Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

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Picked Off
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Re: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Picked Off »

Simon LeGree here.

For being wrong, it’s tantalizingly close to fitting.
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Re: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Robert K S »

Alex mentioned the average win was $25,000.

According to the Archive, and including tonight's score, the average winner's score amongst 58 archived games in Season 37 was $20,731. This is pretty close to last season, where the average winner's score amongst 190 archived games was $21,990.
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Re: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by jeff6286 »

No place in the Archive for what I would say is a bit of a flub by Alex. When revealing Michael's FJ response he said "Frankenstein, the monster". Frankenstein is not the monster! In a Halloween merchandising clue you might get away with that but not in a literature clue!
Last edited by jeff6286 on Wed Dec 02, 2020 8:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by jeff6286 »

NoName84 wrote: Wed Dec 02, 2020 7:37 pm I also went with The Count of Monte Cristo.
"Count" me as one more. Revenge is a very strong pointer at the Dumas book and it's only off by a few years. I was concerned over the word "supernatural" but couldn't come up with a better option in 30 seconds. I might recommend calling this American Literature to head off some of the incorrect paths, as there is very little to go on in the clue.
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Re: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by talkingaway »

Well, a stupid answer, but surprisingly thematically close: I said Jack Sparrow, thinking for sure Pirates of the Caribbean was based on some kind of literature. Nope. I was too fixated on the word "supernatural", and yet somehow got the nautical theme. One year ago, almost to the date (December 6), I saw a play adaptation of Moby Dick, but 1851 didn't stick with me even though I perused the program.

Let me be the first pedant: Alex, Frankenstein is not the monster. Well, perhaps he is, but he's probably not the one you're thinking of.

NHO NRDC - that seemed awfully like a low priced clue to me, but maybe it's a blind spot.

I came so close with "garrulous" for "gregarious", although I suppose the negative connotation of the former, and the word "sociable" in the clue, should have tilted me away. And, no, I'm not ashamed that I couldn't count 9 vs 10 letters in a non-compound word quickly enough to neg myself.

Nobody got "Hip hop hooray"? I feel old. I don't know hip hop, and couldn't name a Yaysus, P. Diggidy, or Jay P. song if my life depended on it, but that one was easy to me.

A lot of weirdness in the clue values today for me - I went 5/6 in the bottom row of DJ!, but only 2/6 in the top row - plus a neg in my wheelhouse, ALLITERATIVE TV. I went with "Bob's Burgers" instead of "Breaking Bad". Show, restaurant, alliteration? Nope. Never watched Breaking Bad, but I did see some clip on my timeline recently that referenced the fried chicken place, but it didn't quite take.
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Re: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Lefty »

TenPoundHammer wrote: Wed Dec 02, 2020 7:28 pm 1000 paces must be a kilometer, right? Wrong. That was ENORMOUS negbait that I'm surprised no one fell for.
To the Romans, it was a distance of 1,000 paces

It really wasn't a great clue, because they meant the Roman pace, which, per collinsdictionary.com, "measured from the heel of one foot to the heel of the same foot in the next stride, was 5 Roman ft, or 58.1 inches, now known as a geometric pace, about 5 ft". I had to hit a few online dictionaries to find this. If the Romans actually covered a mile in 1000 footsteps, I dare say we would all be living in their empire today.

Speaking of Romans, I liked Michael's guess of the Vatican. Basilicata would be the administrative region with the basilica, and Campania the one with the bell tower.

I think it's ok to call the monster "Frankenstein". One needn't be a biological son to be a true son.
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Re: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by polaris »

I didn't care for TJ and I am somewhat glad he is gone (it would really have been a shame if he went on a run and the last great champion of the Trebek era had a blue mohawk) but I can't help but feel bad... that DD was one of the hardest clues I have ever seen on this show. I mean, it makes sense, and I probably could have gotten there if I had three minutes to think it out; but I've read a lot about astronomy in my life and never heard of that.

More importantly, it is nice that the Trebek era is coming to a close with this UNILATERAL and DEFINITIVE example of why wagering is a key part of the game, and not an afterthought, because we witnessed an absolute disaster in the wagering department today. Anyone who says that's a nothing part of the game and people overthink it, IS DEAD WRONG AS APPARENT RIGHT NOW.

If any of the three had made a proper wager, they would have won the game.

T. J. got cute and went for the multiple of $1,000, thus LITERALLY RISKING MORE MONEY THAN NECESSARY. Had he wagered only the $11,201 he should have, he WOULD HAVE WON THE GAME. No longer can people say "iT'S ClOSe eNoUgH anD sOmE cOntEsTaNts cAn'T MaTh" because it's NOT close enough!

Michael.... I don't even know what was in his brain. He doesn't even have the excuse of "I can't do math, so I rounded up to the nearest $1,000" like TJ can say... because I'm pretty sure $10,000 was LITERALLY picked out of a hat. Like, why not $11,000? Why not everything? Why not $9,000. OR, MORE TO THE POINT, why not $3,000 which not only falls within the acceptable wager values, also has the benefit of being "A mUlTiPlE oF a ThOusANd dOlLaRs".

Leslie... Well, it was a tough spot to be in and the game SHOULD HAVE been literally unwinnable for her, so it really is fitting that she won. I can't really criticize the wager because imo there is no strictly rational option here. Good for her for winning I guess.
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Re: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by talkingaway »

polaris wrote: Wed Dec 02, 2020 9:27 pm I didn't care for TJ and I am somewhat glad he is gone (it would really have been a shame if he went on a run and the last great champion of the Trebek era had a blue mohawk) but I can't help but feel bad... that DD was one of the hardest clues I have ever seen on this show. I mean, it makes sense, and I probably could have gotten there if I had three minutes to think it out; but I've read a lot about astronomy in my life and never heard of that.
What J-word would be appropriate in comparing the mass of "extrasolar planets"? Pretty easy, IMO. Especially if you know astronomers, they like to compare one thing to another - for example, 1 AU (astronomical unit) is approximately the distance from the Earth to the Sun. The "heft" word was a subtle psychological push toward the heftiest planet, which is...? *glares at TPH*

I'll admit, I've never seen M-sub-j written anywhere in my life, either. It's one of those "puzzle" clues...much like the easier DD puzzle clue about an alliterative game show that featured the Hatfields vs the McCoys.

I thought that DD was way easier than "service above self"/club that moves clue.

I have to say, I wasn't super-impressed with our current champ's performance, but who knows. Maybe she'll surprise us if she gets better categories, and a costume change to clear her head.
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Re: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by floridagator »

The Richmond speed-skating oval is in Richmond. It is no more in Vancouver than the Meadowlands is in New York City. Just a poorly written question.
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Re: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by TenPoundHammer »

talkingaway wrote: Wed Dec 02, 2020 9:50 pm What J-word would be appropriate in comparing the mass of "extrasolar planets"? Pretty easy, IMO. Especially if you know astronomers, they like to compare one thing to another - for example, 1 AU (astronomical unit) is approximately the distance from the Earth to the Sun. The "heft" word was a subtle psychological push toward the heftiest planet, which is...? *glares at TPH*
I wasn't even close to that. I almost WAGged "joule" since it was the only unit I could think of that began with a J. Jupiter as a unit was new to me.
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Re: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by John Boy »

Wow. Ugh. I thought the game was going reasonably well for all three (OK, only belatedly for Leslie, who took a while to get on track) right up until that God-awful finish. I see a lot of comments on this threads suggesting this was a truly difficult FJ, but I guess I don't see that. 1851 novel, character intent on revenge = Moby-Dick = Ahab = Done. I didn't expect to see this a triple-get, but I can't communicate how shocked I was to see this clue a TS.

And, of course, three wagers ranging from "strategically sub-optimal" to pulled out of thin air with no strategic thought whatever (**koff! koff yes I mean you, Michael**). Michael should have won this game on a TS based on reasonable wagering strategy. If he's going to fumble it, though, then Leslie should take it by a score of $2,800 to $2,799. But she too booted the wagering by $100 and should have lost, except (Cue the Stanford Band) T.J. also boots his wager and hands it to Leslie because, well, someone has to win.

And the victory goes to the lady who was still in the hole at the first break, who (when asked to name a city) guessed "Texas."

I scooped up only 4 TSs in this game for a modest total of $3,800, good enough only for 4th place playing from the imaginary 4th podium. But my sole get on FJ gave me a win.

What a train wreck way to close out a game.
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Re: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by rockyboy34 »

That FJ! REALLY didn’t need to be that difficult, but it was.

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Re: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by MattKnowles »

Did anybody get Moby-Dick without getting it from the year?

I went with Count.
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Re: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by nserven »

It so happens that Moby-Dick has been a minor subject of interest on Lit Twitter recently (I suspect in response to this tweet). Being at the front my mind + revenge + date made this an easy solve.
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Re: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by seaborgium »

Bob78164 wrote: Wed Dec 02, 2020 6:13 pm This game is a win for the Strong Form of Shore's Conjecture. The second-place player bet "big." --Bob
Given that the standard cover wager would have left T.J. with a $2,799 win, isn't this game a draw?


After Leslie's and Michael's wagers were revealed, I realized they'd both handed the TS back to T.J. Then I remembered T.J.'s wager yesterday. Then Alex told him he was wrong, and I got a sinking feeling that was borne out.
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Re: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by This Is Kirk! »

DBear wrote: Wed Dec 02, 2020 6:06 pm DDs: :D :D :? . Clue made no sense, responded with Joule.
Strange because I was thinking it was a WECIB? type. I was pretty bummed when T.J. missed it.

I immediately thought of Captain Ahab for FJ and stuck with it.
MattKnowles wrote:Did anybody get Moby-Dick without getting it from the year?
Ahab you mean. I didn't know the year, but 1851 felt pretty close to me. I went primarily based on the quote and the year just helped to confirm I was on the right track.
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Re: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by mungar »

MattKnowles wrote: Wed Dec 02, 2020 10:33 pm Did anybody get Moby-Dick without getting it from the year?

I went with Count.
I got Ahab specifically thanks to 'revenge' in the clue. Nowhere near an instaget though, as it came to me with about 5 seconds to spare, but I was pretty sure it was correct once it did.
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Re: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by opusthepenguin »

MattKnowles wrote: Wed Dec 02, 2020 10:33 pm Did anybody get Moby-Dick without getting it from the year?

I went with Count.
I got Ahab by very cleverly not considering The Count of Monte Cristo. If I'd thought of it, I would have switched.
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Re: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by This Is Kirk! »

polaris wrote: Wed Dec 02, 2020 9:27 pm I didn't care for TJ and I am somewhat glad he is gone (it would really have been a shame if he went on a run and the last great champion of the Trebek era had a blue mohawk)
Seriously? :roll:
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Re: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Woof »

Ouch! What a mean FJ, made worse by a typical overwager from 2nd. I got hung up on supernatural and, despite my near certainty that 1851 was too late, went with Frankenstein’s monster.
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