Round XXXII Tournament

Scott Hardie | December 14, 2007
It took until the very last day of the round before we could declare all 24 names in the tournament, but at last the time has come: The brackets have been randomly populated with the 24 top-scoring players of the round, the four goos have been prepared, and we are ready to rock. Is anybody else pumped?

This is going to be a crazy, unpredictable four days in the goo game. Enjoy it, because the game is going to take a break until mid-January afterwards. You've probably already noticed that the Current Goos page now displays "reruns" when there isn't a new goo for the day, so you can keep those skills sharp during the offseason. But first, you should put them to good use now, with a $100 grand prize on the line. The other two finalists who make it to Tuesday will earn $20 each. Good luck!

Scott Hardie | December 15, 2007
Apparently nobody else is pumped. :-)   But I hope this got the word out.

Amy Austin | December 15, 2007
;-D

Amy Austin | December 15, 2007
Actually, I'm reminded now of one of the reasons I really dislike this new elimination... my connection appears to be quite slow at the moment.

Jim Kraus | December 15, 2007
Gotta hate when you search a name and the image pops up....but its the wrong person.

I know I should have verified, but I figured I was already taking too long!

Ah well. A poor showing in my first tournament. Fun while it lasted.

Scott Hardie | December 15, 2007
It happens. The frequency of incorrect guesses goes way up in a timed tournament when players get nervous; I know I would. But you gave it a good shot and came close, and there's always next round.

Lori Lancaster | December 15, 2007
[hidden by request]

Tony Peters | December 15, 2007
well I'm out.......I guess I'll find out tomorrow how far off my search pattern was

Russ Wilhelm | December 15, 2007
My Round XXXII experimental strategy failed me, nerves still got the best of me. Plus I figured out the filler goo before realizing that it wasn't the one I was looking for (same category), that also bobbled my game. I made it as far as I planned, if I make it further, that's just icing. Good luck to all who are still in the tournament, for those who have/will be eliminated, you may soon be ______ (I said "graced", your term might be different) with my presence.

BTW Scott, what happens if both contestants get the answer wrong?

Steve West | December 15, 2007
Out of time, I just threw in a guess that is definitely wrong. Good luck Shawn, you're still in.

Scott Hardie | December 15, 2007
If both contestants miss a goo, then neither advances to the next bracket, which will only have one player in it. That person must still guess correctly to advance further, but s/he has all day to do so. In this example, if Dave and Aaron guess incorrectly, Joanna has the bracket all to herself.



In the event that so many players miss a goo that an entire bracket is empty, then it stays empty for that day and the next day's bracket has only one player. In the example below, let's say Mike defeats whoever his opponent is and moves on to the right. If Mihai, Jason, Denise, and Sam all miss the goo, their next bracket will be empty, and Mike will have the far right bracket all to himself.

Shawn Brandt | December 15, 2007
Phew, sorry for the bad luck Steve. I thought I really screwed myself last night, when I checked the goo late. I spent a few minutes on it, thought there was no way I was going to get it, then gave up and went to bed. When I took a second look today it came to me fairly easily, but I thought the time had done me in.

All I've won is the right to face (most likely) the defending champ.

Allison Bair | December 16, 2007
Crap. I was panicky, made a (wrong) guess, and immediately figured out the real answer. Being timed really makes a difference.

Good luck, everybody else!

Justin Woods | December 16, 2007
Sorry Jerry, I kinda knew who it was off the bat. it took me longer to find the picture.

Tony Peters | December 16, 2007
Damn I was going in the wrong Direction for yesterday's goo

Russ Wilhelm | December 16, 2007
How freakin' lucky can you get? I am further along than I have been in the past, even with bumbling. Not skill folks, it was luck, plain and simple. To top things off, very shortly after I entered my guess, I lost Internet connectivity, which I'm used to with my ISP. Had it happened moments earlier, my opponent would have had all the time in the world, and, I believe, ousted me. Again I ask, how freakin' lucky can you get?

Jerry Mathis | December 17, 2007
Congrats Justin. If I had paid better attention to my very first search, I might have got it in less than 2 minutes. But alas, I'm not very smart! :-) Good luck!

Lori Lancaster | December 17, 2007
[hidden by request]

Aaron Shurtleff | December 17, 2007
Wow... Did I get outrageously sick at the wrong time. Sorry everyone. I got derious and forgot about everything. Congrats to everyone! ;)

Tony Peters | December 17, 2007
Joanna.....wow I'm glad I'm not playing against you

Scott Hardie | December 18, 2007
It seems we were blessed with a three-hour server outage right when players were ready to go after today's goo. Wonderful. I would rather not declare a re-do, since we have some correct guesses already that those players shouldn't have to give up. The one player who had activated the goo but not yet guessed volunteered to give up his place, since he had already tried for half an hour when the outage happened and was about to go out for the night anyway. I will cautiously let the game proceed at this late hour, with my apologies to the players although what happened was beyond my control. Play on.

Steve Dunn | December 18, 2007
Justin Woods deserves the win tonight. I did not figure it out within 30 minutes.

Congratulations Justin!

Russ Wilhelm | December 18, 2007
As I feared, it looks as if it's a family affair. The "wiser" player, against the faster, probably more intelligent, Internet raised players. The odds are against it, but at this point in the tournament, I gotta root for me, "Go Russ", else I may not live this down for awhile. Joanna, Justin, good luck to both of you, but not so much that good of luck, here's hoping I still got some left. :-D.

Joanna Woods | December 18, 2007
Good luck Russ!! The last goo I just got lucky on my wording when I searched it plus I am a music major shouldn't I know something about music? I would hope so anyway... :-)

Scott Hardie | December 18, 2007
I wonder if I should build suspense for today's goo by making all guesses pending until all three finalists have guessed. Objections?

Joanna Woods | December 18, 2007
Don't make me wait....PLEASE I cant stand the suspense

Joanna Woods | December 18, 2007
Thank You for not making me stay up all night just to find out if I got it right I really appreciate that!!! :-)

Scott Hardie | December 18, 2007
Haha, ok, you've got it. Fyi, whenever all three finalists have guessed you'll be able to tell who won, but I probably won't be around to "officially" declare the winner until tomorrow evening.

Joanna Woods | December 18, 2007
Ok, I won't get home from work til late anyway...but I am sure Justin or Russ will call me at work and tell me....

Russ Wilhelm | December 18, 2007
Activated the Goo, came here to congratulate you, Joanna, good job, you rule. It took that long just to open the page. Now I'll go search for it. Again, a well deserved congratulations.

Allison Bair | December 18, 2007
Seriously, Joanna, I can't even type that fast. You're awesome.

Scott Hardie | December 18, 2007
Congrats, Joanna! You played hard and earned this win.

The Player Awards page is updated. We might have one additional runner-up this evening.

Joanna Woods | December 18, 2007
Thanks, i am so excited. I love this game!!!! :-)

Steve Dunn | December 18, 2007
Congratulations Joanna! Your speed is amazing.

Justin Woods | December 18, 2007
I tell you guys it was all luck for her and how she decide to look for them... but she deserved it!!! congrats. jo