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Post by a moderator on Oct 27, 2020 16:01:35 GMT
I'm giving each book separate ratings for story, playability, artwork, worldbuilding, and fun, then boiling those scores down to one figure. A certain book has thus been spared an absolute zero by the quality of the illustrations.
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Post by Wilf on Oct 27, 2020 17:26:01 GMT
I'm just rolling 2d6 and subtracting 2 for each book.
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Oct 27, 2020 18:23:02 GMT
A certain book has thus been spared an absolute zero by the quality of the illustrations. Yes.. You do not need to say it is ST. Is is a good book, though.
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Post by a moderator on Oct 27, 2020 18:38:46 GMT
That's not the book. Without saying too much, ST rated poorly for art, but was pulled up a little by some other factors.
Thinking about all the potentially unnecessary stat-rolling Starship has, I probably gave it more than it deserved for playability, but it's too late to revise the score.
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Post by Wilf on Oct 27, 2020 18:45:56 GMT
Without giving too much away, you probably wouldn't do too much damage to Starship Traveller's chances of being voted Best Book if you could revise your score.
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Post by The Count on Oct 28, 2020 1:08:18 GMT
I'm giving each book separate ratings for story, playability, artwork, worldbuilding, and fun, then boiling those scores down to one figure. A certain book has thus been spared an absolute zero by the quality of the illustrations. I'm doing a similar thing, though I'm not considering artwork as pretty pictures can't save an abysmal gamebook although they can enhance it*, and am putting a slightly greater emphasis on how much I have enjoyed playing and (more importantly) replaying each book. *and if using a new book or current reprint, the art is more likely to have a negative impact on the score...
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Post by Wilf on Oct 28, 2020 12:17:16 GMT
Just twelve hours left to send me your votes for Round Two. Two forum members who scored Round One have yet to send me their ratings for Round Two, and I'm happy to receive PMs from anyone who's missed Round One, but would still like to join in.
I'll open Round Four tonight, which means whatever book is currently in the lead will be sure to lose out once Sky Lord enters the fray...
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Post by Wilf on Oct 28, 2020 16:53:52 GMT
...and with seven hours to go, the most recent set of scores received for Round Two has had a dramatic effect near the top of the table, and left me with two books tied near the bottom of the table. Everyone's votes really do make a difference, even at this late stage!
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Post by Wilf on Oct 29, 2020 7:17:38 GMT
Y'know, if anyone can be guaranteed to be awake at midnight, it's me. And yet last night, I found myself falling into Morpheus's dark abyss around 11pm. The last thing I remember was my pomander falling to the floor, then I was out like a light...
So with apologies for tardiness, Round Two is now closed (observations will shortly be made), and Round Four is now open. Please assign merit-based integers to the following before 12am (probably) on Wednesday 4th November:
Battleblade Warrior Slaves Of The Abyss Sky Lord Stealer Of Souls Daggers Of Darkness Armies Of Death Portal Of Evil Vault Of The Vampire Fangs Of Fury Dead Of Night.
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Post by Wilf on Oct 29, 2020 8:04:44 GMT
ROUND TWO OBSERVATIONS:
Sixteen posters (plus myself) participated in this round. No books received a full set of seventeen scores; sixteen forum members rated Sword Of The Samurai; fifteen cast votes for Talisman Of Death, Temple Of Terror, The Rings Of Kether, and Demons Of The Deep; fourteen opined on Freeway Fighter and Seas Of Blood; and thirteen scores were awarded to Space Assassin, Appointment With FEAR, and Rebel Planet.
Two books - tellingly, both of them contemporary/futuristic ones - received one or more ducks in this round: Freeway Fighter and Appointment With FEAR. Both, however, have their fans - whether this was enough to redeem them from an overall low ranking remains my secret for now...
...however, I will note that Appointment With FEAR is the book I referred to earlier which also received perfect 10s. This makes it the most controversial of the first 20 books by a very long way... although it will shortly have company.
Also netting one or more perfect 10s were Talisman Of Death and Sword Of The Samurai.
I will give a shoutout to Demons Of The Deep which, perhaps surprisingly, took an early lead in this round, and sustained it far longer than I thought it might.
The overall average for Round Two is 2.3% down on Round One. There is a difference of 2.57 points between the averages of the most and least generous responders' scores in this round.
The tie I spoke of was not broken by Round Two's final voter; two books share the ignominy of joint ninth (i.e. last place). I won't name them yet, but neither are set on Titan.
The sixth placed book in Round Two is tied with the fifth placed book in Round One.
The battle of Steve vs Ian has taken a turn: Steve Jackson's books in Rounds One and Two average higher than Ian Livingstone's, and by a slightly wider margin than Ian had over Steve at the end of Round One. But we're still only talking a couple of percentage points here - not the yawning chasm that separates Steve and Ian's averages from Andrew Chapman's. (I will continue to track the fortunes of any author who has (co-)written three or more FFs.)
There was also a very fierce battle being waged between the top book of Round One and the top book of Round Two. These two titles kept swapping overall places right up to the bitter end. Whether or not the victor will retain its overall first place remains to be seen - its score is impressive but not unbeatable.
Does this give any insight into the Top Twenty? Probably not. But all will be revealed in just three short weeks. Onward, ever onward...
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Oct 29, 2020 9:00:33 GMT
What the hell is Morpheus's dark abyss?
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Post by Wilf on Oct 29, 2020 9:02:04 GMT
What the hell is Morpheus's dark abyss? Sleep.
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Post by sleepyscholar on Oct 31, 2020 13:24:44 GMT
What the hell is Morpheus's dark abyss? It's the next-door neighbour to Bythos's well-lit abyss. Bythos pops round for a kip now and then.
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Post by Wilf on Nov 2, 2020 0:03:59 GMT
And as one round closes, another opens. Thank you all for casting your votes in Round Three - I am now casting the scores for these ten books in stone.
In the meantime, please PM me your ratings for the next batch of ten. Round Five will, of course, consist of:
Master Of Chaos Black Vein Prophecy Keep Of The Lich-Lord Legend Of The Shadow Warriors Spectral Stalkers Tower Of Destruction The Crimson Tide Moonrunner Siege Of Sardath Return To Firetop Mountain.
This round will remain open until midnight on Sunday November 8th.
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Post by Wilf on Nov 2, 2020 0:55:12 GMT
ROUND THREE OBSERVATIONS:
The same sixteen forum members (plus myself) who cast judgment in Round Two also participated in Round Three. Once again, no books received a full set of seventeen ratings, but sixteen of us gave a verdict on Crypt Of The Sorcerer; fifteen numerically evaluated Trial Of Champions, Robot Commando, Creature Of Havoc, and Chasms Of Malice; fourteen assigned an integer to Masks Of Mayhem and Beneath Nightmare Castle; thirteen opined on Midnight Rogue; twelve gave scores to Star Strider; and just eleven of us encountered Morpheus himself in Phantoms Of Fear.
Perfect tens were awarded liberally across the board. In fact, it's easier for me to tell you which books *didn't* get them: Trial, Commando, Strider, and Rogue.
The Vladimir Utoshki Prize for Most Marmite Book Of The Round is awarded to Chasms Of Malice, which repeats Appointment With FEAR's feat of being awarded both a 10 and a 0. No other books received the dreaded nul points this time out; coming close in the controversy stakes, though, is Crypt Of The Sorcerer, which received a low score of 1 from one or more entrants. Whether the low scores or the high ones (or neither) proved atypical will be revealed in due course...
Of the six outer space books in the first three rounds, only one of them currently stands in the top half of the rankings. Round Three has sadly reinforced the long-held belief that sci-fi and fi-fan do not mix.
The least inconsistent performers in Round Three were Beneath Nightmare Castle and Phantoms Of Fear. They still received a wider range of scores than a handful of titles in Rounds One and Two, though, and despite both receiving 10/10s, they are not the top two of this round.
The overall average for Round Three is 4.65% lower than for Round Two. There's a difference of 3.2 points between the most and least generous voters' averages this time out.
The standings of the range's prolific authors currently looks like this: Steve Jackson's average has increased, and the gap between him and Ian Livingstone has widened. Robin Waterfield's average is very, very slightly below Steve Jackson's; Other Steve Jackson's average is between Robin's and Ian's; and fans of Andrew Chapman should probably stop reading this thread. Or more to the point, should have taken part in it!
The battle between the top book of this round and the top book of the first two rounds was very swiftly and decisively resolved, as was the rather less prestigious conflict for last place...
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Nov 2, 2020 17:11:25 GMT
Somebody here disagree that the FF Books have decreased in value after 40? Well I agree.. My scores to 40-50 are clearly lower.
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Post by tyrion on Nov 2, 2020 17:18:40 GMT
Someone gave chasms of malice 10? Out of 10? I'll have whatever they're on.
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Nov 2, 2020 17:20:46 GMT
Someone gave chasms of malice 10? Out of 10? I'll have whatever they're on. Not me. And I am a big fan of Chasms of Malice.
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Post by a moderator on Nov 2, 2020 18:36:49 GMT
Somebody here disagree that the FF Books have decreased in value after 40? Well I agree.. My scores to 40-50 are clearly lower. Definitely disagree. Overall, 41-50 scores better than any preceding set of 10 in my rankings. It's 51-60 where the wheels start to come off IMO.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,457
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Nov 2, 2020 20:10:20 GMT
Somebody here disagree that the FF Books have decreased in value after 40? Well I agree.. My scores to 40-50 are clearly lower. I have to second what Greenspine said, 41-50 was a great time for the series.
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Post by Wilf on Nov 4, 2020 8:29:11 GMT
One day left for Round Four in what must surely be the most interesting, exciting and meaningful vote going on in the world right now...
...and whilst the placings in Round Four look unlikely to change at this late stage, there's the small matter of 47th place to decide, as one of the books in this round is tied with one of the less popular books from the earlier rounds.
It ain't over until every single vote has been counted...
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Nov 4, 2020 8:51:06 GMT
One day left for Round Four in what must surely be the most interesting, exciting and meaningful vote going on in the world right now... ... Trump. I am not his fan, but even so... Trump.
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Post by a moderator on Nov 4, 2020 10:44:48 GMT
One day left for Round Four in what must surely be the most interesting, exciting and meaningful vote going on in the world right now... ... Trump. I am not his fan, but even so... Trump. I suppose he does have a few things in common with Razaak...
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Post by johnbrawn1972 on Nov 4, 2020 13:10:14 GMT
Trump. I am not his fan, but even so... Trump. I suppose he does have a few things in common with Razaak... Barking mad? Ridiculously overpowered?
I must admit I would have voted for Trump in 2016 and I would have voted for Trump in 2020. I loved President Clinton and President Obama but not at this moment.
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sylas
Baron
"Don't just adventure for treasure; treasure the adventure!"
Posts: 1,678
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy, Way of the Tiger
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Post by sylas on Nov 4, 2020 15:02:47 GMT
I suppose he does have a few things in common with Razaak... Barking mad? Ridiculously overpowered?
I must admit I would have voted for Trump in 2016 and I would have voted for Trump in 2020. I loved President Clinton and President Obama but not at this moment.
Spreading disease across the land if he's not acknowledged as their master. Similarities are uncanny.
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Post by schlendrian on Nov 4, 2020 15:41:48 GMT
Razaak does have a high skill however and can easily deceive you into thinking he's a wise and benevolent person
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Nov 4, 2020 16:40:59 GMT
Razaak does have a high skill however and can easily deceive you into thinking he's a wise and benevolent person I am a simple man. I do not believe on a benevolent nor a malevolent person. We all are both.
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Post by Wilf on Nov 5, 2020 0:45:44 GMT
And I'm calling time on Round Four. Please now let me have scores out of ten for Round Six, which consists of the following nine books:
Island of the Undead Night Dragon Spellbreaker Legend of Zagor Deathmoor Knights of Doom Magehunter Revenge of the Vampire Curse of the Mummy.
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Post by Wilf on Nov 5, 2020 1:00:44 GMT
ROUND FOUR OBSERVATIONS: Once again, all sixteen voters (plus myself) from the previous rounds had their say in Round Four. Armies Of Death is the most widely read book here (perhaps unsurprisingly, given it's the only one in this round that's been reprinted in the post-Puffin era). It attracted fifteen votes; Dead Of Night received fourteen; Battleblade Warrior and the two Keith Martin books had thirteen each; Slaves Of The Abyss, Sky Lord and Daggers Of Darkness had twelve, and Portal OF Evil and Fangs Of Fury join Phantoms Of Fear as the least-read books in the series so far with just eleven verdicts offered. Four books received Perfect Tens: Slaves Of The Abyss; Portal Of Evil; Vault Of The Vampire; and Dead Of Night. In fact, there were ten scores of 10 points awarded across the board, but how many were given to each of these four is a matter of speculation for now... Sky Lord got four zeroes. No other book in this round got any. To the eight other people who voted for Sky Lord and actually gave it points, I can only ask... WHY??? There are a couple of votes in this round which are very much outliers, and one of them is mine. (I would note that I put my spreadsheet together and cast my votes before I kicked any of this off, and have not altered them in order that I am not swayed by public opinion.) It is entirely my fault that Vault Of The Vampire is the most controversial book in this round, as I am the only person who gave it less than half marks. What can I say - I'm not a fan of Keith Martin's prose style, and I really dislike his hub based approach to the gameplay. Sorry, everyone! Dead Of Night also received its sole low vote right at the end of the round. However, even considering that final score, Dead Of Night still manages to be less controversial than the two Luke Sharp books, which also have a wide gap between their highest and lowest votes. The overall average for Round Four is marginally higher than that for Round Three - there's just 0.42% in it. Disregarding the two voters who only rated one book each, there is a 2.8 point difference in the averages of the most and least generous posters' scores. The four books which received tens were all in contention for the lead in this round at some point. Ultimately, though, one of them broke away and secured Round Four's first place by a wide margin. How it fared next to the other rounds' top-rated books, though, remains under wraps for a little while longer. As for last place... oh, just guess! What's more interesting is the number of other books with low averages in this round. The final vote I received broke the deadlock between Armies Of Death and Starship Traveller for a place at the wrong end of the rankings... but which book triumphed over the other - Steve's or Ian's? Time will tell - it always does. Which brings us onto the battle of the authors. Of those who have (co-)written three or more books, Steve Jackson UK remains the highest regarded, and as neither he nor Robin Waterfield have any books in this (or the next) round, the gnat's-whisker gap between them remains... for now. Steve Jackson US remains in third, with all his books accounted for; and Ian Livingstone's average has fallen further, but nowhere near far enough to drop below Andrew Chapman's. Andrew's fans can be consoled, however, by the knowledge that he is no longer the least loved author in the series: Luke Sharp's average is very low indeed, and with no more of his books still to come, his last place will only be taken from him should another author's work somehow prove even less popular. Paul Mason joins this list from Round Five. Just sayin'. ---oOo--- Round Five remains open until the end of the weekend; Round Six will close at midnight on Wednesday November 11th and takes us to the end of the Puffin run; Round Seven will comprise of the Sorcery! and Clash Of The Princes sagas, plus the two Role Playing games; and finally (to give everyone as long as possible to consider their opinion of the newest FF title) Round Eight will contain the ten post-Puffin adventures.
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Post by a moderator on Nov 5, 2020 1:32:23 GMT
To the eight other people who voted for Sky Lord and actually gave it points, I can only ask... WHY??? The villain's motivation and warped sense of humour gave the book a bit of a boost in the story and worldbuilding stakes, and the art, while pretty poor, isn't Scholastic bad, so I couldn't give it a 0 for that.
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