GEOCACHE and ZEN's Anecdote

It was my first rack, EHLNTZU and my first move too. I asked myself, should I pass and wait for A? How about playing a phony word in order to hide my intention. So, I decided to play ZEN (8g) for 24 points. "Hold!" Said my opponent. I knew that ZEN lose to GEOCACHE in the final battle of Hasbro Contest in Facebook. Little did I know that my opponent was already holding ACCEGHO in his rack but couldn't decide whether or not he would accept my play.

Before we continue, let me summarize what transpired in the Hasbro Contest featuring the Top 16 words chosen. You can view the initial bracket knock out format here.

In the first round:
-BOOYAH has beaten LUCKBOX
-PHABLET defeated EMOTYPO
-ZEN outlasted WOOT
-BESTIE won over ADORBS

In the other crossover first round:
-HANGRY victorious over NOWISH
-EW easily trounced RETWEET
-GEOGACHE disposed BITCOIN
-COSPLAY hacked to death LIFEHACK

In the quarterfinal matches:
-BOOYAH vs PHABLET - BOOYAH prevailed
-ZEN vs BESTIE - ZEN advanced
-HANGRY vs EW - EW entered the semis
-GEOCACHE vs COSPLAY - GEOCACHE pulverized its opponent

In the semifinal matches:
-BOOYAH vs ZEN - ZEN made it to the finals
-GEOCACHE vs EW - EW succumbed to GEOCACHE!

And now, the final showdown between GEOCACHE and ZEN.
The Geocache community, Geocachers, etc. had shown their full force support in social media and overwhelmingly outclassed ZEN!

(Photo courtesy of Hasbro Game Night in Facebook)

So, it is official, GEOCACHE will be included as a new word in the OSPD5 (and TWL14) valid for Scrabble play which would take effect probably in August-2014.

Going back to the board position above, my opponent emptied his rack and laid down a bingo for 107 points! Wow, that was a huge points! I was surprised he didn't challenged off my play of ZEN. I asked him why. "This was my only chance in this world to play this word in one fell swoop. Instead of challenging off your play and open up with CACHE (8d) for 30 points and hope to draw an E in bag for a front extension play of GEO to CACHE, I allowed your ZEN on the board. At least, we have seen these two words appearing on the board." Said my opponent with a big smile on his face! I was still thinking that had he really challenged off my ZEN, then I could have laid down HAZELNUT in the A of CACHE. :))

Score

Me: 24

Opponent: 107

How about you, will you do the same? If you are a geocacher, I am positive about it!