Second Scrabble Group Experience

Last night I made my second appearance at the Kennesaw Scrabble Meetup Group. This meeting was held at the House of Brews Coffee Cafe, a new coffee house on Highway 41 in Kennesaw. I was not as impressed with this facility as I was with the previous venue.

I arrived a little before the appointed time of 7:00 in order to make a food and beverage purchase. I walked in with someone whose face I recognized from last time, but not their name. I passed on the $8 sandwiches and just got a frozen caramel mocha while we waited for others to arrive.

Soon enough we get started and break into two games of four people each. Once again I am seated to the right of the New Yorker. Her name is Maddy as I learned. Across from me sits Christy who holds a degree in physiology and a master's in public administration and yet she has worked for twelve years as a firefighter. To my right is Tracy, a young phlebotomist.

All of the players at our table are good. I draw the J and Q late figuring correctly that I will only have two more turns. I manage to play both for decent points and surprisingly come out the winner. Our table finishes our game at a similar time as the other table, but we decide to stay put and not switch.

The second game is just as close as the first. After the bag is emptied, I play a six letter word to ensure that I will go out next turn. I manage to go out and the added points from my opponents once again puts me in first place. A few people leave, but a mother with two teenage daughters has shown up to play. From our table Tracy is replace with Susan. Susan and Maddy seem to be very good friends and equals as scrabble players.

In the third game Christy races out to an early lead, but then she starts playing defensively which I believe is a mistake in a multiplayer game. The other players alternate big scores with small ones while I seem to be consistently scoring in the 20s with each turn. Susan gets the X played on double letter in two directions late to take a nice lead. I hold the blank, I & R on my last hand down by 22 points to Susan. She has 5 tiles still on her rack so I know that I really only need to score 13 to win if I go out. And go out I did victoriously.

Three games, three wins for me against equal competition. I am liking this.