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Post by Gabe Fandango on May 18, 2022 0:47:23 GMT
My gut instinct is to avoid books by Steve and Ian - particularly the famous early ones I tend to do the opposite after my first game, because it seemed like those are the ones seasoned players would deliberately avoid. But this game has gone long enough that many players would overthink and second-guess with multiple layers of reverse psychology, so I'm not even sure there's an optimal strategy by this point. Now I just try to randomly mix obscure answers with obvious ones and hope for the best.
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Post by Gabe Fandango on May 18, 2022 0:50:39 GMT
I'd be interested to know if reading question 10 did inspire anyone to go back and change their first choices. Not in my case, since my first choice answer for 10 was still available by that point. I did consider choosing Warlock for the Werewolf question, so that might have changed if I'd gone with that. I did have a feeling that the Sorcery books would be popular answers for this question.
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Post by a moderator on May 18, 2022 0:56:23 GMT
Female magic user was an interesting one. First thought was the Sham, but assumed that was a nickname. Then thought of Eleanor but thought she would be well-known. Eleanor was one of my secondary considerations. Should have gone with that. Went with Lucretia because I thought she'd fall under the category of "obvious choice to avoid" by others, since she's the very first female magic user created in FF if I'm not mistaken (there isn't any in Warlock). Apart from a few anonymous weeping women in the village closest to the eponymous mountain, there are no female characters at all in TWoFM.
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Post by Peter on May 18, 2022 0:59:27 GMT
First choice for wood though was the Sacred Grove in Talisman of Death... Based on the definition of 'grove', and the description of the forest in Talisman, I think the Sacred Grove is a specific area within a larger forest. And while books from other series are questionable sources of FF data, the maps of Orb in the front of The Way of the Tiger books 3-5 appear to label the wooded area between the Rift and Greyguilds-on-the-Moor as 'Forest of Passing'. I also thought of that one. A grove is "a small wood or forested area, usually with no undergrowth". But the Guardian welcomes you to "this Sacred Grove", suggesting it is not specifically named. I also thought of Scorpion Swamp, as a swamp is "a waterlogged area, often containing woody plants", but decided not to risk this one either. I nearly chose the Crystal Garden in Spectral Stalkers, but again, I shied away from a risky answer. I'm actually surprised I got any unique answers. Thanks greenspine. And thanks Steve Jackson for inspiring me so much.
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Post by Gabe Fandango on May 18, 2022 1:13:43 GMT
Question 5: Name a Fighting Fantasy gamebook in which, on a successful attempt at the book, you cannot avoid being locked or chained up.Cue arguments about it not being essential to get locked into the Erasmus room in House because it's possible to get the password without Shekou's clue by making a completely random guess... I regard the 'lucky guess' option as cheating because the clue is there for a reason, but this is one of the issues with the book. Now that I think about it, if the wording of the question had been less specific, like "being locked or chained/tied up". House of Hell would have qualified either way, since I believe the alternative to being locked in your room is to get knocked out and imprisoned anyway. But without a locked door and with a rope being used instead of a chain for restraint.
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Post by a moderator on May 18, 2022 1:43:50 GMT
If I'd allowed 'tied up' as well, Adrius would have done nicely with his first suggestion for Q5, Bloodbones.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,458
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on May 18, 2022 9:38:44 GMT
My first instinct regarding the female magic users question was Pia from Eye of the Dragon but I came across Grizzell when looking for another answer in Legend of Zagor which didn't pan out and figured she was more obscure. Interestingly two people opted for Eye of the Dragon but neither went for Pia.
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Post by petch on May 18, 2022 10:09:32 GMT
Question 3: Name a Fighting Fantasy gamebook in which an eagle appears.Correct answers:Fangs of Fury: 3 (bloodbeasthandler, petch, wilf) The brief mention of an eagle buried in section 326 of Fangs proves remarkably popular, perhaps because it gets a mention in the FF wiki entry for 'Eagle'. While the wiki can be a helpful research tool, it's not enough on its own. Yep, that's exactly what I used for this question. Couldn't for the life of me remember an eagle appearing in an FF book off of the top of my head, so took the lazy way out and looked it up on the wiki, and paid for it accordingly. Serves me right. I'm happy enough with the final results...after lingering near the bottom of the leaderboard more or less throughout, coming back to finish joint 3rd will do me. Congrats to kieran and vastariner and a special well done to Gabe Fandango for becoming the first two-time winner. And thanks greenspine, great fun as always. Have to say I am very much enjoying this!
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Post by Wilf on May 18, 2022 10:58:26 GMT
Question 3: Name a Fighting Fantasy gamebook in which an eagle appears.Correct answers:Fangs of Fury: 3 (bloodbeasthandler, petch, wilf) The brief mention of an eagle buried in section 326 of Fangs proves remarkably popular, perhaps because it gets a mention in the FF wiki entry for 'Eagle'. While the wiki can be a helpful research tool, it's not enough on its own. Yep, that's exactly what I used for this question. Couldn't for the life of me remember an eagle appearing in an FF book off of the top of my head, so took the lazy way out and looked it up on the wiki, and paid for it accordingly. Serves me right. I'm happy enough with the final results...after lingering near the bottom of the leaderboard more or less throughout, coming back to finish joint 3rd will do me. Congrats to kieran and vastariner and a special well done to Gabe Fandango for becoming the first two-time winner. And thanks greenspine, great fun as always. Have to say I am very much enjoying this! Yep, guilty as charged.
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Post by petch on May 19, 2022 13:24:18 GMT
So, as discussions on the previous round seem to have died down a bit, I do have some further questions prepared for the next one.
I am conscious, however, that I've had a go at hosting a round already. Before I wade in again, would anyone else who hasn't already like to have a turn to, uh, go compére?
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Post by CharlesX on May 19, 2022 14:05:23 GMT
I am still working on mine, both on the questions and procuring a copy of TWOFM after losing my original one (probably donated it by accident ), so possibly next time.
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Post by petch on May 19, 2022 22:26:21 GMT
I'll take the lack of objections as an okay for me to go ahead then! Round 6 questions will be posted shortly
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Post by petch on May 19, 2022 23:06:05 GMT
Round 6
You all know the rules and eligible titles by now, but for the benefit of any possible new players they are outlined in the opening post of the thread.
1. Name a Fighting Fantasy gamebook in which the opening preamble prior to reference 1 is not entitled 'Background'.
2. Name or otherwise identify a fellow contestant who enters Sukumvit's dungeon with you in either Deathtrap Dungeon or Trial of Champions.
3. Name a Fighting Fantasy gamebook in which you can fly. Please note by this I mean your character themselves has to be physically flying, for example by means of magic or natural ability - using a flying mount or flying vehicle does not count. Please provide a reference number for where this happens in the book.
4. Name an illustrator of a Fighting Fantasy gamebook published by Puffin who provided both cover art and internal illustrations for the same book.
5. Name an opponent you can face in combat in a Fighting Fantasy gamebook that has a Skill score of 3 or lower. This is without modifiers, ie the Skill score printed for the opponent has to be 3 or less. Please provide the book and reference number for the encounter.
6. Name a Fighting Fantasy gamebook that has a 'Notes' box in its Adventure Sheet. Variations like 'Notes and Items' don't count - the box has to be called, specifically, 'Notes'.
7. Identify a crew member, other than yourself, that you roll up stats for at the beginning of Starship Traveller.
8. Name a Fighting Fantasy gamebook in which you can ride a horse. Please provide a reference number for where this happens in the book.
9. Name an item you can take with you in a Fighting Fantasy gamebook that you can use to restore Stamina that is not ingested. Ie it is not food, drink or a potion. Please provide the book and reference number that has a description of the item.
10. Name a Fighting Fantasy gamebook that is set in whole or in part in Port Blacksand.
Please provide your answers to me by PM by 17:00 Friday 27th May. I'll do my best to get the results posted that evening.
Good luck all!
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Post by petch on May 20, 2022 13:09:21 GMT
Loath as I am to influence any answers, following a couple of PM queries I thought I had better provide a clarification to question 3 as, in fairness, I should have been clearer on this in the question: flying and levitation are not the same thing.
If anyone who has already submitted answers would like to change them as a result of this clarification then please feel free.
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Post by Gabe Fandango on May 20, 2022 14:01:52 GMT
Man, I think the overall scoring for this round is going to be high. Multiple questions seem to have pretty narrow scopes, far as I can tell.
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Post by a moderator on May 20, 2022 14:33:53 GMT
I made much the same observation when sending in my answers.
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Post by petch on May 20, 2022 14:41:11 GMT
Yes, I have been a bit mean and did that on purpose. Thought I'd try to shake the dynamics of the competition up a bit!
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Post by Madame Star on May 20, 2022 15:04:07 GMT
Here's a sneak preview of petch's next quiz 1. Name one of the authors of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.
2. Name a Fighting Fantasy gamebook by Mark Smith and Jamie Thomson.
3. Name a model of robot that you can choose at the start of Robot Commando.
4. Name a pet you can buy in Zengis in Armies of Death.
5. Name an author whose only contribution to Fighting Fantasy was co-writing one gamebook.
6. Name a character with whom you can swap bodies in Magehunter.
7. Name a Fighting Fantasy gamebook first published by Wizard that has a one-word title.
8. Name an author whose first Fighting Fantasy gamebook was poblished by Scholastic.
9. Name a place mentioned in the title of a Sorcery book.
10. Name an attribute which features in more than 50 Fighting Fantasy gamebooks and begins with the letter 'S'.
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Post by petch on May 20, 2022 15:12:27 GMT
Here's a sneak preview of petch's next quiz 1. Name one of the authors of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.
2. Name a Fighting Fantasy gamebook by Mark Smith and Jamie Thomson.
3. Name a model of robot that you can choose at the start of Robot Commando.
4. Name a pet you can buy in Zengis in Armies of Death.
5. Name an author whose only contribution to Fighting Fantasy was co-writing one gamebook.
6. Name a character with whom you can swap bodies in Magehunter.
7. Name a Fighting Fantasy gamebook first published by Wizard that has a one-word title.
8. Name an author whose first Fighting Fantasy gamebook was poblished by Scholastic.
9. Name a place mentioned in the title of a Sorcery book.
10. Name an attribute which features in more than 50 Fighting Fantasy gamebooks and begins with the letter 'S'. Oho! I consider myself zinged, Madame Star!
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Post by philsadler on May 20, 2022 15:22:51 GMT
Here's a sneak preview of my next quiz:
1.) Name an author who used to wear glasses and have a large moustache.
2.) Name an author who used to have a beard. 3.) Name a book involving a magic-user and some sort of large rock-like structure as well as some kind of hot substance.
4.) Name a book with 'of' in the title.
5.) Which monster in which book tries to kill you (please provide the book name, reference number, picture of the monster even if it doesn't have one, and the monster's shoe size).
6.) How many human beings have read an FF book?
7.) Name every character in every book ever written.
8.) Which title contains the word 'and' on reference 23?
9.) Who was the first author to be called Steve Jackson?
10.) What is the name of the next unnamed book?
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Post by vastariner on May 25, 2022 18:08:45 GMT
Oops, need to remember to do this one...
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Post by petch on May 26, 2022 9:29:41 GMT
I think it's probably fair to say my attempt to try something different by setting much more restrictive questions hasn't proved especially popular, based on the fact that I've only received 8 sets of answers back so far, not to mention some of the comments above (although I strongly suspect the mysterious guest poster there is a certain former forum member returning to haunt me ). Apologies to anyone who was put off, I'll chalk it up as a failed experiment and hope I haven't dampened the overall enthusiasm for this competition. That said, 8 responses is still more than enough for me to be able to run the round, and - trying to put a positive spin on it - less competition means increased odds of winning, right? So there is still time for any latecomers to get their answers in before the round closes tomorrow afternoon!
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,458
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on May 26, 2022 10:16:36 GMT
I think it's probably fair to say my attempt to try something different by setting much more restrictive questions hasn't proved especially popular, based on the fact that I've only received 8 sets of answers back so far, not to mention some of the comments above (although I strongly suspect the mysterious guest poster there is a certain former forum member returning to haunt me ). Apologies to anyone who was put off, I'll chalk it up as a failed experiment and hope I haven't dampened the overall enthusiasm for this competition. That said, 8 responses is still more than enough for me to be able to run the round, and - trying to put a positive spin on it - less competition means increased odds of winning, right? So there is still time for any latecomers to get their answers in before the round closes tomorrow afternoon! I wouldn't be too hard on yourself, it's good to mix things up a bit. I had some very restrictive questions in my initial set of questions anyway (eg the Daggers of Darkness medallions).
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Post by vastariner on May 26, 2022 10:23:45 GMT
The limited number of answers doesn't bother me - it's one way to avoid an entire string of 1s.
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Post by petch on May 26, 2022 10:45:46 GMT
Cheers both
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Post by Wilf on May 26, 2022 12:23:21 GMT
I think it's probably fair to say my attempt to try something different by setting much more restrictive questions hasn't proved especially popular, based on the fact that I've only received 8 sets of answers back so far, not to mention some of the comments above (although I strongly suspect the mysterious guest poster there is a certain former forum member returning to haunt me ). Apologies to anyone who was put off, I'll chalk it up as a failed experiment and hope I haven't dampened the overall enthusiasm for this competition. That said, 8 responses is still more than enough for me to be able to run the round, and - trying to put a positive spin on it - less competition means increased odds of winning, right? So there is still time for any latecomers to get their answers in before the round closes tomorrow afternoon! The only reason you haven't heard from me yet is because I've had limited time this week. I'm hoping to get my answers in to you tonight...
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Post by philsadler on May 26, 2022 12:56:18 GMT
Sorry Petch, but my silly questions above were just a joke based on the 'mysterious' poster and his joke post. In reality, your questions certainly got me thinking.
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Post by CharlesX on May 26, 2022 14:35:32 GMT
I think it's probably fair to say my attempt to try something different by setting much more restrictive questions hasn't proved especially popular, based on the fact that I've only received 8 sets of answers back so far, not to mention some of the comments above (although I strongly suspect the mysterious guest poster there is a certain former forum member returning to haunt me ). Apologies to anyone who was put off, I'll chalk it up as a failed experiment and hope I haven't dampened the overall enthusiasm for this competition. That said, 8 responses is still more than enough for me to be able to run the round, and - trying to put a positive spin on it - less competition means increased odds of winning, right? So there is still time for any latecomers to get their answers in before the round closes tomorrow afternoon! I think I'd be proud if I got 8 PMs when I can go ahead with my Rare Answers Game (TWOFM still AWOL), my author ranking thread is about as successful as an inflatable dartboard or an invasion of Russia and it's now about when it dies, not if Friday = RIP the thread. 2 people have PM'd me so it's a social media disaster. ðŸ˜
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Post by Gabe Fandango on May 26, 2022 14:44:19 GMT
I think it's probably fair to say my attempt to try something different by setting much more restrictive questions hasn't proved especially popular, based on the fact that I've only received 8 sets of answers back so far, not to mention some of the comments above (although I strongly suspect the mysterious guest poster there is a certain former forum member returning to haunt me ). Apologies to anyone who was put off, I'll chalk it up as a failed experiment and hope I haven't dampened the overall enthusiasm for this competition. That said, 8 responses is still more than enough for me to be able to run the round, and - trying to put a positive spin on it - less competition means increased odds of winning, right? So there is still time for any latecomers to get their answers in before the round closes tomorrow afternoon! The number of players last round was 12, which was only 4 more, and according to greenspine 3 of them submitted around the very last day, so I wouldn't be too bothered about lack of answers thus far. They're just as likely to be late submissions. And even if your question had anything to do with it, it might be simply because players are taking longer to think of the best answers rather than due to being put off by the questions.
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Post by petch on May 26, 2022 15:45:57 GMT
Sorry Petch, but my silly questions above were just a joke based on the 'mysterious' poster and his joke post. In reality, your questions certainly got me thinking. Don't worry, I knew you were just messing about. And based on what everyone else has said, I've realised I was worrying unnecessarily anyway!
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