Everyone refreshed from the weekend? I know I am. On with the bloodsport!
Vulnerable:
Ashton
nettiebarr
Spookymilk
Violabenice
Playing, yes…not so vulnerable today, though:
mbnovak
todahshy
This is the penultimate day for influence and wine! We’ve been teetotaling so far.
Cutthroat Junction 
My train was late and I’m still the first one here. Good morning all 🙂
Good morning!
Good morning!
Novak and I vote for Viola.
You don’t want to see if Todah wants to use his wine?
I mean, maybe he’d like to share? He’s been hogging it this whole game 😉
That was terrible.
I, too, am not sure what to make of that move.
Nobody can make me do anything and I can’t make anyone do anything, so I guess I’ll take my time here and see how todah and Nettie feel.
Influence succeeds.
So I was thinking about this some more, and though I love Todah, I think we all very much need to make him participate with a vote today. Since he has the wine, no one can make him vote, which keeps him safe for the next forum (he can vote late and throw away his vote too, if we force that type of situation). Then, of course, he can do the same thing next forum as well, making sure he makes it to 4 without being able to be voted for, thus ensuring a final 3 finish. That’s a pretty compelling strategy for him to take right now. He has a clear no-risk path through the next 3 votes.
So I want to hear from him, and how he wants to proceed.
Before anyone else votes to see me go, I’d like to hear from Todah as well. I know I don’t have much say and am not a part of any alliance right now but I’d still like to see how he sees this playing out.
Here is the other play regarding Todah, if he is truly going to safe-play route to 3.
We force a tie today (now it has to be between Ash and Viola), with 2 voters on Ash, and 1 thrown away. Todah abstains or throws his vote somewhere else. Ash breaks the tie, Viola goes home, Ash and I are available tomorrow.
We put 2 votes each on Ash and myself, and todah has to vote for one of us.
These rule should all be mod-reviewed, right?
That’s the only way to get Todah to be available to be voted out on with 4 left, if he wants to play the safe route.
I currently hate this approach, because it primarily involves me being the other target against firsth Ash, and then Todah, in a game where I have no influence, but I’m putting it out there, in good faith. Todah, you’ve got all the power in the game, it seems, so, please, let us know what you’re thinking.
Why would Ash break the tie? Spooky has the best card.
I’ll abstain from voting as long as I can. Nettie is really the only one that can influence me. Well, of course, Todah can too but I don’t think anyone really sees that as an option.
I can’t influence you; I’ve already influenced you.
Mod question:
Would you force an abstaining voter to break a tie if there were only 2 eligible candidates in the forum?
If it was impossible to progress the game without a vote from a particular player, I’d have to force that player to vote.
Which is to say that if there were two possible players, I couldn’t call for a tie to be broken without any remaining players casting votes.
Example:
5 players, two vulnerable. Two vote for player A, two vote for player B. The fifth player would have to vote.
The only time a player is NOT forced to vote is when such a vote is academic.
Majorities, or examples like the AAADG vote, where TECHNICALLY it wasn’t a majority, but it was impossible for Annette to force a tie.
I’m not saying that this is how this goes down but I have a question:
If I vote Nettie, Nettie votes Spooky and Spooky votes me, doesn’t Ash go out and Novak is the only one voting for Ash, so In turn he’s out too (he’d be the only one we could vote for tomorrow)? Would that put Spooky, Nettie, Todah and myself in the final four forum?
Just a question… don’t kill me. NO, I mean it. Don’t kill me!! 🙂
How…huh? Three votes for you with others splitting will result in your death.
Yup. I should have reread that all before I posted it. It’s my death. Kill me now!
Oh wait, Todah would still have to vote.
I don’t think so, because Todah still has a vote out there in that situation, and could either force a tie or also vote for you.
This is much like my question for Nibs above – would he require a player to cast a vote where doing so was result-determinative?
That’s definitely in the rules. You can only abstain as long as it doesn’t stop the game. If we need his vote, he votes whether he wants to or not.
I’m going to go out this round pretty much regardless. If Spooky and Nettie were to vote Ash and I put my vote on Nettie then Todah HAS to vote, correct?
But then Todah could vote for Spooky. We don’t like that option.
I’m gonna be in a meeting for a bit. No one do anything that gets me killed while I’m gone please?
Hurry! Kill him now 🙂 I’m kidding, I’m kidding.
…OR am I?
Good morning and oops, forgot we were playing this.
Now that you’ve remembered, what’s your plan for the day?
Good question. We should discuss. GO!
I have the option of guaranteeing Viola goes while also guaranteeing I’m in power for a third straight time. I’m holding off because three hours deep, I still have no clue of what you or todah want to do, and whether you’re going to keep with what we’ve got going.
I’m going to stick with whatever the alliance decides.
I think killing Viola is the move since it opens up Matt for killing next round. Assuming people would be on board with killing Matt next round. (He is a two time champion…)
See my comment below – we’ve got a heck of a 5 here.
I can completely see how my commentary above would be taken as targeting you. I meant it not so much that way, as to generate conversation about what our Ah Wells! are going to look like in a round or two. Where does voting me out get the rest of you? What does it look like at 4 if I’m the one who goes? If it’s Ash? Or anyone else. Etc.
Well I just remembered this was happening…
I’m just spit balling here but I feel like my personal best play is to vote spooky. Even though I don’t want him to be voted out. I don’t see people following me on that train.
Also, I am glad Matt has planned out my entire game the rest of the way for me!
My kill preference today would be Ash. I didn’t like how I had to use an influence on Ash in order to kill DG, just too much vacillating there. But then I wouldn’t be able to kill Novak the next day and I would be the main target for some reason (even though wine and influence go away tomorrow anyway).
In order to get Novak, we’d have to kill Viola which just doesn’t seem too appealing but may be necessary for the greater good.
Where are you getting the idea that you’re the main target? Is this a Salamangela thing where you assume you’re the target despite nobody saying it?
Matt’s earlier post where he was trying to make me the top target of everyone.
With 6 people left, only one of who wasn’t with the Ah Wells! I think of us all as targets. Spooky has played a brilliant game so far, while also sticking out his neck. Annette and I have been along for the ride, but have been to the end the last 2 games so have some weight there. You are in an enviable spot, and getting to that is amazing play. And I don’t know that anyone feels safe with Ash around. So of the 5 of us, I don’t consider there to be a “top” target.
I was just trying to look at what was going on, and what the game looks like a round or two down the road. That was all about conversation, and not rushing to jump in on anything. I was planning on voting Viola today and also now Ash can’t influence me tomorrow. Both of those were good things. But Ash’s rush made them bad, because they foreclosed options that anyone might consider. I’m more than happy to work with/for you, as we’ve done in the past.
I’d prefer to kill Ash over you next round. But you are a wily one…
I feel like Ash came the closest to turning on us if I hadn’t stepped in who knows what the game looks like right now.
Yeah, absolutely. I have no idea where that was going. And I honestly still don’t. Why compel me to vote Viola now, and then disappear? There’s no rush today, we’ve got 5 voters and Viola can’t influence anyone.
I feel the same. Ash has an unpredictability factor that is extremely difficult to account for.
How many of you would like to take Ash out of the picture now? I’ll vote now and would be in the pool for tomorrow.
It isn’t a bad idea since you cannot influence anyone and Ash still can (I think?) I would need to double check the spreadsheet.
Voting Ash is the best thing you can do here, although I can’t guarantee I’d be voting quickly afterward in that case. I’m just trying to untangle the mess here.
Just checked, Ash cannot influence anyone else remaining.
That obviously would work in my favor, since I couldn’t be voted for tomorrow (and could be easily influenced into vote you out tomorrow), but that’s the reason I haven’t pushed for it and won’t either push for or oppose it – it benefits me directly. So I’ll be up front about that, if it affects other people’s decisions.
It’s a huge mess. I’ll give you guys a few to figure out what that means. I do believe it’s really my only move. I’ll wait.
Voting update!
Ash and Novak are voting Viola.
There are no other votes.
vote Ash
I really believe that this is my only option. To vote for either of the other two will put me in a position where neither would trust me for tomorrow (provided I’m still around). No need to hold up the game, if it’s me you’re waiting on.
Annette? Todah? I’ve been in power the last couple of days. I would love just one day off here.
Of the last four days, I’ve been up for voting three days. Both you and Todah have up for voting two of the last four.
Arbitrary endpoints. Me two of two, you guys one of two.
You say you’re on board with whatever is decided, but inaction says otherwise.
What is decided? Are we taking out Viola or Ash today?
I don’t know, but it doesn’t get decided if we all say “whatever the alliance wants.”
Todah has been gone for over two hours; would love his take on this.
I agree that we should hear more from him. You two could decide to put out Ash today, but we’d still need Todah to confirm it with an off-vote. That creates the scenario I described above, where he’s able to avoid being voted for when there’s just 4 of us left. Tomorrow some combination of us take out Viola, and then one of the 3 of us who votes her tomorrow (so, presumably, Spooky/Annette/Me) would be missing out on the final 3.
Or one of you could vote for Viola now, the other throws an off vote, and then we take out Ash tomorrow. The scenario is essentially the same, with Todah not needing to be eligible at 4.
He hasn’t avoided putting down votes so far, but the target lists keep getting narrower.
There’s another option.
Spooky votes for Annette
Annette votes for Spooky.
Looks like this: 2 on Viola, 1 on Ash, 1 on Spooky, 1 on Annette. Todah must vote.
Presumably he’d vote for Viola too, which would make tomorrow me/him/Ash. We take out Ash.
There is a risk that he’d vote for Ash/Spooky/Annette today, force whomever to break the tie with Viola, and then we’d have to choose between him and the other voter tomorrow (so Viola, if he voted Ash, Annette if he voted Spooky, and Spooky if he voted Annette).
I don’t see a ton of upside to this play, unless Spooky and Annette want to get Todah out over Ash and/or Viola. But if they do… well, then there is a ton of upside, and at least one of them would be safe tomorrow, if not both.
I was considering bringing up the same play, since Todah has been so willing to play along, but it seemed pointless to broach the subject with him still not around.
I mean, I think it’s up to you and Nettie. You’re the ones with the most risk there (my level of risk was already set by Ash, thank you very much), but also the most upside. If the two of you are in agreement, then going for it probably won’t bite you too hard.
There’s a scenario where it could bite us terribly, though. He’s still got wine and can go into a two-person assassination with two guaranteed votes against the other person: his own, and the vote of the person to whom he serves wine. This would be a betrayal of the way he’s played this entire game, of course, but all the same he should talk things through before decisions are made.
I can see that. I can also suggest that if he were to do that and I still had a vote, it wouldn’t be against you or Annette.
Obviously, I can’t speak for yourself, Annette, or the established wild-card Ash.
Yes, I would like Todah to show up and give us his two cents worth, as well.
Also I’m basically gone from 2-8 central this time of year so I am sorry for being so absent.
Todah told us this last week. So I think that we all have some waiting to do.
Well, look who’s secretly paying very close attention!
Shhhhhh!!! Someone may notice. I’m keeping a super low profile, trying to do justice to the character of Elagabulus. I hear he was a really quiet guy. 😉
Time for a funny? Sure, why not? My husband told me this joke the other day. You ready for this? Here goes: “Not all math puns are funny”… wait for it…..
Just sum.
vote: viola
Awwwww man. That bad, huh? Well, I thought it was funny.
Vote viola.
Sorry guys. But viola hit the nail on the head. I was at work and couldn’t check in.
I figure might as well keep the band together to the end and let hell break loose tomorrow.
Man! I could have stopped telling jokes. 🙂
Here’s one I heard recently.
It’s a tradition in my family to serve Eggs Benedict on a hubcap during the Christmas Season…
There’s no plate like chrome for the Hollandaise
NICE!!
Thanks for the day-long reprieve, todah.
vote Annette
Hey I made everyone wait I deserve to be on chopping block
Good luck everyone! Have fun 🙂
Viola is lynched. She was a vanilager.
9am tomorrow is the next forum.