Family Drama Over Tyson Games — Tyson Regains the Crown

Four blanks on my scorecard

I was up by 16 on Joyce going into Thursday, October 22. Then I fell asleep and missed all three Vector Deck boards (Basic, Advanced, and Valerie). Joyce claims there was a moral dilemma, and she debated whether or not to wake me up. She ultimately decided that I needed my rest. I don't buy this argument because it was Thursday. Trash day is on Friday, which means if I had fallen asleep, I was going to have to wake up later to take the trash bins out. Given this circumstance, Joyce would be more morally correct in letting me sleep had she also taken the trash bins out.

Across all the games that day, she outscored me 64–30 so in one day I went from up 16 to down 18, and I still had one more board to miss. On Friday I missed Advanced again. That one was completely my fault. I generally play the advanced mode of Vector Deck last because it is the game in which I have the strongest edge over everyone else. Unfortunately, I just passed out that night.

I managed to stay awake for all the games this past week and was able to deliver strong results:

Had I stayed awake and finished third on all four boards, I would’ve picked up another 24 points. Joyce still would’ve beaten me, but 411–409 is a lot closer than 411–385.

The game where finishing a minute later was faster

Joyce finished Tuesday’s Advanced Vector Deck board in 3:36. I took 4:37, and I still beat her. We even started with the same three purple cards. What helped me was that correctly calling “no set” is worth two points. Joyce found 23 sets and called “no set” correctly once, for 25 points. I found 25 sets and called it correctly five times, for 35. Advanced ranks us by seconds per point, so even though I took a minute longer, I averaged 7.9 seconds per point to her 8.7.

On Saturday, Joyce returned the favor. I finished about 40 seconds faster than she did, but she called “no set” four times and got all four right. I called it once, and it turns out there was a set. She scored 33 to my 23 and handed me my only loss in Advanced all week.

Friday’s Pineapple hand

Now let’s switch from Vector Deck to Pineapple. On the third hand of Friday’s daily board, Joyce and I both started with the 5♦, 6♦, and 9♦ on the bottom. When we drew the 8♥, Joyce put hers in the middle and left herself two spots to finish a diamond flush. I put mine on the bottom, so now I needed a seven to make a straight. Two draws later, we both got the 7♠. I used it to finish my straight. Joyce threw hers away.

On the last draw, we both got the Q♦. Joyce put hers on the bottom to finish her diamond flush. I already had my straight, so I put mine on top with the Q♣ to win a trip to Fantasyland. The hand itself was only 11–6 in my favor, but I scored another 28 points over two hands in Fantasyland. I ended up winning the day with 106 points. Joyce’s 30 put her in tenth, so I picked up ten points on her in the weekly standings.

I thought this hand showed a difference in how we play. Joyce and I both started playing Pineapple 15 years ago, but I’ve kept it up more (and frequently get demolished by her brother). I tend to bail on the bottom flush in favor of a straight or two pair, especially early in the hand when there are still plenty of cards to come.

Tyson39 points11 on the deal + 16 and 12 on two Fantasyland hands

Joyce6 pointsThree aces in the middle and a diamond flush on the bottom

What did the newcomers actually change?

I figured I usually beat Joyce in Pineapple and the data supports this given that I’ve finished ahead of her on 29 of the 38 daily boards we’ve both played. The week I lost the crown, I beat her all seven days and picked up 22 points on her in Pineapple. This past week she beat me on Wednesday and Thursday, and somehow I picked up 26. How did I gain more ground on her in a week when she beat me twice?

On Thursday there were five of us playing Pineapple. On Friday there were eleven. Five were playing the daily board for the first time, and all five finished somewhere between me and Joyce. I still got ten points for winning, but Joyce’s 30 was suddenly good for tenth place instead of fifth. That cost her four weekly points on Friday alone. Four of the new players came back on Saturday, and two played again on Sunday.

I was curious how much those five players mattered over the whole weekend, so I took their names off the three Pineapple boards and worked out the standings again. I still finished first, first, and second. Joyce would’ve moved up all three days. Here’s what that would’ve been worth to her.

Those nine points would’ve put Joyce at 40 for the week in Pineapple. I still had 57, so I would’ve picked up 17 points on her, down from 22 the week before. That’s how I managed to beat her fewer times and still gain more ground. Without the new players, I still would’ve won the overall leaderboard, but it would’ve been 426–418. Nine of the 17 points I won by came from who showed up to play Pineapple that weekend.

Where the lead changed hands

Joyce took points back from me Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Friday’s 61–48 turned her five-point lead into an eight-point lead for me. Pineapple supplied ten of those 13 points. I gained nine more across Saturday’s boards, even with Joyce beating me in Advanced. On Sunday we each scored 58.

There’s a useful distinction between a game I’m good at and a game that changed the result. I still beat Joyce in both number games, but by less than the week before. She swept all seven Wordgrid boards this time, and her Glyph Shift points held steady at 62. I played better on the Vector Deck boards I showed up for both weeks.