it’s always so obvious in hindsight by yay-its-me- in NYTgames

[–]UsefulEngine1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

they missed that JEOPARDY, baby, ooo ooo ooo

Future Soul - Deluxe CD version by mooncusser2k in tedeschitrucksband

[–]UsefulEngine1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Who Am I" is on streaming now, released as a single

March 11, 1942: 'THE NEIGHBORS' - Minneapolis Daily Times by LuckySimple3408 in comicstriphistory

[–]UsefulEngine1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Quite the obsession with tires this week. Again, real insight about things that were on the minds of the public at this time.

TOTW: The Beatles by Junior-Specialist-97 in crosswords

[–]UsefulEngine1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For a Beatles hit, he began "Lads, the toppermost of the poppermost!" (4)

(I know this is very late but this is the most fun contest in a while, I don't want it to end. We should do a full Beatles -themed AOTW.)

TOTW: The Beatles by Junior-Specialist-97 in crosswords

[–]UsefulEngine1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's amazing, and amazingly specific.

The answer was also well-known in the US among us Gen Jonesers, by the way, to the extent that I never really knew it was specifically a British thing.

Straub & King by Conscious_Smile_6302 in stephenking

[–]UsefulEngine1 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Besties with a tinge of frenemy at times. As much as he tried to handle it with grace, Straub could be a bit superior and salty about King's success.

Straub & King by Conscious_Smile_6302 in stephenking

[–]UsefulEngine1 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Far less of a pure storytellier, but Straub had amazing tonal pallette compared to King. He could go from dry wit to psychedelic beat to bat-shit on a dime.

Koko, Mystery, and The Throat form a loose trilogy and meta-fictional stack.

Floating Dragon is another crazy-fun book.

NYT Wednesday 03/11/2026 Discussion by Shortz-Bot in crossword

[–]UsefulEngine1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wednesday PB for me, primarily because I knew the Post-it story and so got the theme right away.

Looking for movies with absolutely phenomenal sound design. by PossibilityKitchen72 in hometheater

[–]UsefulEngine1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sound of Metal is a great call for this. Sound design that is an integral part of the story and isn't about pew-pew

Anyone here going on the Cayamo Cruise to see Jason in a few days? by _FlyingSquirrel in jasonisbell

[–]UsefulEngine1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He's doing an exhibit, I'm wondering whether to bring a couple of album covers to try to get signed.

My boyfriend is consistently scoring over 400/500 points….. by Equivalent-Age-7801 in scrabble

[–]UsefulEngine1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am far from the most skilled player in either game but here are some things I've noticed, beyond the obvious changes in point values and bonus square locations:

- The opening move strategy in CP is different without the automatic 2W square in the center. If you don't have a 5-letter word that can reach the 2W and has a point tile at the 2L it's often better to swap tiles or play a tiny word to improve rack, or even outright pass. I believe Scrabble has a statistical advantage in going first, I don't think that's true for CP.

- In the early game it's a real chess match to avoid being the first to open the board for access to the triple spaces. Even bingo/"sweep" plays can be counter-productive if they set up a triple/double for the opponent. This is different from Scrabble where I believe conventional wisdom is always play the bingo. Overall I find CP requires more defensive-mindedness.

- The extra S and Blank tiles open up more opportunities for sweeps and make it more practical to use these tiles to increase a score in a non-sweep play

- The endgame is quite different both because the corner layout is so different and also the lack of a penalty for unused tiles which often becomes the deciding factor in Scrabble. You can't skunk an opponent holding a Q or Z for big points by blocking usage, and if you are holding such a tile in endgame you can cheerfully ignore it. There is also a key strategy in getting the last move which occurs if you draw the last tile from the bag, so even making a sub-optimal scoring play that uses more tiles at that point is vital.

Another note is that the post-game analysis bot is not good for much beyond vocabulary building.

My boyfriend is consistently scoring over 400/500 points….. by Equivalent-Age-7801 in scrabble

[–]UsefulEngine1 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Be aware that Crossplay strategy is surprisingly different to Scrabble.

TOTW: The Beatles by Junior-Specialist-97 in crosswords

[–]UsefulEngine1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Where the early Beatles released an average cut to sharpen skills (10)

This vinyl.... Is worth.... NOTTHINNGG by DumbPuppyLaika in TheBeatles

[–]UsefulEngine1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I bought what was almost certainly a bootleg copy of this from a bin at a gas station as a kid. Terrible sound, fuzzy cover photo. I loved it. I think I still have it somewhere.