From: TCobbs@aol.com
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 20:09:35 EST
Subject: Consensus game, Move #4
Message-id: <c0bb40b6.34d12851@aol.com>

My first instinct when I saw our rack was to exchange. Over the board, that's probably what I would have done. Looks like I need to revise my criteria for when to exchange. Chalk up one more thing I've learned from this consensus game.

After careful consideraton of the arguments for and against both placements of WEND, I vote for 11D WEND (horizontal). My primary reason for preferring this placement is one that Dave Boys was the first to state explicitly, though it was implied or hinted at by earlier posts -- namely, the creation of a second S hook + TWS line. In the words of "The Ultimate Guide to Winning Scrabble® Brand Crossword Game" (c) 1987, p. 159: "The rule here is: If the board has one hot spot and you can't use it, then you should make another one. The chances are you will get a good play next time."

I got a chuckle from the unintended irony of the post which said "we don't need to play defensively and paranoid here" and immediately proceeded to recommend the vertical placement for the defensive, paranoid reason of shutting down the 15A-D hot spot.

Regarding WEND 11D's impact on bingo lines, no one has noted the opening of new bingo lines if opp takes the H11-15 hot spot. There is almost certain to be a vowel on column H in such a case, which we may need if we continue to be consonant-heavy. In addition, rows 13, 14 and 15 would offer better scoring potential than column J.

Tracy Cobbs (MadMax) NSA rating 1689