Goatdown event 2020 - a survey

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Callum Todd
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Goatdown event 2020 - a survey

Post by Callum Todd »

Hello all. I have decided to hold a Goatdown co:event in 2020. The exact date and location are yet to be determined, as are the mechanics of how the game will be best played. This is where you come in. If you can find a minute or two to answer the following survey, it would really help me get an idea about what the community would like from a Goatdown event, and thereby put on the best event possible. Please take a look at this survey and fill it in if you can. It will only take a minute or two.

Click here for survey.

For those who are unaware, Goatdown is a slightly adapted version of ordinary Countdown that has been popular online for many years. The rules are simple and can be found here.

I will be posting this on apterous and c4c but as I don't use social media I would appreciate it if those of you that do could share it on there to further the reach of this survey amongst the co:event community. If that 'Co:Event attendees and organisers' Facebook group is still a thing, that might be a good place to start.

If you have any additional comments or questions that you don't feel able to make on the survey, please feel free to get in touch with me.

Thanks very much for your time and I hope to see many of you at a Goatdown event in 2020!
Mark Deeks wrote:Callum Todd looks like a young Ted Bundy.
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Ben Wilson
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Re: Goatdown event 2020 - a survey

Post by Ben Wilson »

I've seriously thought about doing a Goatdown event before (either in place of a CoNot one year or at the COLIN Hangover) so I can definitely get behind this idea.
Gavin Chipper
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Re: Goatdown event 2020 - a survey

Post by Gavin Chipper »

Survey done.
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Callum Todd
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Re: Goatdown event 2020 - a survey

Post by Callum Todd »

Gavin Chipper wrote: Sun Jan 20, 2019 9:49 pm Survey done.
I gathered. Some of those comments could only have been written by one person.
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Re: Goatdown event 2020 - a survey

Post by Toby McDonald »

Done as well. Would genuinely be very interested in this. Sounds like great fun. :)
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Re: Goatdown event 2020 - a survey

Post by Gavin Chipper »

Callum Todd wrote: Sun Jan 20, 2019 9:53 pm
Gavin Chipper wrote: Sun Jan 20, 2019 9:49 pm Survey done.
I gathered. Some of those comments could only have been written by one person.
Really? Mine was the one that said "Yay! A goatdown tournament!" with lots of smileys after it.
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Mark Deeks
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Re: Goatdown event 2020 - a survey

Post by Mark Deeks »

Callum Todd wrote: Sun Jan 20, 2019 9:53 pm
Gavin Chipper wrote: Sun Jan 20, 2019 9:49 pm Survey done.
I gathered. Some of those comments could only have been written by one person.
Honestly one of the best burns in this forum's history.
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He may not be liked on here, but you have to give some credit to Mark
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Callum Todd
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Re: Goatdown event 2020 - a survey

Post by Callum Todd »

Thanks very much to everyone who has completed the survey so far (even Gavin).

Just a few things to clarify that seem to have come up a few times in the comments:

The reason for a third person at the table playing the role of host in the Bristol style 'Option 3' on Question 2 is to ensure the 9th letter is clearly displayed, and, most importantly, enforce the 'S pick by default' rule. Apterous can obviously do this automatically but it would be very difficult to enforce without a third person present at the table in person. To keep a Bristol-style event running smoothly, it is very important that all tables are playing in near-perfect simultaneity. Perhaps many of you are less cynical than me and believe that the picking of a 9th letter on each table wouldn't threaten to disrupt this simultaneity. I worry that it would, not always of course, but often enough to cause a few problems. If you think I've got this very wrong please let me know why, but until convinced otherwise I would be very wary of hosting a Bristol-style goatdown event without a third person mediating each table.

Despite me completely overlooking it in the survey, some savvy people have made noises expressing (either way) their preference for/against Gevin scoring being used for this event. I think that's an important debate re:Goatdown2020 so will include it in a short follow-up survey once this one has been exhausted.

As for the location, generally so far it seems that people who live in the North want it in the North and people who live in the South want it in the South. Go figure. As for those of you in the South who are disappointed that most of the named options on the survey are in the North, that's because I'm the one offering to host the event, and I live in the North. A Goatdown event hosted by me will most likely be in one of the listed locations (although I would consider some Midlands options if doable). If you particularly want one in the South, you'll need to find somebody else to organise it. Sorry.
Mark Deeks wrote:Callum Todd looks like a young Ted Bundy.
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Callum Todd
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Re: Goatdown event 2020 - a survey

Post by Callum Todd »

A follow-up survey here to iron out some of the finer details, and catch any potential data missed in the first one.

Second survey
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Re: Goatdown event 2020 - a survey

Post by Gavin Chipper »

Callum Todd wrote: Mon Jan 21, 2019 11:08 am As for those of you in the South who are disappointed that most of the named options on the survey are in the North, that's because I'm the one offering to host the event, and I live in the North.
What's with all the Wales options then?
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Callum Todd
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Re: Goatdown event 2020 - a survey

Post by Callum Todd »

Gavin Chipper wrote: Mon Jan 28, 2019 9:55 pm]
What's with all the Wales options then?
What's with all two of the Wales options is that, similarly to how I think it would be cool to have a Goatdown event, I also think it would be cool to one day have a co:event in Wales. I confess to not holding a similar sentiment in regards to - say - Swindon.

I thought this would be a good opportunity to test the waters and see if there is much appetite for a Welsh event. Unfortunately the Welsh options are not the most popular on the results from that survey (North Wales is even less popular than Bradford!) so it seems this goatdown event will not be held in Wales, although if anyone else ever fancies holding an event in Wales I think that would be just grand.
Mark Deeks wrote:Callum Todd looks like a young Ted Bundy.
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