"It's Christmas Time", says Thomas Reinke, Ominously

1st Thomas Reinke pushed his winning streak to 13 games with a 4-0 +578 performance. He either put on a masterful defense showcase or drew all the good tiles or maybe a bit of both, as only one of his opponents scored above 300. After improbably scoring 444 on a closed board against Bryan, he focused his attention on Charles, against whom he won a high-scoring contest 485-465. Charles got down WINCERS, FIREWALL, EXOSMIC (only after trying the phony COMIXES*, COMIX is an alternate spelling of COMICS), and SARDINE against Thomas' VITRAINS and REBUKED. The bingo deficit was made up by Thomas' 90-point SLEAZE, in case you were wondering how on earth Charles managed to lose. A close game against Lynda in the third round turned into a blowout in Thomas' favor as he bingoed out with CONFIDES, sticking Lynda with 44 points worth of goodies to win 400-290. Similarly, his game against Andy in the final round was close until he started drawing and playing tons of bingos. Thomas played IDOLISER, PIMINETO, VERSANT, and TOXINES in that 300-point victory.

2nd Charles Reinke went undefeated except for a loss against that dude who looks like him, which shouldn't even really count when you think about it, going 4-1 +277. He won both games of a two-on-one, against Sue and Richard, in the first round, earning him the right to play the unbeatable Thomas. We know how that turned out (hint: "unbeatable"). In his next game, he withstood Betty's 108-point double-double HOBBIES, playing EGOTIZED and RADIANS in a 448-382 win. He saved his best for last, beating Bryan in a high-scoring affair, 482-452. Bryan played INCLOSED, FORESAID (don't forget the A front-hook making AFORESAID), and DREAMING, while Charles played POONTANG (the third time he's played that word, insert joke here), BURRITOS, and the invalid SUBOVALS*. SUBOVAL is of course an adjective, so of course doesn't pluralize. Of course.

3rd Richard Lauder brought joyous Christmas tidings in the form of butt-kickings, going 3-1 +134. He recovered well after losing his opener against Charles, the recovery starting with a 437-272 dismantling of Gail, where he played UNCOATED for 90. Things were closer against Dave, where he won 420-378, overcoming Dave's late PHAETON with TINKLERS as an out-bingo. It illustrates a good lesson in expert-level Scrabble play; always, ALWAYS, block the K if it's just hanging out there. An open K is an invitation for your opponent to bingo, if not bingo twice in that spot (I am joking, the K is only dangerous if you think your opponent is going to play KUVASZOK). Richard finished off his night with a 368-328 win against Lynda, playing SERMONS and GLASSIER.

Dave played the word-of-the-week, VENATIC (adj. pertaining to hunting), earning 98 points for his efforts.

Experts
Thomas Reinke4-0 +578
Charles Reinke4-1 +277
Richard Lauder3-1 +134
Helen Flores3-1 +89
Bryan Benwitz3-2 +324
Betty Hasselkus2-2 +87
Lynda Finn2-2 +48
Andy Bohnsack2-2 -189
Mary Becker2-3 -193
Dave Gilligan1-3 -118
Gail Salm1-3 -187
Sue Goldstein0-3 -303
Charles Marvin0-4 -547
Intermediates

 
NameWin% W   L  T  Avg  Opp Avg Bingos  Avg Phonies % v2
Experts
Charles Reinke75.71625204493704642.1740.914
Thomas Reinke72.71575904413734872.25122.515
Aaron Bader70.31094604243733122.01134.211
Bryan Benwitz63.71287304173723891.9461.52
Andy Bohnsack60.2734814093882201.831.47
Lynda Finn55.8876904013832571.65155.87
David Kinzer51.517160360392250.76140
Richard Lauder51.5706603893872431.79166.612
Dennis Lloyd39.426400380391991.566.14
Helen Flores29.35914313534081800.8984.44
Intermediates
Sue Goldstein13.7181130304394310.2426.50

Bingos
Charles Reinke12IRRIGATE TRILLER FROMAGE WINCERS FIREWALL EXOSMIC SARDINE EGOTIZED RADIANS POONTANG
BURRITOS subovals
Thomas Reinke11INDUSIA PENNATE CLIENTAL VITRAINS REBUKED HANDICAP CONFIDES IDOLISER PIMIENTO VERSANT
TOXINES
Bryan Benwitz9COTTONS NIDATES FLOSSED FALTERED OVERACT RESITED INCLOSED FORESAID DREAMING
Richard Lauder7DONAIRS UNCOATED TINKLERS ENDORSED RETINULA SERMONS GLASSIER
Lynda Finn6COGITATE THRONED URANIDES TOONIES STRUDEL SNUGGER
Gail Salm6ANODISE SLATIER DRAWINGS ENTASIA SANGERS TORSION
Dave Gilligan5SPEAKING VENATIC GNARLIER PHAETON dentails
Helen Flores4FRETTING SOLATED BLONDES SALLIES
Betty Hasselkus4RESOUGHT BANGLES HOBBIES SPOOKING
Mary Becker3REFUTING GROUSED ITEMISE
Andy Bohnsack2SMARTER GLOATERS
Charles Marvin1GASSIER
3-Apr: Scrabble at Covenant Church10-Apr: Scrabble at Covenant Church17-Apr: Scrabble at Misty Mountain Games24-Apr: Scrabble at Covenant Church