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1st Charles Reinke gave thanks for a 4-1 +392 performance that landed him atop a group of three players that all had 4-1 records. He got a jump start on his first-place effort by playing two games in the first round and winning them both: a close 405-401 win over Bryan Benwitz (seeing him play ZAIDEHS and TONTINE), and a not-as-close 472-289 win over Dave Gilligan (choosing CANNONED over its anagram, NONDANCE). Another large spread was achieved against Dennis Lloyd, 471-282, thanks to bingos of SOILAGE and INSOULS (and a hidden flask of pre-Thanksgiving cranberry sauce for much-needed nutrients). The evening finished up with a pair of games against sworn lifelong enemy Thomas Reinke, and, after losing the first game, Charles took the second game to secure his first-place record. That game ended with a score of 424-359; Charles played DENTISTS and an out-bingo of PASTERNS, while Thomas had HORNETS.

2nd Aaron Bader also went 4-1, with a spread of +342, and averaged 466 points per game while doing it. Four of his games were against regular Collins opponent Mark Kenas, and all of them were victories. One of those wins came in a two-on-one where Aaron also faced off against Thomas Reinke, and that game was his only loss at 405-420. All bingos played were of the "high probability, TWL dictionary" variety: Thomas had LOANEES and ATTIRED against Aaron's TRANCIER and RENOVATE. In that same round, Aaron had his biggest win against Mark, a 504-335 drubbing where Aaron had four bingos: MOSSIEST, CARTLOAD (triple-triple for 149), SAUNTED#, and PERIODED#. Mark played ENTITLED in that game, as in "somebody who has studied all the Collins-only bingos is entitled to at least one win in four games". The closest game between Aaron and Mark was a 480-457 slugfest that ended in Aaron's favor, partially thanks to his bingos of MORTGAGE, TROILITE, and ENDOGENS. Mark had KYANISES, SALUTED, and word-of-the-week RELOCATEE (a good extension for RELOCATE).

3rd Thomas Reinke's 4-1 record was good, but his inferior +135 spread relegated it to "but not good enough" territory. Like his first-place-finishing brother (do I smell a Scrabble-jealousy-fueled Thanksgiving blowout a-brewing?), Thomas had a strong first game, beating Dennis Lloyd 462-329. Dennis did get down TISANES, but Thomas played SOOTIER, TINHORNS, LECTERNS, and AMIDINE. After beating Aaron in an honorary Collins game, Thomas took on Bryan and Charles in a challenging two-on-one, but the challenge was apparently inadequate in preventing Thomas from winning both games. He barely beat Bryan, 356-353, and the win was mostly thanks to a timely SENECIO (Bryan had ORATURES). The game against Charles was higher-scoring, but also closely-contested, ending with a score of 511-462. Thomas' out-bingo of UNREASON (to go along with DEMETONS, PREUNITE, and FRAGILE) was the deciding factor. Charles had COLDEST, ATOMIZED, and PLEURON (with a blank P, so FLEURON and ALEURON were also options without even having to shuffle letters around).

1st Charles Reinke went 4-1 with a sizable +685 spread, easily wresting first place from the plebeians below him who only played four games. His experience in the first round was emblematic of the vagaries of Scrabble, and, indeed of life itself: playing in a two-on-one, he was defeated by Betty Hasselkus 409-335, but defeated Dave Gilligan 545-277. Against Betty, he played ERUMPENT to counter her STOLLEN (which will be a seasonal word once Thanksgiving passes). Against Dave, he had PEREONS, LEVIRATE, and word-of-the-week CARYATIC, while Dave had ENSNARES. Charles followed up a lukewarm first round with a game that was anything but lukewarm, as he scored an incredible 604 against Helen Flores, and played some fun bingos in the process: TERRINES, GALLICAN, and a triple-triple TRIVIUMS for 140. A "trivium" is apparently an introductory course at a medieval university, and not an instance of trivia as the folk definition would have you believe. Charles continued his path to first place with a 429-353 win over Richard Lauder (despite the latter's out-bingo of NOSTRIL), and the path came to an end with a close 422-409 victory against Bryan Benwitz. In the last one, Charles had DEFICIT and VENUSES to Bryan's TRIAGED and RECTORS (which was sadly never extended to ERECTORS).

2nd Thomas Reinke barely snuck into second place, beating out the third-place finisher by eight spread points with his 3-1 +231 record. Unlike his first-place started slow but finished strong, Thomas won his first three games before falling in the last round. His first game was against Gail Salm, and he won big, 444-318, despite the bingo tally being knotted at one apiece (CUSHIER for Thomas, RUNTIEST for Gail). The racks were a bit more fruitful against Bryan Benwitz, as he got down three bingos (CONTAGIA, STATIVES, and LONICERA) in a 422-321 win. A 460-309 win against Betty Hasselkus must have been achieved solely through revengeful intent, because it wasn't achieved through a multitude of bingos (Thomas only had DEONTIC), but in any case, it set him up for a perfect night going into the fourth round. However, Mark Kenas made easy work of Thomas, 325-472, crushing those dreams like a flower underneath the boots of a passing army regiment.

3rd Mark Kenas enjoyed a third-place finish with his 3-1 +223 final record, but would have enjoyed second place a lot more had he won his final game by just four more points. As is usual for him, he played a series of Collins games against Aaron Bader, winning the first two before losing one. Their first game was a barn-burner, ending 471-461 in Mark's favor. Bingos of MANTELET, USAUNCE, and ILLATION contributed much to the winning effort (Aaron had LARKIER and CASEATED). The second game was much more lopsided (459-333, Mark's win, thanks to BIDARKA, HERIOTS, and IRONIZED), but balance was restored as Aaron took game three, 466-406. Mark was then given the opportunity to take on Collins switch-hitter Thomas Reinke, and he was especially eager to win given that Thomas had taken the win in their first three Collins encounters. That eagerness translated into easy victory as Mark held Thomas bingoless, played ANTISEX, TAENIAE, and RETILES as his own bingos, and won 472-325.

1st Thomas Reinke came out on top of a lightly attended club session at everyone's favorite downtown grocery store. He beat Bryan in the first round, playing REDLINED and BESPEAK. Normally the P and the B don't go together, but he made it work, which must be why he's first place in the standings this year. He then faced Charles, and won 520-438. He played three bingos in a row early, PEREION, BRAVEST, and word-of-the-week HUSTINGS (n. a British court, and it needs the S on the end). Charles managed to recover and make the game close with NELUMBOS, GOTHITE (n. an ore of iron, also GOETHITE), and KENDOIST, but Thomas won the game by going out with REOILED. And that was that! Club officials have noticed a downtrend in the amount of players coming to Festival Foods. Please tell us your concerns about it (like how loud it gets), and perhaps we can think about finding a new location.