebird) and STUIVER (n. a former Dutch coin worth 8 duit) helped, but the game was won by setting up an unblockable S-hook on a triple-word so that he could play SPEAK for 75 points. Pretty good! After beating Betty in a high-scoring 477-395 five-bingo contest, he faced the tough task of ending Thomas' winning streak. Though he came up short, he always be remembered for his bravery in the face of insurmountable odds.

3rd Andy Bohnsack had the second highest spread in the pack of four 3-1 players with +219, earning him third place and a whole paragraph dedicated to his accomplishments. A tough loss to Thomas set the stage for him to narrowly defeat Joe, 374-364, with his double-double TRIDENTS overcoming Joe's BAWDIER and UNCOATED. This, in turn, set the stage for a not-so-narrow victory over Dave, 544-267, a game that featured the highest scoring bingo of the night, REWEAVE for 116. In the final round, narrowness returned to Andy's night in the form of a 383-377 win against Charles. Charles' late challenge of HUCKS (n. a durable fabric) was the difference maker. Remember, folks, always save time for the endgame lest you fall into the trap of desperation-challenging when you don't need to.

Charles played the bingo of the week NAPHTHA (n. an old term for crude oil). APHTHA (n. a small blister) is also acceptable. In other bingo news, the word EASIEST was played twice tonight, bringing it up to 4th place on the club's "most played bingos" list, trailing only AIRIEST, ATONIES, and ETESIAN. There's a joke there somewhere, I just know it.

Thomas Reinke Denied Third 700 Game By Selfish Opponent

1st Thomas Reinke went a perfect 4-0 with an even +800 spread, snapping streaks and breaking records along the way. His first two games were victories (as expected given his win-loss record), against Bryan and Betty, but those were unimpressive when compared to his third game of the night: a 695 dropped on Richard, the highest individual game of the year and second highest since the club entered its modern era of record-keeping. Thomas bingoed with FALTERS, RETINUE, ANTINODES, CEMBALO (n. a harpsichord), and the triple-triple IDLENESS. Those, combined with a few high-scoring power tile plays were enough to propel him close to the fabled 700 mark. In his final game, he possibly surpassed even that accomplishment by ending his brother's 13-game winning streak, a streak that was thought by many to have no end, continuing in perpetuity until the sun itself transformed into a blackened husk and fell from the sky.

2nd Charles Reinke, going 4-1 +147, had a pretty good session except for his seemingly interminable streak getting terminated. He made a habit of coming from behind on this night, first overcoming early deficits against Joe and Helen in a 2-on-1 to win both. A victory over Gail was followed by a close contest against Susan, 414-375. Susan bingoed twice, with TOADIES and ARRESTS, before Charles could get one of his own, ATTORNEY, which ended up being enough for the win. His tendency to play from behind backfired in the last game against Thomas, with him watching helplessly as his brother laid down ACHIOTES, SLUTTIER, and VIREMIAS in a 308-440 loss. Here's an expert Scrabble tip from the writer: if you want to win, you have to play some bingos, dummy.

3rd Joe Horowitz made the first of what may be many appearances in the top three, going 3-1 +437. He played a close game with club-leader Charles, coming up short 382-412. Rather than let that loss haunt him for the remainder of the night, he channeled his disappointment into Scrabble dominanace, winning his next 3 games by over a combined 400 points. Joe's devastating bingo of HEIFERS for 111 (that's a lot of points) was they key against Sue. In his next game against Barb, he again won big, 472-254, playing VALUERS and MANHOLE (n. I was going to put a risque joke here but this is a family-friendly blog, sorry. Just forget about it). His last game against Mary was a little closer 404-357, in part due to Mary's plausible phony of ATONALS*. Hopefully Joe can continue this streak of good play in his first tournament this weekend. At the very least, he will not be forced to play either of the Reinkes.

Bonus! 4th Helen Flores had a great night, missing out on the top three because of some arcane rules about "margin of victory". She went 3-1 +40, including wins over the tough-to-beat Bryan and Aaron.

Gail played the word of the week, REQUINTO (n. a type of small guitar).