Achievements and Accomplishments Thread

[Naboka]

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New personal best--and without a k, z, q in sight:

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Beat Megaword twice yesterday--or four, or five depending on which categories count for this.

I would like to thank my hairstylist and makeup artist, without whose help none of this would have been possible.

Time to retire.

If it weren't for helping the wife in her kindergarten class tomorrow, it would be time to empty a bottle.

[Razorflame]

I've gotten more points this month so far than I have in a long while

[2cute]

Use the "control" key to rotate the board,

I didn't know that, thanks. I use Command (or Control) R to refresh for a new game (in the beginning to find one not too hard).

[garetville]

Thank you - much appreciated, dannyb!

[dannyb]

Hi - quick question here for "posting newbie"! I've been playing for years and was always able to use a keyboard shortcut for Rotate of Tab+return. Lately that doesn't work and I need to use my mouse. Any other shortcuts I can use? I feel using the mouse wastes time.

Thanks!

Use the "control" key to rotate the board,

[garetville]

Hi - quick question here for "posting newbie"! I've been playing for years and was always able to use a keyboard shortcut for Rotate of Tab+return. Lately that doesn't work and I need to use my mouse. Any other shortcuts I can use? I feel using the mouse wastes time.

Thanks!

[Naboka]

The thing about this game, especially the 5x5 grid, is that it's easier to achieve a high ranking if you focus on just one or two of the categories rather than trying to excel in all of them. There are only a few exceptionally talented players who manage to get an extremely high score while also entering words with 15+ letters. If you try to go for most words played, not filtering by points, your score and average is going to be lowered by the 3pt words you include. If you try to avoid low-scoring words, unless you've gotten extremely good at this, your total word count will suffer. If you go hunting for longest word records, it's unlikely that you'll get the total points and most words records as well. And even if you do manage to get 3 or 4 high scores for every board you play, that automatically takes you out of the running for average points per word, because you haven't been selective enough.
I remember realising this a few years ago and thinking that due to the different possible goals and strategies, it's as if there were 4 or 5 different games rolled into one. I tried switching goals ever so often, which means that even though I sometimes got decent scores and some trophies or records, my player averages are consistently mediocre. I've since embraced mediocre and am currently trying to play boards where the longest word hasn't yet been found, but while I'm hunting for the longest word, I'm also entering other words, competing only against myself for total points and number of words found.

Crazykate, regardless of scores, you're one of my favorite people here.

And I run across your name on boards enough to groan a bit when you have best word or longest.

Scores here don't mean much in real life. My wife still hasn't scored 400 points on a board, but she's a far better person than I am. Everywhere we go we run across people who know and love her. Being a popular teacher gives you that advantage. Me? Meh.

Unfair advantage becomes part of every contest when enough people are involved.

In Wordtwist, if you're competing against someone with the perfect storm of having an extensive background in science, math, medicine, horticulture and literature; you're gonna come a cropper. It has absolutely nothing to do with your actual Wordtwist ability, it's just a product of unfair advantage.

An average person just isn't going to recognise unusual terms like lithotritise/lithotritize (has to do with breaking up stones in the bladder)--much less conjugate them. Even an exceptionally intelligent person.

And there are thousands of words like that floating around the boards.

"Mediocre" doesn't really apply to you. You're really good. And you're analytical, thus the above post of yours.

Part of analysis is having as much relevant data as possible. And I don't think you've factored the unfair advantage angle into your analysis of your ability.

And "unfair" doesn't mean unjust. It's simply that two people with identical natural abilities will fare differently in a contest depending on training levels. A person who's a trained boxer will knock out an untrained individual, even if the untrained person has far greater natural ability and athleticism.

The same applies to all human endeavor. A person with extensive training/practice will have an advantage over those without that exposure.

But, taking time to train in anything has opportunity costs.

Not training gives you time to do all sorts of wonderful things. Not training allows you to eat cheesecake rather than worry about your weight. Not training gives you time to lie on the couch and just admire your newly polished toenails.

[crazykate]

The thing about this game, especially the 5x5 grid, is that it's easier to achieve a high ranking if you focus on just one or two of the categories rather than trying to excel in all of them. There are only a few exceptionally talented players who manage to get an extremely high score while also entering words with 15+ letters. If you try to go for most words played, not filtering by points, your score and average is going to be lowered by the 3pt words you include. If you try to avoid low-scoring words, unless you've gotten extremely good at this, your total word count will suffer. If you go hunting for longest word records, it's unlikely that you'll get the total points and most words records as well. And even if you do manage to get 3 or 4 high scores for every board you play, that automatically takes you out of the running for average points per word, because you haven't been selective enough.
I remember realising this a few years ago and thinking that due to the different possible goals and strategies, it's as if there were 4 or 5 different games rolled into one. I tried switching goals ever so often, which means that even though I sometimes got decent scores and some trophies or records, my player averages are consistently mediocre. I've since embraced mediocre and am currently trying to play boards where the longest word hasn't yet been found, but while I'm hunting for the longest word, I'm also entering other words, competing only against myself for total points and number of words found.

[Naboka]

You're trying for a high ASPG.

Everything's going fine.

Except.

Something like this comes up.

It's like trying not to eat that Halloween candy.

There goes the waistline.

Dropped yea olde average score 5+ points.

2nd time in two days.

Going backwards.

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[admin]

Hi jeepiegirl - ads should never interfere with gameplay. If you see an ad that does please email a screenshot to puzzlebaron@gmail.com (or post one here) and I will get it removed immediately. Also please let me know what browser and operating system you're using. Thank you!

[jeepiegirl]

I have not posted here for a long time and I'm not sure I'm doing this right. I have a general comment- not a reply to anyone's post. Anyway- have you noticed how incredibly obnoxious and interfering some of the new ads are? They cover the playing field! I get having ads, but not when they actually interfere with the game.

[bwt1213]

A long time ago, when I played for average points per game, I got a lot of flak for the number of games that timed out. It didn't matter that I'd been trying to find a good word and didn't manage to dump the game on time -- what I'd done was offending other players because it could so easily be abused and in the exact way you mentioned. In my case, I played well over 100 games a month, but sometimes only a few dozen included a word or two. It would be nice if games didn't count if you didn't play a word. Then the "you're cheating" stuff might die down a little. But I agree that it's just not fair to the other players if you don't play at least 51 games with a scoring word. That's why I don't play for average points per word any more; I get too absorbed trying to find a word and time out, over and over.

[Naboka]

Just to flesh out Spike's answer a little more: Every time a player submits a game w/o playing a word, it counts as a game played. Mathematically it doesn't change the player's APPW. So if a player has a high APPW after let's say 25 games played and he doesn't want to improve it, that player could blank another 26 games. He would then qualify for the monthly APPW competition because at least 51 games would have been played. His avg words/game would be .49/game. About 2016 (I don't know the exact time. The old forum was blotted so it can't be looked up.) crazykate was the first to suggest that those in the competition should have an avg words/game of at least 1. Not long after we all came to a consensus that should be the case. There are no official rules about it. Taken to the extreme a person could play one game, play a 42 pt word and then blank the next 50 games. That actually happened. There was a guy on here who was convinced I was a cheater. When I was still collecting gold trophies, he played his 1 word for the month on the last day of the month and so defeated my APPW. Subsequently, he changed his mind after beating 2 of my records. After he pulled that stunt I blocked him and never saw anything else he wrote. Eventually he went away.

When you have wrist problems like I was developing (and folkslinger currently has) while playing for pts it makes it easier to go to a Michelin starred restaurant, order the most expensive dessert on the menu and be satisfied with that.

lalatan, we must have been typing simultaneously, as I didn't see your answer til mine posted.

That's very, very strange that the games with zero don't affect the APPW. I guess, because no word=no influence. As no word was played, it doesn't... I get it now.

It's not like other averages.

You're right, it should be average points per word PER GAME!

Being considered a cheater is something of a compliment. You've exceeded someone's imagination to the point they don't believe what you've done is possible. I'd like to get that good. It's kind of disappointing not to have received that accolade. But, there are so many good players out there that nothing I do even comes close to what they do. The one person I thought was illegitimate (other than obvious bots) earned that because he seemed to be doing something Megaword couldn't. Something Estive tried and couldn't. Then Megaword came along and exceeded it, so... Who knows what anyone is capable of?

Dessert is my bane. It doesn't have to be expensive. Just chocolate or caramel. I'm way to cheap to get desserts at restaurants, expecially when you can get an entire pie for the same price.

[Naboka]

A clarification... If you play 51 boards with no words, APPW is technically undefined (zero divided by zero), but I'm guessing that's initialized to zero. Average points per board will definitely be zero though. If you play 1 word, it will be 1/51. Often I'll get I normally try to cancel any boards where I get no words, but I sometimes get distracted & wander off, and I can easily have an average of less than 1 word per board. To make up for that (and to try to stay within the spirit of the rules) I'll make sure I have at least 51 words for the month.

The math isn't elusive. It's the idea of someone going for high APPW and managing to either win or be high on the list also having considerably less than one word per game.

I get being distracted. Happens to me a couple of times a month. Mostly playing short boards for practise, I usually dump them after 30 seconds. But sometimes I'm expecting someone and forget to pull the trigger. One game like that will knock about 2 points off my average for the month. Two games: same math. It's not critical. Just a little oops.

It's just baffling how someone doing APPW could win as lalatan indicated playing :(Since 2014 I've seen the APPW golds won anywhere from .1 to <1 word/game avg.)
I just can't imagine a .1 succeeding. Even a .75 would drop a 40 point average to 30. That's a chunk of real estate to give up in a battle.

But, then again, not playing APPW I'm just unfamiliar with the nuances involved. Especially, which long words to play and which to reject. In 4x4 I don't even bother playing long common words because it takes too long to get too few points.

[lalatan]

Genuinely confused.

How does one manage to reach the high APPW with less than 1 word a game?

As for APPW, have no clue how you guys do it. When a board pops up, it's like being at the dessert bar at a buffet restaurant. You just want to try all of it. How anyone ever manages to return to their table with just one dessert, properly proportioned...?

Just to flesh out Spike's answer a little more: Every time a player submits a game w/o playing a word, it counts as a game played. Mathematically it doesn't change the player's APPW. So if a player has a high APPW after let's say 25 games played and he doesn't want to improve it, that player could blank another 26 games. He would then qualify for the monthly APPW competition because at least 51 games would have been played. His avg words/game would be .49/game. About 2016 (I don't know the exact time. The old forum was blotted so it can't be looked up.) crazykate was the first to suggest that those in the competition should have an avg words/game of at least 1. Not long after we all came to a consensus that should be the case. There are no official rules about it. Taken to the extreme a person could play one game, play a 42 pt word and then blank the next 50 games. That actually happened. There was a guy on here who was convinced I was a cheater. When I was still collecting gold trophies, he played his 1 word for the month on the last day of the month and so defeated my APPW. Subsequently, he changed his mind after beating 2 of my records. After he pulled that stunt I blocked him and never saw anything else he wrote. Eventually he went away.

When you have wrist problems like I was developing (and folkslinger currently has) while playing for pts it makes it easier to go to a Michelin starred restaurant, order the most expensive dessert on the menu and be satisfied with that.