The rules to this game are terrible. A few observations:
- Player 1 has a significant advantage in round one with the right to choose the category and the ability to select the three longest words on the board.
- With 10 clues per round, player one can get an added bonus of an extra turn to clean up the last word on the board if all players correctly answer their 3-clue maximum.
- The third player has the biggest disadvantage in round one, as the first two players can choose all of the longer words and score more points.
- If player one has the lowest score after the first round, they again get to choose the category and go first in round two, meaning player 3 could end up in the worst position twice. This should not be allowed to happen.
- The time limit is another ridiculously unfair disadvantage for the last player in round 2. Any game where you are forced to take turns should give an equal number of turns for each player. It would be like a baseball game where the visiting team scores 3 runs in the top of the ninth inning to take a 5-4 lead, and then the game gets rained out, the home team does not get to bat their half of the ninth, and the umpires just declare the visiting team the winner. Completely unfair. (thankfully, MLB rules are not like this!)
- In the head-to-head round, the two boards had a different number of total letters (61 vs. 60) Although minor, this could affect the outcome of the game, and a player leading after the first rounds could play perfectly and still lose. Would seem more fair to make the possible points available match for both boards.
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As happened tonight, player 3 was eliminated despite only missing one clue, where player 1 missed 3 and still advanced. Player 1 selected both categories, went first both rounds, wasted a lot of time, and received extra turns over player 3 each round, allowing her to advance despite clearly being the inferior player.
I would make this a buzzer-based game, where each player has the possibility to answer each clue. This would eliminate a lot of the disadvantages mentioned above. The last place player could still choose the category for round 2.
As is, it seems like the most strategic play is to position yourself in last place going into round two, trying to stay as close to the other players as possible, and then answer the three longest clues to start round 2. This should guarantee advancement into the head-to-head round. Tonight, there were 27 letters in the 3 longest clues in round 2 (including the double word clue). Player 3 could have been left with just 13 letters possible. This 280-point differential would easily offset the deficit from round 1. Then you could just try to joke around and stall the game as much as possible to further assure your advantage hoping for the time limit.
Sorry for the long post...anybody that puts this much thought into a game like this most assuredly would never be selected as a contestant!
with steam coming out of my ears. I was so happy when the clock ran out at the end. If she's been on J! I hope she lost. If she gets on J! I hope she loses. Make Up Counter for round 2 then Marine Mammals and Veggies in the bonus round? The only good one for the bonus round was Halloween.