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I mostly tried YourLetters because
Largo told me to. Knowing the Russians it would be fun for at least an hour if I gave it a shot, judging from my past experiences with the Russian Brood War portals. The Russians have the tendency to overdo things in a very positive way. Another example, which I have to admit (sorry BisuDagger), was my idea - advertise on BW streams for free. BisuDagger currently runs a weekly BW show, in which he comments user submitted replays. I thought it'd be possible to abuse it. Here's what happened:11 Minutes, go forward or enjoy all of it, up to you
I sincerely hope it wasn't that annoying
Other than this, the game itself changed a little. First, and most importantly, the time per turn was reduced from 2:30 minutes to 1 minute only, which now makes up for a ton of nice new strategies. Secondly, there is an observer mode now. If you have an account you can basically join any ongoing game if the players agree. Thirdly, the abusers are now being penalized and every replay is automatically checked for any kind of cheats - this is a tremendous change as well. However, and unrelated to the changes, the random generator can still be a bitch.
+ Show Spoiler [examples] +
![[image loading]](http://abload.de/img/thx7rudi.png)
![[image loading]](http://abload.de/img/ernsthaftvwum6.png)
My Training / New Strategies
Like I already mentioned, I played a little more than one hundred games since the last blog and developed strategies on my own. Since the developers started to advertise the game on a bigger scale new players came in, thanks to my blog apparently Salivanth, an Australian monster, joined the ranks as well. He already released a longer strategy guide for beginners. I agree with most, but - here's my take on it.
First, the positioning of the board is paramount. One might think the ability to quickly come up with words and anagrams is the important part, but it really is only one of many factors you need to learn if you really want to win. Whether or not you can conquer tiles depends on other things, such as the time bank, uncommon letters and vision.
Re-Creating
Whenever you start a game, you have the option to recreate your starting lines three times, which Salivanth's guide explains. I agree with him on all points, the first thirty seconds you have are crucial, as they determine your option for the late game greatly. You should stick with few vowels (imo a 1:5 ratio is fine), preferrably A and E, but also try to get as many of the following letters: S, N, D, R. Try to not have things twice, you will soon conquer new tiles (= new letters).
However, if the starting lines are already neither good nor bad, but something somewhat neutral, you should not recreate too often. See the spoiler examples in the review part. It can end badly for you. The trick is to learn how to quickly skim over what you have and judge the possibilities in a few seconds. A good rule of thumb is he following: If you see two or more words you can use, no matter how small or large, go for it. It will change either way (with lines 3 & 4 - these you can not see) and you will have to adapt. This gets a lot easier the more games you played.
A common mistake and a somewhat highly debated question is the letter S. I'll explain more on this matter later on, but if you already played, do never decide if you pick the lines you got simply, because you have "the S". It might blow back if the rest of your letters are gobshite.
Turn 1&2
In an ideal world you have decided which starting lines you picked in less than 30 seconds. It doesn't matter if you or your opponent starts - but be prepared to play quickly. The faster you are, the better. The changed time bank is a huge factor now, one you can easily exploit, especially if you already played some games and face a rather unexperienced player.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/g2hjyJw.png)
This picture was used in the previous blog and it's the anchor for all following thoughts. I just argued with Salle, our dearly loved LiquiDpedia boss, how you would start a game. He argued that he would often use long and large words to fill his second row in his first move. I do not agree. Pick easy words, as small as they can be. The faster you can pick them, the better. If you make sure you conquer letters giving you vision on the third row you're fine. In the first ten moves your lines 2 and 3 don't ever need to be filled. It's not an advantage, even though it violates your "feeling" for the game. At this point of time you do not need them yet.
Your plan is:
- Turn 1: Get entire vision on Line 3
- Turn 2: Get entire vision on Line 4
If you only need ten seconds for Turn 1 and Turn 2 you did everything correctly. You do not have only "your" time bank, but the opponent's one as well. If he needs longer, you automatically have more time to think about your situation.
Another important hint: Keep in mind what your opponent picked. Look out for letters which you can not see. If he has a (random example) P and you do not, remember this. It can be important in the late stages. Look out for -ED, -ER, -ING and -S!
The Fight for the Middle
Salivanth already mentioned it in his guide, but it is a bit short for my taste: The game is usually (!) decided in the battle for the middle row. At this point of time nobody has an advantage. You both have vision on twenty letters.
The goal is simple, be patient and try to conquer as much of the middle row as possible. Look out for "difficult" letters, such as J, K, X, Y, W, Z. If he has one or more of them, try to switch them back to neutral by using them yourself. One of the common beginner mistakes is trying to trade - he gets half, you get half. This is a big mistake. If you are the second person to engage in a trade off you can bet your ass he will attack your third line. If you are the first person to engage, you can not be 100% be sure how much you can neutralize in your first go. Trading position should always be your very last choice.
This being said, always aim to conquer a tile, but your number one priority is to switch anything on the middle line back to neutral. If you can defend one, slowly work your way up. Be patient. Try to be fast. If you have an S, make the plural of what he used (HOME -> HOMES). If you have -ED or -ING use it for verbs (SWITCH -> SWITCHED / -> SWITCHING). Use the -Y/-LY to build adjectives. In other words, do not try to conquer his 3rd line, but focus on defending "your 4th line".
Here my strategy of why you should not use fancy words in the first two turns explains itself. Neither of you will be able to attack for - based on my experience - at least fifteen turns. You will need to use more letters, hence the gaps in Lines 2 and 3 will automatically turn blue. At the same time, longer words can be important if you're in offense or defense, especially in long lasting games. Small words like "WE", "MY", "FAR" ("OUR" in the screen) are of no use in the important middle game.
However, do not overdo it with long words. Many of the abusers (you meet one in about twenty games) usually are not the smartest persons. They come up with words you have never, ever heard of, yet their 10-letter-words target only 3 letters on the middle row. It's perfectly fine to use a 3-letter-word if you can't come up with something, as long as it serves it purpose.
Trade Off - The Time Bank
Consider an imaginary middle line that reads
Q D Q I K
I bet a bot user would go up against you with something rather complicated like KINDRED. Hence, D - I - K would be the letters you want to switch back. What's the first word that comes to mind? KID. Just use it. Pass the ball back to him. If you can build easy anagrams, use them. If you have an S to build the plural, do it. Don't think, just act.
Since you're not required to play abusers (simply report them, get your points back in no time), but ordinary human beings, you should take as little time as possible. If you can use one or two of the difficult letters (Q Q K), go for it. Your opponent has to think as well. If you can force him to play right after your 5-second word KID, you have a small advantage. If you can force him to use his time bank (the five minutes), you might not have to cross the middle line. I won plenty of games against rather skilled opponents, who thought too long - including Salle.
Only, and really only, use the time bank if you have to. If you're with your back against the wall, you might still win, simply because your opponent takes too long. My last game yesterday shows this:
Gecko vs. interno90
In this particular game, my opponent was way, way better than me or cheated. I'm still not sure, I haven't read the words anywhere before. Yet, he lost, because he took too long. Near the end I was technically almost defeated, but he ran out of time and eventually lost.
Reverse Strategy
Now for the second part of the Re-Creation / First Line strategy. I told you to look out for letters you do not have. This goes in both ways. If you have letters he does not have, try to use them really, really often.
Many (mostly new) players, myself included a few weeks back, argued you can not win a game if your opponent has the "S" to simply put anything you throw at him into the plural form. That's a false positive. If you build words with letters he has no access to, he can not possibly do that.
In almost all games I played so far you have one or two options to build words with letters he does not have, which give you the option to outsmart him in a trade off war. I once had a game in which the middle line had the letters W I V E. Obviously, he'd go for WIVE, VIEW and VIEWS. I had an R and a D he did not have. I could counter with VIEWER, VIEWED and INTERVIEW (he had a N as well).
More often than not it's about draining your opponent. Consequently, play aggressive. Combine the facts I listed:
1. Put him under pressure with the time you need to make a turn
2. Use the time he needs to think to build words with letters he does not have
Trade Off - No Alternatives
Regardless of how well you picked your first lines, you might end up in a situation, in which you can not keep the war over the middle line neutral. If you did well, you might have more time on your time bank, which is a plus. But you have to engage in a trade off, which I told you not to do.
If you ever find yourself in such a position and you realize there's no way you can come up with alternatives in time, give up the war and try to access as many other letters as you have. However, also try to fight for the letters, which give him access to letters he doesn't have on his own side. If he, for example, gains vision on the letters K K Q on your third line, it isn't too bad, even if he doesn't have them. If he, for example, gains vision on an S and doesn't have it, it's bad news for you.
Also, the overall situation doesn't need to change and it should not. If the middle line is the place of your battles, the both of you will have 20 letters to work with. Once both of you give up on the middle line, you will have access to more. Hence, do try to see as many letters as your opponents.
Going into more detail - try to work your way up to his third, second and starting line. Meanwhile, you try to deny him access to anything but your third line. It's not too bad if he turns parts of your third line neutral, as long as you still have access to them. Be prepared to use the three letters he now sees all the time. The overall game did not change too much, it just got more complicated.
If you're in such a trade-off position, utilize the aggressive time bank strategy I explained earlier. Do not take your time if you do not have to. Usually, if you have to engage in trade off, where you sacrifice a complete advantage in the middle row, you should have played for more than 30 minutes, more likely at least 45 minutes.
Non-Game "legal" helps
The following things are not all mine, I just read different statements in the chat.
Salle and Salivanth mentioned that it might be good to play the game on a larger device, not on a mobile phone. They actually never said that, but their advice / third party helpers need a bigger screen and a higher resolution. In long games you will constantly think about words, anagrams and so on. Memorizing all of your possible options can be rather brutal. A pen and a paper come in handy to write down your thoughts. The digital alternative is even better - either an Excel sheet or an open editor window. You might as well use two sheets or two documents parallel to your game. One that lists all used words (so you won't use them twice and thus lose time while trying), the other one as mental help.
Keep your eyes open for people who have been penalised for cheating. I do not mean you should dodge them, nor should you leave games when they play. Instead, play them for as long as you can if you do not care for the time you wasted. They often use complicated words, which you can memorize. Words that feature not only one K, but two, sometimes three or more Ys. In special and difficult grids these words will help you out a lot. Just yesterday, in the game I linked above, I could use MYOPY - I still don't know what it means, but it gave me an edge. I should probably read it up somewhen.
Speaking of words you don't know: Don't be surprised if you find words that do not exist. YourLetters is still in Beta stage, a few bumps on the road are there. I once saw a word, which according to UrbanDictionary, was slang for "Gay Asian Midget Porn Fetish" (not, it was not GIMP). If you stumble across this shit, report it. I'm not sure if points will be refundend or not, but make the game better if you can.
My last advice for today is about your mind set. This is a common place, but it should be adressed. Do never ever get into the game and think you lost, because that's the first step to a defeat. Also, keep your concentration up, do not browse other pages or waste time elsewhere. Once in a while, you can look up your walls or whatnot, as long as you can focus ten seconds later again. If you just played a 80+ turn game, take a 10 minute break. Keeping the concentration up is really important, especially if you try to use my strategies - they're really aggressive and designed to factor in your opponent's concentration. Don't mistake it for a safe strategy, it's anything but safe. If you slip, you'll lose. Aggressive things always go both ways.
+ Show Spoiler [oh, also...] +
Leave when the game is over, do yourself the favour.
![[image loading]](http://abload.de/img/ahamassx.png)
Last Screen
I have no idea how to end this blog. Maybe it's a good idea to show a screen of a Salle game. After all, he is known.
![[image loading]](http://abload.de/img/classy60scu.png)
See you today at 17:00 CET (11th April) at the tournament!
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/JVE0ZfD.jpg)
ips.Kab![[image loading]](http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/animals/images/800/madagascar-gecko.jpg)
