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Okay, this is pretty much my favorite pasttime in one of the other forums that I frequent, so I'd like to start a gaming-themed one here, but I'm not sure if there would be enough interest. Let me explain how a rare entries game works, and you can post here or PM me if you think you'd play.

The idea is that you try and answer a list of trivia criteria (called "prompts") pertaining to a certain topic (in the other forum I mentioned we do movies and sports-themed ones) without mentioning any entry used by another player. To calculate your score, you'd multiply the number of people that used your entry for each prompt (lowest score wins). For example, if one of the prompts is "Films featuring Harrison Ford," a player that submits the only Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round entry will get the best possible score of 1 (because it was a unique entry), while if three people submit Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom each person would each get a 3, but the fifteen people that submit Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, who would each get a 15. You'd calculate total score by multiplying all of your prompt scores together, so a perfect score (with all unique entries) is 1, and the worst possible score (if every player gives the same entry for each prompt) is the number of players to the power of the number of prompts.

So does that make sense? What it would entail is reading the set of prompts once a week, and then submitting a list of responses to the prompts that you hope other people don't use. This could mean choosing a really obscure answer, or a really obvious answer that you thought no one else would use. A "moderator" (not necessarily a forum mod, but that's what they're called in the game) would make the prompts, receive entries and calculate scores (but not play), and the winner of that round would moderate the next round. I thought this could be a nice break from all of the trivia threads that used to flood the game boards and wouldn't be terribly high-maintenance for anyone if we keep the scoring weekly. So would any of you be interested?

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this is a blog mostly about comics and videogames
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i get it... so you shoudlnt just put in the first obvisous thing that pops into your head, thus creating a need to look into it a bit. yeah i would like to see this. Provied it goes somewhere unlike the this or that thread

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procastinate now, dont put it off

Given what I understand from reading your post, I'd like to play.

I just have some queries about the logistics. For example, if you ran this via the board itself, people would be able to see what others have written, so a prompt asking for, say, 'RBY Pokemon' probably won't generate more than one 'pikachu' response. You (or the game mod) would have to pick categories such that there are commonly-known and much-lesser-known possible entries in each category. For example, 'FF crystal types' wouldn't be that great of an idea because people would simply name the four crystals then start picking the crystal that the least number of other people have yet picked, in order to maximize their score; a 'Pokemon' category would simply generate unique responses until all 386 Pokemon have been named, on the other hand.

So how are you going to keep people from seeing each other's answers? Or are you going to depend on the skill of the category-chooser? (Or am I getting this all wrong...?)

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Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

Quote (Glenn Magus Harvey @ 3rd May 2005 14:33)

I just have some queries about the logistics.

I would imagine email or PM for submission of answers, myself. Seems the obvious way.

I would be interested as long as nobody can use the forums as a postcount++ device due to the game.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

I think it sounds like an interesting game idea; I'd give it a shot.

So it's essentially scattergories, then. I think it could be cool, especially on a forum, since you'd have to be very unique. If you wanted to put it together and could get enough topics, I would play. You'd just have to make sure to clear out your PM inbox routinely so you can accept everyone's entry per round. Email would probably be the better way to do it.

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Hey, put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey, put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me

Quote (Neal @ 3rd May 2005 14:41)

So it's essentially scattergories, then....

Yes, I couldn't remember the name of that darn game when I was trying to explain how it worked. And if the site has any problem with clogging up inboxes, email would work just as well.

If we have enough people interested, I could set up the first one this Friday after my first exam.

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this is a blog mostly about comics and videogames
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Quote (laszlow @ 3rd May 2005 17:37)

Quote (Neal @ 3rd May 2005 14:41)

So it's essentially scattergories, then....

Yes, I couldn't remember the name of that darn game when I was trying to explain how it worked. And if the site has any problem with clogging up inboxes, email would work just as well.

If we have enough people interested, I could set up the first one this Friday after my first exam.

Yes, I couldn't remember it either. But I'm certainly in.

You have space for 40 PMs, but email might frankly be the better way to go.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

You know it's gonna be good if this many mods like it. They typically never like these things unless it sports based.

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Arts

Farts

Twarts

I'd give it a shot. Sounds like fun.

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Is PJ

I could live and breathe Scattergories if I could find someone to play with me nowadays. Count me in for this.

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It's gonna be a glorious day
I feel my luck can change

I think the best way for this to work is post the first topic (or round of topics, if you want to do more than one at once) when you have it and keep score based on who sends the emails. There should be a penalty for each round you don't participate it, but I think that having people sign up beforehand wouldn't be the right way to go. It would be best just to leave it open, have people send in their entries if they see it, and keep score based on that.

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Hey, put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey, put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me

What Neal has described is actually very similar to how we used to run CoNQuiz. It was a come-as-you-can setup, with a new set on the beginning of every month that was open throughout that month.

I would suggest posting the topic and then locking it. Then at the end of the week, reopen it for posting of scores and discussion (though hopefully people won't 'discuss' it by saying 'lol i almost put that one lol' or similar garbage).

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

I need something to do while getting through this terrible summer semester at college. Count me in for sure.

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This is my world: (Got my second chapter up, 3rd Chapter about 80% complete)
http://www3.sympatico.ca/daniel876/homepage.html

Quote (Rangers51 @ 4th May 2005 12:27)

What Neal has described is actually very similar to how we used to run CoNQuiz. It was a come-as-you-can setup, with a new set on the beginning of every month that was open throughout that month.

I would suggest posting the topic and then locking it. Then at the end of the week, reopen it for posting of scores and discussion (though hopefully people won't 'discuss' it by saying 'lol i almost put that one lol' or similar garbage).

That sounds like the right way to go about it, with a moderator locking it for whoever is running that round each week. The topic might get a little long, though, and it might merit more locking if the discussion degenerates, but it's probably the best way to go about it.

I'll post the first set of six prompts Friday evening, then a mod can lock it and reopen it Monday evening, when I'll post the scores and the winning entry. It's probably easiest if one person runs it, but I think that as long as we use the honor system the person running the round can participate if they devise a set of answers before they post the prompt.

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this is a blog mostly about comics and videogames
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Two more things:

1. Wait..we're playing not one prompt, but six prompts, at a time? Not that I care, but I just wanted the clarification. (I guess so.)

2. Also, obviously, laszlow, you make up the first set of six prompts. Then who makes subsequent prompts? If there's only one winner in a round, we can obviously have that winner make the prompts (or choose to leave it up for grabs or transfer the right to someone else), but what if there are multiple winners?

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Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

The way we do it in my other forum is have the winner submit a new list of six prompts to the game moderator, with tiebreakers being total points and then total posts. The person with the higher number of total points over all the rounds wins the first tiebreaker, and if there is a tie in that department the player with the lower number of total forum posts gets to submit the next list.

Edit

When I said "least number of total points" I meant the worse score, which would entail the higher number of total points. You get the idea.

This post has been edited by laszlow on 9th May 2005 15:59

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this is a blog mostly about comics and videogames
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