# A Game of Scrabble

![](/lately/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/2003-02-07_scrabble.jpg)

([Tina H.](http://volatile.org/) vs. Michael S.—I lost; the left-over
_Q_ is mine.)

Notes:

1.  _IBIS_ was originally _IS_, which was played because I was waiting
    for a _D_ with which to make a triple- word- score _TOWARD_… This
    was a mistake. (_IBIS_ was played partly to remove the evidence of
    the _IS_ embarrassment.)
2.  I tried to dump the _Q_ a few moves out from the end, but it came
    back a few moves later… So this was also a mistake. Is it bad form
    to dump it when there’s only one or two tiles left, so that your
    opponent has to pick it up?
3.  (I would’ve played _QI_ had the dictionary we were using listed it.)
4.  _HOOP_ was worth 48 points. The best word I’ve ever seen played (I
    was watching, not playing) was _DOMESTIC_, which scored 140-odd
    points.
5.  I don’t play Scrabble much, although neither does Tina…

I’ve got a damn cold at the moment and I really hope it goes away
because I’m flying to Australia tomorrow and long flights are really
hellish if your sinuses are mucked up. My two hour flight from Vancouver
to San Francisco was pretty awful, particularly the descent, and the
post baggage-claim stagger to the mini-van rank.