"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.