c4countdown

Do you ever properly play along with TV and try become a (virtual) Octochamp?
If so, how many times have you done this, and how many times did you win 8 in a row?

The reason I posed the question is that I've just done this for the first (but certainly not the last) time.

Without any advance knowledge of how tough it would be, or whether any prodigious Apterites were due to appear, I randomly chose the most recent 8 episodes (i.e.from 6467-6474) to play. I decided to play against both the challenger AND champion in each episode. Here's how it went:-

Game #1 (6467):- Doug..... 54-93 .......Me.
Game #2 (6468):- Me....... 104-47 .....Tom.
Game #3 (6469):- Me....... 102-31 .....Nick.
Game #4 (6470):- Me....... 107-35 .....Mike.
Game #5 (6471):- Me....... 91-80 ....Wayne.
Game #6 (6472):- Me....... 122-17 ...Jordan.
Game #7 (6472):- Me....... 90-53 ....Charlie.
Game #8 (6473):- Me....... 117-53 .....Susie.

~My strongest game by far was Game 6 where I was 5pts off the max.
~Game 6 was the only game where I beat Dictionary Corner.
~I solved the conundrum first in Games #6 and #8 only. (And missed it entirely in 5 of the 8 games.)
~My closest call was Game 5 where I went to a (unsolved) crucial with Tom S.
~My worst game was Game 7. Quite a few easy spots missed.
~My Octototal would have been 826pts.
~This would put me as 2nd seed in S75, 1pt ahead of Jamie W, and 4 pts behind Martin H.

Although I got lucky with the opponents, it does bode well for if and when I eventually do go on the show. With a bit more practise and some study of stems, falseagrams, recurring obscurities, 4L tricks, etc... there is good hope of securing a QF place IRL. (Though my conundrum skills are a serious liability atm. Can't relax if I'm within 10pts of any opponent after Rd 14.)

My best is 2.....

Could never be arsed. I did win a grand final in the early 90s though against either opponent.

When I play along at home, I play three-player Countdown rather than separately against each player. Far simpler I think. And I don't keep a record of scores for runs of games. I chuck the paper away at the end of each game.

I've gotten addicted to this Trial Octorun malarky.
This is my fifth attempt thus far:-

Game #1 (6497):- Suzy..... 63-94 ........Me.
Game #2 (6498):- Me....... 122-78 .......Heerpal.
Game #3 (6499):- Me....... 99-56 .....Ian.
Game #4 (6500):- Me....... 107-63 .........Louise.
Game #5 (6501):- Me....... 114-45 .......Sam.
Game #6 (6502):- Me....... 87-46 ...Ajay.
Game #7 (6503):- Me....... 102-57 ....Neil.
Game #8 (6504):- Me....... 87-66 .....Dave.

The toughest game was certainly the 8th.
Dave Ryan is a strong contender, just like his other half, Suzy, was.



And here is the overview of all five:-

Octo #1. [6467-6474] .......Won 8 with 826pts.
Octo #2. [6475 only] ........Lost. No Teapot!
Octo #3. [6477-6484] .......Won 8 with 774pts.
Octo #4. [6485-6496] .......Won 4 with 515pts.
Octo #5. [6497-6504] .......Won 8 with 812pts.

Hopefully I can win a few more Octos before applying for the show this Summer, with an aim of trying to get a bit closer to the 900 mark...