Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Discuss anything that happened in recent games. This is the place to post any words you got that beat Dictionary Corner, or numbers games that evaded Rachel.

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Thomas Carey
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Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by Thomas Carey »

who;s ready to see another episode of that kid (believed to be in his 20a) that, according to some shitrag, beat the previous highest winning margin of 21 points yesterday, and gEtS aLl HiS cOnUnDrUmS iN sEcOnDs

elliott if you best my fastest time to get all 8 conundrums record i'll wallop you (you would need the last three in under 7 seconds total, so keep up your current average and you will... :( )


also remember to stick a big fat cross in someone non-terrible's vote hole xx
cheers maus
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by Marc Meakin »

I believe he needs to average 107 or thereabouts to break the thousand point barrier in his octorun
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by Noel Mc »

I feel like I need that picture from the Simpsons: 'stop it, he's already dead'.
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by Noel Mc »

Phew
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by Gavin Chipper »

Beat Elliott to the conundrum today!

But seriously, another great game and another unlucky opponent. Got that all-important last numbers though!
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by Elliott Mellor »

I never wanted to hold someone that close to getting 0 and I felt horrible that I almost did. In fact, the vowel pick in the SOLUTION round was for an E in the hope of flattening it out a bit. She took it very well though, and again was lovely both on and off screen.
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by Elliott Mellor »

Gavin Chipper wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 1:52 pm Beat Elliott to the conundrum today!

But seriously, another great game and another unlucky opponent. Got that all-important last numbers though!
The conundrum originally wasn't this and the slowness was in part due to me being a bit flustered by a bit of controversy. It was originally MOUSEFLLY, and both of us buzzed in at virtually the exact same time (around a second) - there was some debate as to who was first before it being decided that she was. She guessed wrong, and they decided that instead of retaking with her getting it wrong, then me buzzing in (with FULSOMELY) they were going to do a whole new conundrum.

Also, I did have NEURINES noted, which would have given me a max game.
Last edited by Elliott Mellor on Thu May 23, 2019 2:05 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by Gavin Chipper »

Elliott Mellor wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 2:03 pm
Gavin Chipper wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 1:52 pm Beat Elliott to the conundrum today!

But seriously, another great game and another unlucky opponent. Got that all-important last numbers though!
The conundrum originally wasn't this and the slowness was in part due to me being a bit flustered by a bit of controversy. It was originally MOUSEFLLY, and both of us buzzed in at virtually the exact same time (around a second) - there was some debate as to who was first before it being decided that she was. She guessed wrong, and they decided that instead of retaking with her getting it wrong, then me buzzing in (with FULSOMELY) they were going to do a whole new conundrum.

Also, I did have NEURINES noted, which would have given me a max game.
Interesting information, thanks. So the buzzers aren't actually high-tech enough to determine who buzzes first?
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by Elliott Mellor »

Gavin Chipper wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 2:06 pm
Elliott Mellor wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 2:03 pm
Gavin Chipper wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 1:52 pm Beat Elliott to the conundrum today!

But seriously, another great game and another unlucky opponent. Got that all-important last numbers though!
The conundrum originally wasn't this and the slowness was in part due to me being a bit flustered by a bit of controversy. It was originally MOUSEFLLY, and both of us buzzed in at virtually the exact same time (around a second) - there was some debate as to who was first before it being decided that she was. She guessed wrong, and they decided that instead of retaking with her getting it wrong, then me buzzing in (with FULSOMELY) they were going to do a whole new conundrum.

Also, I did have NEURINES noted, which would have given me a max game.
Interesting information, thanks. So the buzzers aren't actually high-tech enough to determine who buzzes first?
I'm not sure - I think it was a technical glitch. Something like my buzzer sounded but her's lit up. Might have been the other way around or something different altogether.
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by samir pilica »

Judicare - brilliant!
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by Fiona T »

Elliott Mellor wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 2:00 pm I never wanted to hold someone that close to getting 0 and I felt horrible that I almost did. In fact, the vowel pick in the SOLUTION round was for an E in the hope of flattening it out a bit. She took it very well though, and again was lovely both on and off screen.
Don't feel horrible. There were some gettable rounds that she missed as well as a few better non-winning words, so even against a less brilliant champion she'd have been unlikely to have got a high score. When she did score, she looked like she'd just won, and we cheered at home too!

Never feel bad about being good at something!
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by Marc Meakin »

Probably the easiest set of numbers rounds in a long time.
Edit
The first time I've got all four in time
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by Owen Carroll »

Think Elliott broke Dylan's highest score without a 9 letter word!!!
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by Phil H »

Elliott Mellor wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 2:03 pm
Gavin Chipper wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 1:52 pm Beat Elliott to the conundrum today!

But seriously, another great game and another unlucky opponent. Got that all-important last numbers though!
The conundrum originally wasn't this and the slowness was in part due to me being a bit flustered by a bit of controversy. It was originally MOUSEFLLY, and both of us buzzed in at virtually the exact same time (around a second) - there was some debate as to who was first before it being decided that she was. She guessed wrong, and they decided that instead of retaking with her getting it wrong, then me buzzing in (with FULSOMELY) they were going to do a whole new conundrum.

Also, I did have NEURINES noted, which would have given me a max game.
That seems bonkers. How pissed off would you have been if she beat you to the second one, and you therefore missed out on points despite you getting the original conundrum right and her getting it wrong? Or am I missing something?
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by Elliott Mellor »

Phil H wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 8:23 pm
Elliott Mellor wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 2:03 pm
Gavin Chipper wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 1:52 pm Beat Elliott to the conundrum today!

But seriously, another great game and another unlucky opponent. Got that all-important last numbers though!
The conundrum originally wasn't this and the slowness was in part due to me being a bit flustered by a bit of controversy. It was originally MOUSEFLLY, and both of us buzzed in at virtually the exact same time (around a second) - there was some debate as to who was first before it being decided that she was. She guessed wrong, and they decided that instead of retaking with her getting it wrong, then me buzzing in (with FULSOMELY) they were going to do a whole new conundrum.

Also, I did have NEURINES noted, which would have given me a max game.
That seems bonkers. How pissed off would you have been if she beat you to the second one, and you therefore missed out on points despite you getting the original conundrum right and her getting it wrong? Or am I missing something?
My only guess is that they thought maybe me having a bit extra time while they debated what to do was unfair, I hadn't explicitly said it was FULSOMELY (though I clearly buzzed and was on 5/5 right at that time). There must have been some logic to the decision (maybe they even wanted to give her another chance at points, I myself was feeling bad and was hoping she was right when she buzzed). I don't know - I'd love to know the actual reason (which I am sure is completely logical).

If it'd been crucial, I'd probably have kicked up a bit of a fuss, but let's face it I'd have looked like a total jerk doing so here.
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by Phil H »

Still, if it had turned out to be the difference between a max game and not... Anyway, all's well that ends well.
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by Graeme Cole »

Elliott Mellor wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 2:11 pm
Gavin Chipper wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 2:06 pm
Elliott Mellor wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 2:03 pm

The conundrum originally wasn't this and the slowness was in part due to me being a bit flustered by a bit of controversy. It was originally MOUSEFLLY, and both of us buzzed in at virtually the exact same time (around a second) - there was some debate as to who was first before it being decided that she was. She guessed wrong, and they decided that instead of retaking with her getting it wrong, then me buzzing in (with FULSOMELY) they were going to do a whole new conundrum.

Also, I did have NEURINES noted, which would have given me a max game.
Interesting information, thanks. So the buzzers aren't actually high-tech enough to determine who buzzes first?
I'm not sure - I think it was a technical glitch. Something like my buzzer sounded but her's lit up. Might have been the other way around or something different altogether.
Yes, that's odd. When one player buzzes, it should stop the clock and prevent the other player from buzzing until the clock is restarted. If the buzzers did something weird due to a technical fault, it might still be possible to tell who pressed first if by sheer good fortune someone filmed it. It sounds like that's what happened here.

However, having determined that Monica buzzed first, if her answer was wrong, you should have been given the rest of the time. I can think of one exception to this, which is if they then reassessed who buzzed first and instead decided that they couldn't be sure. In that case, having already asked potentially the wrong player for their answer, I can see why they'd scrap the conundrum and redo it.
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by L'oisleatch McGraw »

Elliott Mellor wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 2:00 pmIn fact, the vowel pick in the SOLUTION round was for an E in the hope of flattening it out a bit.
I have no goat talent, but was surprised at the 5th vowel on the end of that pick... All of your shows have been events in our house, with some animated commentary throughout (often from all 4 of us). I didn't expect Countdown to trump Games Of Thrones as the hotly anticipated TV show, especially this week of all weeks, but there you go.

When you went for the final vowel, I assumed it was Elliott being Elliott again, as 5v is becoming a bit of a calling card. Did you suspect that the selection didn't stem with any vowels, and then selected vowel to give Monica a fighting chance?

Interestingly, looking at the wiki, the next consonant out was a "C", which could have provided LOCUSTIAN.
:arrow: :arrow: :arrow: S:778-ochamp
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by David Williams »

Thomas Carey wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 11:28 am. . . fastest time to get all 8 conundrums record . . .
It seems to be established that you can't rely on what you see on TV for this.
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by Marc Meakin »

If my shaky maths is correct Elliott's last two games only need modest (by his standards ) wins by 99
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by Elliott Mellor »

Graeme Cole wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 9:31 pm
Elliott Mellor wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 2:11 pm
Gavin Chipper wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 2:06 pm
Interesting information, thanks. So the buzzers aren't actually high-tech enough to determine who buzzes first?
I'm not sure - I think it was a technical glitch. Something like my buzzer sounded but her's lit up. Might have been the other way around or something different altogether.
Yes, that's odd. When one player buzzes, it should stop the clock and prevent the other player from buzzing until the clock is restarted. If the buzzers did something weird due to a technical fault, it might still be possible to tell who pressed first if by sheer good fortune someone filmed it. It sounds like that's what happened here.

However, having determined that Monica buzzed first, if her answer was wrong, you should have been given the rest of the time. I can think of one exception to this, which is if they then reassessed who buzzed first and instead decided that they couldn't be sure. In that case, having already asked potentially the wrong player for their answer, I can see why they'd scrap the conundrum and redo it.
My memory is a bit hazy of it, but from what I recall both of our buzzers did something and there was a bit of confusion as to who got there first (though me and the crew seemed to generally agree it was her)...she answered incorrectly and they decided to redo the entire conundrum for some reason that either I can't remember or wasn't made clear. Be interesting to hear the crew clear this up.
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by Conor »

Elliott Mellor wrote: Fri May 24, 2019 9:49 am My memory is a bit hazy of it, but from what I recall both of our buzzers did something and there was a bit of confusion as to who got there first (though me and the crew seemed to generally agree it was her)...she answered incorrectly and they decided to redo the entire conundrum for some reason that either I can't remember or wasn't made clear. Be interesting to hear the crew clear this up.
Sounds like quite a confusing situation. How long was it between the 'buzz' and Monica giving her answer? In such a situation both contestants should be told to immediately write down their guess - else someone is going to get some potential extra solving time.
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by Gavin Chipper »

Does this all call into question the accuracy of the buzzing system in other close situations? I've always wondered if there might be a bias towards one of the buzzers anyway, and as long as it's pressed within, say, 0.2 seconds of the other one, it will "win".
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by Elliott Mellor »

Conor wrote: Fri May 24, 2019 10:14 am
Elliott Mellor wrote: Fri May 24, 2019 9:49 am My memory is a bit hazy of it, but from what I recall both of our buzzers did something and there was a bit of confusion as to who got there first (though me and the crew seemed to generally agree it was her)...she answered incorrectly and they decided to redo the entire conundrum for some reason that either I can't remember or wasn't made clear. Be interesting to hear the crew clear this up.
Sounds like quite a confusing situation. How long was it between the 'buzz' and Monica giving her answer? In such a situation both contestants should be told to immediately write down their guess - else someone is going to get some potential extra solving time.
I don't think it was too long. I haven't a clue exactly what happened, would love it clearing up.
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Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

Post by Graeme Cole »

Gavin Chipper wrote: Fri May 24, 2019 10:45 am Does this all call into question the accuracy of the buzzing system in other close situations? I've always wondered if there might be a bias towards one of the buzzers anyway, and as long as it's pressed within, say, 0.2 seconds of the other one, it will "win".
I can believe that if both buzzers are pressed in a VERY short space of time (i.e. within a millisecond or even microseconds of each other) the microcontroller or whatever's running it might default to awarding the buzz to whichever input it happened to sample first. However, it won't be 0.2 seconds or anywhere close to that order of magnitude unless it's a particularly awful buzzer system.
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