Geography Challenge III: Evens vs Odds renewed

[Wolfpack]

I did a search and realized we haven't had a challenge of this sort in a couple of years, so I'm exhuming the game and running it. The rules are as follows (from GC II, with slight modifications):

Game Format:

NOTE THE CHANGE!
> This is a user ID game. If your user name starts with the letters A-K, you are on the A-Team. All other letters, numbers, and punctuation puts you on the Z-Team.

> Destination categories are pre-selected. You will get the upcoming category one destination ahead of time. In other words, you will choose your current destination knowing what your next category is going to be.

> When a category is posted, both teams will post an answer, striving to travel the shortest distance (as the crow flies) from their present location to a place that fits the category. The team that selects the closer destination wins that round (gets +1.0 to their score).

> Teams may not select the same destination. However, if one team overrides it's initial choice, it then becomes available to the other team (subject to the other rules of the game).

> The round ends when both teams have posted an answer. But see about “overrides” below.

> The first team to post their answer gets a +0.2 bonus.

> A time bonus of +0.2 will be awarded for every ten minutes that one team’s final answer is posted ahead of the other team’s final answer, regardless of who wins the round. Speed is important!
MODIFICATION: To keep things moving along and to prevent teams gaining points just because they have someone up at 1 AM while everyone else is asleep until 8 AM, I'm going to cap the time at 2.5 hours (3 points), so the maximum to be gained is 4.2 points by any team in any given round.

> Ordinarily, the first post by each team will count as their answer. However, you may override a previous answer by your team (including your own) by posting OVERRIDE at the beginning of your answer post. The later time of the override post will be used to determine the timing bonus, so plan your tactics accordingly. Each team gets one override regardless of what the other team does, but you can only override within ONE HOUR of your team’s first answer or the first answer is locked.

> No editing of answer posts! An answer post that has been edited may result in a penalty at the discretion of the referee.

> Team discussion is allowed and encouraged. This version of the game will require a bit more strategy than the speed-oriented first version.

> The first team to get +20 wins the challenge.

A host city to start the affair has been chosen completely and utterly at random. It shall be revealed shortly and the game will begin.

:)

[Wolfpack]

Starting point is the city of...Clarksville, Texas.

The initial category is: A city or town in a state adjacent to Texas

The next category is: Any city with a franchise in the NBA's Northwest Division

[stkelly52]

um...do we still have member numbers? I don't see them

[JeeberD]

Damn, I don't think we do. Too bad, I loved it the last time we played this...

[DanGarion]

If you view your public profile you will see your ID#.

[Wolfpack]

Rats...okay...new change is alphabet letters. If you have a screen name starting with A-M or 0-4, that's one team. N-Z and 5-9 are on the other. Sound good? Have at it.

Edit to add, the two teams shall henceforth be known as the A-Team and the Z-Team. (Slightly corny, but it's easy to remember.)

[Mr. Wednesday]

um...do we still have member numbers? I don't see themYou can get at them by pulling up your profile and looking at the address, I think.

[Mr. Wednesday]

Dola, that gives me a userid of 2935.

[Ben E Lou]

...going to control panel to see if I can display member ID on messages...

[Wolfpack]

Alright, the game is on hold. I'll restart (and replace the categories) when we've come to a consensus on whether we should use ID # or name for dividing things up.

[Mr. Wednesday]

Are we allowed to use Mapquest for this?

[Wolfpack]

Any resource is allowable. You just have to meet the category's requirement. Like WSU did, I have a specific site I go to to get the distances the game will be scored by. You can even use that if you like. You just have to find it. :)

BTW, I'll be out for the next while, so people can discuss what they want to do about teams.

[Ben E Lou]

Sorry, can't find a member ID display option.

[Franklinnoble]

Sorry, can't find a member ID display option.
Well, would you mind turning the QOTM back on while you're up?

[korme]

SkyDog, you would have to manipulate the postbit. Fairly easy.

[DanGarion]

SkyDog, you would have to manipulate the postbit. Fairly easy.
Yeah I was thinking it was in postbit I couldn't remember and was too lazy to check my website.

[Wolfpack]

Okay, having seen no successful outcome to the User ID attempt, we'll just go with A-Team vs. Z-Team, though I am changing the membership a little:

A-Team is now all players with user names starting A-K
Z-Team is everyone else (L-Z, all names starting with numbers or punctuation)

That should split the board in half, nearly. A-Team still has slightly more members, I think.

At any rate, I'll restart the contest with new origin and new categories momentarily.

[Wolfpack]

The re-start isn't too far away from the original starting point: Pea Ridge, Arkansas

The starting category is similar: Any city or town in a state adjacent to Arkansas.
The next category is somewhat similar: Any MLB city in California

Begin! :)

[MJ4H]

The re-start isn't too far away from the original starting point: Pea Ridge, Arkansas


Make sure to wave to me on the way by.

[JeeberD]

A-Team travels to Jacket, Missouri.

[TazFTW]

Hmm, Jacket seems to be the closest out of state city to Pea Ridge. I would suggest Z-Team picks a city furthest from Pea Ridge but closest to an Cali MLB city (something in Texas).

[WSUCougar]

Hmm, Jacket seems to be the closest out of state city to Pea Ridge. I would suggest Z-Team picks a city furthest from Pea Ridge but closest to an Cali MLB city (something in Texas).
For the sake of speed I'll say El Paso, TX for Z-Team.

[JeeberD]

Shoulda gone for Anthony, Coug. Coulda saved an extra ten miles... ;)

[WSUCougar]

Shoulda gone for Anthony, Coug. Coulda saved an extra ten miles... ;)
Well, as you know, we Cougs are drawn to El Paso, like the swallows to Capestrano. :D

[Wolfpack]

Heh. Was wondering if anyone was going to play. Will give the full hour for anyone to override, so that means 4:25 PM EDT for A-Team and 4:41 PM for Z-Team.

[JeeberD]

Well, as you know, we Cougs are drawn to El Paso, like the swallows to Capestrano. :D

That reminds me, I got to meet Coach Price last night (along with Eric and Aaron Price and a bunch of the rest of the Miners staff). He seems like a really great guy...we're very lucky to have him. :)

[Wolfpack]

I'll go on the assumption that Team-Z will not want to further penalize themselves.

A-Team:
*Pea Ridge, Arkansas to Jacket, Missouri = 4 miles
*Posted at 3:25 PM EDT

Z-Team:
*Pea Ridge, Arkansas to El Paso, Texas = 773 miles
*Posted at 3:41 PM EDT

A-Team wins distance points (+1.0 pts)
A-Team wins post time points(+0.2 pts)
A-Team time bonus is +0.2 pts (16 minutes, rounded down)

Scoreboard:
A-Team 1.4, Z-Team 0.0

[Wolfpack]

Round 2:
A-Team is in Jacket, Missouri
Z-Team is in El Paso, Texas

Current destination: a city in California with an MLB team (in spite of the name, Anaheim is separate from LA for this category)

Next destination: a city on the Mississippi River

[henry296]

A-Team goes to Anaheim, CA

[TazFTW]

Z-Team goes to Los Angeles, CA

[Wolfpack]

A-Team:
*Jacket, Missouri to Anaheim, California = 1354 miles
*Posted at 4:50 PM

Z-Team:
*El Paso, Texas to Los Angeles, California = 712 miles
*Posted at 5:25 PM EDT

Z-Team wins distance points (+1.0 pts)
A-Team wins post time points(+0.2 pts)
A-Team time bonus is +0.6 pts (35 minutes)

Scoreboard:
A-Team 2.2, Z-Team 1.0

[Wolfpack]

Round 3:
A-Team is in Anaheim, California
Z-Team is in Los Angeles, California

Current destination: a city on the Mississippi River
Next destination: a Canadian provincial capital in the Atlantic Time Zone

[Ryche]

Z-Team goes to La Crosse, WI

[JeeberD]

A-Team travels to Prairie du Chen, WI

[Wolfpack]

A-Team:
*Anaheim, California to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin = 1574 miles
*Posted at 6:49 PM

Z-Team:
*Los Angeles, California to La Crosse, Wisconsin = 1600 miles
*Posted at 6:32 PM

A-Team wins distance points (+1.0 pts)
Z-Team wins post time points(+0.2 pts)
Z-Team time bonus is +0.2 pts (17 minutes)

Scoreboard:
A-Team 3.2, Z-Team 1.4

[Wolfpack]

Round 4:
A-Team is in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Z-Team is in La Crosse, Wisconsin

Current destination: a Canadian provincial capital in the Atlantic Time Zone
Next destination: Any current or former Canadian NHL city

[ISiddiqui]

Um... Mr. Wednesday, you are on the Z-Team ;).

[Mr. Wednesday]

Poster name begins with M, so I should be on the A-Team.

[ISiddiqui]

From the First post:

This is a user ID game. If your user name starts with the letters A-K, you are on the A-Team. All other letters, numbers, and punctuation puts you on the Z-Team.
Unless you are asserting that M comes before K ;).

[Mr. Wednesday]

Dang.

OK, Z-team goes to Fredericton, NB. Post attributing myself incorrectly deleted.

[Mr. Wednesday]

Dola, sorry about the valuable minutes lost due to my ineptitude at figuring out what team I was on. I actually did originally post it as Z-team. :p

[ISiddiqui]

Heh... well I know my fellow A-Teamers (well, if I have to be on a team ;)) aren't happy with me now :D.

[ISiddiqui]

Well, I should help the A-Team out because of that, I guess :D. To prevent losing a ton of time points:

A-Team flys to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

[Wolfpack]

'Tis okay about the mix-up. It's not as simple as it was with the Even/Odd ID number thing, so I'm not going to be strict about it as long as people catch their own mistakes. At any rate, here's the updated tote board:

A-Team:
*Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin to Halifax, Nova Scotia = 1375 miles
*Posted at 1:29 AM

Z-Team:
*La Crosse, Wisconsin to Fredericton, New Brunswick = 1222 miles
*Posted at 1:17 AM

Z-Team wins distance points (+1.0 pts)
Z-Team wins post time points (+0.2 pts)
Z-Team time bonus is +0.2 pts (12 minutes)

Scoreboard:
A-Team 3.2, Z-Team 2.8

We got a game now... :)

[Wolfpack]

Round 5:
A-Team is in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Z-Team is in Fredericton, New Brunswick

Current destination: Any current or former Canadian NHL city
Next destination: Any city of over one million population (2000 census) in the US

[henry296]

A-Team goes to Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

[Ryche]

Z-Team goes to Quebec City, Quebec

[Ryche]

Scratch that, Z-Team goes to Hamilton, Ontario

[Wolfpack]

Never mind...

I should add that won't count as an override because the original destination was in error.

[Mr. Wednesday]

Hamilton? Unless that's setup for the next one, wouldn't Ottawa or Montreal make more sense?

[Ryche]

Not an error, he just beat me to it :)

[Ryche]

Crap, you are correct, Montreal would have been a better choice, completely forgot about it.

Didn't think it would be possible to beat Quebec, so now we are nicely setup for the next destination.

[Mr. Wednesday]

Just FYI, Detroit is not at a million in 2000, so we can't go there. Edit: I think we're OK anyway, as Chicago should do it for us.

[Ryche]

Jeez, bad day for me....maybe I should be working instead.

[Wolfpack]

I should note that the rules allow you to state an override and chosen Montreal as long as it's within an hour of the original team post. But, since you didn't....

A-Team:
*Halifax, Nova Scotia to Quebec City, Quebec = 394 miles
*Posted at 11:37 AM

Z-Team:
*Fredericton, New Brunswick to Hamilton, Ontario = 686 miles
*Posted at 11:42 AM

A-Team wins distance points (+1.0 pts)
A-Team wins post time points (+0.2 pts)
No time bonus given (5 minutes)

Scoreboard:
A-Team 4.4, Z-Team 2.8

[Wolfpack]

Round 6:
A-Team is in Quebec City, Quebec
Z-Team is in Hamilton, Ontario

Current destination: Any city of over one million population (2000 census) in the US
Next destination: Any college town in the 2005-06 Atlantic Coast Conference

[henry296]

A-Team New York, NY

[Wolfpack]

Are you stalking this thread or something? ;)

[henry296]

Just stalking the board...

[TazFTW]

Z-team goes to Philadelphia, PA

[Wolfpack]

A-Team:
*Quebec City, Quebec to New York, New York = 442 miles
*Posted at 1:21 PM

Z-Team:
*Hamilton, Ontario to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania = 331 miles
*Posted at 3:12 PM

Z-Team wins distance points (+1.0 pts)
A-Team wins post time points (+0.2 pts)
A-Team time bonus is +2.2 (111 minutes)

Scoreboard:
A-Team 7.8, Z-Team 3.8

Time bonuses for A-Team easily wipe out Z-Team's distance gain, expanding A-Team's lead....

EDIT: I just realized I screwed up the addition for A-Team, so they have a bigger lead....

[Wolfpack]

Round 6:
A-Team is in New York, New York
Z-Team is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Current destination: Any college town in the 2005-06 Atlantic Coast Conference
Next destination: Any city or town on Lake Superior

[TazFTW]

Z-Team goes to College Park, MD

[Mr. Wednesday]

I should note that the rules allow you to state an override and chosen Montreal as long as it's within an hour of the original team post. But, since you didn't....I knew that and elected not to override as I wasn't convinced that it would help us.

[digamma]

A-team goes to Boston, MA.

[Wolfpack]

A-Team:
*New York, New York to Boston, Massachusetts = 190 miles
*Posted at 5:37 PM

Z-Team:
*Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to College Park, Maryland = 119 miles
*Posted at 4:30 PM

Z-Team wins distance points (+1.0 pts)
Z-Team wins post time points (+0.2 pts)
Z-Team time bonus is +1.0 (67 minutes)

Scoreboard:
A-Team 7.8, Z-Team 6.0

A huge swing back for the Z-Team as they close to withing striking distance again....

[Wolfpack]

Round 6:
A-Team is in Boston, Massachusetts
Z-Team is in College Park, Maryland

Current destination: Any city or town on Lake Superior (for clarification purposes, I do not consider
Sault Ste. Marie to be on Lake Superior, but on the St. Mary's River between Lake Superior and Lake Huron)
Next destination: A city with a franchise in the NBA's Southwest Division

[cougarfreak]

Team A..........Duluth, Minnesota.

[TazFTW]

Z-team goes to Ontonagan, MI

[Wolfpack]

A-Team:
*Boston, Massachusetts to Duluth, Minnesota = 1082 miles
*Posted at 8:08 PM

Z-Team:
*College Park, Maryland to Ontonagon, Michigan = 829 miles
*Posted at 8:26 PM

Z-Team wins distance points (+1.0 pts)
A-Team wins post time points (+0.2 pts)
A-Team time bonus is +0.2 (18 minutes)

Scoreboard:
A-Team 8.2, Z-Team 7.0

[Wolfpack]

Round 7:
A-Team is in Duluth, Minnesota
Z-Team is in Ontonagon, Michigan

Current destination: A city with a franchise in the NBA's Southwest Division
Next destination: A college town in the Big XII conference's North Division

[Raven]

Team Z Dallas

[Raven]

ok, I override my own pick and say Memphis for team Z

[henry296]

Team A a goes to Dallas, TX

[Wolfpack]

A-Team:
*Duluth, Minnesota to Dallas, Texas = 996 miles
*Posted at 10:15 PM

Z-Team:
*Ontonagon, Michigan to Memphis, Tennessee = 812 miles
*Posted at 9:58 PM

Z-Team wins distance points (+1.0 pts)
Z-Team wins post time points (+0.2 pts)
Z-Team time bonus is +0.2 (17 minutes)

Scoreboard:
Z-Team 8.4, A-Team 8.2

Look who's in the lead... :)

[Wolfpack]

Round 8:
A-Team is in Dallas, Texas
Z-Team is in Memphis, Tennessee

Current destination: A college town in the Big XII conference's North Division
Next destination: Any independent city in the state of Virginia

[digamma]

Team A Columbia, Missouri

[ISiddiqui]

Good pick, digamma... nice set up for the next one :D.

[TazFTW]

I guess Z-team goes to Ames, Iowa

[Wolfpack]

A-Team:
*Dallas, Texas to Columbia, Missouri = 492 miles
*Posted at 11:23 PM

Z-Team:
*Memphis, Tennessee to Ames, Iowa = 516 miles
*Posted at 1:12 AM

A-Team wins distance points (+1.0 pts)
A-Team wins post time points (+0.2 pts)
A-Team time bonus is +2.0 (109 minutes)

Scoreboard:
A-Team 11.4, Z-Team 8.4

A-Team roars back in front....

[Wolfpack]

Round 9:
A-Team is in Columbia, Missouri
Z-Team is in Ames, Iowa

Current destination: Any independent city in the state of Virginia
Next destination: Any town with a body part in its name, e.g. Wounded Knee

[henry296]

Team A goes to Bristol, VA

[mhass]

Z goes to Roanoke.

edit: How technical will this body part name have to be? http://dynamic.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Wolfpack]

A-Team:
*Columbia, Missouri to Bristol, Virginia = 579 miles
*Posted at 11:48 AM

Z-Team:
*Ames, Iowa to Roanoke, Virginia = 798 miles
*Posted at 12:21 PM

A-Team wins distance points (+1.0 pts)
A-Team wins post time points (+0.2 pts)
A-Team time bonus is +0.6 (33 minutes)

Scoreboard:
A-Team 13.2, Z-Team 8.4

A-Team is now pulling away. Can the Z-Team rally?

[Wolfpack]

Round 10:
A-Team is in Bristol, Virginia
Z-Team is in Roanoke, Virginia

Current destination: Any town with a body part in its name, e.g. Wounded Knee (if you want to be technical, be technical, but explain the answer...I'd prefer the more colloquial names, like "jaw", rather than "mandible".
Next destination: Any city or town that has a franchise that won a division title in the NBA, MLB, or NFL since 6/22/2004 (last year)

[henry296]

Team A - Mouth of Wilson, VA

[digamma]

Team A to Johnson City, Tennessee. (Do I need to explain?)

Nevermind.

[mhass]

z- Barfoot, VA

[Wolfpack]

A-Team:
*Bristol, Virginia to Mouth of Wilson, Virginia = 46 miles
*Posted at 1:47 PM

Z-Team:
*Roanoke, Virginia to Barfoot, Virginia = 21 miles
*Posted at 1:54 PM

Z-Team wins distance points (+1.0 pts)
A-Team wins post time points (+0.2 pts)
No time bonus awarded (7 minutes)

Scoreboard:
A-Team 13.4, Z-Team 9.4

A bit of a gain for Z with the nice choice of Barfoot, VA, but still a ways to go....

[Wolfpack]

Round 11:
A-Team is in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia
Z-Team is in Barfoot, Virginia

Current destination: Any city or town that has a franchise that won a division title in the NBA, MLB, or NFL since 6/22/2004 (last year)
Next destination: Any city or town with a hyphen in its name

[mhass]

Z- Pittsburgh. (Steelers)

[ISiddiqui]

A-Team = Atlanta, GA

[Wolfpack]

A-Team:
*Mouth of Wilson, Virginia to Atlanta, Georgia = 262 miles
*Posted at 4:16 PM

Z-Team:
*Barfoot, Virginia to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania = 239 miles
*Posted at 4:09 PM

Z-Team wins distance points (+1.0 pts)
Z-Team wins post time points (+0.2 pts)
No time bonus awarded (7 minutes)

Scoreboard:
A-Team 13.6, Z-Team 10.4

Z-Team continues to chip away at the lead...

[Wolfpack]

Round 12:
A-Team is in Atlanta, Georgia
Z-Team is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Current destination: Any city or town with a hyphen in its name
Next destination: Any city or town on the Pacific Ocean

[mhass]

z- palermo-on-the-lakes, oh

been thinking ahead ;)

[TazFTW]

z- palermo-on-the-lakes, oh

been thinking ahead ;)
Nice. I hadn't been able to find one in my limited amount of searching.

[mhass]

Kinda sucks for the next one though.

[digamma]

A Team--Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee

[henry296]

Nice. I was having a hard time finding one.

[Wolfpack]

A-Team:
*Atlanta, Georgia to Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee = 112 miles
*Posted at 5:42 PM

Z-Team:
*Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Palermo-on-the-Lakes, Ohio = 62 miles
*Posted at 5:32 PM

Z-Team wins distance points (+1.0 pts)
Z-Team wins post time points (+0.2 pts)
Z-Team time bonus is +0.2 (10 minutes)

Scoreboard:
A-Team 13.6, Z-Team 11.8

Chipping, chipping, chipping...

[Wolfpack]

Round 13:
A-Team is in Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee
Z-Team is in Palermo-on-the-Lakes, Ohio

Current destination: Any city or town on the Pacific Ocean
Next destination: Any city east of Interstate 35

[digamma]

Team A Los Angeles, CA

[TazFTW]

Z-team goes to San Diego CA

[Wolfpack]

A-Team:
*Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee to Los Angeles, California = 1885 miles
*Posted at 8:44 PM

Z-Team:
*Palermo-on-the-Lakes, Ohio to San Diego, California = 2053 miles
*Posted at 10:15 PM

A-Team wins distance points (+1.0 pts)
A-Team wins post time points (+0.2 pts)
A-Team time bonus is +1.8 (91 minutes)

Scoreboard:
A-Team 16.6, Z-Team 11.8

A devastating round by A-Team. Z-Team's running out of chances now.

[Wolfpack]

Round 14:
A-Team is in Los Angeles, California
Z-Team is in San Diego, California

Current destination: Any US city east of Interstate 35 (cities that sit on I-35 count since some part of them would technically be east of it)
Next destination: A city with a franchise in the NFC North Division

[henry296]

Team A - Kansas City, MO

This is a good combination of places as there are many ways to play this question.

[Mr. Wednesday]

Team Z - Wichita, KS

[Mr. Wednesday]

Dola, hopefully getting the distance bonus can keep us alive for another round, anyway.

[Mr. Wednesday]

OVERRIDE - Team Z to Emporia, KS

[Mr. Wednesday]

OVERRIDE - Team Z to Miller, KS

[Mr. Wednesday]

Quintuple dola, even stretching this one to the bare limit, I think we're cooked on the next round even if we beat them to post, because their second choice is shorter than our first choice.

[Wolfpack]

A-Team:
*Los Angeles, California to Kansas City, Missouri = 1366 miles
*Posted at 11:35 AM

Z-Team:
*San Diego, California to Emporia, Kansas = 1237 miles
*Posted at 2:54 PM

Z-Team wins distance points (+1.0 pts)
A-Team wins post time points (+0.2 pts)
A-Team time bonus is +2.6 (139 minutes)

Scoreboard:
A-Team 20.2, Z-Team 12.8

A-TEAM is the winner!

Thanks for participating, everyone. It was fun, particularly trying to cook up categories that would result in close legs.

I'm beginning to think the time bonus is perhaps too much a part of the calculation. Personally, I think if this is a race to determine who can run the shortest race, then a lot more emphasis needs to be placed on mileage accumulation, rather than time advantages. Perhaps the next time, it'll be a cumulative mileage race. If one team fails to post within 4 hours of the other, then the non-posting is penalized with double the mileage the other team got and starts next round where they failed to move from. Something like that.

[Wolfpack]

Dola...

Alternately, you could accumulate points based on how many miles your team is shorter than the other team, and then get a bonus for time advantage.

Other ideas?

[henry296]

I think perhaps the only time advantage could be for the team that posted first. In essence they were the first to arrive at their destination.

For the previous leg, I though of going all the way to St. Paul, MN ensuring that I would be closer for the next leg, but felt KC was a good middle point to try to win both legs.

[Mr. Wednesday]

I'm pretty you would have been closer to Chicago than we were to Minneapolis. I was trying to beat that and I didn't think I could, so I tried to come as close as I could.