Scrabble "Tales From the 1 Percent!"

[@rhandhom1]

Yes, this should be a series.

[@asliuf]

1000%

[@prismarinium]

yes

[@henryt9281]

d

[@JackQNielsen]

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.

[@JackTheGamingGuy4REALZ]

I concur!

[@incription]

even in scrabble he doesnt stop mewing, what a man of his word

[@alfonzog6327]

Will is a catboy confirmed

[@TheBcoolGuy]

🐱

[@furretwalky]

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 ❤

[@wanderer15]

I really gotta find that game because it’s perfect for this!

[@furretwalky]

​@@wanderer15tiger2002scrabble.blogspot.com/1993/08/1993-world-scrabble-championship.html#par07 Think it's this one!

[@joeedley3936]

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.

[@TheAMaazing]

Absolutely love your breakdowns, I'd really be happy with anything you put out to be honest!! Great content 🎉

[@rithwikp.m]

Hi maaz

[@wanderer15]

Thank you so much!

[@gameguysd]

This is a really great idea for a series! I love the idea of desperadoes paying off in scrabble.

[@asdfasdf4924]

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"

[@wanderer15]

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.

[@asdfasdf4924]

@@wanderer15 I know it was attributed to him, but I don't remember where I heard it

[@bearfinn]

Your contents are what made me come back to play Scrabble after 8 years! Please continue this amazing series!

[@wanderer15]

Awesome, so glad to hear this!

[@johnterry5764]

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.

[@harrisoncaldwell4541]

Love these types of videos. Creativity is always fun to highlight.

[@JohnDoe-ti2np]

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.

[@nitorishogiplayer3465]

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!

[@dentonyoung4314]

That was a fun analysis. It's fascinating to see the thought patterns of a really top-notch player.

[@anyoldactress4078]

That was brilliant, utterly brilliant. I’m actually in awe of you.

[@pideperdonus2]

These kind of games are so rare, they are impressive. The amount of games like this should be quite low.

[@paegr]

2:23 this was a Chlorodyne sort of situation where I thought you were gonna go with Against and then you pulled out Ignatias

[@mikewarner3597]

Love this idea for a series. Would also be interesting to see games which were ultimately lost but where there was a win available 👀

[@justrecentlyi5444]

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.

[@wanderer15]

Great suggestion!

[@andyrobertson6801]

Genuinely can't get enough of your videos. Fantastic coverage as always!

[@MichaelDowney-g2x]

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. :)

[@evandonovan9239]

Yes, this would be a great series.

[@AmaranthRBY]

Nice video Will! I can get behind some quicker game analysis videos like this, inbetween the big hitters of Scrabble History.

[@doctorleftwizard8931]

I would love if this was a series! It sounds like a great way to see some really exciting games. :)

[@toyemeebenezer1889]

We will love this series, i in particular love every of your analysis, you are the best at it.

[@AlexCrupi01]

Absolutely turn it into a series! Such an enjoyable video as always :)

[@paulz726]

Thanks for making such great videos. I always watch them right when I receive the notification.

[@circIe3]

Very interesting as always!

[@Headhunter_212]

I believe it was the scrabble master Mr T who said “My answer? My answer is The Normal Distribution”.

[@wanderer15]

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.”

[@rigmarole]

I'd love more videos like this. Great work as always, thanks!

[@heritage1834]

Definitely make this a series 👍

[@pablociv7851]

I like the idea and the execution and would like to see more

[@Aayla20]

Would love this as a Series!

[@Thousandaire-n7o]

I like the idea of a series, too.

[@Techstrobe]

5:08 first thing i conjured up was dingers

[@lildmckay]

Love seeing stuff like this.

[@j-squeezy]

I enjoyed the idea AND execution. Bravo 🎉

[@kyuardon6961]

Love to hear more scrabble content from you😊

[@urkokrause7472]

This would make a great series!!!

[@pererarohini6892]

Yes please make a series

[@ronniemcgill8868]

It would be interesting to see a full vocabulary bot vs a restricted vocabulary bot.

[@humbertocruz6214]

definitely worth a,series

[@simon-xi3cv]

Yes to a series!

[@natebengtson5252]

Great vid! Would watch the series personally

[@nishantjoshi1027]

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?

[@wanderer15]

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).

[@nishantjoshi1027]

@@wanderer15 amazing!! Thank you!

[@KaelinGoff]

Came expecting to hear about very rich scrabble players, stayed for the drama.

[@omfgacceptmyname]

good series

[@archuuub]

Absolutely yes!

[@howardhughes2937]

Loved it. Please sir can we have some more?

[@SamHaxin123]

More please!

[@whitelfner4582]

I'm a complete nob, but wouldn't playing 'Gaby' instead of 'yahoo' been better to close the triple word? Enjoy your videos! I'm NOT a studied scrabble player but read a lot (former photojournalist though still read 2 papers a day back in the 80's). Love that I can usually beat my mom, sister and brother with a combined 5-6 master degrees and a PhD...lol.

[@wanderer15]

Thanks for the kind words! In fact, given that I had two Os on my rack, an even better option than GABY would be GOBY, as in the fish, so that I can get rid of my duplicated letter. GOBY and YAHOO are extremely close in computer analysis, but given that I was still going to be trailing on my next move after either GOBY or YAHOO after an average score by Ed, I liked keeping more threats alive on the board to continue my comeback. Still, denying the triple is a good idea if you don't have to sacrifice that much to do it. GOBY is definitely a very competitive choice and maybe even the best one there.

[@okechirichard7259]

Good stuff, anyone can understand

[@johnkater5276]

Series!

[@waylonrust6787]

yes absolutely

[@jcc195]

series!

[@lillyrose6568]

yes more please!

[@zednos]

I need to see stream cats

[@benmakesnosense]

Love it

[@flamingpotato8906]

hi

[@seanbucket]

first

[@1msubswithoutavideo771]

More lol

[@richarddavis2530]

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!

[@noahjz]

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!

[@Hottodoggu.]

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 ...

[@penngwinn]

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.

[@KjeldSchmidt]

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.

[@wanderer15]

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.

[@mensen2462]

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

[@zut8448]

I adore your storytelling Will. Make this a series! P.s. i couldn’t stop laughing at the idea of ‘mewing’ being played…

[@vincentskater]

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 :)

[@wanderer15]

Thanks, that’s really nice!

[@luva5933]

mewing

[@Nick_Espinosa]

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

[@joshuasims5421]

I was just asking myself about how much luck determines, thanks for answering that.

[@krugerstan]

@6:45 "with only 'orifice' remaining as a playable 7 letter word." Yes, yes, of course. Orifice. *ahem* err... obviously the only one.

[@benmuschol1445]

High level scrabble is so creative. Thanks for sharing!! You are the coolest person in the entire world

[@wanderer15]

I really appreciate the kind words! Though I also encourage you to meet lots more people ;)

[@leiz8048]

uwu

[@bvoyelr]

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.

[@wanderer15]

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.

[@PelumiOTE2B]

Yes, this should be a series. DEFINITELY

[@prodtheontar]

when will LOOKSMAXX* be added to a scrabble dictionary?

[@wanderer15]

I hadn’t heard of this and I just googled it. Wow! Maybe next update?

[@sycophantic0]

💀

[@Jasminelly]

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.

[@wanderer15]

This would definitely help tell the story and corroborate the 1% claim!

[@DariusKhan]

Agreed. Good video, would make a great series and having a few computer stats thrown in at relevant points.

[@thurm64]

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!

[@pickkahandle]

i dont even play scrabble but i could listen to you commentate it for hours

[@jakeholmes9296]

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.

[@himynameisben95]

I'll play your engagement game and ask for more please

[@mikedicenzo1650]

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

[@empowers67]

would love to see this as a series!

[@coldred9639]

I would love to play a game sometime! Playing for 30 years. Average score 420ish.

[@Tim_flips]

Enjoyed this video! I'd love to see more

[@elmi8769]

makes me wonder what low elo scrabble would look like, similar to how gothamchess does 600 elo chess analysis

[@nut6043]

Great video! You could come up with a goofy intro to hammer in that 1% chance concept

[@plebcrabslayer]

4:20 So meme. Many Scrabble. Such play. Wow.

[@erikmortensen6225]

What's the most amount of times the same word got played ?

[@sgrey9181]

Absolutely turn this into a series, but maybe try to be slightly more selective with your game choice? I can see the potential for the series, but this particular game (at least for me, a non-competitive player) seemed pretty much even throughout. Obviously your understanding of the game is worlds better than mine, I just wanted to let you know how it comes across to the audience

[@wanderer15]

Fair point for sure, huge comebacks from 150+ point deficits fit the bill for 1%-type games - my winning chances in this game were slightly higher than that at the critical juncture, but I do feel like some of the same logic I try to use in those edge games came in handy in this one.

[@leadkite]

these videos are interesting i like the idea of this as a series

[@pogodragon8513]

Yes please keep making videos like these

[@jkqxz2000]

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).

[@wanderer15]

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!

[@lizardude9114]

I was mewing this whole video 😂

[@viktorsmets29]

I really like this type of video

[@klweth5439]

Cool video. Id like to see this as a series

[@DuncanEllis]

yes, definitely worth a series

[@didntwantmyrealnameanymore]

yeah any series would be cool

[@AlishaTownley]

Series Please yes please ILYWA

[@finnianlong1177]

love this! definitely series