Tonight was a first, at least for me: every table was occupied, we had 30 players in the room (not counting the baby)! One couple said they were there to play, but left just before we started; another couple showed up in the middle of Round 3, took their table, joined in mid-game and gave a good accounting of themselves.
The teams were all fairly bunched through the first 2 rounds. In Round 3, perennial contenders Gold vs. Gold missed on a double to score 0 points, then took a -1 in the Guess Who round to seemingly drop out of contention. After 3 rounds #momjeans and Karonnie led with 19 points, 3 clear of Brown Chicken, Brown Cow; after 4 rounds the 2 were still tied but Brown Chicken had narrowed the gap to a single point while newcomers Satanic Surfers moved into 4th place, 4 points behind the leaders.
Round 5 was when the game hit its stride. Butterbeer Beaches scored 9 out of 10 while first-timers Rooster and Late Comers (who joined in Round 3) scored 8 & 7 respectively to boost their positions, while no fewer than 4 teams converted successful double-or-nothing bids to score 20 points: Gold vs. Gold, Karonnie, Satanic Surfers and Brown Chicken, Brown Cow. At that point the standings read:
Karonnie 43
Brown Chicken 42
Satanic Surfers 39
Gold vs. Gold and #momjeans 32
Butterbeer Beaches, Karonnie, and Rooster each scored 8 out of 10 in Round 6 but watched Brown Chicken, Brown Cow, Gold vs. Gold (both for the 2nd successive round) and #momjeans convert successful double bids to shift the standings yet again. Brown Chicken now led comfortably with 62 points, 10 more than both #momjeans and Gold vs. Gold with Karonnie 1 point back in 4th. No one felt confident enough to double in Round 7 and Brown Chicken, Brown Cow coasted home with 6 points to win by 9. #momjeans scored 7 in Round 7 to claim 2nd place, while both Gold vs. Gold and Karonnie scored 5, leaving Gold vs. Gold in 3rd place and Karonnie out of the money by a single point.
It was a fun, competitive night and I look forward to seeing many of you back next week!
REMINDER: Collision is closed on July 4th, we will resume on 7/11.
We had a full house tonight, with 35 players making 6 teams...and a tie for first meant pulling out the tiebreaker question to determine a winner. #momjeans and Trebek's Rejects each came out blazing, successfully converting double-or-nothing bids to take the early lead; returners F Words For $500 and first-timers Humpback Whales each scored 16 in Round 2 with successful doubles (while Trebek's Rejects and Gold Vs. Gold set the evening's theme with failed double tries; there were 6 failed double bids tonight). Round 4 saw Humpback Whales bite off more than they could chew, taking a -1 by trying the 10-point clue in the Guess Where round, seemingly dropping them out of the running (while 4 teams scored 8 points in that round), but they jumped right back into the lead with a successful double-or-nothing in the Find The Connection round while the other teams all scored 8 or 9. #momjeans, accustomed to finishing in the money, tried to chase their losses with double in each of the final 2 rounds and missed on both, finishing 4th; ladies, my picture of you did not turn out, I assure you it was nothing personal!
Gold vs. Gold jumped from last to 3rd with a successful double in Round 6, which saw F Words For $500 move into a tie with Humpback Whales entering the final round. #momjeans, Trebek's Rejects and Mary, Queen of Scots each took a zero on failed double tries in Round 7; Gold vs. Gold scored 9 but could not close the gap on the leaders. Amazingly, both Whales and F Words scored 8 in Round 7, finishing in a tie and necessitating a tiebreaker round (for only the second time in all the games I've hosted). The question: when was the last confirmed sighting of a live dodo bird? (1662)
F Words for $500 guessed 1862, exactly 200 years off. Humpback Whales' guess was 186 years off (1848) but was "closest to the pin" and, incredibly, enough for the first-time players to take home the prize ($30 Collision gift card plus a 6-pack of their choosing). There were some issues with the questions (i.e. the new National Park in Indiana was not "their first") but overall the questions were good, and a good time was had by ALL tonight. Let's do it again next week!
* Won Tiebreaker
With huge thanks to Paul for filling in in my absence, I was "back in the saddle" at Collision Brewing tonight. My thanks also to all the players who so warmly welcomed me back. Tonight's game was EXCELLENT, as all 5 teams were in the hunt most of the night.
#momjeans jumped out in front early by converting a successful double-or nothing in Round 1. Returners F Words For $500 were hamstrung all night after a missed double try in the first round, while first-timers Dysfunction Junction calmed their internal fear of being skunked with a 3 in Round 1; they had so much fun, they registered their team mid-game and promised to return!
It was a 3-team race most of the night, and Gold vs. Gold hit on a double in Round 3 to close to within 2 points of #momjeans, with Brown Chicken, Brown Cow lurking in 3rd. All 5 teams scored the correct answer in the Guess Who round (kudos to #momjeans for correctly answering after the 8 point clue!), and Gold vs. Gold, Brown Chicken, Brown Cow and #momjeans ALL converted double-or-nothing bids in Round 5 to separate themselves from the other 2 teams. #momjeans suffered a failed double attempt in Round 6 to drop them into 3rd, where they finished; Gold vs. Gold & Brown Chicken, Brown Cow each converted a 2nd consecutive double and were separated by only 3 points entering Round 7. Interestingly, all 5 teams answered the first 6 questions (or more accurately, the first two sets of 3) correctly; Gold vs. Gold answered 2 of the remaining 3 correctly to coast home for the win ($30 gift card + a fresh 6-pack), while Brown Chicken, Brown Cow's 6 points clinched 2nd place ($20 gift card). Hats off to Dysfunction Junction, who "got the hang" of the game and converted the only successful double in the final round and leapfrogged F Words For $500 to finish 4th.
To all the players...I missed you. See you next week!
* Won Tiebreaker
