Tuesday, January 21, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[jeff6286]

Arg, I went with Austria, which has hosted twice, both in Innsbruck, and is 3rd all time in winter medals behind Norway and the U.S. Like mentioned above, the population is too high, but it's not too far off fitting this clue. Norway was my first thought, but I talked myself out of it. I knew Lillehammer hosted in 1994, but for some reason I thought that Oslo hosted the summer games in 1952, not winter. It turns out Helsinki was 1952, and Norway has never hosted the summer games.

[EndlessEntropy]

I knew Norway was very good at speed skating and skiing so it was an educated guess (believe they have many more events than any other sport).

[DysonSphere]

FJ was definitely educated guess territory for most. The 4.5 million people part of the clue was the big tip-off for me. I thought of which Scandinavian country had the lowest population and luckily picked Norway. Russia has about a bajillion people in it, so unfortunately not the best guess.

Count me as another who would not have guessed "pine" for fear of a BMS.

The Obama category struck me as too easy. His personal life and history are very well known in the US.

[Kid Charlemagne]

Got FJ immediately, although I couldn't tell you where I picked up that statistic.

Wagering-wise...

Still don't like betting negatively out of the lead but I think I understand why Sarah did so. Sports might be a category that women might be stereotypically worse at, although it feels so wrong to say that.

Priscilla's bet is a bit mindboggling to me. She'd need to wager at least 7800 to cover Emily's double - but no more than 10200 to stay ahead of Sarah if she got it wrong and made the expected bet. Alternatively, she could wager no more than 1600 and try and win the triple stumper that way.

Emily wagered way too much. While I think she needs to wager at least 2000 in case Sarah goes zero, she shouldn't go anywhere above 6200, as that'd win the triple stumper on expected covers.

I don't normally knock all-in wagers from third and I'm OK with her wager here.
1. Sarah has shown a willingness to eschew the lockout wager to an unsure degree among leaders. (Would Emily have seen these episodes? If not, then never mind.)
2. Emily had no way of knowing whether Sarah and Priscilla were also playing for the TS. If either of them were, then Emily can't win on one. (I realize I am resorting to stereotypes here, but is an all-female game with a FJ category of International Sports we're talking about here.) Emily has a good reason to think that one of these two is going to play for the TS so she needs to take a risk.

[ElendilPickle]

I knew "Trout Fishing in America" was a book because there's a folk duo I really like that named themselves after the book.

Trout Fishing in America is great! I have fond memories of taking my kids to see them in concert at our local zoo.

Instaget FJ based on the population given.

Sarah, congratulations on your great run!

[Johnblue]

Instaget FJ here; looking forward to Sochi! I was rooting for Sarah anyway but "Mozambique" was a nice get but then guessing "Russia" was just awful. I've been to all those places in Italy & yes, Lake Como was nice to see. I didn't have my CC on and I didn't hear "cuomo" but I recall some NYers calling Mario "Como"!

[Vermonter]

Congrats to Sarah on a great run!

A few (additional) thoughts on her $302, because I think the situation is somewhat straightforward.

Both Priscilla and Emily can (and should) safely cover this wager, so assuming rational play by both, Sarah has to decide which is more likely:

1) the clue will be a triple stumper (wager small)
2) Sarah will get it right (wager for the lock-out)

Looks like she went with the former. An understandable wager given the category, I suppose ...

[opusthepenguin]

Waaahhhh!!!! I will miss you, Sarah. I hope you win the TOC.

[dhkendall]

No comment on the game, I just found it odd to find that all of a sudden skullturf, StevenH and Sarah have all changed their avatars to be Simpsons-related, within days of each other - in fact I noticed the latter two for the first time when I logged in to this thread (didn't hurt to have them post in order.)

[StevenH]

No comment on the game, I just found it odd to find that all of a sudden skullturf, StevenH and Sarah have all changed their avatars to be Simpsons-related, within days of each other - in fact I noticed the latter two for the first time when I logged in to this thread (didn't hurt to have them post in order.)

Hehe, I noticed that, too, and found it to be a funny coincidence. When I changed mine on Sunday night I hadn't noticed any Simpsons themed avatars other than Milpool's.

[naurae29]

I realize I am resorting to stereotypes here, but is an all-female game with a FJ category of International Sports we're talking about here.

It wouldn't surprise me if it's in NFL/NBA/NHL/MLB/college sports, rather than *international* sports, where you'd see more of a gender split.

[Bamaman]

I realize I am resorting to stereotypes here, but is an all-female game with a FJ category of International Sports we're talking about here.

It wouldn't surprise me if it's in NFL/NBA/NHL/MLB/college sports, rather than *international* sports, where you'd see more of a gender split.

The category did worry me a bit as you never know what kind of weird ass sport they'll pull out for a category like that.

[dhkendall]

I thought the Star Trek clue in By the Numbers for $600 was major negbait, since all the other titles had numbers in them, which could easily lead to you guessing Deep Space Nine.

Agreed on that, I'm a Star Trek fan, in fact DS9 and Voyager are my two favourite franchises, and I reflexively said "Deep Space Nine" based on the category, I knew it was wrong coming out of my mouth, but the category made me say it. (I would have got it on rebound, though.)

[skullturf]

No comment on the game, I just found it odd to find that all of a sudden skullturf, StevenH and Sarah have all changed their avatars to be Simpsons-related, within days of each other - in fact I noticed the latter two for the first time when I logged in to this thread (didn't hurt to have them post in order.)

Hehe, I noticed that, too, and found it to be a funny coincidence. When I changed mine on Sunday night I hadn't noticed any Simpsons themed avatars other than Milpool's.

It's not a complete coincidence -- my seeing Steven and Sarah's avatars reminded me that I should finally choose one.

[nserven]

I realize I am resorting to stereotypes here, but is an all-female game with a FJ category of International Sports we're talking about here.

It wouldn't surprise me if it's in NFL/NBA/NHL/MLB/college sports, rather than *international* sports, where you'd see more of a gender split.

The category did worry me a bit as you never know what kind of weird ass sport they'll pull out for a category like that.

Which leads me to wonder why the category wasn't simply "The Olympics."

[naurae29]

I realize I am resorting to stereotypes here, but is an all-female game with a FJ category of International Sports we're talking about here.

It wouldn't surprise me if it's in NFL/NBA/NHL/MLB/college sports, rather than *international* sports, where you'd see more of a gender split.

The category did worry me a bit as you never know what kind of weird ass sport they'll pull out for a category like that.

Which leads me to wonder why the category wasn't simply "The Olympics."

Because that guesswork and hedging is part of what makes FJ interesting. By not using the narrowest possible category, you put further pressure on the wagering decision.

[alietr]

For the Zappos clue, would they have taken "Where does Carol Anne spend far too much money despite her many returns?" Which did remind me of this:

[Volante]

Sarah -
You mentioned litter box. As a six-year user and not a company shill, might I suggest Litter Robot?: http://www.litter-robot.com/
If your cat likes it, madre de dios, this thing is magnificent.

~

on to game thoughts...

Flubbed 'Yes we can!' for 'Hope and change'
Also brain farted on Voyager for DS9, thank you category for messing with my brain.
Palermo was my SATS...I may also have watched Patton more times than is healthy.

Norway was my 2nd choice after Canada, wisely remembering that 4.5 mil would be a smidge of an underestimate for Canada's population. That's...what...most of Toronto and...nothing else? Then went to Europe and was pretty sure Austria wasn't a massive medal winner and remembered Lillehammer. 4.5 sounded right for Norway and lacking anything better, stuck with it. 2nd choice pays off!!

[Golf]

Interestingly enough, just two weeks ago I was asked the FJ question albeit without the population figure.

So our new champ doesn't wager enough to lockout the trailing player either, sweet.

I understand Sarah's wager based on this category, but here's the problem. Sometimes questions are ridiculously easy regardless of category. Or sometimes questions hit you right in the gut, just like the football stadium where the female contestant went to college!

In the end I don't hate the wager, it had merit, but I'll never be on board with a wager where the leader can answer correctly and lose.

Going to be extremely interesting to see how Sarah does in the ToC.

[everestian]

I watched today's Jeopardy! game with a friend and it was fun! I think it improved my ability to hone my clue-answering skills and figure out my weak points. It's too bad that the first round J! game was interrupted by a breaking news update about the snowstorm in my area, but I suppose mother nature isn't big on TV anyways.

Did well in the DJ! round, got some Lach trash and swept visual poets (until time ran out, sadly).

I surprised myself in the FJ! because sports are my weak point, and yet, got the FJ! correct. It's only because I watched some rounds of play in the Turin and Vancouver Winter Olympics that I remembered Norway having strong contenders. I initially thought the Netherlands but the population number was a major hint, and thus, guessed correctly.

Hope to see Sarah on ToC! She seems like an ideal candidate for it!