AcroPHILIA: (acrophobia's strange and incestuous twin) WINNER - Howlin' Howland

[Dolorous Gabe]

EDIT - FULL RESULTS LISTED BELOW

A warm welcome to all ye fair and fearsome ladies, dignified and dishonourable men alike. Today we venture forthwith into the deepest depths of depravity that is the inaugural game of 'Acrophilia', Acrophobia's strange and incestuous twin. Our anti-heroic foray into the unknown is open to all comers, to acrophobes and acrophiles akin, to abstainers, absconders and to achievers.

Nevertheless, equality here can only last so long, for a champion will climb from this collected contingent of courageous competitors.

The idea behind this newfangled game is that players will be given a ASOIAF character to create a clue to using one of three possible acronyms. Players will then have the chance to guess the character from the clue. There will also be a common theme linking each character in each round, so players can also make a guess at the theme of the round. Optionally, players can also guess who the author of each clue was, with a reward for either the author of the clue or the guesser depending on the veracity of the guess (see scoring system).

Here reads the regulations of this rambunctious racket:

PHASE 1: Time will be given to players to register an interest in playing the game. I will have to cap entries at 16 (if we generate enough interest). Players will be listed and edited into the game thread below. Prospective players will please send your game host (Dolorous Gabe) a pm with the subject titled acroPHILIA [insert board name here]

PHASE 2: Two or Three randomly generated acronyms will be produced and each registered player will be privately (randomly chosen from the list) given a character from ASOIAF to produce a clue to using one of the given acronyms without using the name of the character (no nicknames either). ASOIAF place names will be allowed until stated otherwise. Please make the clue point mainly to the character you were given. If your clue can work for multiple characters I may ask for another clue.

PHASE 3: They send the entry in to the host privately. Once all clues have been pm'd, the host posts them all together onto the game thread. Players must provide a satisfactory explanation as to how the clue works to the host (sorry, I can be pretty slow, so it will make it easier for me).

PHASE 4: Players then have to guess the character that each entry is a clue to. Answers MUST be sent privately to the game host. Players also have the option to guess the author of the clue (see scoring system) but cannot guess the same author for more than one clue. The final thing for players to work out will be the theme of the round, which will be something that links the characters, something they all share. I will be taking my facts from the wiki in creating a theme for each round and no theories will be taken into account, only what we know.

Rule implemented for round 2 onwards: Players will be given a certain amount of time to register 'preliminary guesses', at which point the host will inform the player how many clues he/she has got right, and whether the answer to the theme is 'correct', 'in the right direction', or 'totally wrong'. Players will then have until the guessing stage deadline to amend his/her answers.

Rule to be implemented from round 3 onwards: in the guessing stage, players will be asked to vote for their favourite clue.

PHASE 5: Answers are officially published on the game thread and the host will count up and publish the scores and a table of entrants.

END OF ROUND - the next round will then commence at 'phase 2'.

SCORING SYSTEM
Players score two points for a correct identification of the subject of the clue, with two extra points added to the guesser for a correct guess of the author's identity.

Players will score one point for someone correctly identifying the subject of their clue, with one extra point added to the author of the clue if someone wrongly guesses their identity.

From round 3 onwards, one point will be awarded to each player for every favourite clue vote their clue receives in the guessing stage.

Finally, 5 points will be awarded to anyone who works out the theme of the round.



As usual in our acronym games, there will be seven rounds, each with a different theme or common link to work out. ASOIAF Characters may or may not turn up more than once in the game. I will try to make sure nobody gets the same character twice.

Below is the list of registered players and positions to fill up (see 'phase 1' above for entry details):

1. Lady Blizzardborn
2. rhymeswithleek
3. Emmit
4. Ser Not Appearing
5. northernwarg
6. yomi
7. Evermind
8. Howlin' Howland
9. bryden blackfish tully/ From round 3 guessing stage, DreamSongs took over
10. Woofless
11. Castellan
12. lil' ghost
13. AssHat Ahai / From round 2 guessing stage, a shadow (ofacloud) took over
14. Et Cetera the Mouse
15. Reek Havoc
16. Q the Cat


Much of the game will be done through personal messaging. I can't see a way around that, but hopefully there will be enough to discuss on the thread before and after each round. I will be pretty easygoing on deadlines. I hope each phase will only last 2-3 days. Any longer and I will start chasing up answers/clues from players.

Great credit for the dreaming up of this game must go to Lady Blizzardborn and northernwarg, whose impressive acronymic shenanigans on the acrophobia leftovers thread inspired me to come up with a working rule set to this game.

Once we have a full quota of players (if we get) I will post three acronyms to choose from and send each player a character to create a clue to. This changed to 2 acronyms after the first couple of rounds.

Please point out any problems you can foresee with the system asap so we can sort them out. Thanks.

For the record, it is likely that the creation of the clue will be harder for some and easier for others. That will just be the luck of the draw.

GOOD LUCK ACROPHILES.

RESULTS

ROUND ONE

WINNER: Ser Not Appearing with 47 points

RUNNERS-UP: northernwarg and Howlin' Howland with 46 points each

THEME: Youngest sibling / Youngest child

ROUND TWO

WINNER: a shadow (ofacloud) + AssHat Ahai with 50 points

RUNNER-UP: Q the Cat with 49 points

THEME: Baldness / characters described at some point as either bald or balding

ROUND THREE

WINNERS: yomi and a shadow (ofacloud) with 47 points each

RUNNER-UP: Woofless with 46 points

THEME: They died

ROUND FOUR

WINNERS: lil' ghost and Reek Havoc with 57 points each

RUNNERS-UP: Woofless and Howlin' Howland and yomi with 55 points each

THEME: Essosi origin

ROUND FIVE

WINNER: Howlin' Howland with 53 points

RUNNER-UP: northernwarg with 50 points

THEME: Wedded during the ASOIAF books

ROUND SIX

WINNER: Woofless with 41 points

RUNNER-UP: Q the Cat with 40 points

THEME: All have served or helped a major POV character except for the odd-one-out Chett

ROUND SEVEN

WINNER: Reek Havoc with 54 points

RUNNER-UP: Howlin' Howland with 53 points

THEME: Have knowingly hidden or concealed their real identity at some point (apart from Jon Snow, who probably doesn't actually know his real identity)

FULL GAME TABLE (COMPLETE) - Howlin' Howland wins

1 - Howlin' Howland ....................................... 322

2 - AssHat Ahai + a shadow (ofacloud) ........ 309

3 - Q the Cat .................................................... 301

4 - Woofless .................................................... 293

5 - Reek Havoc ............................................... 286

6 - Castellan .................................................... 278

7 - yomi ........................................................... 276

8 - northernwarg ............................................ 275

9 - Lady Blizzardborn .................................... 265

10 - lil' ghost ................................................... 258

11 - Ser Not Appearing .................................. 250

12 - Evermind ................................................ 233

13 - Emmit ...................................................... 230

14 - bryden blackfish tully + DreamSongs .. 213

15 - Et Cetera the Mouse .............................. 206

16 - rhymeswithleek ...................................... 187

[rhymeswithleek]

I looks forward to it :-)

[Dolorous Gabe]

Nearly half way to a full house :)

[northernwarg]

Thanks for the link, DG. Looking forward to it, wrinkles and all. And much appreciated for offering to host. The point scoring system itself seems a tad Kafkaesque, let alone working it out for 16 of us! Hopefully Ser Not Appearing will keep us right.!! (Jk).

[Howlin' Howland]

I'm in. .

[Dolorous Gabe]

Thanks for the link, DG. Looking forward to it, wrinkles and all. And much appreciated for offering to host. The point scoring system itself seems a tad Kafkaesque, let alone working it out for 16 of us! Hopefully Ser Not Appearing will keep us right.!! (Jk).

I hope it all makes sense. It does in my head but translating it from my head doesn't always work very well. I hope it will become clear once we get going.

[northernwarg]

I hope it all makes sense. It does in my head but translating it from my head doesn't always work very well. I hope it will become clear once we get going.

I'm counting on it! It'll be fun. . And glad to see HH isn't sitting on his laurels. Only as good as your last game, and all that!

[Dolorous Gabe]

FYI - I'm adding a third acronym so you will have three choices to pick from to create your clue. If it seems too easy after round 1 then I'll revert to 2.

[Et Cetera the Mouse]

It sounds interesting, but I don't really understand it. Could you make up an example?

[northernwarg]

Glad you asked. As they say in teaching, you don't really understand something until you've tried to teach it....

Everyone is given the same 2 or 3 acronyms. These are posted on this thread. Say...

IJGFE

HSDAL

MCTYO

You get pm'd a character, say Tyrion.

You can choose which acronym to use then post to moderator, Dolorous Gabe, with a brief reasoning behind it. So you might choose IJGFE with the legend, 'Individual just guilty for existing' plus a little explanation about how his father and sister blame him for killing his mother in childbirth etc

Dolorous Gabe then posts all the pm'd answers on the thread just after deadline and each player can then guess the characters based on the submitted entries. Extra points for guessing the theme that connects them and extra extra points if you can guess the poster ( some styles are more idiosyncratic than others, but I still think this will be difficult). Points are mainly scored

on correct guesses. Plus a bonus point for putting in an acronym submission, I think.

So you would get a point for submitting 'individual just guilty for existing' and anybody who guessed tyrion's for that answer would also get a point. Hope this I partly right, Er... DG???

[Howlin' Howland]

Everyone is given the same 2 or 3 acronyms. These are posted on this thread. Say...

IJGFE

HSDAL

MCTYO

You get pm'd a character, say Tyrion.

He slew daddy atop loo.

I'm assuming Lion would be considered a part of a nickname?

[northernwarg]

He slew daddy atop loo.

I'm assuming Lion would be considered a part of a nickname?

Nice! And yeah ( I originally was gonna use ' Imp' until I remembered the no nicknames, no proper nouns rule) btw does this mean places as well as names? And what about well known epithets like the Red Wedding?

[Dolorous Gabe]

Pretty much right, northernwarg.

Regarding the scoring though, just to clarify:

The creator of the clue gets 1 point every time another player answers the clue with the correct character.

The player guessing the characters from the clues acquires 2 points for every correct answer.

Guessing the author of the clue is optional as it gives the real author of the clue an extra point if the guesser is wrong, though the guesser acquires an extra point if the author is correctly identified.

5 points will be received for working out the common theme that links all the characters in a round.

Good point HH. You're right, no use of associated House animals will be accepted. I will however be allowing ASOIAF place names for the first round and we'll see how that goes. If things seem too easy let me know and we can make alterations.

[Ser Not Appearing]

Just to make sure ... attempts to reference a nickname without saying the word, like in the game taboo, are not allowed?

For instance:

Can I reference cat in place of lion?

[Ser Not Appearing]

... and I also assume that guessing who wrote each clue should be done in such a way that I can't guess the same person for multiple clues, correct?

For example:

I'm thinking that without such a rule I could theoretically guess the name of someone way behind for every acronym. That person get many useless points (too far behind) while I guarantee myself 2 important(er) points.

[yomi]

Guessing the author of the clue is optional as it gives the real author of the clue an extra point if the guesser is wrong, though the guesser acquires an extra point if the author is correctly identified.

So, if you guess person A to be the author of every acronym, you'll get get point and everyone except person A gets a point, too, I think.

[Dolorous Gabe]

Good points. I'll modify the rules to state that you cannot guess the same person for multiple clues.

[Dolorous Gabe]

Just to make sure ... attempts to reference a nickname without saying the word, like in the game taboo, are not allowed?

For instance:

Can I reference cat in place of lion?

Not sure on this one. I'm currently thinking probably not, but I'm open to people's opinions on this.

[Woofless]

Very much looking forward to it. There used to be an online game called Acrophobia (real time) that was lots of fun. So hopefully I don't screw up too badly.

[Ser Not Appearing]

Very much looking forward to it. There used to be an online game called Acrophobia (real time) that was lots of fun. So hopefully I don't screw up too badly.

We play that as well. Volume 8 is just getting started. I'll bump the thread.