Wormfarmer 426 Posted July 5, 2023 (edited) I am going to try a new pool, wherein the trick is in how you structure your entry. It will not have a set end date, rather the first player to score 30 or more points will be the winner. The idea: Each player will submit a list of 9 names in the form of a tic tac toe board, wherein each line of the board (V)vertically and (H)horizontally has a theme. The table below is an example of a legal entry following the category rules that follow it: 1 2 3 1 frankie avalon smokey robinson lance henriksen (b. 1940) 2 keith richards ken rosewall kim novak (k) 3 neil diamond pete rose nick nolte (b. 1941) (musicians) (r) (actors) Mandatory categories: H1 = year of birth #1 H2 = first letter of first name H3 = year of birth #2 V1 = claim to fame #1 (choose 1: actors, musicians, politicians/world leaders, religious figures, scientists/inventors, authors/journalists and athletes) V2 = first letter of last name V3 = claim to fame #2 (choose 1: actors, musicians, politicians/world leaders, religious figures, scientists/inventors, authors/journalists and athletes) For this example table, I chose year of birth #1 = 1940 and year of birth #2 = 1941, while claim to fame #1 I used musicians and claim to fame #2 I used actors, and obviously the letter I chose for H2 is K and for V2 is R. You may choose any year of birth for H1 and H3, but you must choose 2 different years. Similarly you must choose 2 different claims to fame for V1 and V3, of the 8 listed categories. Scoring: 1 point per hit. If you complete a vertical trio (tic) or a horizontal trio (tac) you get 7 bonus points. If you complete a diagonal trio (toe) you get 10 bonus points. It is obviously possible and probable that a single hit will eventually score more than one trio. You will get bonus points for both in that case. First player to 30 wins. If multiple players exceed 30 points on the same day, the player with the highest total wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the youngest name on their board wins. Names accepted by the Derby or getting obits in the NY Times, Time, CNN, LA Times or AP websites are fine. Others not found there will be considered on a case by case basis, but don't push the obscurity limit too far. You may post your entries in the thread or PM them to me. If you post in the thread I will not allow any identical rows or columns between players, so check that you are not duplicating a posted entry. please indicate which birth years and claims to fame you are using. I will accept entries until we get 20 or so, or if that goal isn't reached I will close entries and start the game on the 5th of August. I would like to play along, but have not yet created an entry, so I will plan on PMing mine to the first entrant or two. I hope you enjoy! Edited July 12, 2023 by Wormfarmer writers were intended to be a category! astronauts fall under scientists category 4 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wormfarmer 426 Posted July 5, 2023 (edited) Welcome to the inaugural edition of Tic-Tac-Toe Tag. We have 14 players, as it looks like I scared off Sir Creep with my overly restrictive categories and he never resubmitted a team. Find the active rosters below. Scoring commenced in mid July. It looks like Politicians were the most popular category, with 10 teams selecting them as a trio, followed by actors, with 8. Six of the 7 categories were chosen at least once, leaving only religious figures out in the wind. The letter J was the most chosen first name (5 times), and B was the most popular surname, with 4 takers. I just discovered that Dying Probably swapped the row/columns for first/last names, but I don't see any harm nor advantage, and since I missed it when posting the teams, it will stand. For year of birth trios, 1924 and 1933 led the way with 4 picks each. The youngest trio chosen was born in 1943, and the oldest in 1923, making them centenarians this year. I think it's a very interesting set of entries and we'll see how the scoring plays out. First to hit 30 wins! Good luck and I'll be back to update scoring at least once a month or as needed. Perhaps 22 - 5 hits + diagonal trio (toe) + horizontal trio (tac) Buffalo Phil 20 Toast 12 Polar Duck 12 Dying Probably 11 MariNisia 5 Diego 3 ladyfiona 3 Wormfarmer 2 Time 2 Spinosaurus 1 . . still a hit with Adamkus or Martin will give Perhaps the win! Edited October 1 by Wormfarmer Spinosaurus gets a point, leaving 3 teams left not on the board. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wormfarmer 426 Posted July 5, 2023 (edited) Derek Martin Biddy Baxter Dianne Feinstein 1933 Joss Ackland James L Buckley Jacques Delors J Perhaps Doreen Mantle Stanley Baxter Valdas Adamkus 1926 actors B politicians Joan Plowright Milan Kundera Leroy Van Dyke 1929 Joyce Randolph Joe Kinnear John Farnham J MariNisia M Emmet Walsh Sandy Koufax Steve Lawrence 1935 actors K musicians Amanda Barrie Try Sutrisno Jose Mujica 1935 Phyllida Law Prunela Scales Paul Biya P Commtech Sio Bibble Joanne Woodward George Soros Douglas Hurd 1930 actors S politicians Quincy Jones Yoko Ono Michael Heseltine 1933 Torben Ulrich Tom Oliver Terence Higgins T time Richard Bonynge Edna O'Brien James Baker 1930 musicians O politicians Jimmy Carter Dub Jones Edward Field 1924 Dianne Feinstein Derek Jacob David Ferry D diego Jean Marie Le Pen Tom Jones William Kennedy 1928 politicians J authors Margaret Kerry Frank Gehry Violetta Chamorro 1929 Rob Burrow Roger Guillemin Robert Nixon R ladyfiona Carl Erskine Helen Gallagher Valda Adamkus 1926 athletes G politicians Newt Gingrich Jane Rossington Fred Schmidt 1943 Evo Morales Esther Rantzen Eugen Ekman E Gooseberry Crumble Roy Beggs Robert Redford Roy Emerson 1936 politicians R athletes Henri Pescarolo John Blaha Brian Wilson 1942 Jack Nicklaus Jerry Bruckheimer Johnny Mathis J TheSpinosaurus George Eastham Brian Blessed Kris Kristofferson 1936 athletes B musicians Mahathir Mohamad Bobby Shantz Dick Van Dyke 1925 Henry Kissinger Harrison Schmitt Hal Linden H Wormfarmer Jimmy Carter Robert Solow Eva Marie Saint 1924 politicians S actors Henry Kissinger Bob Barker Glynis Johns 1923 Song Ping Stanley Baxter Shannen Doherty S polar duck Jacques Delors b.'25 Alan Bergman b. '25 June Lockhart b. '25 1924 politicians B actors Barbara Knox Mike Stoller Yuri Oganessian 1933 John Woodvine June Spencer James Watson J Bibliogryphon Virginia Mckenna William Shatner Roger Penrose 1931 actors S scientists Glynis Johns Bob Barker Henry Kissinger 1923 Joanne Woodward James Bolam Jimmy Carter J Buffalo Phil David Graham Andras Biro Jacques Delors 1925 actors B politicians Dianne Feinstein Barrie Chase Yoko Ono 1933 Sir Patrick Duffy Bruce Dern Bruce Dickinson D Dying Probably James L Buckley Bob Barker Silvia Infantas 1923 politicians B musicians David Attenborough Roger Corman Doreen Mantle 1926 Roger Penrose Rosalynn Carter Ryan O'Neal R Toast Torsten Wiesel Jimmy Carter William Russell 1924 scientists C actors Edited October 1 by Wormfarmer time and buffalo phil hits/buffalo phil hits again for 8 pts Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Immortal 621 Posted July 5, 2023 I like this concept, but I think we can do without the limited claim to fame categories or have some more clarity as to what can fit in each category. Like for example, would astronauts be considered a part of the scientists category even though that's not their primary expertise, because they have some involvement in that field? And what about missed categories like journalists, writers, artists, other non-world leader politicians, royalty, military etc? So much potential in those categories which will be missed because of the current limited list of claim to fame categories. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bibliogryphon 9,491 Posted July 5, 2023 @Wormfarmer Can I have writers as a claim to fame? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bibliogryphon 9,491 Posted July 5, 2023 1 2 3 1 Barbara Knox Mike Stoller Yuri Oganessian (b. 1933) 2 John Woodvine June Spencer James Watson (J) 3 Virginia Mckenna William Shatner Roger Penrose (b. 1931) (Actors) (S) (Scientists) I have decided to give this a go and my reputation for these games is so low I have no fear about making my entry public Thanks for running and writers can wait for a future version of the game 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spade_Cooley 9,459 Posted July 5, 2023 Is this inspired by Football Tic Tac Toe? Remember, if you're stuck the answer is usually Alvaro Morata. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toast 16,026 Posted July 5, 2023 8 hours ago, TheSpinosaurus said: I like this concept, but I think we can do without the limited claim to fame categories or have some more clarity as to what can fit in each category. Like for example, would astronauts be considered a part of the scientists category even though that's not their primary expertise, because they have some involvement in that field? And what about missed categories like journalists, writers, artists, other non-world leader politicians, royalty, military etc? So much potential in those categories which will be missed because of the current limited list of claim to fame categories. I agree with this. Could we have more categories, please? Writers could include journalists, royalty could include other titled people, etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ladyfiona 2,544 Posted July 5, 2023 I'll give this a go. Will submit mine closer to the end date to avoid stealing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Commtech Sio Bibble 1,977 Posted July 5, 2023 I'll participate but will need to wait till I'm home next week before I draft up a team. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BuffaloPhil 902 Posted July 5, 2023 Have sent a team over. Thanks for running. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
polar duck 769 Posted July 5, 2023 I'd love to participate! I'll have my roster in a few hours. Politician B Actor 1923 Henry Kissinger Bob Barker Glynis Johns S Song Ping Stanley Baxter Shannen Doherty 1924 Jacques Delors Alan Bergman June Lockhart 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dying Probably 578 Posted July 5, 2023 Submitting shortly, thank you for hosting Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wormfarmer 426 Posted July 5, 2023 14 hours ago, Bibliogryphon said: @Wormfarmer Can I have writers as a claim to fame? Done. Sorry I missed them. Includes journalists and authors and newspeople. Meant for it to be there when I was thinking up categories. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wormfarmer 426 Posted July 5, 2023 6 hours ago, Toast said: I agree with this. Could we have more categories, please? Writers could include journalists, royalty could include other titled people, etc. I have made it 8 categories because I fully intended for writers/authors/journalists to be there. Also, royalty and politicians fall under the world leaders category, which I have amended above to label "politicians" instead of political leaders. I am going to keep the categories at 8 because part of the design of this pool is to be creative within the restrictions of the categories. I don't want so much leeway that we include the very marginally famous (or totally nonfamous), because they have a cancer blog or are a relative of someone who . . . . . blah blah etc. Maybe we can expand things if there are future editions. Let's see how this goes for now. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wormfarmer 426 Posted July 5, 2023 (edited) Now that we have an entry, I will post mine as well. This is an acceptable format: jacques delors/bobby shantz/dick van dyke/1925 (sub in mahathir mohamad) henry kissinger/harrison schmitt/hal linden/H jimmy carter/robert solow/eva marie saint/1924 politicians/ s /actors I didn't think this was likely, but only a few entries in and already there is a redundancy conflict. After posting my team, I went to my PM and found that another player had submitted the same trio I used for politicians! Eff me! So I am swapping out jacques delors for mahathir mohamad. I was lucky to find another name to fit both categories on short notice, and not have to restructure my whole grid. Carry on . . . . . Edited July 5, 2023 by Wormfarmer edit due to other entry having same trio of politicians 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wormfarmer 426 Posted July 5, 2023 Here is another issue. Due to the linking of all names submitted in a tic tac toe grid, replacing a name that dies before the game starts in not a simple feat. It will likely require a re-structuring of part or all of an entry. So I am proposing a start date for this game of July 7, on which day scoring will commence. Entries are not due at this time, but teams will be active once posted, so that early entrants do not have to restructure their whole entries as we accumulate hits throughout July. I suppose this is a bit of incentive not to wait until the last minute to submit. 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Immortal 621 Posted July 6, 2023 Henri Pescarolo John Blaha Brian Wilson (b. 1942) Jack Nicklaus Jerry Bruckheimer Johnny Mathis (J) George Eastham Brian Blessed Kris Kristofferson (b. 1936) (athletes) (B) (musicians) This is the team I'm bringing in. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gooseberry Crumble 5,318 Posted July 6, 2023 Working on my entry right now.. ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BuffaloPhil 902 Posted July 6, 2023 21 hours ago, Wormfarmer said: Now that we have an entry, I will post mine as well. This is an acceptable format: jacques delors/bobby shantz/dick van dyke/1925 (sub in mahathir mohamad) henry kissinger/harrison schmitt/hal linden/H jimmy carter/robert solow/eva marie saint/1924 politicians/ s /actors I didn't think this was likely, but only a few entries in and already there is a redundancy conflict. After posting my team, I went to my PM and found that another player had submitted the same trio I used for politicians! Eff me! So I am swapping out jacques delors for mahathir mohamad. I was lucky to find another name to fit both categories on short notice, and not have to restructure my whole grid. Carry on . . . . . Apologies! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bibliogryphon 9,491 Posted July 7, 2023 I like the idea of this game and I am making the suggestions below entirely free from judgement I do not say they would enhance the game but might make it more competitive However as game runner it is your decision what you include for the second round (whenever we get round to that) Should the central name be a unique on a first come first served basis? - this would be an incentive to go in early and public Should there be rules about the years? such as must be from separate decades or be at least five years apart Just thoughts 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ladyfiona 2,544 Posted July 7, 2023 It's harder than I thought trying to plan this out, lol. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gooseberry Crumble 5,318 Posted July 7, 2023 Here is my entry-Hope I've done it right! 1 2 3 Newt Gingrich Jane Rossington Fred (1943) Schmidt Evo Morales Esther Rantzen Eugen (E) Ekman Roy Beggs Robert Redford Roy (1936) Emerson (Politics) (R) (athletes) (Sport) Sorry if it's a mess vertical 1 is politics Horizontal 1 is born 1943 Vertical 2 is second name beginning with R Horizontal 2 is first name beginning with E Vertical 3 is athletes-so an Olympic swimmer, Finnish Olympian and australian tennis player. Horizontal 3 is people born 1936. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ladyfiona 2,544 Posted July 7, 2023 1 2 3 1 (Margaret Kerry) (Frank Gehry) (Violeta Chamorro) (b. 1929) 2 (Rob Burrow) (Roger Guillemin) (Robert Nixon) (R - letter start) 3 (Carl Erskine) (Helen Gallagher) (Valdas Adamkus) (b. 1926) (Athlete) (G – letter end) (Politician) 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Commtech Sio Bibble 1,977 Posted July 9, 2023 Actor S (Last Name) Politician/World Leader 1935 Amanda Barrie Try Sutrisno Jose Mujica P (First Name) Phyllida Law Prunella Scales Paul Biya 1930 Joanne Woodward George Soros Douglas Hurd 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites