Spirits Speak! The Game

[liljesi]

Priz, nice work! i just joined the forums (even though i have been playing vmk for quite a while ) so i just found out about this game. well, just saying i definitely support this game and i will most definitely try to play next time i am on!

[prisoner]

I've had mixed feelings about running Spirits Speak before last night. I guess I still do, actually. Turnout has been very low all week, and people don't really seem to be paying attention and trying to win. I was going to open it, and figured after crowds got low close it (for the night? permanently? I didn't know) and work on my next game.

Instead I ended up running the game for over 5 hours. Between that and the hour I spent the previous night, we had 60 players. We passed our 750th player, our 250th winner, and got our third winner on the first row. And yet, over the past two days we only had 16 winners - far far lower than usual:

• krisco (5 guesses) [511]
• Bog.Frog (3 guesses) [124]
• Captain_Rosie (1 guess) [555]
• exoxus (4 guesses) [244]
• LemonHockey (4 guesses) [543]
• theskull (3 guesses) [515]
• ccooldudecool (4 guesses) [321]
• sonicjohn (5 guesses) [152]
• Whoosiwatsitt (4 guesses) [231]
• Teapotprincess (3 guesses) [153]
• CurlyTwinkleToes (5 guesses) [155]
• superboomer (3 guesses) [345]
• CurlyTwinkleToes (2 guesses) [534]
• WingedHeart (5 guesses) [235]
• MadScienceGirl (4 guesses) [144]
• Tedward (4 guesses) [432]

For over an hour last night - we had absolutely no winner at all. We had people saying things like "this is a great game!" and then totally guessing on all rows. And then they'd be shocked they lost, but they'd get back in line again.

Top this with the problem of disconnecting. In a way - the game is a game of chance - you're lucky if you get to the front of the line! Forget winning. Maybe I should give a prize just for getting to play, but that doesn't seem fair to me!

But on the other hand, there is still fun to be had. I've met quite a number of you whom I've only seen post here. We do have fun conversations while the game goes on. It is truly wonderful when people who work hard to figure the puzzle out actually do.

I just don't understand! I'm so confused!

So I don't know what to think or do. Why do you come back to play? Are the rules really that confusing? Since there is such a good chance of disconnecting, why would you bother?

Originally Posted by DizCaptain

I really enjoy the game. Sadly it seems like I am never on when the game is open.

Thank you. I really wish I could be on longer or something, but nights like yesterday are quite rare for me. I have a lot that I have to do in the real world.

Originally Posted by DizCaptain

Priz's great game is just like one of my favorite games MasterMind. The only difference is he added a theme and other accessories to make everything cooler than the actual game. I say good job Priz!

Did you know there was a Disney version of MasterMind published in 1979?

But thank you. I tried hard on the theming and room layout to make it an interesting game and a fun time overall. I'm glad you enjoy it all.

Originally Posted by liljesi

Priz, nice work! i just joined the forums (even though i have been playing vmk for quite a while ) so i just found out about this game. well, just saying i definitely support this game and i will most definitely try to play next time i am on!

Well, I guess this addresses my confusion from above. I hope you're able to find us next time you're on.

Speaking of which - people ask when I run the game. I really can't say - the best chance is between 2pm and 3pm Disneyland time (5pm and 6pm WDW time), but really I try to run it if there is a good chance I'll be able to run it uninterrupted for about an hour.

So... I guess I have other ideas I'll be working on. But the Pirate Spirits will probably still be speaking for a while longer. I hope you come out and join our crew.

[Exoxus]

Lots of fun! It was great I actually got to listen to them. It was too loud in line, i couldnt hear the Pirate Spirits. A++ Game! I say your game should have won BGR. Mine was only open one day, while you actually worked hard on yours. HOST_Sparky, go see him next time! Not me!

[prisoner]

Usually prefer to wait till my next major post to reply - but I wanted to reply to your post in particular since it addresses a couple of things I really should address.

Originally Posted by Exoxus

Lots of fun! It was great I actually got to listen to them. It was too loud in line, i couldnt hear the Pirate Spirits.

Well, I'm glad you had fun anyway. the game does require some thinking and practice, and I hope you come out to try again.

Originally Posted by Exoxus

A++ Game! I say your game should have won BGR. Mine was only open one day, while you actually worked hard on yours.

Don't sell yourself short! I haven't gotten a chance to play yours yet, but you definately have all the elements for a great game, and I definately applaud your award! You deserve it - so relish in it! (I know you are. )

Originally Posted by Exoxus

HOST_Sparky, go see him next time! Not me!

Remember - three staff members have visited the game in the past, so its not like we haven't gotten some attention.

I get asked a lot if the game has won yet, and my answer is the same every time: I doubt it will. I do it to have fun, not to win an award.

So, why do I doubt it will? Lots of reasons, actually:

• The game is complicated. It is not an easy game to grasp, and not the kind of game VMK tends to encourage.
• The line is long. Staff haven't played it. Staff usually haven't even seen it played all that much, so its not exactly obvious what kind of game it is.
• Not everyone sees it as a fun game. It really only appeals to a small segment of people who might find it fun. And staff might not like it.
• The game is very good at exposing problems with VMK, which they don't always want to draw attention to. It couldn't be opened for months because of the scoreboard bug. Most people in line never get to play because of disconnects. Why would VMK draw attention to a game that draws negative attention to the game?
• I was recently banned for a month, and I don't think VMK wants to promote a game from someone who doesn't have the highest VMK Values.
• I have been very critical of staff on these boards. We know they read messages here, and I may have stepped on too many toes. Most people are not going to award someone who has been publicly criticising them.

But let me point out I'm sincere about the last half of that statement. I run the game because I have fun. If I didn't have fun - I would stop running it. If I come up with another idea that seems fun - I'll start working on it. It is all about fun when it comes to VMK, and I'm very glad that Disney and the VMK Team have created this environment we can have fun in!

Now, let's be honest. Yes, every week I'm looking at the awards page to see if I got it. Yes, I'm envious of you and your award. Always good to see someone I know get it, but I'm envious. And yes, I'd be thrilled and honored if I did get the award for this game.

But thats not why I run the game. And if it never comes - it never comes. A far better award to me is to know I've had fun running the game, and my guests have had fun playing it. And I don't need a pin to know that.

[bluedudeman]

Priz this is my favorite guest game created by a player and not host I love winning lol and I did have that confusion though in that game, i thought the 3 was not right but it was the 1 lol

[sugarbebe]

Hey Priz! I have to say its a wonderful game, i can tell you put in alot of time and effort. Do you still do your game? I dont see it too often nowadays.

[prisoner]

I was able to play for a bit over an hour before my machine crashed on Friday. Once again, I just don't know what to think. We had 14 people play, and only 3 won. Only 3! Sigh.

• Dudedanrocks (5 guesses) [311]
• GenieOfLamp (4 guesses) [351]
• Dudedanrocks (5 guesses) [222]

You'll notice that Dudedanrocks won twice - you're certainly allowed to play, and even win, more than once in a day. If you can get past the river of disconnect.

What is almost as frustrating is that three people were very close on their first guess - and were unable to get the answer.

It just dissapoints and confuses me that people are having such trouble playing and winning.

Perhaps an example or two will help:

Guess 1: 513
Pirate spirits said: 3 misses
This is the absolute best result for something like this, especailly early in the game. It tells you three patterns that are completely invalid. From this, we know that it must be a 2 or 4.

Guess 2: 224
Pirate spirits said: 2 near, 1 miss
Fortunately, this person knew how to listen. This was a good guess, but the results require a little thinking. The "1 miss" tells us that either a 2 is wrong (so there must be one 2 and two 4s) or the 4 is wrong (telling us the answer is 222). But the "2 near" part is interesting - it means that none of the values are in the right place itself - so the "222" answer wouldn't be right. So it must have two 4s and a 2 such that none are in the same place they are now. This is quite possible.

Guess 3: 443
Pirate spirits said: 2 hits, 1 miss
Where did the 3 come from?!?! Ok, at least it tells us where the 4s are. And from here, we know where the 2 must go. But we didn't really need this guess to tell us this.

Guess 4: 444
Pirate spirits said: 2 hits, 1 miss
This would have been a reasonable guess after Guess 2 if you didn't want to think things out - but at this point we should be trying other things with the 2.

Guess 5: 434
Pirate spirits said: 2 hits, 1 miss
I really wish I understood where the 3 kept coming from. Did the person really not understand? Why not? What confused them?

Answer: 442

How about another?

Guess 1: 331
Pirate spirits said: 1 near, 2 miss
This is one of the more frustrating answers. But still useful - we know it is either 3 or 1 somewhere.

Guess 2: 155
Pirate spirits said: 1 near, 2 miss
This, however, really confuses things. We now know there is either a 1 in the middle place, or a 3 and a 5 somewhere.

Guess 3: 212
Pirate spirits said: 1 near, 2 miss
On one hand - this is very frustrating to get the same thing three times in a row. On the other - we now know exactly what the patterns are, and we know exactly where! We know 1 isn't valid - it wasn't a hit in any of the three positions. Since we only tried one other pattern each time, we know that 2, 3, and 5 must be in the pattern. Since the 2, 3, and 5 were "near" every time, we know they must be in the one place that we hadn't tried each of them.

Guess 4: 135
Pirate spirits said: 2 near, 1 miss
Augh! Why are they trying a 1 at all? Why not at least try a 4, even tho it wouldn't help? Why put the 3 and 5 in a place we know they shouldn't be? Why aren't they listening?

Guess 5: 533
Pirate spirits said: 2 hits, 1 miss
Why didn't they learn from Guess 3?

Answer: 523

So, your comments:

Originally Posted by superboomer

YAY FOR ME!!!!!!!!!!!

Definately! If you would like, I could post your game and you could comment on what you were thinking for each guess. I make this offer to everyone.

Originally Posted by bluedudeman

Priz this is my favorite guest game created by a player and not host I love winning lol and I did have that confusion though in that game, i thought the 3 was not right but it was the 1 lol

Do you understand what you did wrong Would you like to comment on your game to explain what you were thinking each time I am glad you like the game and still have fun

Originally Posted by CL_sugarbebe

Hey Priz! I have to say its a wonderful game, i can tell you put in alot of time and effort. Do you still do your game? I dont see it too often nowadays.

Yes, I still try to run it every day for at least an hour. Don't always - but I try. Try to look for me from 2pm till 3pm VMK time.

At least... until I have another game ready to go.

So - I'm really interested to hear what you think about my confusion. Can I make it better for people to play? Less confusing? What do you think?

[StitchMad]

I just won your game Priz, but sadly the bug is back :'(
I wish you the best of luck with it. I hope staff will fix it again soon.

[Extras]

It Can't Be Back...

[Proracer1]

Hey all i have to say is that your game is awesome a little challenging but awesome.

[prisoner]

Well, over the past week I've had some better luck with turnout in the game. And better luck with people doing well (40% of all players were winners!). But not so much luck with staying connected when people actually turn out to play, and... well... see my reply to messages about another spot of bad luck.

But still, here are 17 of the 18 winners:

• bluedudeman (2 guesses) [314]
• BestAdriana_girl (4 guesses) [142]
• StitchMad (5 guesses) [431]
• mightypiggy (3 guesses) [235]
• BlueSomebody (5 guesses) [222]
• emmawatsonrocks (5 guesses) [545]
• Lessly (5 guesses) [551]
• WildcatHFRS (2 guesses) [124]
• DizElise (4 guesses) [414]
• MissLogan (3 guesses) [215]
• CL_mackegirl (3 guesses) [414]
• nbzfamous (3 guesses) [515]
• NarutoFan (5 guesses) [114]
• rollecoasterfan (2 guesses) [354]
• nicetomeetyoukk (4 guesses) [431]
• mashaL (3 guesses) [542]
• cuteGmonkey (3 guesses) [415]

You'll notice one is missing? I also didn't have luck with my pen that night and forgot to write them down.

Not much time right now, so let me skip to your comments:

Originally Posted by StitchMad

I just won your game Priz, but sadly the bug is back :'(
I wish you the best of luck with it. I hope staff will fix it again soon.

Originally Posted by gertle

It Can't Be Back...

Apparently it can. I have two people who reported problems with some scoreboards in the room. Fortunately, only a couple saw the problem, and we were more or less able to work around it. I suspect this is related to the bug where some objects pop in front of others unexpectedly, since one player had that problem at the same time, but I have little proof.

Originally Posted by Proracer1

Hey all i have to say is that your game is awesome a little challenging but awesome.

Thank you! I like games that have a bit of a challenge. What is the point of winning if it is so easy? (Especially for the meager prizes I give out.)

I'm trying to run the game for extended hours in the afternoons/evenings, so I hope we will see you there! Till then, have a Disney Day.

[liljesi]

how long are you open?
i try to search every time im on.. for some reason i can't find you. maybe im searching the wrong thing?
well, good luck with turn outs and the game over all!

[Brer_Nick]

It's a really great game. difficult but my last time playing i figured out of to play (icouldn't figure out the rules). It a brian teaser but easy to win once you get through the first round

[dangerman]

Well yesterday, I won on my first try lol Great game though!

[MellyBoBelly]

It looks like you put much effort into this!!