At long, long last, we’re down to the final four.
Spookymilk defeated Ashton in Mount Rainier
Beau defeated Colin Prime in Cribbage
ZG defeated Inkarnit in Mount Rainier
mbnovak defeated Pope in Emperor Wu’s Exploding Cake.
Spookymilk will now take on Beau, and ZG and mbnovak will go at it to see who will face off in the championship title match.
Here’s our bracket.
Everybody’s choosing their games now. If you are on this sheet and haven’t gotten an email, let me know!
Well, that’s just funny.
After a very long, protracted endgame (this is not an ideal game to play over the holidays, when I’m not able to access an actual computer at home very often), Pope and Viola have ended the game in a tie.
There are plenty of reasons for this game’s weird pace, but owning my portion of it, I’m sorry that it took so long for me to move to multiple moves a day. Like I said, I was unable to access a computer at home most evenings, and editing on the phone proved to be “adventurous”, if I’m being overly kind to myself. Combined with the fairly low turnout, the odd glut of people in the middle, and the alliance that ended up wiping out a big chunk of people very quickly, it ended up taking WAY too long. Sorry ’bout that.
This next month is the Royal Rumble, which Spooky puts on every year. I don’t THINK I’m counting the rumble towards the overall standings. If that’s the case, Sheeple marked the end of the 2017 season. Here are the (probably) final standings:
1. Spookymilk 15.5 *
2. Violabenice 14.5 *
3. Annette 14 *
4. mbnovak 8 *
5. Pope 7.5 *
6. Beau 5.5
7. Melissa 4 *
8. Ashton 4
9. Todahshy 4
10. Inkarnit 3 *
11. Brooks 3 *
12. KG 1
13. Eschapp 1
14. Colin Prime 1
15. Zee Germans 1
16. DreadPirate 0.5
Tiebreakers:
Melissa got 7th seed because of her automatic entry. Ashton beat Todah in a coin flip (which doesn’t really matter since they’re playing each other, anyway). Inkarnit beat Brooks in a coin flip. KG, Eschapp, Colin Prime, and Zee Germans were ordered this way by Random.org)
I’ll be in touch with the 16 people above sometime this month to let them know what’s up for the tournament.
Sheeple has started!
Nine entrants, top 3 advance to next month’s tournament. Top 5 get points.
Here’s the link to the spreadsheet.
The Players:
ashton
beau
bhiggum
daneekasghost
mbnovak
nettiebarr
popemobile
spookymilk
violabeenice
Decision time!
I was thinking Sheeple, maybe? What does everyone else think?
Current Standings! An asterisk denotes automatic berth into the year end tournament, though it seems very likely that at the very least every with more than one point will gain entry.
Players
ashton
beau
daneekasghost
mbnovak
nettiebarr
popemobile
spookymilk
violabeenice
1. Annette 13 *
2. Spookymilk 12.5 *
3. Violabenice 10 *
4. mbnovak 8 *
5. Melissa 4 *
5. Todahshy 4
5. Ashton 4
8. Beau 3.5
9. Pope 3
9. Inkarnit 3 *
9. Brooks 3 *
12. Eschapp 1
12. KG 1
12. Colin Prime 1
12. Zee Germans 1
16. DreadPirate 0.5
While we’re talking about the year end tournament, what do you think? Said tournament will likely involve multiple smaller games in a sort of single elimination bracket. It’ll be fun (I’ve got some cool stuff planned), but it may not be everyone’s idea of good timing, with the holidays. Let me know what you think.
Suddenly, wolves!
I’d like to start on the 16th, but I don’t know how realistic that is.
I need a few things from you.
* Are you signing up? (if I don’t hear from you, and you don’t post here, I will assume “no”)
* Which week would work best for you?
* Would you prefer vanilla or themed werewolf?
Caesar has fallen, and now it’s time to move on with our lives.
Case in point. We should play a game in October.
I’ve got a couple of ideas. I’d like some feedback.
* Werewolf
I’m sort of leaning toward this. I’m not entirely certain how I’ll get it to work for the year end results, but I’ve kicked around some ideas that make it feasible. And, even if not, it’s been too long since we had a nice, clean game of werewolf.
It could be vanilla-ish, or I could come up with some crazy convoluted theme. Up to you.
* Pogs
Yickit and I kicked around the idea of a Pogs megagame, and I kind of love the idea. I’d need to figure out a way that made it last a little longer and also a way that didn’t punish people who aren’t able to sit on email for hours a day wheeling and dealing.
* Sheeple
A fan favorite, and reasonably easy to run. I’m sort of leaning toward this being the November game, but if enough people insist, we could always bump it up.
* Marco Polo Sasquatch
I’ve been toying with the idea of a game of Marco Polo Sasquatch where the sasquatch moves of its own volition in semi-predictable ways. The ways I’ve come up with be kind of a pain for me to tally, but that’s not your problem, is it?
* What’s In Your Head?
I like this game. We should play it sometime.
It was a fun game. I laughed. I cried. It moved me.
Everyone has made their choose, and to give you all a feel for the drama I felt, we’ll give the votes in the order I received them in.
DREAD PIRATE:
Vote Nettie. Her firm-hand within the alliance seemed to carry spooky early when he was skittish. Both played fine at the end, but since it was the alliance that got it done, I have to reward her for being the backbone of it. Oh, and because voting me out on day one is stupid.
MBNOVAK:
I love Nettie, and I think she played a better game than I did (and I said as much, and would have said so again in a final plea… ). It was precise and amazingly safe. The lack of danger to her at any point is simply impressive. Did anyone ever think about voting her off at any point? I doubt it. She played mistake free among a lot of dangerous and/or reckless players. I wish I were sitting next to her as she were winning.
But Spooky led by example. When I expected him to be cagey, he was forthright. When I expected him to preserve his influence, he spent it. When he could have taken guaranteed routes, he instead chose honest risks. Honestly, and maybe he’d disagree with me here, but I feel like he has grown tremendously as a player. Spooky, I don’t think the game hated you before, I think you were using a different approach. More commanding than offering, more self-preserving than self-sacrificing. This was something new.
I was impressed, and I happily vote for you to win.
TODAHSHY:
Since bitter juries are all the rage and loved by everyone now I vote for Annette – the best ally a guy could ask for!
BEAU:
Spooky – no one has ever played a more perfect game. There’s no reason for him to play again.
INKARNIT:
The first half of this game, Spooky outplayed Nettie.
The second half of this game, Nettie had the better moves.
I think the second half is harder to navigate and, as such, my vote is for Nettie.
VIOLABENICE:
Spooky – “fun game”
ASHTON:
Annette
ESCHAPP:
Spooky
If you possess the counting skills that my 2 year old son does, you know it’s 4-4. Let’s have a look at that last vote……
It’s time to bring this game home. #butfirst, one crucial step: the pleas. It’s time to lend your ears, friends, Roman’s, and/or countrymen.
Kelly’s Plea:
MY FINAL PLEA.
This game is hard, and to be honest, after last year I wondered if it was possible for me to reach the end. I love it, but I wasn’t sure it loved me back.
I’m not a fan of the fact that we’re still rolling with the early alliances. They can be made to work, but are what Kurt Vonnegut referred to as a “granfalloon” – a group based on circumstance rather than merit. It’s why nobody cares about class reunions, and why alliances based on who’s online aren’t the safest route. Of course I had to join, but I saw myself in early jeopardy when we ended up with Ash and todahshy, who are both something of a boogeyman to me; I feel a little off-stride when dealing with the Novaks of the world, but am truly terrified of the unpredictable. Little did I know that this would work out, as todahshy played a surprisingly clean game, and Ash didn’t have the momentum at the right time to change the course of things.
My plan from the beginning was to get to four with Novak, so I could vote alongside him and therefore ensure one of us were in the finals, forcing someone else to make the decision to assassinate (or alternatively, being the one to cut Novak myself). I had the option of not breaking the tie and allowing todah to break it and cut Novak, leaving myself free to get to the final two with Annette as I did anyway, but it’s exactly as Novak laid out: I wanted a strong piece of evidence that I laid it all out on the line in the late game, and putting myself on the block against someone as nimble of tongue and singular in his resolve as Novak seemed like the big moment to use.
All of what I said about wanting to “reward” Annette’s loyalty was true; this game makes me break out in a cold sweat and it’s true I’ve had a hard time all year deciding whether I would play, given how things ended last year. I didn’t actually think all the plans would actually work – particularly as I grew increasingly wary of the fact that viola was being tough to kill, as per usual – but here we are.
Early on I considered going to the group and asking if eschapp and daneekasghost could sub in for my personal boogeymen, but I couldn’t do it. We’ve seen mixed results at best from those who have shown the first signs of defection, although inkarnit did it really well one year. Plus, I think it would have been a thinly-veiled way of me saying “let’s make this easier for me personally, though it may not be so for you,” which is a very Geoff Beckstrom type of play.
I greatly enjoyed the entanglements of the season and hope I did enough to pull this off, because it eats at me that I’ve never been able to win this game. Honor the Emperor that you will, fair CdL senators, and we’ll all start thinking about the next game.
Annette’s Plea:
Dear Dead Romans.
Here we are again. Surely, I’ve picked up enough frequent flyer miles to trade in for a win?
I’m not going to try and detract from Spooky’s game to elevate my own. It’s not surprising that he played a great game. He was loyal to the
alliance, as was I. I stayed safe when it seemed prudent, but I didn’t hesitate to stick my neck out for the good of the alliance.
I used my card’s dubious influence to the best of its ability, I think.
Mine is not a flashy game. As with Werewolf, I’m not big into posting lengthy analysis or lists (Rivet!), but I do pay close attention
and act when necessary. I keep my word. And hey, I managed to get myself to the end with the luxury of choosing who gets to sit next to me!
However you vote, I thank you for an excellent game that was loads of fun.
Penultimate forum! GET EXCITED, PEOPLE!!
Also, make your choose – Todahshy or mbnovak. Who lives? Who gets messily assassinated? The choose is yours!
Cutthroat Junction 