David Holmes

David Holmes I was going to try to arrange to play my games at the same time as J but saw that had already played both.

I am not sure if I understood and correctly played the word stealing round but hopefully I understood the task? It didn't help that I somehow got myself out of sync with the rounds in J's word making game so was trying to steal the wrong word! I managed to spot and correct midway through.
It felt like some of the words were impossible to steal just by adding a letter or two, so good knowledge of odd 10+ 12+ words would seem most valuable in this game. Also making the longest word you can with the most awkward letters in the word making round.

J Bartram

J Bartram ok i was sent another rd so not sure If I understood the rules myself

Dave Kempshall

Dave Kempshall I think Martin sent you another round because you completed the first one before David had even played his 'Making' round, which meant there were no words for you to steal.

Martin Thomas

Martin Thomas I have created a spreadsheet and put in some results for the matches to be completed so far

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11LL4HQCMOV6QWFaJTtSGVmudSPHwm-_M3SJhbrfkAAg/edit?usp=sharing

Martin Thomas

Martin Thomas I forgot to put a reminder on this page about the rule that the stealing word may not contain the target word. I have had to disallow some thefts for that reason.

Dan Spinks

Dan Spinks have you got a target end date for the practice games Martin?

Martin Thomas

Martin Thomas By Monday 6th if possible.

Trevor Bissett

Trevor Bissett Seems cheaty but I assume its ok to have your opponents word making game open in another window for reference?

Martin Thomas

Martin Thomas Yes that's fine Trevor.

Martin Thomas

Martin Thomas Another two results have been added to the spreadsheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11LL4HQCMOV6QWFaJTtSGVmudSPHwm-_M3SJhbrfkAAg/edit?usp=sharing

Richard Decker

Richard Decker Apologies if I've missed this answered already, but if my opponenet declares an invalid word in their making game, can I still try to steal it and get points if I do so successfully?

Martin Thomas

Martin Thomas If your opponent declares an invalid word then you shouldn't try to use the letters from it. You can make any word from your own letters and you will score for it.

Richard Decker

Richard Decker Ah whoops ok, good to know! Thank you ☺️

Martin Thomas

Martin Thomas The deadline for these games will be 29th October.

Andres S.

Andres S. Oh my god I now just realize I used the wrong game to go off of my stealing.

Martin Thomas

Martin Thomas The deadline for these games will be 9th November.

Dave Kempshall

Dave Kempshall Martin - can I suggest we clarify a rule if it hasn't been already. Unless I've missed it there seems to be a loophole. Can we confirm that declaring one letter words in your making game is illegal. Otherwise, I could simply declare all 1 letter words in all 20 rounds and my opponent would never be able to steal any of them because my one letter word would, naturally, appear as I declared it in every attempt to steal.

Wesley Barton

Wesley Barton I don't think 20 points is enough for that to be a viable strategy

Dave Kempshall

Dave Kempshall I may have misunderstood the scoring, but surely it would just give you a 20-0 head-start going into your opponents making / your stealing game.

Wesley Barton

Wesley Barton Ok, I see where you're coming from now

Martin Thomas

Martin Thomas Thanks for raising this point Dave.

I didn't intend to make it impossible to steal a one-letter word so I will clarify the rule to say that a one-letter word may be stolen by a word that contains it.

Dave Robjohns

Dave Robjohns I guess there’s probably a scenario where the word Q can only be stolen by also declaring the word Q :D

Martin Thomas

Martin Thomas The deadline for these games will be 20th November.

Andres S.

Andres S. Hey I think there might be a scoring error unless I'm missing something, wouldn't I get 9 points for stealing COMPUTERS from Wes in my game against him?

Wesley Barton

Wesley Barton Andres would be on account of my word being compute

Andres S.

Andres S. Same with JOLTIER too, given Wes' JOLT

Andres S.

Andres S. Alright I looked back and I very much missed a rule, apologies.

Martin Thomas

Martin Thomas The deadline for these games will be 1st December.

Martin Thomas

Martin Thomas The deadline for the quarter-final games will be 12th December.

Martin Thomas

Martin Thomas Quarter-Final Result:
David Holmes 179, Trevor MacEoin 122

Congratulations David and thanks for playing Trevor.

Trevor Bissett

Trevor Bissett Thanks for hosting Martin. Your time and effort is much appreciated.

Martin Thomas

Martin Thomas Quarter-Final Result:
Tom Cappleman 190, Wesley Barton 118

Congratulations Tom and thanks for playing Wesley.

Wesley Barton

Wesley Barton Thanks Martin, this tournament was a lot of fun

Martin Thomas

Martin Thomas Quarter-Final Results:
Result: Richard Decker 105, Dave Kempshall 176
Result: Dave Robjohns 182, Florence C-L 99

Congratulations to both Daves and thanks for playing Richard and Florence.

Richard Decker

Richard Decker Dave you completely outplayed me there - very nice! Thank you for a really fun and interesting tournament, Martin, it's been fab!

Martin Thomas

Martin Thomas Semi-Final Result:
Dave Kempshall 176, Tom Cappleman 133

Congratulations Dave and thanks for playing Tom.

Dave Robjohns

Dave Robjohns Turns out this is THE format for people called David

Tom Cappleman

Tom Cappleman Good job Dave K - set a brutal set of words for me to steal

Dave Kempshall

Dave Kempshall Cheers Tom - you did too. I find it too complicated too keep track of scores, but thought a few missed opportunities on the home straight might have cost me.

Show all comments
Martin Thomas

Martin Thomas Semi-Final Result:
Dave Robjohns 146, David Holmes 145

I've double-checked it but the result really does seem to be this close.

Congratulations Dave and very unlucky David but thanks for playing.

David Holmes

David Holmes Wow, well done Dave.

I'm backing Dave to win in the final.

Martin Thomas

Martin Thomas Final Result:
Dave Robjohns 126, Dave Kempshall 168

Congratulations to Master Thief Dave K. Also well played throughout Dave R.

Thanks to both of you and to everyone else who played.

The details of the final are at
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11LL4HQCMOV6QWFaJTtSGVmudSPHwm-_M3SJhbrfkAAg/edit?gid=0#gid=0&range=A1273:L1295

Dave Robjohns

Dave Robjohns Well played Dave & cheers for hosting Martin, very fun format :)

Dave Kempshall

Dave Kempshall Thanks Martin / Dave - really enjoyed it and my first ever tournament win (aside from some golds in Dave's Olympic tourney). WP Dave. Thanks for hosting Martin, really fun format and fun spending time trying to compile steals.

Tourney round: Word Thief: Word Stealing

<< Word Making

Notes from the organizer: In this game you are trying to steal your opponent's words. It should only be played after your opponent has played their Word Making game.

Remember that:
You can only steal the word from the corresponding round of your opponent's game.

You must use all of the letters in your opponent's word.

You can also use some of your letters.

Ran from: 29 September – 25 December 2025. Format: Letters Attack. Matches: One-off. Approved.

Organizers: Martin Thomas.

Fixtures: 109. Completed: 109.

Results and fixtures

NotesPlayer 1Player 2Status
Practice v Colin ThompsonRavi ChoudharyApterous Prune3 – 0
Practice v Ravi ChoudharyColin ThompsonApterous Prune2 – 0
Practice v Trevor MacEoinDan SpinksApterous Prune1 – 0
Practice v Dan SpinksTrevor BissettApterous Prune18 – 0
Practice v Richard DeckerAdrian FletcherApterous Prune0 – 0
Practice v Adrian FletcherRichard DeckerApterous Prune0 – 0
Practice v Jason TurnerAndres S.Apterous Prune0 – 0
Practice v Andres S.Jason TurnerApterous Prune0 – 0
Practice v J BartramDavid HolmesApterous Prune21 – 0
Practice v David HolmesJ BartramApterous Prune104 – 0
Practice v Wesley BartonTom CapplemanApterous Prune19 – 0
Practice v Tom CapplemanWesley BartonApterous Prune19 – 0
Practice v Florence C-LAnthony EndsorApterous Prune8 – 0
Practice v Anthony EndsorFlorence C-LApterous Prune1 – 0
Practice v Dave RobjohnsSarah BinnsApterous Prune98 – 0
Practice v Sarah BinnsDave RobjohnsApterous Prune14 – 0
Practice v Dave KempshallMark Jeary-FairbairnApterous Prune7 – 0
Practice v Mark Jeary-FairbairnDave KempshallApterous Prune6 – 0
Practice v David HolmesJ BartramApterous Prune81 – 0
Group 1 v Dave RobjohnsDan SpinksApterous Prune3 – 0
Group 1 v Dan SpinksDave RobjohnsApterous Prune15 – 0
Group 1 v Colin ThompsonAndres S.Apterous Prune6 – 0
Group 1 v Andres S.Colin ThompsonApterous Prune9 – 0
Group 1 v Wesley BartonJ BartramApterous Prune119 – 0
Group 1 v J BartramWesley BartonApterous Prune19 – 0
Group 2 v Richard DeckerAdrian FletcherApterous Prune0 – 0
Group 2 v Adrian FletcherRichard DeckerApterous Prune0 – 0
Group 2 v Trevor MacEoinRavi ChoudharyApterous Prune8 – 0
Group 2 v Ravi ChoudharyTrevor BissettApterous Prune31 – 0
Group 2 v Sarah BinnsFlorence C-LApterous Prune14 – 0
Group 2 v Florence C-LSarah BinnsApterous Prune77 – 0
Group 3 v Tom CapplemanDave KempshallApterous Prune6 – 0
Group 3 v Dave KempshallTom CapplemanApterous Prune7 – 0
Group 3 v Jason TurnerAnthony EndsorApterous Prune20 – 0
Group 3 v Anthony EndsorJason TurnerApterous Prune0 – 0
Group 3 v Mark Jeary-FairbairnDavid HolmesApterous Prune13 – 0
Group 3 v David HolmesMark Jeary-FairbairnApterous Prune0 – 0
Group 1 v Colin ThompsonDave RobjohnsApterous Prune9 – 0
Group 1 v Dave RobjohnsColin ThompsonApterous Prune16 – 0
Group 1 v Wesley BartonDan SpinksApterous Prune0 – 0
Group 1 v Dan SpinksWesley BartonApterous Prune6 – 0
Group 1 v Andres S.J BartramApterous Prune126 – 0
Group 1 v J BartramAndres S.Apterous Prune0 – 0
Group 2 v Trevor MacEoinRichard DeckerApterous Prune18 – 0
Group 2 v Richard DeckerTrevor BissettApterous Prune10 – 0
Group 2 v Adrian FletcherSarah BinnsApterous Prune113 – 0
Group 2 v Ravi ChoudharyFlorence C-LApterous Prune32 – 0
Group 2 v Florence C-LRavi ChoudharyApterous Prune1 – 0
Group 3 v Jason TurnerTom CapplemanApterous Prune7 – 0
Group 3 v Tom CapplemanJason TurnerApterous Prune0 – 0
Group 3 v David HolmesDave KempshallApterous Prune13 – 0
Group 3 v Dave KempshallDavid HolmesApterous Prune20 – 0
Group 3 v Mark Jeary-FairbairnAnthony EndsorApterous Prune0 – 0
Group 1 v Wesley BartonDave RobjohnsApterous Prune19 – 0
Group 1 v Dave RobjohnsWesley BartonApterous Prune0 – 0
Group 1 v J BartramColin ThompsonApterous Prune13 – 0
Group 1 v Colin ThompsonJ BartramApterous Prune103 – 0
Group 1 v Andres S.Dan SpinksApterous Prune5 – 0
Group 1 v Dan SpinksAndres S.Apterous Prune0 – 0
Group 2 v Sarah BinnsRichard DeckerApterous Prune18 – 0
Group 2 v Richard DeckerSarah BinnsApterous Prune0 – 0
Group 2 v Florence C-LTrevor BissettApterous Prune0 – 0
Group 2 v Trevor MacEoinFlorence C-LApterous Prune0 – 0
Group 2 v Adrian FletcherRavi ChoudharyApterous Prune134 – 0
Group 3 v David HolmesTom CapplemanApterous Prune14 – 0
Group 3 v Tom CapplemanDavid HolmesApterous Prune13 – 0
Group 3 v Anthony EndsorDave KempshallApterous Prune0 – 0
Group 3 v Dave KempshallAnthony EndsorApterous Prune7 – 0
Group 1 v J BartramDave RobjohnsApterous Prune16 – 0
Group 1 v Dave RobjohnsJ BartramApterous Prune123 – 0
Group 1 v Andres S.Wesley BartonApterous Prune15 – 0
Group 1 v Wesley BartonAndres S.Apterous Prune0 – 0
Group 1 v Colin ThompsonDan SpinksApterous Prune12 – 0
Group 1 v Dan SpinksColin ThompsonApterous Prune11 – 0
Group 2 v Florence C-LRichard DeckerApterous Prune0 – 0
Group 2 v Richard DeckerFlorence C-LApterous Prune0 – 0
Group 2 v Ravi ChoudharySarah BinnsApterous Prune0 – 0
Group 2 v Sarah BinnsRavi ChoudharyApterous Prune6 – 0
Group 3 v Anthony EndsorDavid HolmesApterous Prune0 – 0
Group 3 v David HolmesAnthony EndsorApterous Prune7 – 0
Group 3 v Jason TurnerDave KempshallApterous Prune0 – 0
Group 3 v Dave KempshallJason TurnerApterous Prune0 – 0
Group 1 v Andres S.Dave RobjohnsApterous Prune150 – 0
Group 1 v Dave RobjohnsAndres S.Apterous Prune0 – 0
Group 1 v J BartramDan SpinksApterous Prune19 – 0
Group 1 v Dan SpinksJ BartramApterous Prune104 – 0
Group 1 v Wesley BartonColin ThompsonApterous Prune1 – 0
Group 1 v Colin ThompsonWesley BartonApterous Prune0 – 0
Group 2 v Ravi ChoudharyRichard DeckerApterous Prune12 – 0
Group 2 v Richard DeckerRavi ChoudharyApterous Prune7 – 0
Group 2 v Sarah BinnsTrevor BissettApterous Prune12 – 0
Group 3 v Anthony EndsorTom CapplemanApterous Prune11 – 0
Group 3 v Tom CapplemanAnthony EndsorApterous Prune0 – 0
Group 3 v David HolmesJason TurnerApterous Prune15 – 0
Group 3 v Jason TurnerDavid HolmesApterous Prune7 – 0
QF v Florence C-LDave RobjohnsApterous Prune22 – 0
QF v Dave RobjohnsFlorence C-LApterous Prune7 – 0
QF v Wesley BartonTom CapplemanApterous Prune11 – 0
QF v Tom CapplemanWesley BartonApterous Prune7 – 0
QF v Trevor MacEoinDavid HolmesApterous Prune0 – 0
QF v David HolmesTrevor BissettApterous Prune13 – 0
QF v Dave KempshallRichard DeckerApterous Prune15 – 0
QF v Richard DeckerDave KempshallApterous Prune0 – 0
SF v David HolmesDave RobjohnsApterous Prune13 – 0
SF v Dave RobjohnsDavid HolmesApterous Prune0 – 0
SF v Tom CapplemanDave KempshallApterous Prune0 – 0
SF v Dave KempshallTom CapplemanApterous Prune2 – 0
Final v Dave KempshallDave RobjohnsApterous Prune0 – 0
Final v Dave RobjohnsDave KempshallApterous Prune5 – 0

Key. Green: winner. Red: loser. Grey: tie.

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