#11 "DONUT"

totals:

lu: 221
lo: 279

lu's expertly played "GONDOLAS" and "VOWELS" are undoubtedly this game's best words. the best thing of all, though, is that reading straight across the rows, as if words that are lined up create a sentence, yields the cryptic (but ultimately quite true?) "DONUT ON US".

#10 "QOPH"

totals:

louis: 245
lois: 323

some highlights: "CLIMBERS" (50-point bonus!), "FABLED", and "JARRING". lu, stooge that he is, deserves credit for the impressive "STOOGED", and lo deserves credit for the less impressive "ADMIX", a word she learned on a tour of a beer factory in russia. "QOPH", lo's desperate attempt to get rid of a late-game "Q", can mysteriously be found on almost any list of accepted scrabble q-without-u words, but is in almost no actual dictionaries.

#9 "SQUALENE"

totals: UNKNOWN

this game's exact point totals have unfortunately been lost, but the lack of details should in no way take away from the fact that lu pulled a stunning victory over lo. the new and exciting word "SQUALENE" (an oily liquid hydrocarbon that occurs in shark liver oil and human sebum (!)) was crucial to his win, but it would be foolish to underestimate the importance of lu's many food-related words: "CUMIN", "SOY", "MISO", and so on. lo put up a good fight, but words like "DUO" and "LOIN" were simply no match for lu's arsenal of food- and shark liver oil-related words.

lu also defeated lo in another game weekend; however, as the game took place in a cafe far away in iowa city, we had no way of documenting the board.

#8 "TRUANCY"

totals:

lu: 291
lo: 294

rogue! zesty! osprey! simian! truancy! with few exceptions (the tasteless play of "FART", and the use of the ubiquitous but questionable "EW", for example), the words in this game were quite satisfying. the scores were even more satisfying, with both lu and lo almost breaking the 300-point barrier. our apologies for the poor image quality.

#7 "QUARK"

totals:

lu: 235
lo: 281

after a regrettable lapse in scrabble updates, we are getting back on track and bringing you three updates in one day! the lack of any truly notable plays (with the exception of lu's clever use of "QUARK") belies the tension of the above game, during which lu loudly and repeatedly cursed the "gods of scrabble" for their cruel treatment of him, which in turn caused lo to loudly and repeatedly curse lu for being such a whiner.

#6 "DETOX"

totals:

lu: 248
lo: 261

this was a highly disappointing attempt at an "infinite jest" themed game. for this game, any words, names, or acronyms associated with the novel got ten points added to the total tally. the only words spelled were: "ORIN," "ETA," "DETOX," and "LOB." unsatisfying.

lo' discovered the fine word "EQUID" (a member of the horse family) and also spelled the word "ANVIL," heartbreakingly close to the infinite jest-related "AVRIL."