1st game, easy player. Naturally I draw both blanks and plenty of S's. Challenged off a couple of his words. 494-268.
2nd game, fairly solid player. And a blank magnet (seems every time I walk behind her in a game, or sit beside her, she's got a blank or two!!). She gets them out in turn number 10, some bingo using both blanks and RETIN or something. 254-225 for me at that point. No bingos for me... a 50 point, 3 hook SIMILE play to the bottom TWS was my biggest play. With 1 in the bag, holding ABDUCT and D, I dump ABDUCT for 22 to block the last bingo lane... and last tile in the bag is S. 372-316. Generally a frustrating game, but I did get to trot out one of the goofy K 5's (hooking a K word onto LONG... KLONG was worth 38).
3rd game, reasonably good player.
Picking tiles for first play, she draws the blank. As she mixed the tiles back in... instead of me... I had a feeling that blank was going to be on her opening rack. Hmm. Turn 3, after a couple dumps, she plays RECLINe, the R in a TWS lane. I play ABRIDGE thru it for 36. After 5, I'm up 157-160, and have a rack SCREAMING for an exchange... all cons, including Q and 2 S's. Not overly worried about the opponent or the odds of STILL drawing no vowels, I stubbornly use 2 turns to dump only 3 letters for total 23 points... and draw 3 consonants. I finally exchange. After 10 I'm down 254-235. She has just spent the second blank as a Y... to hook BUy onto DITZ for 22. Ditzy, appropriate word, I couldn't help thinking. The B sat in the top right TWS lane, and with 2 S's and (still) a consonant heavy rack, I dump WEBS for 39. There are no clear bingo lanes, but a series of overlapping plays in the bottom right eventually opened an easy one to the TWS... she plays OVER for 28, horrible move!! I play some -s bingo for 77 (OS hook). Ends 423-364.
4th game, strong player... whom I've been having unnatural killer games against lately.
With FAMEDIE rack, I'm a little hesitant but open with FAMED for 30... been so starved for vowels last few games, the IE leave doesn't look as bad as usual. He replies with B(E)HOLDER. I'm a little vowel heavy now, naturally, I dump something, he dumps something, and I now hold the promising CEINSTU. There are no 7's in it, says LexPert (though with that BEHOLDERS hook available to triple, I sure as hell looked!)... I eventually made do with LINECUTS from the L. The S being exactly what he needed for RELISTED. My pickup from LINECUTS was insane... something like SSZAUI?. The first E from RELISTED was beside a TWS... so took the extravagant ZeES for 66. And drew the the final S immediately, VE with it. With the last 2 S's on my rack and looking at only the 5th turn, I dumped SUAVE/BEHOLDERS for 38. Even so, after 5 I was only up 222-215 following his 32 point overlapping play of RAY. I play WINGY/GRAY off it for 40, knowing my S would hook WINGY nicely in future. He tries to hook QAT there, though. TWINGY???? I got rid of that. His 8th turn is a dump hooking OBOL as OBOLI. I haven't been looking at these sort of hook words lately, but I can't remember OBOL taking anything other than E. Maybe he's confused OBOLI with OVOLI??? Challenge. It's good (dammit). I stare at PENNANS for another turn. After 10, it's an uncomfortably close 336-321 for me. He's still fishing for the S I hold. His 13th turn is EVADING thru the V, and he takes the last tiles. Probably a bad idea. I've finally unloaded those N's and a troublesome K, and sit with POUTERS. The SWINGY hook is available... I see SPOUTER first... then POSTURE, much better, DWS. Then realize that's the bingo ending in E I'd been keeping an eye out for... POSTURES on TWS, to the original S from ZeES. The E necessary to fit the R of RELISTED. 492-385.
Played a fifth game for fun against the same kinda lousy player I played in the first game. This time I showed him every rack I had, and my reasons for playing whatever I played. Nice plays in this one... from the N to the TWS I had (N)AVIGATe early... later P(E)TuNTSE. 466-326 in this one. He was shocked when, with QOBBER? rack, I traded the Q (along with OBB).