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Cape Cod Color
29-31 October 1999

The games began only a bit late this morning and out of 56 contestants, only one didn't make it due to illness. So, we ended up with a bye in the recreational division.

Joel Horn (E) played his entire first game with a total of 8 vowels placed on the board by him. Needless to say, he lost!

The Radisson Inn Hyannis has a lovely, well-lit playing room right off the pool area (love those negative ions). It is spacious but a bit subterranean for my taste. I think that fact that it is well over 60 degrees outside has me wishing this was an outdoor tournament!

Round 2 started off interestingly. A longtime married couple called me over to adjudicate a difference before their game began. They were to play each other. Seems she wanted to use her analog clock and he wanted to use his digital clock. I made the ruling (that the digital took preference), but wondered why this question had never come up before! They've been playing SCRABBLE for years!

I spent most of rounds 3 and 4 searching for John Venditti. He smartly was taking his opponents outside to play atop a picnic blanket in the sunshine. I envied them the sun and air.

We kept pretty much on time, which meant that there was enough time to take a decent lunch hour: 90 minutes for some. Between bites of brick oven pizza (yum), I checked on the scorecard math so far: very good!

Round 5 is now under way and the room is almost completely silent save for the sound of tinkling tiles. Rod MacNeil lost by 169 points and he isn't the least bit upset. As he told it to me, he had a lead on Joey Mallick even after Joey's first bingo of OLEASTER (77). But it was the ensuing three bingos: BUSTLED (75), FAITHING (88), and ATROPINE (76) that Joey laid down, one after another, that lost Rod the game. Rod explains that for having the X and one S, he thinks he did well to lose by only 169 (532-363). A monster win for Joey.

We had a misadjudication this round. A word judge ruled the play POMELO unacceptable. The recreational division player did NOT request a second opinion. Two plays or so later, just as a bingo was being put down in that game, the word judge pointed out his error to me. He had found it in the dictionary after plays had been made on the board. I read the Tournament Rules and happened upon Rule XH-- Inaccurate Adujudication--and decided to award the injured player 24 points for her play plus 25 points for the bad ruling. This 49 was added to her cum after the game was over. The E in POMELO had been played by her to open up the board and her opponent bingoed off it and she lost the game by 15 points. This hurt her greatly. I assured her that we all need to be reminded what the "second opinion" rule is all about......

Most tournaments I play in on the East Coast use a 7-game Saturday format and I decided to try the 8-game format (which means only four games tomorrow and time for all to get home for trick or treaters), like tournaments out West. No one complained, but I could tell it was tiring. All the divisions had an increase in addition errors for this 8th round.

After dinner, many of us congregated in the playing room to participate in and vote on the costume contest. We had so much fun! There was a SCRABBLE pair in cute shirts and one had SCRABBLE boxers over his jeans! Another man came dressed in drag (since he didn't shave his moustache, he wore a feathered mask over his face to cover the decidedly unfeminine mustache!

There was a Prehistoric SCRABBLE gal with a bag of shale rock tiles from days gone by. There was a samauri complete with headpiece. Two players dressed up as Mr. and Mrs. Butts, complete with MASSIVE pillows in their butts.... And, then the winner was a witch dressed up as a card: Marjorie Jones. She made a giant Hallmark takeoff card that she carried over ther shoulders like a cape. I'll put up a web page of photos before too long!

Some more notes:

During round 11 I spotted some nice plays in the expert division. In a game between John Morse and Judy Horn I saw an opening bingo of STANINE (66) by John. Two plays later he did a complete parallel play of DILUTER (72) atop STANINE. Since I didn't see the game as it was played, I'm not sure how the DS worked, but it did.

At the next table a virtual bingo-fest was going on. Elaine Patterson played BARNIEST (62) and DIMNESs (92) and Joey Mallick played HORIZON (76), MISRULEd (68), and DEGRADE (77). After 11 plays, they were 447-390. The game finished, 467-407 in Elaine's favor.

Next door in the Intermediate division, Don Finkey responded to his opponent's opening play by laying down LINEARLY through the A. He got 65 points and drew a challenge. The word is good.

In the "good sport" department, Marjorie Bash earned another badge for her sash. In a game against Concepta Siembab, Concepta put down a bingo and announced 45. Marjorie said, "Is that all you count?" Concepta, realizing her error, corrected the score to be 95 and won the game by 45 points. Marjorie may have lost the game, but she won so much more.

A highlight of the awards ceremony came when Marjorie Jones and her witch puppet awarded the Best Halloween word prizes. Her puppet, complete with hands was a hoot and a perfect accompaniment to Marjorie's quick one-liners!

Big thanks to the tournament's superb word judges: David Lovler, Wendy Wolfberg, Joanie Moniz, and Ron Gauthier.

Thanks to Gregg Foster and Steven Alexander (who helped with the tournament pairings).

p.s. I typed in words from the challenge slips during down time between rounds. My favorite phoneys: BEDFLEAS, WHEATIES, and RUNTLETS.

All words adjudicated with the OWL (ospd)
(acceptable = yes, not acceptable = no)

Round 1:
yes: SWIVE, ZERK, OXIDATE, FRUGS, AVANT, NITCHIeS
no: OUTRULED, HOEN, QUIPED, JINI, GORER, OB, AZIFY

Round 2:
yes: RETSINA/PILIS, SENDABlE, DEMItTED, DADAS
no: RETOOLER, REsALER, ORI, MAL, UNGNAWED, RICOTTA/BENDI, EDEN, UNSHINED, DELT, EXCOM, AO, TANQS, ZEN, REBOLT, HIENiES, STA/FELINES, SHS, JUIs/VAWs, TULL

Round 3:
yes: REORIENT, VIRGAS, VANED, PIC, UTS, LICENSEE, CHAPT
no: REN, NYET, SAFTIED, OUTMEND, SKABIES, YALIE, TOWNER, FILLYS, AEROLAS, ORIENTERS, MASTERER, DOUSINGS, VIOLANT, JEFFE, XUS, JAME

Round 4:
yes: COnNOTE, DAUTIES, NOTA, STOOLED, TINKLED, MANICS, BUR, LEAS
no: NOTAS, RANTEN, GLIT, JEUS/HICKIES, POE, AUDITER, AIRE

Round 5:
yes: FAYS, WHOOF/DAW, CINDERY, SUNDREsS, JILLIONS, GROUTIER, TOPIS/JUNTOS, ZONK
no: BRUNG/BICE, AIRSKEET, EMNITY, UTE/EMU, SOUCHIER, DEPLaNER, DETERERS, JOISTERING, ULE, AF, JEAR, FROSTERS, YAD/DREG.
bad ruling: POMELO ruled unacceptable, but it was acceptable.

Round 6:
yes: WALY, ALAND, ROUT, HEELER/HONOREE, NAN, AEROLITE, IAMB
no: TE, PO/ROE/JOE, PRESAVE, PREDONE, CLODDERS, WHEATIES, BON, ERRY, AGOR, BEETY, DHOURI, RELOOSEN, RUNTLET, HEEP/PEONY, ABIASES, ZAMIN, TIX

Round 7:
yes: MAGE, BAsTILE, RERAISE, POWS, EYER, TRANKs/DOINGs, EYNE
no: REER, UNBLOWN, TAnIC, UNWIPED, PICT, UZI, SLUTTED, FAM, TANTERS

Round 8:
yes: WONS, CARNIES/PEEN, ETERNALS, TIS
no: TIMLIER, SPENTED, ADE, YED/BAND, UR

Round 9:
yes: LEV, MArLINES, OLEASTER, KEENS, IMIDE, PARTINGS, BONEY/GORY, UNSeALS
no: YOWLY, LOOMERs, TORRIED, RESTEAM, ZOAS, AXINE, AIRE, RETEASED, BOLDInG, AXILES, BEDFLEAS, ESNE, GOS, LORAINS

Round 10:
yes: JOLTY, BENDY, WINGER, ENNUIS, LEgATING
no: IDOLATE, ROBOUST/TRICOTS, AVENAGE, EXITE, HALFS, YOS, ABLED, HAR

Round 11:
yes: EYRE, DEVA, ARSINES/SQUILL, VOES, MEEtErS, MURKS, WEBBIER, unDOINGS, BRASSED, OUTWORKED, LINEARLY, PALLID, FEME
no: VENTRIC/CHORAL, MASSiNGS, DIPSY, UNEASED/MOGGS

Round 12:
yes: RINSERS, PRERINSE, TENTIEr/ADJOINT, MOG, bONDINGS, YEASTING, GADI, DECOYING, oUTGOES/SPOOFS, ETHANES, HOPER, MIRZA, UMM
no: OFTs/sNORTER, ENTERROR, JIF, DAAL, AGELINES, LUCY, INGROWS, LININGS/JULIPS, YUH, WIZZARD, JIAOS, OB, TAGLESS, HU

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