I second this, please make this an ongoing thing. The real nail-biter games are some of the most interesting to hear of, especially from someone like you who knows what they’re talking about more so than the average player.
I'd certianly like to see more of these. My favourite things in your videos are when you go through the long-term strategic ramifications of a seemingly banal play (like playing "to" here), and when you present the most ludicrously obscure and unfindable bingoes. Assuming this series would contain a bit of both, I'd say bring it on!
TALES FROM THE 1% has a very chilling vibe to it - Tales From the Crypt meets billionaire scrabbler players in horrifying endgame analysis. If anyone can pull it off it's you!
i know i'm commenting this again, but this series sounds like a perfect fit for that 1993 world championship game where a ~170 point deficit gets ERASED via an x play, followed by a bingo thanks to a blank, followed by ANOTHER BINGO thanks to the OTHER BLANK!!! Love that you're making weekly Scrabble content now ❤
If you check out the ending in that game, carefully, you'll notice that wapnick made a mistake in thinking: he has to assume nyman has a bingo. So he has a choice to leave him drawing the last ONE or TWO tiles. Let me ask you: would you rather go out with two tiles or one? In general, you'd rather have two because you'll score more. Wapnick allowed him to draw the last two instead of just won. I believe he lost becsuse of that mistake. I was the onstage game analyst. On that match. That was an AMAZING game to witness! Pls Let me know if I'm wrong or misremembering.
I love how you verify the gut feeling 25% feeling by using the Axiom of "Nigel plays essentially perfectly". As a scientist, I am mildly concerned about the validity of this approach, but as a casual viewer here for the memes, I'm all in.
I don't even like Scrabble, but these videos are great. It's amazing how you and the pros are able to track the letters and have backup plans and stuff.
More Will Andersen videos = more happiness and joy you have the best Scrabble content out there, and I don't even play Scrabble nor am I apart of the Scrabble community whatsoever, but your commentary and analysis on high level play is sooo interesting and cool! I'll support and watch whatever you want to make videos for :)
These type of videos are exactly what I was looking for! You make so many videos showing stunning plays from other players that we often forget how good of a player you are ...
Cool video. Makes me think of a Words With Friends game I had recently where I was losing by nearly 200 points about halfway through, had a Q, Z, and blank on my rack and there was a U on the board where I could potentially play QUETZALS for over 300 points, and spent three turns trying to get the other tiles and hoping the lane stayed open. It happened and I ended up winning in undoubtedly the most exhilarating game I've played. Would love to see videos on games like that where someone needed to come up with a crazy strategy to mount a very unlikely comeback from a huge deficit.
That would be an incredible series idea. Also, I love your commentary on these games. It really ads a lot and makes the game of scrabble feel alive and energetic
Not gonna lie, this video was indistinguishable to me from the other videos you break down of interesting strategy from skilled players. Which is to say, "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Call it whatever you want. I am here for it. BTW: "paired with a comparable opponent" defines away most of the skill involved in scrabble, IMO. It's definitely the more useful definition, but the simple process of locating the highest scoring play available to you involves so much skill that it's definitely worth mentioning. To wit, I'm your run of the mill casual scrabble player. But I'm better at it than my 13 year old nephew. We played once. I trounced him. Utter destruction. It was like 460 points to 140. It was probably on the order of what a grandmaster would do to me if we played.
That’s true - I think my main distinction with this video is that most of my game breakdowns are from games of some importance, either to Scrabble’s record books more broadly or to high profile events. But there are lots of games like this from less prominent events that are nevertheless amazing for the crazy pathways to victory that many players can find. So I guess I’m feeling out how you all feel about that “historical importance” factor and whether these breakdowns can be interesting without it.
This type of analysis really shows what makes scrabble a special game. A player with poor tiles is pushed to do some creative plays. The only comparison I could think of is when football teams are outmatched physically, coaches may use more creative playcalling.
Nice work, Will. I'd love to see you analyze an example or two of when you decided to let an opponent's phony play stay on the board in order to increase your chances of winning (or even an example of when doing so guaranteed a win).
Ooh, good suggestion. It most often happens when your opponent’s phony gives you a much larger play than you might have otherwise, but there might be other interesting scenarios I’m not recalling just yet!
Thanks for the great video, Will! I like this idea. I just recently watched the Josh Sokol vs Mack Meller game on Day Two of Word Cup 2023, and to my inexperienced eye, it seems like it would fit well into such a series. :)
Like others said i like the idea of the series, but also it would be cool if you showed us the "1%" that did not work out. Like you could make it seem like its a normal episode and switch it up in the end with the heartbreak of the plan failing Great job as always can't wait for the next one
Correct me if I'm wrong, wasn't it a direct quote from Nigel Richards that "25% of the games you'll never lose, 25% of your games you'll never win, tournaments are decided by those games in between those two"
I think this would be a really good series! Your commentary of games has always been good and these special situations seem like it would make for a good theme for these commentaries!
Great video as always! Keep up the good work. Still waiting to see a video about your career. Also would fun to see a video about younger scrabble players you think might become the next champions
This would make for an excellent series! One thing to consider might be to cut directly to the critical moment, instead of going through the entire game. That might let you dig deeper into the various ways the game could play out, perhaps also showing some computer analysis to back up the 1% claim. Just a thought.
This should definitely be a series! If you get the opportunity to interview other players about their own 1% games as well, that could really elevate this content as well, although I certainly think it's interesting enough to stand on its own.
A series where Will just flexes on us with his crazy wins I'm down for that. Maybe if we are lucky he might include other players as well but that part isn't necessary.
Def think you should pursue as a series. It may not be what you want, but I think it’d be interesting to show at different turning points in the game a computer generated win estimate for the underdog. How much did this one move increase/decrease their odds of winning/staying competitive.
Loved this video! Have you considered doing one on where one player gets all the Es? I think RandomRacer has a record of them---and I believe Josh Sokol won a game without drawing any Es at all?
These videos have really inspired me to learn more about competitive Scrabble. Is there a good place online to practice against other people and learn about strategy?
That’s awesome to hear! I recommend playscrabble.com for practice and woogles.io for learning the basics of strategy, including how to better evaluate plays beyond just how many points they score (the ability to judge the value of the letters you leave over for next turn is often the next step up for a newer player).
Another great video, definitely worth a series I reckon. Have you seen the new word game GUBBINS? Made by an Australian developer. I feel like it’s good practice for scrabble, it gives you single and already joined tiles.
Yes, this should be a series.
1000%
yes
d
I second this, please make this an ongoing thing. The real nail-biter games are some of the most interesting to hear of, especially from someone like you who knows what they’re talking about more so than the average player.
I concur!
even in scrabble he doesnt stop mewing, what a man of his word
Will is a catboy confirmed
🐱
This is a really great idea for a series! I love the idea of desperadoes paying off in scrabble.
I'd certianly like to see more of these. My favourite things in your videos are when you go through the long-term strategic ramifications of a seemingly banal play (like playing "to" here), and when you present the most ludicrously obscure and unfindable bingoes. Assuming this series would contain a bit of both, I'd say bring it on!
TALES FROM THE 1% has a very chilling vibe to it - Tales From the Crypt meets billionaire scrabbler players in horrifying endgame analysis. If anyone can pull it off it's you!
i know i'm commenting this again, but this series sounds like a perfect fit for that 1993 world championship game where a ~170 point deficit gets ERASED via an x play, followed by a bingo thanks to a blank, followed by ANOTHER BINGO thanks to the OTHER BLANK!!! Love that you're making weekly Scrabble content now ❤
I really gotta find that game because it’s perfect for this!
@@wanderer15tiger2002scrabble.blogspot.com/1993/08/1993-world-scrabble-championship.html#par07 Think it's this one!
If you check out the ending in that game, carefully, you'll notice that wapnick made a mistake in thinking: he has to assume nyman has a bingo. So he has a choice to leave him drawing the last ONE or TWO tiles. Let me ask you: would you rather go out with two tiles or one? In general, you'd rather have two because you'll score more. Wapnick allowed him to draw the last two instead of just won. I believe he lost becsuse of that mistake. I was the onstage game analyst. On that match. That was an AMAZING game to witness! Pls Let me know if I'm wrong or misremembering.
I love how you verify the gut feeling 25% feeling by using the Axiom of "Nigel plays essentially perfectly".
As a scientist, I am mildly concerned about the validity of this approach, but as a casual viewer here for the memes, I'm all in.
Haha! Yes, not the most rigorous analysis for sure :) but it gets the point across and Nigel helpfully wins nearly exactly the right number of games.
Absolutely love your breakdowns, I'd really be happy with anything you put out to be honest!! Great content 🎉
Hi maaz
Thank you so much!
I don't even like Scrabble, but these videos are great. It's amazing how you and the pros are able to track the letters and have backup plans and stuff.
More Will Andersen videos = more happiness and joy
you have the best Scrabble content out there, and I don't even play Scrabble nor am I apart of the Scrabble community whatsoever, but your commentary and analysis on high level play is sooo interesting and cool! I'll support and watch whatever you want to make videos for :)
Thanks, that’s really nice!
These type of videos are exactly what I was looking for! You make so many videos showing stunning plays from other players that we often forget how good of a player you are ...
Cool video. Makes me think of a Words With Friends game I had recently where I was losing by nearly 200 points about halfway through, had a Q, Z, and blank on my rack and there was a U on the board where I could potentially play QUETZALS for over 300 points, and spent three turns trying to get the other tiles and hoping the lane stayed open. It happened and I ended up winning in undoubtedly the most exhilarating game I've played. Would love to see videos on games like that where someone needed to come up with a crazy strategy to mount a very unlikely comeback from a huge deficit.
That’s exactly the type of game I’m after! Nice work!
Your contents are what made me come back to play Scrabble after 8 years! Please continue this amazing series!
Awesome, so glad to hear this!
That would be an incredible series idea. Also, I love your commentary on these games. It really ads a lot and makes the game of scrabble feel alive and energetic
Not gonna lie, this video was indistinguishable to me from the other videos you break down of interesting strategy from skilled players.
Which is to say, "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Call it whatever you want. I am here for it.
BTW: "paired with a comparable opponent" defines away most of the skill involved in scrabble, IMO. It's definitely the more useful definition, but the simple process of locating the highest scoring play available to you involves so much skill that it's definitely worth mentioning.
To wit, I'm your run of the mill casual scrabble player. But I'm better at it than my 13 year old nephew. We played once. I trounced him. Utter destruction. It was like 460 points to 140. It was probably on the order of what a grandmaster would do to me if we played.
That’s true - I think my main distinction with this video is that most of my game breakdowns are from games of some importance, either to Scrabble’s record books more broadly or to high profile events. But there are lots of games like this from less prominent events that are nevertheless amazing for the crazy pathways to victory that many players can find. So I guess I’m feeling out how you all feel about that “historical importance” factor and whether these breakdowns can be interesting without it.
Yes, this should be a series. DEFINITELY
@6:45 "with only 'orifice' remaining as a playable 7 letter word."
Yes, yes, of course. Orifice. *ahem* err... obviously the only one.
High level scrabble is so creative. Thanks for sharing!! You are the coolest person in the entire world
I really appreciate the kind words! Though I also encourage you to meet lots more people ;)
I adore your storytelling Will. Make this a series!
P.s. i couldn’t stop laughing at the idea of ‘mewing’ being played…
i dont even play scrabble but i could listen to you commentate it for hours
Wow! What a nice find. Shows the importance of paying attention what letters are left in the bag. This would be a good series for sure!
This type of analysis really shows what makes scrabble a special game. A player with poor tiles is pushed to do some creative plays. The only comparison I could think of is when football teams are outmatched physically, coaches may use more creative playcalling.
I was just asking myself about how much luck determines, thanks for answering that.
Nice work, Will. I'd love to see you analyze an example or two of when you decided to let an opponent's phony play stay on the board in order to increase your chances of winning (or even an example of when doing so guaranteed a win).
Ooh, good suggestion. It most often happens when your opponent’s phony gives you a much larger play than you might have otherwise, but there might be other interesting scenarios I’m not recalling just yet!
Thanks for the great video, Will! I like this idea. I just recently watched the Josh Sokol vs Mack Meller game on Day Two of Word Cup 2023, and to my inexperienced eye, it seems like it would fit well into such a series. :)
Any series where you're analyzing games play by play is always a good idea.
Make this a series!
Like others said i like the idea of the series, but also it would be cool if you showed us the "1%" that did not work out.
Like you could make it seem like its a normal episode and switch it up in the end with the heartbreak of the plan failing
Great job as always can't wait for the next one
That was brilliant, utterly brilliant. I’m actually in awe of you.
Correct me if I'm wrong, wasn't it a direct quote from Nigel Richards that "25% of the games you'll never lose, 25% of your games you'll never win, tournaments are decided by those games in between those two"
I didn’t know that he himself said that, but it would make sense. Do you remember where you read or heard that? I’ll be happy to cite it.
@@wanderer15 I know it was attributed to him, but I don't remember where I heard it
I feel like I’d also heard that attributed to Nigel, but I’m sure he wouldn’t have been the first to say that anyways
I think this would be a really good series! Your commentary of games has always been good and these special situations seem like it would make for a good theme for these commentaries!
Love these types of videos. Creativity is always fun to highlight.
That was a fun analysis. It's fascinating to see the thought patterns of a really top-notch player.
We definitely need a series of this as well as more Bernie Sanders impressions!
Genuinely can't get enough of your videos. Fantastic coverage as always!
We will love this series, i in particular love every of your analysis, you are the best at it.
Make this a series!! Love this sped up recap of a game that still gives play by play thoughts.
Love this idea for a series. Would also be interesting to see games which were ultimately lost but where there was a win available 👀
Great video as always! Keep up the good work.
Still waiting to see a video about your career. Also would fun to see a video about younger scrabble players you think might become the next champions
This would make for an excellent series! One thing to consider might be to cut directly to the critical moment, instead of going through the entire game. That might let you dig deeper into the various ways the game could play out, perhaps also showing some computer analysis to back up the 1% claim. Just a thought.
Absolutely turn it into a series! Such an enjoyable video as always :)
Please make this a series I loved this!
Loved the idea and the execution, I'd ike to see more. Please make this a series!
Brilliant set up with designate. Great game. Keep the videos coming!
This should definitely be a series! If you get the opportunity to interview other players about their own 1% games as well, that could really elevate this content as well, although I certainly think it's interesting enough to stand on its own.
Great suggestion!
I'd love more videos like this. Great work as always, thanks!
Yes, this would be a great series.
I enjoyed the idea AND execution. Bravo 🎉
This is an interesting concept, I’d be interested to see more of this!
Would love a series on this!
Can’t wait to hear more of these stories!
2:23 this was a Chlorodyne sort of situation where I thought you were gonna go with Against and then you pulled out Ignatias
I love this idea for a series.
Great video! You could come up with a goofy intro to hammer in that 1% chance concept
these videos are interesting i like the idea of this as a series
This would make a fantastic series!
Very interesting as always!
I would love if this was a series! It sounds like a great way to see some really exciting games. :)
I believe it was the scrabble master Mr T who said “My answer? My answer is The Normal Distribution”.
He also said one of my favorite quotes in Be Somebody or Be Somebody’s Fool: “Everybody gotta wear clothes, or else you get arrested.”
A series where Will just flexes on us with his crazy wins I'm down for that. Maybe if we are lucky he might include other players as well but that part isn't necessary.
It will definitely feature as many different players as I can find!
Thanks for making such great videos. I always watch them right when I receive the notification.
would love to see this as a series!
this should definitely be a series!!
Would love to see this as a series!
Definitely would love to see more!
I really enjoyed this. Any interesting games that you've played over your career I think would make a great video with your storytelling
Yes, I'm down for a series!
These kind of games are so rare, they are impressive. The amount of games like this should be quite low.
yes, definitely worth a series
I remember having a game like one of these when I was smaller. It was absolutely thrilling.
Def think you should pursue as a series. It may not be what you want, but I think it’d be interesting to show at different turning points in the game a computer generated win estimate for the underdog. How much did this one move increase/decrease their odds of winning/staying competitive.
This would definitely help tell the story and corroborate the 1% claim!
Agreed. Good video, would make a great series and having a few computer stats thrown in at relevant points.
Nice video Will! I can get behind some quicker game analysis videos like this, inbetween the big hitters of Scrabble History.
Definitely make this a series 👍
4:20 So meme. Many Scrabble. Such play. Wow.
Cool video. Id like to see this as a series
Loved this video! Have you considered doing one on where one player gets all the Es? I think RandomRacer has a record of them---and I believe Josh Sokol won a game without drawing any Es at all?
Wow!!! That would be a great one to dive into, thanks for the tip
Love seeing stuff like this.
This would make a great series!!!
Would love this as a Series!
love this! definitely series
Love to hear more scrabble content from you😊
I like the idea and the execution and would like to see more
Enjoyed this video! I'd love to see more
These videos have really inspired me to learn more about competitive Scrabble. Is there a good place online to practice against other people and learn about strategy?
That’s awesome to hear! I recommend playscrabble.com for practice and woogles.io for learning the basics of strategy, including how to better evaluate plays beyond just how many points they score (the ability to judge the value of the letters you leave over for next turn is often the next step up for a newer player).
@@wanderer15 amazing!! Thank you!
This was really cool I'd love to see more
Great vid! Would watch the series personally
Yes to a series!
Another great video, definitely worth a series I reckon.
Have you seen the new word game GUBBINS? Made by an Australian developer. I feel like it’s good practice for scrabble, it gives you single and already joined tiles.
I like the idea of a series, too.
Yet another awesome video. Great breakdown.
Series! Yes please🙏
Great video. Always love the analyses of amazing games
Bro would rather remove the q from scrabble than be picked as president
Yes please keep making videos like these
I really like this type of video
5:08 first thing i conjured up was dingers
I really enjoy pretty much all of your recent videos, with this being no exception, so I would be happy to see more
It would be interesting to see a full vocabulary bot vs a restricted vocabulary bot.
definitely keep 'em coming
Love these, more please
Series Please yes please ILYWA