Goo Whine

Steve Dunn | July 13, 2004
I totally understand the desire to thwart Google by using obscure clues. I don't necessarily agree with it (I started out thinking this was basically a Google competition, which I thought was cool) but I understand it.

However, if the clue is going to be un-Googleable, shouldn't we at least have a fair shot at the picture? I recognized Jeb Bush instantly last week, but this week is just a bunch of squiggles.

I say, give us one or the other, at least. Either a clue that contains a clue, or a picture that looks vaguely like a person.

Of course, I'm really just bitter because I am stuck on the Goo...

Anna Gregoline | July 13, 2004
I don't know how I feel about the googling - but I see through necessity that goo game is getting tougher and tougher with Scott trying to stump the seasoned players. But for some of these - are we supposed to go to the library and research, or what?

Jackie Mason | July 13, 2004
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | July 14, 2004
The goo game predates Google's widespread use, and if you look back over its first few years, you'll see that most of the goos were mind-numbingly easy, even by the standards of the day. But it was a different game then: no competition, just a few friends playing.

I like the current sense of competition (hyped into existence by yours truly), as it gives the game an edge. But anyone reading the email list knows how much I hate the Googlization of the game, and I don't need to get back into that talk here. Needless to say, I'm going to keep making clues as unGoogleable as I can, because the alternative is to stop running the game. It took me almost half an hour to create this week's unGoogleable clue, and I'm glad it's keeping any easy guesses from coming in. And I'm glad nobody seems to resent it. :-)

Truth be told, one of players asked for a hard goo on Sunday, and that put me in the mood for one. I agree that I overgooed the source image. The player who asked for it has already guessed correctly. I'm tempted to say that if even Kelly Stokes can come out of semi-retirement to guess this goo, it can't be too hard. ;-)

If you use some deductive skills, I bet you can put together a pretty good idea of who this person is (including musical genre), and since I've already said it's a very well-known name, it shouldn't be very difficult to close in on it. Stop thinking of how you can put together enough facts to Google, and instead go through a mental list of well-known singers, eliminating the ones it cannot be, until you find a match. This just happens to be a goo that has to be figured out, not the kind that are identified either immediately or never. I look forward to having more like these in the future, albeit less distorted than this one.

Anna Gregoline | July 14, 2004
The only reason I'm not liking the goo game like I once did is because I can really no longer compete. Which isn't really anybody's problem but my own, I guess.

Scott Hardie | July 14, 2004
Oops, I forgot to respond to your earlier comment, Anna: I don't like the obscure goos either, and I still contend that most of them come from player requests. Players like to see their favorite celebrities in the game, but have we even heard of each others' favorite celebrities? If the solution is for me to reject requests, believe me that I do; the ones that get through are the reasonable ones. This trend does seem to be changing for the better; Lori and Erik and Jackie have all made recent requests for celebs who are household names.

Even when it's time for the game to get difficult, I'd rather have something like the current goo, which is a famous person designed to be hard to recognize, than a nobody who necessitates research.

Scott Hardie | July 16, 2004
Does anything about the goo suggest a specific genre of music? Does anything about the goo suggest a gender? The answer to both questions is yes. Combined with other information earlier in this discussion, I hope that helps you produce a short list of possibilities and zero in on the answer.

Anthony Lewis | July 16, 2004
I'll be honest...there have been a LOT of Goos that I would have had NO CLUE in guessing had it not been for Google (including the current goo). My first foray into guessing this week's goo took me in one direction-the WRONG one. I waited awhile, tried again...used certain combinations of words in the clue, and I came across the answer. It's a definite challenge. I will say this: sometimes the obscure goos can be a pain. Last round there was one with a German general. Sheeeeeet. But I tried and thought I came up with a decent answer. It was wrong, but I tried like a dickens.

My reality is that I'll likely never win a round. However, I like playing, and it keeps my Google skills sharp.

Anna, you CAN compete. If I can hang around the top half of the pack...ANYONE can.

Anna Gregoline | July 16, 2004
Thanks for the vote of confidence, but like you, I have NO CLUE in most of the goos these days. I can google till the cows come home, but eventually, I think, this is lame, I need to stop spending my life on this. I already won once, so I guess I just have to hold onto my victory.

Erik Bates | July 19, 2004
[hidden by request]

Scott Horowitz | July 19, 2004
For a big movie buff, in this weeks goo... I am disappointed. Iehovah begins with an "I"... tsk tsk tsk

Erik Bates | July 19, 2004
[hidden by request]

Anna Gregoline | July 19, 2004
At least this week's goo was the easiest one ever.

Jackie Mason | July 19, 2004
[hidden by request]

Steve Dunn | July 21, 2004
Aw, man! I can't recognize this week's goo at all! It doesn't look like ANYBODY!! I tried Googling every combination I could think of, and all I can find is a bunch of religion sites. Man, these goos are killing me...

;-)

Erik Bates | July 21, 2004
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | July 21, 2004
Well, leave it to a newbie to guess incorrectly. In the spirit of the goo's identity, I could either rain fiery boulders upon his dwelling, or forgive his mistake and let him try again. I'm going to do the latter.

Thanks for speaking up, Erik. Anybody else have a comment on Emmylou?

Scott Hardie | July 21, 2004
Actually, scratch that. Instead of giving players unlimited chances this week, I'm going to take any reasonable guess that comes in. Hey, we all worship at different altars, don't we? I already approved one guess for Jesus, so I'll approve the new guy's guess for the Pope. Why not.

Erik Bates | July 21, 2004
[hidden by request]

Steve West | July 21, 2004
Simply, I thought Emmylou was a great goo.

Anna Gregoline | July 21, 2004
Damn. Who guessed the Pope?

Anthony Lewis | July 21, 2004
Google has been REALLY useful to me in this game. Hey, if I know the goo by the clue...it's fabulous. But if I don't (like Emmylou Harris at fisrt, second and third glance), I'm googling. Sheeeeet...I'm tryin' to win, and if I get there I'm not gonna be ashamed how I do it. As long as I don't cheat, I don't mind being called a Google champion. Where's my title belt???

Scott Hardie | July 21, 2004
Well, I consider Google to be a necessity for the more obscure goos, such as Elsa Benítez and King Sunny Ade and Roald Amundsen. And I don't mind players using it to enhance their own deduction process sometimes. I just resent that Googling became automatic for some players; the game got to a point where there was no deduction going on at all. If you can search the clue and correctly guess the first celebrity name that shows up in the results, what kind of fun is that?

In one way, though, it has helped the game, by forcing me to write clues that are not keyword-oriented. I look back on those nonsensical clues from earlier years and shudder at how bad they were. I even got to parodize the trend with Nicole Kidman's clue.

Steve Dunn | July 22, 2004
Hey - it's your game. Rock on.

Basically, I'm with Anthony. I'm trying to win, and will employ all ethical means at my disposal. Like I said before, I thought this was a Google competition when I started, and I thought that was great. Maybe we can focus our collective energy on coming up with a Google game - that googlewhack thing was pretty cool for 15 minutes or so.

Anna Gregoline | July 22, 2004
Dude, who gussed THE POPE? Fess up.

Scott Hardie | July 22, 2004
I'm not going to name names. That person can volunteer the information if they're interested. First-time players frequently guess not just incorrectly, but really incorrectly. At least the player who guessed the Pope got the category right! I've seen guesses such as Bruce Willis when the goo was Mike Tyson. So what I'm trying to say is, the person who guessed the Pope shouldn't take it too hard. :-)

Anna Gregoline | July 22, 2004
I didn't ask you to, Scott, I know you wouldn't give up the name. I'm just curious. =) I'm sure whoever guessed it thought that maybe the Goo had to be a real person, and not, you know, a deity.

Erik Bates | July 22, 2004
[hidden by request]

Anna Gregoline | July 22, 2004
Uh, the answer was given above, as well, by Scott himself, since he named Jesus. Read.

Lori Lancaster | July 22, 2004
[hidden by request]

Scott Horowitz | July 23, 2004
If people are upset by the clues given out. Why don't you hide the clues? If you can do it without a clue, you get a full block on the tower. If you reveal the clue, you get a half block on the tower?

Erik Bates | July 23, 2004
[hidden by request]

Anna Gregoline | July 23, 2004
Just vindicating myself, that's all.

Scott Hardie | July 24, 2004
It's a good idea, Scott. I don't know if I could trust the players, though. In a group of friends, what would prevent one of them from revealing the clue and sharing it with the others? Actually, I've wanted to try a team-based scoring system for a long time, but I didn't think I could trust players not to help each other if the game stopped being a free-for-all.

Scott Hardie | July 24, 2004
Also, really devious players could create a ghost account for a fictional person, reveal the clue with that account, and then guess with their real account. I suppose they could do this anyway right now for the really hard goos, create a ghost account to get in a practice guess to see if they're right before making the one that counts. Google aside, anybody who's going to cheat at a little thing like the goo game needs some moral clarity. :)

Scott Horowitz | July 26, 2004
I understand your point about cheating Scott (BTW, there are way too many Scott's on this site, we should get nicknames). But, it isn't like there is a money prize to the winner (At least I don't think there is, but if you have one, I'll start cheating ). It's a game for fun, if someone wants to cheat they are spoiling their own fun. I actually think your clues are vague at best. You have to really think about them, and try to understand the context. And as far the ghost account goes, don't let someone create an account until you have validated them.

Just my thoughts for the moment.