PSTAR Scrabble Games 2009

The PSTAR Scrabble games is an annual event for organisations in the civil service to take part in a friendly game of Scrabble. It was held at the Civil Service Club on 26th Sep 2009 from 10am to 5pm. A total of 27 teams took part. MINDEF had one team taking part this year.

Here's my match report, with quizzes marked with [number] and the answers given at the end of the report.

Our first pairing was against People's Association (PA) team 1.

Game 1: PA 1
My first game was against a girl named Le Yi. Both of us had one bingo each. I had STOURIE(78) while she had REqUIRED(77). I managed to beat her as she went overtime by 3 minutes and made many simple phoneys like IX* and NEZ*.

Won 417-231. Our team won 3-0.

Next game was against Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) team 1.

Game 2: MHA 1
My second game was against a guy from the police force named Cho. Both of us had one bingo each. I had LEAFIEST(62) while he had SPINNER(83). He was leading by 65 points at one point but I managed to turn the tide around by phoneying successfully with FARK* and REVE* while catching his phoneys such as AXER*, ETE* and CUD*. He also went overtime by 10 minutes and this gave me a bigger spread.

Won 444-220. Our team won 3-0.

Had free lunch catered for us after our second game. The dishes were not too bad but the paper plates were much smaller compared to last year! Didn't really feel full after that.

Our third game was against Ministry of Education (MOE) 1.

Game 3: MOE 1
I was paired against Vincent who was a Masters player but he claimed that he was getting rusty at the game. Both of us had one bingo each. I had RELEASER(75) while he had dITCHES(87). My opponent was trailing by 69 points towards the end with ADIMNT? on his rack. He could have won if he managed to bingo across the triple score lane front hooking to an existing AA on the board [1] but he phoneyed with MATINeD* instead and lost. Lucky for me!

Won 384-347. Our team won 3-0.

Our final game is against Land Transport Authority (LTA) 2.

Game 4: LTA 2
I played against Jimmy. He opened with DOZER(39) and scored heavily later with XI(60). He also had two bingos: IsOLATE(68) and MARKETS(88) against my INVERTS(75). Had many uninspired plays and chickened out of a bingo with a DDGINOS rack[2] as I was not sure of the word. Think everything went downhill after I decided to play off DO instead.

Lost 329-474. Our team lost narrowly with 1-2.

In the end, MINDEF 1 came in 4th placing among the top category teams. Had fun seeing so many familiar faces! Hope we could do even better next year!

Quiz answers (highlight to see clearly)

[1] MeDIANT
[2] SODDING

Tokyo Sonata

The story is about a Japanese family that is gradually falling apart after the father was retrenched.

Liked how the film captured the tension among the family members and the plight of the unemployed! The dream sequence and the scenes where the couple each expressed the desire to start all over again were pretty well done!

Internet Movie Database Link

Moebius

The story is about how a topologist helped to solve the mystery of a missing train in the subway station.

A little disappointed as I thought there would be a lot of special effects to explain the subway blueprints and the mathematical principles behind them. Not much action on the missing train itself too!

Internet Movie Database Link
Auteurs Link

I Love Beijing

The film describes the life in Beijing through a taxi driver who drives around the bustling city and meets different kinds of people everyday.

Liked how various characters such as a waitress, a librarian, a rich socialite and a poor countryside girl are weaved into the taxi driver's life to give an in-depth look at the social problems in Beijing!

Internet Movie Database Link
Auteurs Link

Maborosi

The story is about a woman who remarried after her husband mysteriously committed suicide.

Liked the nice scenery near the beach at the woman's second home, the depiction of her new happy family life and the visit back to her old home! The slow pace and the quiet atmosphere gave this film its unique charm!

Internet Movie Database Link
Auteurs Link

Grandeur 8 Mini 2009

I signed up for the Grandeur 8 mini as I thought it would be interesting to take part in a Scrabble competition that was held in a shopping center. It turned out to be not as relaxing as I imagined as we were distracted by the emcee blaring non-stop away, the curious onlookers, the noisy background music and the hot afternoon sun at CenterStage Marina Square.

Here's my match report, with quizzes marked with [number] and the answers given at the end of the report.

Game 1: vs Donald Seah

My first opponent was an old man who usually played in division C. Guess I shouldn't have underestimated my opponent as it turned out to be a much closer game than I had imagined! I only managed to pull ahead after bingoing with SINGErs(64) using both blanks.

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: SINGErs(64) Opp Bingos: -
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: EXES(39), PODS(33) Opp High Moves: ZA(45), FANCIER(45)
W 402-324, +78. 1W 0L (Accum spread +78).

Game 2: vs Peter Yu

At one time, I had ADEIPRS on my rack and I could only see the PRAISED anagram. After putting it down, my opponent played FIST to the TWS cell and scored 45 points! Should have played the anagram with the "S" as the 3rd letter instead![1] The board then became very closed later in the game. Saw an empty place to put one tile that back hooked both FEN and KA. Would have tried to put a "G" there to form FENG* and KAG* but my opponent snatched the spot from me to form FENI/KAI. Realised later that the correct spelling of the words that I was thinking of were FUNG and CAG.

New words learnt: FENI
My Bingos: READINGs(83), PRAISED(68) Opp Bingos: NELLIES(70), TINTERS(66)
My Phoneys: GEME* Opp Phoneys: VETOR*
My High Moves: HORN(33), ROOK(30) Opp High Moves: FIST(45), YOW(32)
L 374-415, -41. 1W 1L (Accum spread +37).

Game 3: vs Catherine Tong

Both of us made many mistakes in this game. I won as I got away with an ERY* phoney, scoring 28 points in the process and she challenged UDAL unsuccessfully! It could have been a draw if she had not challenged!

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: NASTIES(73) Opp Bingos: -
My Phoneys: KOE*, GELL*, ECUR*, ERY*(28) Opp Phoneys: SA*, REPEND*
My High Moves: SIX(37) Opp High Moves: CUPS(38), WOP(40), JeATs(57), TRODE(35)
W 373-368, +5. 2W 1L (Accum spread +42).

Game 4: vs Tan Mun Ri

My luck was pretty good and it helped that my opponent was struggling to find a place to play her bingo-prone rack, phoneying several times in the process! Realised later that there was an anagram to her ADEINTU rack which she phoneyed with AUNTIED*.[2]

New words learnt: BAUBLE, TEAZE
My Bingos: GENDERS(77), NAVIGATED(78) Opp Bingos: NUTSIER(75)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: BAUBLED*, ANTEEING*, AUNTIED*, SToURING*
My High Moves: CLEAK(32), JOE(33), XU(52), TEAZE(72), VERT(34) Opp High Moves: POOR(31), CLEAKING(45), QI(43), MAWED(33)
W 567-350, +217. 3W 1L (Accum spread +259).

Game 5: vs Chew Hong En

Was trying to catch up by setting up bingo lanes but they were used by my opponent instead! Tough luck!

New words learnt: ANION
My Bingos: DEsERtER(74) Opp Bingos: LARGEST(87), BUTTERS(79)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: LIR*
My High Moves: ZEP(53) Opp High Moves: DIVA(33), JA(31)
L 371-421, -50. 3W 2L (Accum spread +209).

Game 6: vs Perry Lam

Should have blocked when I was ahead so that my opponent would not have the chance to play his second and third bingos but I didn't! Big mistake!

New words learnt: TZARINA
My Bingos: ViSITOR(75) Opp Bingos: TZARINA(84), OVERtIPS(94), RETAILS(79)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: ELE*
My High Moves: OH(37), SUQ(31), AN(35) Opp High Moves: DUB(30)
L 400-491, -91. 3W 3L (Accum spread +118).

Game 7: vs Catherine Tong

My opponent said she wanted revenge as it was our second time playing together. She didn't have a chance though as I had very good tiles. Our spread would have been smaller if she knew the anagram to her EIILRST rack[3].

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: REWINDS(70) Opp Bingos: HEAVENLY(76)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: HEAVERLY*, LISTIER*
My High Moves: SHONE(38), QINTAR(34), MICE(31), CHATTY(51), ZEE(37) Opp High Moves: RELIST(34)
W 431-290, +141. 4W 3L (Accum spread +259).

Game 8: vs Aloysius

Had a 3-0 record against my last opponent but he finally had his revenge! He scored very well with his bingos and with the high scoring tiles!

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: LENDING(81) Opp Bingos: PULSaTE(71), VIOLINS(89)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: QUOP(30) Opp High Moves: LAXES(40), JOT(34)
L 345-442, -97. 4W 4L (Accum spread +162).

Quiz answers (Highlight to see clearly):

[1] DESPAIR
[2] AUDIENT
[3] RILIEST

The Face of Another

The main story is about the transformation of a disfigured man after receiving a face mask from his psychiatrist. The subplot is about a girl who was disfigured due to nuclear radiation from the atomic bombings of Japan.

Liked the interesting dialogue between the man and his wife as well as between the man and his psychiatrist! Kyo Machiko who played the wife still looked quite pretty for her age! She looked stunning in "Rashomon" and "Ugetsu" that were made more than ten years before this film!

Internet Movie Database Link

Princes and Princesses

There are six short stories in the film: "The Princess of Diamonds", "The Fig Boy", "The Sorceress", "The Old Lady’s Coat", "The Cruel Queen and the Fabulo Trainer" and "Princes and Princesses". Each of them is about either a prince or a princess.

Liked the interesting gadgets in "The Sorceress" and "The Cruel Queen and the Fabulo Trainer"! "The Princess of Diamonds" and "The Fig Boy" was predictable, the scenery in "The Old Lady’s Coat" was beautiful while "Princes and Princesses" was quite funny!

Internet Movie Database Link
Auteurs Link

Pitfall

The story is about a coal miner's life and how he tried to unravel a mystery when a terrible incident happened in a deserted ghost town.

Liked the scenes within the ghost town! Thought it was pretty interesting how they depicted the interaction between the dead and the living!

Internet Movie Database Link