I don't want to play with her...

[Spiky Bugger]

...she sets off my Catholic school guilt stuff.

Once in a great while, I pop in to Words With Friends, and play a few games, then disappear for years.

I have been there long enough this time that a lady who is my age plus, has decided she wants to play LOTS of games with me. But, in all humility, I'm just a more competitve/better player. I'm not a Super player...just lots better than this old dear. She "ruthlessly" sets me up for triple word scores. She seems to get off on spelling words but has not a strategic bone in her body. (She must play all day every day, because she has a lot of overall points...but my "average word" score is a good 7-10 points more per word.)

I don't look at my letters and try to figure what word is there. I look at what "high rent" squares are open...and then I find my highest point tiles...and THEN I start skimming through my brain for words. And I will not intentionally set up my opponent for an easy triple word score. Except...

...once I get to 150-200 points ahead of her, I feel guilty continuing to slam dunk the lady. It's no fun...and I feel bad tearing her to shreds. So I end up quickly spelling little/low point words. And THAT behavior irritates me.

Catholic school. That's what it is. My mom is STILL getting her $7/month tuition's worth in guilt...although, I think we got extra helpings of guilt because the Jewish Temple was across the street from the Catholic schools...lol

I will decline MOST future games with her. I hurt my feelings when I don't try hard.

 

[southernlady]

That's why I only play against myself or the computer...no guilt that way.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

That's why I only play against myself or the computer...no guilt that way.

But then....you always (also) lose! I don't know if my ego could handle that!

 

[southernlady]

But then....you always (also) lose! I don't know if my ego could handle that!

All I do is keep aiming for a higher score if playing myself. Or avoid losing if playing the computer. The computer does not win all the damned time. About a 50/50 split.

 

[Clematis]

I always won WWF which shocked one close friend who had always been convinced she was smarter than me. And I know for a fact she used WWF Word Finder websites which I don't use, and she lost anyway. I didn't go to Catholic school but I let her win a few times just so she'd keep playing. It was HARD to get her to win. I'd set her up, knowing what letters she had left and what words she could make and she'd completely miss the opportunities. When one day without comment I just stopped accepting her game requests, she never said a word to me about it, I assume because she was glad I bowed out.

So I switched to solo play and I always win against the computer, too. (I think it's won once against me and that was the day of surgery when I was doped up.) It's all about strategy and the best I can tell the computer doesn't understand strategy and just plays the highest-point word it can muster.

Inexplicably, I am barely so-so at Scrabble. There's too much pressure when someone is staring at you and rolling their eyes waiting for you to take your turn.

 

[DianaCox]

Dianahc6

 

[bearmom]

That sounds like playing with my mom. She is 89, and I like her to play because she is losing some cognitive function and I think it may help, but intentionally playing like an idiot to not stomp someone else into the ground is not very fun.

I've always been a great scrabble player, but it's definitely more strategy than vocabulary. I used to think that those cheating programs were just that.. cheating, but not now. I won't use them, but if it makes a crappy opponent even half-assed, I'm A-OK with them using one.

 

[CaraOC]

Caras*crapola

I have no catholic school guilt but I'm not fabulous and often get an ass kicking.