I've played in several Collins Coalition tourneys, including one in Boston and another on the Oregon Coast, and what sets many of them apart is they involve having everyone stay at the same venue. I'd always liked the idea of a Scrabble commune where we all played, ate and slept together - well, under one roof anyway - and continued to hoot an' holler after the day's games were done. So, I decided to get my CoCo director's certification and give it a shot running my own, and at my house, which seemed just large enough to sleep most of the players.

The timing made it a bit of a challenge, as I would be returning from Malta just two and a half days before, and would need to do all the preparations in that short window. That included cleaning the house, setting up the sleeping quarters for 14 of the 18 players, procuring enough tables and chairs, shopping for groceries and liquor, and lots and lots of food prep for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in-house. Whew! I'm getting tired again reliving it! There was a low point where I was at my third supermarket trying to push two carts' worth of provisions, and I was so exhausted that I wanted to just lie down in the aisle and nap. But enough about me. A number of players were due to arrive Friday, so that entailed airport and train pick-ups. I decided last-minute to add one game and make the tourney a full round robin, and everyone agreed to nine games on Saturday and eight on Sunday.

Breakfast Saturday included lots of bacon, eggs with fresh salsa and goat cheese, biscuits, oatmeal, fruit, and sweets. And lots of strong coffee. We were able to start exactly on time, thanks to the heroic efforts and help of Mark Francillon, who, in my opinion, truly saved the day. Thank you, Mark! After the morning's games, only three players - Ben Schoenbrun, Will Anderson and Jeremy Khoo - remained undefeated at 4-0, with spreads ranging from 720 to 335.

For lunch, I made two lasagnas: one with my signature bolognese sauce (it takes five hours!), and another vegetarian one. A Greek salad and snacks rounded out the meal. With five rounds left, play resumed promptly. Ben and Will kept winning, and they both were at 7 wins after round 7. Vera Bigall, rated 1114, upset Brad Whitmarsh, rated 1743, with a 401-368 win. Jim Brennan, Dan Blake, and Ben all scored over 500. Then in round 8, Jason Keller put up a 579, and Ben scored 564. On to the final round of the day, and Ben kept scoring till he dropped, with a 501 game. In addition to obviously playing well, Ben concedes that he drew "comically well." In the meantime, Will also won all his remaining games, and he and Ben stood apart from the field at a very impressive 9-0, with spreads of 1209 and 1477, respectively. Jeremy Khoo was still very much in it at 7-2, +390, and Jason Keller was in fourth with 6-3, +543.

Now it was time to party! We had three additional guests join us for dinner, and I thought Patron shots were an appealing way to start. I had four at last count. Everyone feasted on Korean barbecue. I had added more beef when I learned about the extra guests, so a total of 14 pounds of meat were consumed! We also had panang curry with shrimp, roasted Brussels sprouts, and butternut squash. Desserts were served, with the addition of candles and song to celebrate Jason Keller's birthday. Dan Blake's birthday was Sunday, so we really should have sung for him as well. After several more glasses of wine, I had to turn in early. Everyone else continued the party.

Sunday began with a breakfast of mini quiches, bacon, and lots of fruit, including blueberries and papaya. The coffee must have been a good boost because six players scored 500-plus in round 10, with highs of 561 by Karl Higby and 584 for Ben. In round 13, both titans finally fell, with Will losing to Chris Lipe, 475-432, and Ben falling to Jim Brennan, who triple-tripled to win 507-483. Ben almost lost to Mark in round 14 as well, after playing BIERING* instead of the valid BREIING, and Will beat Jason Keller by 2 points in a low-scoring affair.

A jet-lagged-fresh-from-Malta Chris Lipe made things interesting in round 15 by pummeling Ben 600-349 while Will beat Jeremy to go a game ahead of Ben. They were now 14-1 and 13-2 respectively, with just two rounds remaining. Lipey, after starting the tourney at 5-4, +253, had stealthily won all his games Sunday, for a 11-4 record. In the penultimate round, Ben lost to Jeremy by 2 points, in a game he says he should have won, and Karl beat Will, 463-368. Will was still a game up on Ben, but had lower spread. Whoever won the final game would be champion!

I would have liked to see a close and competitive final game, but alas the tile gods were shining on Ben, and he got all the goods to win 505-339, bingoing with RETITLED, TOUZINg and RImOSELY. Will fought but was not able to bingo once. Still, he won second place, plus the prize for high game of the tourney with a 602.

Lipey stayed undefeated for the day to finish in third with a 13-4 record, winning $400. Vera won biggest upset for defeating Brad, Jim won the second class prize with a 10-7 record, and Heidi Robertson won the top class prize, with a 7-10 record.

Most of the players said their goodbyes, but Lipey, Heidi, Jim, and Yuki Loritz stayed Sunday night. We chatted for hours while drinking gin-and-tonics. The gin finally won.

While I was in the middle of writing this tourney report yesterday, I lay down for a nap, and never woke up. (Well, not never - I did make it up early this morning, finally feeling rested.)

Will I do this again? Absolutely! It was more fun than I'd imagined it would be while simultaneously hosting, but I ambitiously would like to do 4 or 5 more, including a Premier tourney with only players whose ratings have been 2000+ in the last decade. Stay tuned for an announcement!