FED PHRASE GAME (Early Edition)
11 October 2006
by Gwaptiva
This week saw three players join me in Studio 1 on The Lattice to play the Fed Phrase Game: Schuyler, Genike, and first-timer, Brookerf. Brookerf started it all off but after racking up 3500 points, Schuyler took over. He managed to find all the remaining consonants, then offered a solution. Unfortunately, he got just one vowel wrong, and Genike ran away with the points, taking an early lead with 750 points.
Schuyler's turn to start the second puzzle, making a number of canny choices of letters. With no hiccups he managed to find the phrase we were looking for, scoring a massive 3850 points, something for Genike to aim for as he started the third puzzle. The absence of a G became his downfall however, as it turned the game over to Brookerf. She picked a few letters, and slowly it became apparent to all that she must have a decent idea of the solution, but as if she'd played the game dozens of times before, she kept an eye on the scoreboard, and kept going, aiming for Schuyler's total.
Despite her guesses, one word stubbornly refused to reveal itself, and of course with each spin of the wheel the risk existed that she'd turn it all over and hand the game to Schuyler. With the scores tied, she solved the puzzle, and showed she has been paying attention when travelling around FedSpace by knowing it was a description of the famous Madame Kiko.
So, the final puzzle would be a tie breaker between Brookerf and Schuyler, Genike having had to flee the scene because of the imminent arrival of a PHB. Brookerf won the toss, and chose to have first go in solving the puzzle, in the category Famous People. After just two letters Brookerf's decision to go first backfired and she picked a letter not in the phrase, giving the opportunity to Schuyler. His smart choices brought him closer and closer to the solution. After his misspelling of the first solution, the pressure was on him as it would be winner take all, but he managed to spell "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are skeletons" correctly, and can now call himself not only this week's FPGEE champion, but also the proud owner of a slithy tove, kindly donated by Gilar.
A great game, enjoyed by players and spectators alike. And next Wednesday we'll play again, in Studio 1 on The Lattice, at 3.00pm eastern (that is 8pm UK time and 21:00 Central European Time), so if you're in the neighborhood, please drop by and join in the fun.
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