This Week's Goo

Steve Dunn | September 22, 2004
I am 97.5% certain that Scott Hardie is an evil genius.

Scott, I reach this conclusion because I am 95% certain you are a genius, and 100% certain you are evil.

Nice Goo. N00b mistake on my part jumping in before seeing how the early results shook out. But the Goo title will be mine one day!! Oh yes, it will be mine.

Lori Lancaster | September 22, 2004
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Scott Hardie | September 23, 2004
Well, I just got a few goods laughs from this discussion, so I'm off to an unhealthy start. :-) Thanks for the, uh, compliment.

Besides the benefit of seeing whether the goo is obvious or difficult by how many people are correct right out of the gate, the other main benefit to waiting is that you might not need to guess at all. If no one has guessed correctly by Sunday night, Dave and Steve West and Todd can do nothing and still be in the lead on Monday morning. Having none of them get this goo right will postpone the new round (and the new site) by one week, but I can't blame them for exercising caution.

For whatever it's worth, I didn't intend the goo to be this hard. In other words, I expected mostly incorrect guesses, but at least one or two right by this point. I think I'll never gain the ability to predict how players will do in my game.

You guys are gonna kill me when you find out what the answer is. Erik Bates entered a wild guess with total disregard for the categories, and he was still closer than almost everybody else.

Also, don't miss this discussion on the same subject.

Erik Bates | September 24, 2004
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Steve Dunn | September 24, 2004
Dammit, Scott, you're right! The other leaders might not even have to guess!!!

ARGH, I'm such a rookie!!!!

Scott Hardie | September 24, 2004
Well, don't discount the benefit of guessing early, which is that you don't forget. I have lost count of how many times I've seen a top-scorer decide to wait and "think it over" and then forget to guess at all by week's end. That's not so bad in the towers system where you just keep what you had, but it was more devastating to your ranking in earlier rounds.

Steve Dunn | September 27, 2004
I see the other guys in the hunt are wisely sitting this one out.

Fie! Woe! Lamentation!

I am such a dumbass!!

Scott Hardie | September 28, 2004
Check out the big brain on Brad! I think we have a Golden Imelda winner.

The power's still out at my place, so there probably won't be a new goo tonight.

Steve Dunn | September 28, 2004
I thought I would probably never witness a Golden Imelda. This could be the silver lining I'm looking for.

By 2025, I'll be able to earn mad props from GOO newbies by telling stories of the old days... "Oh yes, I remember the last Golden Imelda... it was Brad in 2004. Steve West came close in 2017 with Shane Battier, but I jumped in at the last second and pushed the round into quintuple overtime between the two of us.... before eventually winning. Ahhhh, those were the days. There may never be another Golden Imelda...."

Steve West | September 29, 2004
WHAT!!? I lose? My telephone psychic told me I would win. What a ripoff. Thanks for the heads up. (Note to myself: $200 to place, not to win.)

Scott Hardie | September 29, 2004
Answer's up. Comments?

Erik Bates | September 29, 2004
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Anthony Lewis | September 29, 2004
Damn...are we supposed to know who THIS week's Goo is as well?

Scott Hardie | September 29, 2004
Almost everybody playing knows who this person is. As for guessing the goo, I've made it hard, but it's not Reese Witherspoon hard. You can figure it out without the image if necessary. (More advice: Ignore the categories. They'll only distract you.)

Scott Horowitz | September 29, 2004
The goo looks like the image from the movie The Ring

Anthony Lewis | September 30, 2004
Wait...almost everyone playing knows who the Goo is? Then how come only one person has attempted and guessed (correctly however). Then you say "Ignore the catagories?"

I think in the interst of trying to stump everyone in the late rounds, you run the risk of killing the enjoyment of game for those who may not be at or near the top.

Lori Lancaster | September 30, 2004
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Scott Hardie | September 30, 2004
The person is famous, is what I mean. This isn't some obscure celebrity; it's a borderline household name. He is starting to fade from the spotlight recently I suppose, but it wasn't very long ago that you couldn't turn on the radio without hearing his band.

The categories are accurate. But when you think of someone from the music business getting involved in movies, it's as an actor, and that's not the case here. I don't want anybody (from TC anyway) to get hung up on that part.

I'll bet that the one person to guess him so far (Angela) is a fan. Fans recognize the photograph; it's one of the most famous images of him. Shit, I don't even like him and I know that photograph. I know that doesn't help non-fans, but it does give a boost to the easiness overall.

After a clue that seemed to be helpful but in reality wasn't, wouldn't it be appropriate for me to inverse that formula? This week's clue is a lot more helpful than it seems at a glance. Read it closely; all it takes is three little letters to spell it out for you.

Aren't you glad you read TC when I'm in a generous mood with hints that you can't get anywhere else? ;-)

Funny that I'm getting complaints about this goo and not the last one. Anyway, I do sympathize with you players who must deal with the ultra-tough goos just because Steve and Dave and Todd have to face them. That's why I'm so eager to get the new round started, so that we can switch to daily goos. Hey, if you don't like a particular goo, there will be six others active at the same time. There will also be a big effort on my part to de-emphasize the competition, so that the game can go back to being about guessing the goos like it should be. On those rare occasions when I do put up a Witherspoon-difficulty goo, it will be an attempt to stump you for the sake of attempting to stump you, not some plot to eliminate the point leaders that frustrates everybody else in the process. I'm nearly as sick of these stunts as you guys are; it has forced me to get evil, like Steve Dunn said.

Mike Eberhart | October 1, 2004
The difference between last week's goo and this week's goo is that no one last week realized that the clue was meaningless. So guessing went on as normal. This week, everyone is more cautious about how to proceed with their guess. That's my take on the situation.

Scott Hardie | October 2, 2004
True, true. While I wouldn't post two goos like that in a row (to my memory that was the first totally useless clue in all six years of the game), it has happened before that players have been stung one week and been cautious the next. All I can do is repeat my assurance that this one isn't like the last one. I'm glad some people are getting it right.