Blog

Charles Reinke Undefeated in 2014 Calendar Year

1st Charles Reinke made good on his new year's resolution of not losing any games of Scrabble by going 4-0 +337.  Try as he might, he couldn't quite break 500 in any of his games, coming closest in a 499-408 victory against Peter Schmiedicke.  DORMIENT (adj. dormant) was Peter's attempt to stay in the game, but Charles' NATTERS, TRIFLED, and SWEATILY were too much.  His biggest win was by 123 points, 486-363 against Lynda Finn.  Lynda got UNDREST to take an early lead, but eventually succumbed to two bingo salvoes from her opponent: NONTIDAL and ALLOCATE.

2nd Thomas Reinke had an identical four wins to his brother, but had an un-identical one loss, leaving him in second place with a +267 spread.  For the tenth time in a row, he lost to his brother, this time by the score of 374-435, despite outbingoing him (ACCOUNTS and RIPENESS for Thomas, OESTRIN for Charles).  He got his (misplaced) revenge by crushing Peter Schmiedicke 509-376, thanks in part to the triple-triple of SLATTERN for 131 points.  One triple-triple is bad enough, but Thomas played another one, STUDIERS, against Bryan Benwitz.  Thus, the club treasurer is regretting his decision to start paying $4 prizes for triple-triples.

3rd Bryan Benwitz lost his first two games, but made a quick recovery and ended the night at 2-2 +116, just five spread points ahead of fourth-place finisher Andy Bohnsack.  Easily capturing bingo king honors with 12 such plays, a crown with 12 embedded rubies is currently being forged by the club blacksmith and will be presented to Bryan at our next meeting.  The highest scoring of his wins was against Helen Flores, 525-370, a lofty point total that contributed to his game average of 432.  If you're thinking "nobody could possibly score that many points unless they had three or more bingos!", your hunch would be correct.  Bryan played RONTGEN, AVODIRES, and CAREENED; Helen played SATRAPS, a great find which got her Word of the Week.  A satrap is a governor of a province in ancient Persia; SATRAPY is also a word meaning "the domain of a satrap".

Sue Goldstein Has Only Two Losses in All of 2014

1st Sue Goldstein went 2-2 +19 to snatch first place in a diminished intermediate group.  Both of her wins (and one of her losses) came against June Scott, the highest scoring being 344-272 in Sue's favor.

Richard Lauder Proves You Don't Need to Have the Last Name "Reinke" to Win 10 Straight

1st Richard Lauder utilized the his deceptively friendly-looking face to comfort and reassure his four opponents, before pummeling them all mercilessly en route to four wins and a +273 spread.  This latest night of debauchery puts his win streak at eleven, meaning the next person to beat him will win a sweet five dollars.  Such is the extent of Richard's domination that it is unlikely anybody will be able to beat him for the rest of the year!  Bryan Benwitz did manage to give Richard a scare, with Richard pulling it out 441-434.  Bryan's three bingos of ADAPTERS, DETAINS, and OVERNEAT were all for naught, as Richard's UNSTEELS and ALLODIAL (word of the week, pertaining to ALLODIA, a form of medieval land ownership) ensured the veteran's victory.  Richard's highest scoring game came against Charles Reinke, 474-389, this time with Richard getting three bingos: LANGRELS (n. LANGREL, a collection of scrap metal used to tear sails in naval warfare), NEEDILY, and BUSTLING.

2nd Thomas Reinke used his highly-advanced word knowledge to plop down twelve bingos on his way to 3-1 +524.  Most of that impressive spread total came in a pair of 250-point wins.  The first was a 542-289 win versus Barb Besadny; Barb played SPITTERS, but was overwhelmed by four bingos from her opponent: SANITIZE, CRAWFISH, NEBULAE, and LEALTIES.  Thomas' twisted mind, however, did not find solace in a mere four bingos: he wanted more!  Thus, he played five of them in a 568-304 win against Susan Vergeront: SANIDINE (n. a type of feldspar), DEVEINS, ROISTER, COUPLERS, and TUNICAE.  Susan played RADIATOR to minimize the damage.

3rd Charles Reinke had an identical record to his brother, but his inferior +266 spread slotted him one spot lower in the standings.  However, he did beat his brother 481-425, so he can take some comfort in that thought.  Uncommonly for the twins, all the bingos in their game were somewhat pedestrian: GREISENS and GENITOR for the victor, MALTIEST and DENOTING for the loser.  Charles pulled out the big guns in a drubbing of Bryan Benwitz 564-314.  The biggest gun of them all was a 140-point triple-triple AGENESIS, but a 90-point FLEXIONS certainly didn't hurt.  Bryan played REPTILE, the final E of which was the fatal ingredient for his opponent's triple-triple. 

Speaking of triple-triples, a new prize will be going into effect at the beginning of the new year: $4 for any play that hits two triple-word-scores.  So, in addition to scoring a ton of points, you'll also score a ton of money!

Sue Goldstein Uses Sedation Power of Her Cookies to Overwhelm Her Opponents

1st Sue Goldstein went 2-1 +cookies to take first in the intermediates.  Her marquee game came against Aki Miura, whom she beat 402-293 for her highest score this year!  Her sole bingo on the night, COASTER, predictably came in that game.

2nd June Scott's 2-1 +109 was impressive, but even more impressive was the average of 262 that she allowed against her.  She racked up her highest winning margin so far this year when she stifled Sharlie Miura, 350-208.

Special Childbirth Announcement

Club member Renato Umali is the proud owner father of a brand new baby boy!  He was brought into the world, red-faced and screaming, on the evening of Dec. 16.  His name is Bruno Reynard Umali.  REYNARD is a valid word, and means "a fox".  Both "Bruno" and "Umali" have valid anagrams, but you'll have to figure out the answers on your own.  Congratulations to Renato and wife Sarah!

We figure that this will lower even further Renato's chances of making it to club any time soon.

The Air May Be Cold, but Richard Lauder Is RED HOT!

1st Richard Lauder ran off four straight wins, going 4-0 +198 and extending his winning streak to seven.  On his way, he beat both Reinke twins, marking the second straight week that somebody has achieved this feat.  He made easy work of Thomas Reinke, winning 439-346, playing TIPSTER and GUESTED to counteract Thomas' ANEROIDS.  His game against Charles was a bit closer, 385-345 being the final in that one.  Richard's find of PODZOLS not only netted him 119 points, but word of the week as well!  PODZOL is a type of soil, also spelled PODSOL, and has nothing to do with POZOLE, which is a soup.  PODZOLS also indirectly netted Richard five dollars, as Charles had just reached his tenth win in a row the previous round.

2nd Charles Reinke went 4-1 +619, averaging 465 points per game and playing fourteen bingos in the process.  He was also responsible for the three highest game scores of the night.  Against Lynda Finn, he dominated 550-314, outdoing Lynda's TANNERS with three bingos: WEIRDEST, ANTICKED, and ACTINGS.  This high score was apparently not high enough for Charles, as he walloped Mary Becker 559-344.  Four bingos were on the menu for that one: DITHERED, PERSONA, RELIEVER, and TENURIAL.  Mary got down DESIRES for some much-needed points.

3rd Bryan Benwitz, going 2-2 +130, beat out four other players with an identical record to snatch third place.  He dismantled Helen Flores with cold, surgical precision, 457-326, unleashing bingos such as ELUDERS and RERAISED with not even a smile.  Helen's response of INFUSES proved to be not enough.  His other win was 449-405 against Mary Becker, playing YEARLING and SLUTTIER for some much sought-after 50 point bonuses.

Condolences to Lynda Finn, who lost to Chris Vergeront 416-427 despite playing the triple-triple UNLEARNT.  New rule proposal: triple-triples automatically win the game.