Fed II Star - January 8, 2006

FED PHRASE GAME
Tuesday December 27
by Fancy-Fancy

Four players came to Studio 1 for the 2005 finale of the Fed Phrase Game. Santana, Catspaws, Ghostman, and Siofra all came to the studio, ready to play, with Icey tuning in to the channel to watch. I explained how to play the game for our new players, and with all questions on how to play answered, it was time to determine in what order they would play. Ghostman got the best spin to go first, followed by Siofra, Santana, and Catspaws.

Ghostman got to start our first puzzle, which was 6 word things (3, 5, 7, 4, 5, and 3 letters). He started off by finding 2 H's for 300 each, and then I saw the wheel spun and T called, of which there were three for 600 points more. I then realized that Siofra had spun and called that letter, and explained that a player's turn continued until picking a letter not in the puzzle, hitting a Bankrupt or Lose a Turn on the wheel, or solving the puzzle. I credited Ghostman with the points for that spin, and he then bought an A. But it wasn't in the puzzle. Then it was Siofra's turn, and Ghostman announced he had to leave then, and went. Siofra found a pair of W's for 1000 each, bought a couple of vowels, the E's and I's, found 4 R's for 200 each, bought the O, and then landed on a free spin, which she picked up with a D. She then found an S for 350 more before landing on a Lose a Turn. Siofra decided to use her free spin there, and picked up 1200 points more with a pair of M's. She then attempted to solve, but was one letter off. Luckily for her, Santana and Catspaws both hit Lose a Turn spaces on their first spins, giving the puzzle right back to her. She spun once more and called B, which filled in the space with the correct letter, and she then decided to solve again, getting it right this time with "red robes trimmed with white fur" for a Round 1 total of 3900 points.

Santana got to start Round 2, which was a 7 word phrase (1, 11, 7, 3, 4, 5, and 5 letters). He started off by finding 5 R's for 750 points each, then landed on Lose a Turn, and Catspaws took over. She found 4 T's for 750 each, then bought the A's and E's, placed two G's, bought the I's, placed a pair of H's, a pair of W's, a Z, and an L before a Bankrupt got her, wiping out 5950 points accumulated up to then. Siofra got a chance at the puzzle and filled in an M, two S's, bought the O's and U, and then solved - "a zlitherworm springs out with great force" to win Round 2 for 1200 more points.

Our third puzzle was a 5 word thing (1 4, 6, 5, and 3 letters), and once again, Santana got to start it. Santana started off nicely, finding 5 T's, and then picked up a Free Spin with an H. He then bought the A's, then spun and called an M missing from the puzzle. Santana decided to use his free spin then, and promptly landed on a Bankrupt. Catspaws took over, and promptly landed on a Lose a Turn. Siofra got the puzzle, and finished it up, placing the N, S, buying the E's, and finally a pair of L's for 1000 each. That's when she solved again - "a cute little Santa hat" - to win 2550 more points for Round 3.

Our next puzzle was 5 word things (1, 6, 2, 9, and 5 letters), and once again, Santana got to start it. Santana started off well, hitting 1000 twice in a row, and finding two R's and a T on those spins. He bought the E and A's, found 3 S's for 1800 points more, an L for 450, and three C's, taking his total to 5950 points. Then the wheel struck again, stopping on Bankrupt, and giving Catspaws the puzzle. She promptly added the remaining letters, one at a time - P, F, H, M, and D, leaving only vowels, and then solved - "A couple of Christmas cards" - to win Round 4 for 2050 points.

Our fifth and final puzzle of 2005 was a 7 word phrase (1, 5, 5, 2, 7, 8, and 5 letters), with Siofra starting this one. She hit 400 each time, finding 2 R's, 6 S's, and 0 T's, which stopped her turn. Santana took over and placed a 150 point L before choosing an M not in the puzzle. Catspaws took over, and added 4 N's for 750 each, bought the A's, found 3 G's and an H for 500 points each, and a 1000-point C, before buying the O's and I's, filling in most of the puzzle with 5250 points to her credit. She spun once more and landed on 1000, and picked D. There were two of those, leaving only vowels, and she solved - "A droid choir is singing seasonal songs" - to win Round 5 for 7250 points!

That brought us to the end of tonight's Fed Phrase Game. I added up the scores, and the totals were:

Catspaws: 9300
Siofra: 7350

Congratulations to Catspaws, our big winner in tonight's Fed Phrase Game, with kudos also to Siofra for a very strong second place. And thanks to Santana and Ghostman for also playing tonight. Join me in Studio 1 on alternate Tuesday nights at 10.00pm eastern for the Fed Phrase Game. The premiere for 2006 is on January 10.