tubechallenge.com

Well, let's have a gamble. I'm not going to win any other way...

360 points

I do believe AC has won!

Tube Geek wrote:I do believe AC has won!

He has indeed (with your help!). Final scores:

A Challenge 968 (lead 708)
GuyBarry 260
Tube Geek -99

Well done to A Challenge. (Incidentally AC's post at 13:54:58 was a spoiler, which is why TG's on negative points.)

Too big a gamble for you there! Are we redoing the point boundaries a bit lower before Nimbleweed II?

Well, I thought you were probably going to win anyway, and realized that was my only realistic chance of stopping you (unless I waited until late tonight). I didn't expect TG to hand you the win though!

Here's an idea for the next game which may or may not work. When a claim is defeated, how about this: the player posting the spoiler gains the points rather than the defeated player losing the points. Might cause some interesting changes in tactics. Does that appeal to either of you?

I don't think that is a good idea, as it would be confusing, though I think that with careful planning it could work. Good luck with redoing your automatic spreadsheet!

Oh, it wouldn't be hard to reprogram the spreadsheet. I just thought the last game ended in a bit of a bizarre way, which wouldn't have happened if the 360 points had gone to TG rather than being taken off my score. Also I think it might give people a more realistic chance of reaching the winning-post within the allotted time.

I'll see if I can work out how the scoring would have gone in the last game if that system had been in place.

I like that idea of gaining the points!

OK, let's try it out for the next game then. There'll have to be a rule in place to prevent players from deliberately spoiling their own claims and getting the points that way. I'll rewrite the rules and reprogram the spreadsheet, and then AC can start the next game (perhaps tomorrow?).

The next game, with the revised rules of points being given to you for spoiling other people's claims (still being taken if their yours, I presume) will start at some point between 06:00 and 07:00 Monday.

What rules do I need to post?

Here's a first draft. The parts I've changed are in bold - let me know if I've missed anything.

(1) Subject to the rules below, any player can post a claim for points at any time, in the form "X point(s)" where X is any positive integer from 1 to 360. The player starting the game may not make the first claim. The claim must appear in a separate line from any other material in the post.
(2) Claims are scored as follows:

• If the time difference between a claim for X points and the next post in the thread is (10 * X) seconds or more, the player making the claim gains X points.
• If the time difference is less than (10 * X) seconds and the next post is made by a different player, the player making the next post gains X points.
• If the time difference is less than (10 * X) seconds and the next post is made by the same player, no points are scored.

All posts in the thread are deemed to "stop the clock", apart from those during "downtime" (see rule 7). Time differences are calculated according to the timestamp on the post, in seconds (use the "H:i:s" option in the User Control Panel).
(3) No player may make two successive claims for points without another valid claim between them. Consecutive posts by the same player are allowed as long as they are not both claims.
(4) There is no score or penalty for invalid claims.
(5) Scores, comments and queries relevant to the game may be posted in the thread. They stop the clock like all other posts. They may be included in claim posts as long as the claim appears on a separate line. If a player wishes to stop the clock without making a claim or making a comment, he/she can simply post "spoiler" or something similar.
(6) Editing of claims is forbidden. Any player found to have edited a claim will forfeit 360 points plus the number of points that appear in the claim (if any), irrespective of the time of the next post. Editing of lines that do not contain claims is permitted.
(7) The period of time from 00:00:00 to 05:59:59 inclusive is regarded as "downtime" and all claims within this period are regarded as invalid. Posts during downtime do not stop the clock. If the expiry time of a claim would otherwise fall within this period, then 6 hours is added to the expiry time. E.g. a claim of 120 points made at 23:50:00 is deemed to expire at 06:10:00 the next day, not 00:10:00.
(8) To win the game, a player must do one of the following:

• gain a total of 1800 points;
• gain a lead of 600 points over the second-placed player;
• be in the lead when exactly 7 days have passed after the start of the game.

The winning-post is deemed to have been passed as soon as the allotted time is reached. E.g. if a player is on 1740 points and claims 60 points, then that player is deemed to have won as soon as 10 minutes have passed without another post.

A comment on the second amendment in the rules: should it be made as you lose the points?

A Challenge wrote:A comment on the second amendment in the rules: should it be made as you lose the points?

Yes all right - that'd stop people from making frivolous claims and then spoiling them. Amended rule 2:

(2) Claims are scored as follows:

If the time difference between a claim for X points and the next post in the thread is (10 * X) seconds or more, the player making the claim gains X points.
If the time difference is less than (10 * X) seconds and the next post is made by a different player, the player making the next post gains X points.
If the time difference is less than (10 * X) seconds and the next post is made by the same player, the player making the claim loses X points.

All posts in the thread are deemed to "stop the clock", apart from those during "downtime" (see rule 7). Time differences are calculated according to the timestamp on the post, in seconds (use the "H:i:s" option in the User Control Panel).