Tile tracking is the most common technique associated with Scrabble games and similar wordplay. This refers to the practice of tracing letters that are played on game boards, usually by crossing letters from score sheets or grid tracking when tiles are played. Tracking Tiles can be an important aid to the strategy, especially during the endgame when there are no tiles left to draw, where careful tracking allows each player to deduce the invisible letters remaining on the opponent's last shelf. Marking each letter of the pre-printed tracking grid because the tile is played is a standard feature of the tournament game.
Tracking sheets come in many variations, and are often customized by players in an effort to make manual recording, tracking and tile counting easier, more intuitive, and less prone to error.
Video Tile tracking
Root tracer
Accurate tile tracking depends on knowing the total distribution of mail and game mail frequencies and then reproducing each tile in the correct frequency to facilitate the "accounting" of each letter as a tile is played. The popular pre-print form for Scrabble games is because they eliminate the need to keep creating the list for every new game.
While the Scrabble branded 'sheet' is available for purchase, special tracking sheets of all types can be found freely available for download online, usually in.pdf format for easy printing. Scrabble's club website is the most common source for free pre-printed tracking sheets, and players often create their own track sheets.
Maps Tile tracking
Technology
The introduction of Scrabble to computers sees the practical application of automatic scoring records, but the rapid technological advancements brought by computers and the Internet seem to serve only a wider distribution of the pre-printed tracking grid through downloads in terms of new tile tracking tools.
Some websites offer an online tile tracking alternative to paper and pencil. Users are asked to enter tiles that are played manually via the keyboard, and the entries are then subtracted from a separate set of letters representing the total tile distribution. The user then calculates or calculates the status of the remaining tiles. Records are made on a separate sheet of paper as necessary. Users still track and count the tiles manually, and the risk of receiving inaccurate amounts through human error remains approximately the same as the non-tech option.
Scrabble migration to mobile and popularity Exclusive digital words with Friends have seen the introduction of a special tile-tracking app for games played on mobile app devices that automate the tile tracking process and do not require manual input.
Strategy
Benefits
The benefits of tracking and counting tiles are widely known amongst competitive Scrabble players and tracking tiles is considered a standard part of the tournament play. By tracking tiles played, players can learn more about what tiles remain invisible (either in the bag or on their opponent's shelf), and can use that information to make strategic decisions about what tiles to hold, which boxes to block, and which tiles to play to create excellence.
Tile tracking provides a lot of data needed to make many of the strategic decisions that players make in the game, and it has a key role in other strategic elements, including rack and board management. This is considered very important in the final game (when no tiles are left in the bag and seven or fewer tiles on each player's shelf). At this point, 'Scrabble is chess' If both players have tracked the tiles correctly, each knows what the tile sits on the other end shelf. Assuming the game is close, the win will go to the player who can plan and calculate the best move while considering the possibility of another player's response - win a close match by blocking the opponent's big game or setting up a high score game the opponent can not block.
Scrabble champion John Holgate notes that tile tracking is crucial in settling tight bobbins on empty bags, and many games are lost because "do not know what tiles your opponent has on his shelf." You can not count possible permutations if you not sure which letters are relevant. "
Tracking can also tell a player if the bag is 'vocal-heavy' or 'heavy consonant', how many S or empty are invisible, if the opponent tends to have bingo on their shelves, or which tiles should be played or conserved. For example, if Alice has the option to play J (I) NN or J (I) LL, and four N and zero L remain invisible, then assume both games are the same (in terms of scores, openings for opponents), J ) NN is likely to play better.
The list of letter frequencies for Scrabble and Words with Friends is easily accessible (some Scrabble versions have direct tile distributions on the board) and, unlike word lists, use them not against the rules of the tournament.
Whether done mentally, using paper and pencil to track tiles, access website programs or tile counting apps on mobile devices, each player has the same level of access to the same amount of data available - and even they are unfamiliar with tracking tiles as the technique studied is' track tiles' whenever they note that 'Q' is still invisible or when they count the number 'S on the board before playing a word that can take the S hook to the opponent's advantage.
Losses
Manual tile tracking can take up game time that should be used to find words and make decisions about where to play them. Inaccurate tile tracking can lead to errors, such as arranging a place for an 'S' player when an opponent also has an 'S', or failing to block a victory game from an opponent. John Holgate, the five-time Australian Championship winner, won a game at the 1993 World Championships because his opponent accidentally crossed out two 'Ss with one blow and failed to block the last S-hook.
The traditional method of manual tracking and counting tiles is generally understood as a tedious and time-consuming practice. As a result, some players keep track of tiles in a simplified way, usually by tracking mentally and counting letters that are considered 'keys' in any game: Q, J, Z, X, esses, and blanks. Often, it may take several months to a year for a player to track all 100 tiles consistently without affecting their game.
Outside the Scrabble community
The idea that an opponent can 'know what's on your shelf' or have knowledge of what tiles remain invisible has been labeled in some discussion and reader comments related to Words with Friends as 'outside help' or 'boundary fraud'. and or using AI or Artificial Intelligence. Although the practice of tracking tiles is considered an acceptable part of Scrabble and is approved by NSA and NASPA rules, there is ample evidence everyday that shows that tracking tiles as a legitimate technique and strategic tool is not widely known beyond the Scrabble community. The similarity with the technique for 'card counting' is credited as contributing to some confusion amongst novice players.
Zynga's Words with Friends online game includes tracking tiles as a paid feature, known as 'Peeks'. It received some criticisms as a form of "cheating" that Zynga is both thankful and lucky of him. The article concludes with the lament that Zynga's strategy is a threat to the integrity of the game, for what might cause 'faithful Scrabbler' to 'think' about words with Friends players: "I seriously doubt that faithful Scrabblers will be happy when they know that the reason their friend has won lately is because he paid an extra $ 10 to make a profit. "
Example
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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