Charles Reinke Wins Some Games, Achieves Neither Fame nor Fortune

1st Charles Reinke went 4-1 with a sizable +507 spread to capture first place. A large chunk of his spread was accumulated during the second round of the night, when Charles was paired against both Dennis Lloyd and Barb Besadny. Against Dennis, Charles won big with a 525-317 final score, playing MODALIST, FORESAW, VINEGAR, and word-of-the-week BOTONNEE (adj. having arms ending in a trefoil, used of a heraldic cross, also BOTONEE), each for more than 80 points. Dennis, to his credit, was able to play DEVIATED amidst the chaos. Barb did not fare any better; her game against Charles ended at 428-206. This time, Charles was limited to "just" one bingo, FORESTRY. A much-anticipated matchup between brothers also ended in a victory for Charles, as he bulldozed Thomas by a score of 450-341. SEASONER and TIDEWAYS were Charles' bingos; Thomas' was AVENGES.

2nd Peter Schmiedicke also got in five games and also went 4-1, but his smaller spread of +393 slotted in him in second place. "Domination" was the only word to describe the situation when he matched witz with Bryan Benwitz and came away with an easy victory, 449-292. This is the first time in the calendar year that Bryan has scored under 300, but he did get down a bingo, DECRIALS. Peter had two: AUDIENT and WHEEZING. A 441-383 win against Charles Reinke might not have quite reached "domination" levels, but it still felt good for Peter to spoil Charles' undefeated night. With three bingos (ANAPEST, COOEEING, BLURRING) to his opponent's two (OLEINES, CREMAINS), Peter also won the bingo battle in that game. However, bingo totals might not be so important after all, as Mary Becker was able to defeat Peter in a close game (355-348) despite getting outbingoed (Mary had DIGESTER; Peter had TURNOVER and SWELTIER).

3rd Thomas Reinke averaged a mind-melting, brain-busting, and skull-smashing 507 points per game on his way to a 3-1 +694 output. Things started off well for Thomas as he quickly destroyed any hopes that Bryan Benwitz may have had of extending his eight-game win streak. That game ended decisively in favor of the twin, 480-306. Next up was Helen Flores, who fared just as poorly as Bryan had, losing 270-547. Helen was not able to bingo while Thomas selfishly had three: OVERLATE, PODIATRY, and ANGELICA. However, these winning scores, which might appear impressive at first glance, were rendered totally lame by the score that Thomas would attain against Andy Bohnsack: 658. That is the highest score so far this year and also the third-highest since modern record-keeping began in 2011. Thomas had four bingos: FERULAE, TOURISTA, MOFETTE, and the triple-triple PUNITION for 140. Andy phonied with RECAGES but it was allowed to stay on; Thomas' motivations for not challenging remain unknown at this time.

Helen Flores also went 3-1, making a swift recovery after getting whomped by Thomas in the second game.

This week we had two bingos found solely in the new wordlist: Charles' MODALIST and Gail's LEMONIER (LEMONY was always good, now it compares).