| Full name: | David Charles Cornelius Acton |
| Age: | 28.48 |
| Place of birth: | London |
| Star sign: | Aquarius |
| Status: | Married. To Donna. My wife. |
| Current place of residence: | Murton, County Durham. Near Seaham. That's Seaham, near Sunderland for you southerners. That's Sunderland near Newcastle. |
| Current Arc game: | US Gold Scrabble. |
| Previous Arc games: | None really. Well, I think I wrote a collection of 'thinking' games - Backgammon, Reversi, that sort of thing - about six years ago. That was in the days of the Arthur OS. I also wrote a one-line Ram disc fruit machine in 1992. Glittering career. |
| Occupation: | You can tell this is an Acorn magazine when you get asked what your occupation is. I don't currently have a 'day job' in fact, choosing instead to eke out the merest existence amongst the bare bones of the Acorn sector. |
| Ambition: | We have one of those low energy bulbs on our landing that takes several seconds to switch on. I keep trying to get to the top of the stairs before it lights up. I've made the third from top step so far. |
| Biggest regret in life: | Falling down a darkened staircase on several occasions. |
| Likes: | Acton, Mrs; Bread; Countdown; Ducks; Eccles Cakes; Fry's Chocolate Cream; Going to bed; Have I Got News For You; Icicles; Jumping; King Edward potatoes; Liverpool; Manatees; Newcastle; Odd numbers; Pingu; Qat; Roddy Doyle; Seagulls; Times Crossword; Ugly people; Vaughan Williams; Whiteley, Richard; Xanthum gum; Yorkshire; Zig and Zag |
| Dislikes: | Astrologers; Baby Sweetcorn; Cars; Daniels, Paul; EastEnders; Fruit Cocktail; Gelatin; Haircuts; Importance, Self; Jewellery; Killing flies; Lettuce (the washing of); McDonalds; Nagging; Okra; Prawns; Questionnaires; Ringworm; SlimFast; Tax returns; Umbrellas; Vests; Whisky; Xmas; Y-fronts; Zoos |
| Favourite Arc game: | Twinworld was good. I played it for days. And Gods too. Chocks Away was fun for a while, as was Saloon Cars. Everyone liked Lemmings of course. More recently I've been playing Speedball. |
| Favourite meal: | Being a vegan, I love more or less anything animal-free. Toasted Vegetarian sausage sandwiches are good. And Safeway Onion Bhaji Nuggets are a meal in themselves. |
| Previous job: | I used to be a general dogsbody (Technical Assistant) at Acorn User before going freelance. |
How do you get around?
I don't like cars much, so use legs or trains. I've got a mountain bike but, having grown up in the flat south, I find the northern hills hard going. Donna had a car but someone set fire to it.
What kind of music do you listen to?
All sorts. Classical, Björk, R.E.M., Talking Heads. Sometimes those interminably jolly African numbers Andy Kershaw plays. Often they just get on my wick though.
How long did it take to convert Scrabble?
Four or five months of solidish work I suppose, and a bit of twiddling at the end.
Did it take longer than you you thought it would?
A bit perhaps. You forget how long all the twiddling at the end actually takes - getting it to work on all machines, versions of RISC OS etc.
What sort of hours do you work?
Normal ones these days. I used to do the typical programmers' shift of 3pm to 3am but I've changed my habits to fit in with Donna's 9-5 work pattern.
Were there any funny/surprising moments during the conversion?
I remember being surprised when I first converted the main thinking routine. I wasn't expecting it to work at all but it actually played WINDPUMP and scored 98. It also beat itself 666 to five hundred and something one time. The first time it played W****R came as a bit of a shock too.
Where would you most like to travel on a free holiday and why?
India perhaps. A good place for vegetarians I would think.
From where does your interest in Scrabble stem?
I started playing at about five. (Just after Countdown).
How long have you been a member of the Newcastle Scrabble Club?
I only joined about three months ago. I got a bit sick of playing just the computer so I thought I'd better pluck up the courage to join a proper club. You need to learn quite a few Scrabble words to stand a chance at club level. If you don't know the names of at least 20 species of antelope you're in trouble.
Have you won anything?
Not yet. Well, I came third by two points in a recent tournament and I'm currently second in the Newcastle Club summer league.
Are you better at computer Scrabble or real Scrabble?
Well, Scrabble is Scrabble. I win about a third of games against TSP [The Scrabble Player] on the highest level. Playing people requires different skills. They don't just rely on a huge vocabulary to win. Some play aggressively, some defensively. You have to weigh each opponent up individually, guess what hooks (Scrabbler's lingo for letters that can be tacked onto the ends of a word) they may or may not know.
What is your highest score?
I've managed 508 against TSP level L. I scored 610 against a human a few weeks back.
If the computer wins, do you resent this?
Not at all. Same applies to people really. Scrabble is different from Chess in that there is a random element. This means you can never expect to win all your games, however good you are. You just have to win as many as you can.
Who uses swear words the most in your games - you or the computer?
About the same. The rumour of TSP always reverting to abuse is somewhat overrated. It does offer the occasional obscenity on the highest level but even the mildest mannered vicar's wife has had the odd F*** at a tournament, if the game depended on it.
Would you change any of the rules in Scrabble?
Considering Scrabble was invented many decades ago, the rules have stood up well to today's increased range of allowable words. The letter V is many Scrabblers' least favourite tile, so I might get rid of one of them.
Do the people at the Newcastle Club know you are converting Scrabble to the Arc?
Maybe. They've all got Amigas anyway.
Do they scoff at the notion of a computer playing?
Not at all. I know Chess players can get a bit snooty about computers but Scrabble players generally accept the idea as a good way of improving their game. There are often pieces about TSP in the various Scrabble Club newsletters.
The computer must play by searching through the dictionary for appropriate words. Surely this is cheating! No wonder it rakes in the points. Humans aren't allowed to use the dictionary in this way, so why should the computer?
The computer can't help having a perfect memory. Most top human players know all the useful words anyway. There might be room for a 'simulated human' mode in the future, whereby the computer could selectively forget some words every turn.
Given the choice of any game, which would you most like to convert to the Arc next?
Something to contrast Scrabble, a violent shoot-em-up or beat-em-up. Rise of the Robots maybe, or SWIV 2.
One word that sums up your character: Accidental.