The Total Guess Competition - Rules, Leaderboard & Commentary

[Flinn]

Would you also like to take a boxing match against a child and bask in the glory of having pummeled down a defenseless kid?"

Depends, some kids are really asking for it

I guess you are not going to add that, but I had to get it off my chest.

Indeed. We already have a rule about cheating and it's being looked into, but of course this is the internet time, you cannot prevent people from sourcing info from it

[Morticia Iunia Bruti]

The two new rules are good.

[Sar1n]

A bit about the rules:
I think the time periods should be lengthened a bit. Some games don't see as much activity these days.
Maybe, if one riddle stands too long, then if the one giving it is declared winner, assuming nobody successfully challenges it as invalid.

[Flinn]

A bit about the rules:
I think the time periods should be lengthened a bit. Some games don't see as much activity these days.

10 days then? 2 weeks looks like a lot to me, even in this time of decadence

Maybe, if one riddle stands too long, then if the one giving it is declared winner, assuming nobody successfully challenges it as invalid.

The one who posted it already got a rep point (and a TGC point) for their last correct guess (or a rep point from me if they've taken up someone else's turn, not the TGC point though); one can say that the poster is a winner, but no rep prize will be attached to that (and no TGC points).

[Sar1n]

10 days then? 2 weeks looks like a lot to me, even in this time of decadence



The one who posted it already got a rep point (and a TGC point) for their last correct guess (or a rep point from me if they've taken up someone else's turn, not the TGC point though); one can say that the poster is a winner, but no rep prize will be attached to that (and no TGC points).

I'm approaching 2 weeks in Identify again...

And I see it as different challenges. One rep for successfully guessing, and another for giving something challenging.

[Flinn]

I'm approaching 2 weeks in Identify again...

And I see it as different challenges. One rep for successfully guessing, and another for giving something challenging.

ok you have clarified your points, thanks

let's see what the others have to say and I will decide accordingly

[Akar]

Maybe, if one riddle stands too long, then if the one giving it is declared winner, assuming nobody successfully challenges it as invalid.

Ugh, definitely not. It's way too easy to just make things intentionally and unreasonably difficult. That should not be the intention of the game. We want to move things along, not let the games sit and die.

I'd rather we go through 5 easy games in 10 days then just wait around for someone to stop jerking off and give us the answer...

I'm approaching 2 weeks in Identify again...

Because no one wants to play a game where it's impossible to guess and the person refuses to give hints and is incredibly rude to people who don't get the answer right. I stopped playing that game specifically because of you, Sar1n.

[Akar]

- A new hint is to be posted every 24 hours, if no one gets the right answer or no answers are posted within that time (self explanatory I think)
- If a picture/question/riddle has been up for a full week and no one was able to get it right, the answer has to be revealed and the turn passed (sometimes what is obvious for us is totally obscure for others.. the show must go on, so in similar cases better to drop it and move forward)

Just make the hint thing a recommendation, not a rule.

I agree with the second new rule.

[Sar1n]

Ugh, definitely not. It's way too easy to just make things intentionally and unreasonably difficult. That should not be the intention of the game. We want to move things along, not let the games sit and die.

I'd rather we go through 5 easy games in 10 days then just wait around for someone to stop jerking off and give us the answer...



Because no one wants to play a game where it's impossible to guess and the person refuses to give hints and is incredibly rude to people who don't get the answer right. I stopped playing that game specifically because of you, Sar1n.

What I consider to be really rude is to be whining for hint and giving absolutely absurd guesses rather than spending 10 seconds to find it. Like the last one, it was literally one logical wikipedia search away, and nobody attempted that.

[Akar]

So your response to accusations of being rude is to... double down on being rude? Yet another example of why I don't participate in that game anymore.

[Sar1n]

So your response to accusations of being rude is to... double down on being rude? Yet another example of why I don't participate in that game anymore.

I'd rather we go through 5 easy games in 10 days then just wait around for someone to stop jerking off and give us the answer...

You're not the one to talk about being rude.

I prefer honest rudeness to fake politeness any day, but don't complain about the same thing you're doing. That's just hypocrisy.

[Muizer]

- A new hint is to be posted every 24 hours, if no one gets the right answer or no answers are posted within that time (self explanatory I think)

I think the theoretical probability of a poster willfully remaining silent does not justify imposing such an obligation on all posters. I think it should remain up to the poster to judge whether guesses up to that point merit (extra) hints. Contestants have a role to play too. If you're truly stuck on a riddle, rather than wait and hope for hints, you should just put your cards on the table and say "Ok, this is what I got, where am I going wrong / what did I miss?". How often does a poster not respond to that at all? Going by this, if nobody posts an answer, the poster is right to assume nobody has bothered to even try, so why give a hint?

- If a picture/question/riddle has been up for a full week and no one was able to get it right, the answer has to be revealed and the turn passed (sometimes what is obvious for us is totally obscure for others.. the show must go on, so in similar cases better to drop it and move forward)

The requirement to reveal the answer seems unnecessary, but I'm ok with a max time of one week per riddle. But again this is better left to custom than rule. What if a riddle suddenly gets engagement after 5 or 6 days and people are close to an answer?

In general, I agree with the intent to keep guess threads from dying over an unguessable riddle, but beyond that I don't think measures should be taken to speed up the cycle.

[Flinn]

Hey guys, can we just not make this personal? Thanks

Now, backing to the issue at hand, a viable solution could be:

- One person posts a picture/question/riddle with any details the poster feels are necessary.
- Everyone else tries to guess the picture/question posted or solve the riddle, whilst providing some details about their guess.
- The person who guessed correctly then posts their own picture/question/riddle within 24 hours.
- It is customary, though not an obligation, that the person who guessed correctly gets reputation from the original poster of the picture/question/riddle (or from another player/Gaming Staff if the OP cannot).
- It is customary, though not an obligation, to post a hint every 24 hours if no one tried to guess it or in any case did not guess it right.
- Anybody can take the turn if a picture/question/riddle isn't posted within 24 hours or if the person who guessed the last picture/question/riddle says that anybody can take his turn.
- If no one is able to guess the correct answer within 1 week, the person who posted the picture/question/riddle can reveal the solution, if they like, and pass the turn to anybody willing to take it; if no one is able to guess the correct answer within 2 weeks, that turn is invalidated and the person having the turn can post another picture/question/riddle or pass the turn to anybody willing to take it; revealing the solution is at the complete discretion of the original poster.
- People are supposed to play fairly and to respect the other players and to do their best to ensure that the game keeps flowing. Blatant cheating, lack of respect, lack of input and so on and on might lead to the disqualification of the offending player for that round, this at the exclusive discretion of other players and/or Gaming Staff

how does this look?

[Septentrionalis]

I hate to be a nitpicker especially as someone rather new to the guessing competitions here, but I do not like the way how it is stressed twice that the poster should not have to reveal the solution. Muizer said:

What if a riddle suddenly gets engagement after 5 or 6 days and people are close to an answer?

We could just as well formulate it in a way that if there is no guesser activity in a week (or some other time frame), then the turn passes to whoever is willing to post.

But I think that anyone who sets his fellow participants on a wild goose chase for an answer, they owe an explanation and the solution if nobody can figure it out. I am personally willing not only to reveal the solution, but to shed some light on my reasoning for example in a competition such as the catchphrase game.

[Akar]

I agree with Sept that the solution should be revealed.

If no one is able to guess the correct answer within 1 week, the person who posted the picture/question/riddle can reveal the solution, if they like, and pass the turn to anybody willing to take it

This whole section here is meaningless. The poster can, and always has been able to, at any time reveal the solution and pass the turn onto someone else. This has happened numerous times in the past and I see no reason to codify it or to put an arbitrary one week limit on it.

More rules does not inherently a better game make.

[Flinn]

It's my English that is bad

Ok I'll try to explain myself, and then our word nerd Akar can put it into a nice sentence

the logic is, no game should be stopped for "too long" because no one bothers to guess or no one gets it right, ok? Hence the idea for the new rule:

- if after one week no one has guessed it, the original poster has the right, at their discretion, to reveal the answer and pass the turn. if they don't and another week is gone, that turn ends, no matter if the OP reveals the answer or not (this also works in the case the OP is MIA).

hope is it clear now

[Muizer]

I think this may do to guarantee continuity.

"While no correct answer has been given, the member who posted a puzzle can pass their turn at any time. If after 2 weeks no answer has been confirmed as correct by the poster, any member can override the active puzzle by posting a new one. The staff/administration of TWC will at this point judge the validity of any outstanding answers to the superseded puzzle."

Note that the 2 week term is not an automatic expiry date. People can still answer after 2 weeks. In terms of stimulating activity, leaving a thread without any active puzzle is worse than leaving it with an old one. Besides, we wouldn't want to force staff to inform people their answers aren't valid because they came in after the expiry date.

[Flinn]

Looks good mate

so

- One person posts a picture/question/riddle with any details the poster feels are necessary.
- Everyone else tries to guess the picture/question posted or solve the riddle, whilst providing some details about their guess.
- The person who guessed correctly then posts their own picture/question/riddle within 24 hours.
- It is customary, though not an obligation, that the person who guessed correctly gets reputation from the original poster of the picture/question/riddle (or from another player/Gaming Staff if the OP cannot).
- It is customary, though not an obligation, to post a hint every 24 hours if no one tried to guess it or in any case did not guess it right.
- Anybody can take the turn if a picture/question/riddle isn't posted within 24 hours or if the person who guessed the last picture/question/riddle says that anybody can take his turn.
- While no correct answer has been given, the member who posted a puzzle can pass their turn at any time. If after 2 weeks no answer has been confirmed as correct by the poster, any member can override the active puzzle by posting a new one. The staff/administration of TWC will at this point judge the validity of any outstanding answers to the superseded puzzle.
- People are supposed to play fairly and to respect the other players and to do their best to ensure that the game keeps flowing. Blatant cheating, lack of respect, lack of input and so on and on might lead to the disqualification of the offending player for that round, this at the exclusive discretion of other players and/or Gaming Staff

further feedback is welcome

[Akar]

Looks good.

[Septentrionalis]

I agree, looks good. Unfortunately few guessers now, though. Especially since most of us should stay home in this time of pestilence and seek their thrills online. I am going to go and post the next hint to yet another entry that has got zero guesses.