:( sorry to burst your bubble but there's a googlable program with which you can optimize your play given sections of the board and your tiles. Yes, both players have access to it theoretically, but there's no point playing. Is it arrogant to mention that people have accused me of using it? Probably. I'm on a roll this afternoon! Bridge I love. Wonder if there's anyone else on hubski. Someday we could have a hubski meetup that doesn't involve going to every bar in <insert city>.As for online scrabble, no one said it had to be tournament rules. The scrabble attached to facebook has a dictionary available so you can look up words and it gives all the acceptable two-letter words in a list. There's probably other lists as well. Given that everyone has the same tools available, there is an even playing field.
A long bridge post is coming -- but regarding scrabble: I find myself increasingly wanting to not get too far ahead of people whose vocabulary consists of one-syllable words. In one case, I was so far ahead that I began seeing how few points I could make on a play so that they could catch up. In another case, someone is so weirdly ahead of me, that I'm convinced they must be a robot. They play so strategically that they make it impossible for me to make more than a few points no matter what letters I have. So I guess I'm just using this as an experiment to find out who I am (and to see if my daughter is still alive). Now bridge . . . later tonight. Maybe a pm.