DDP 2018 Town Hall

[YoungWillz 20,898]

1 minute ago, Phantom of the Midway said:

But you're not exactly rewarded for them... it's not like there's a 3-point cancer mum bonus.

 

And, yes, I'm pretty sure most of us agree cancer mums should be banned. But if you want people to not pick cancer mums, then ban cancer mums! Don't try to counteract it with some kind of Drop 40 bonus that doesn't even help that issue.

It's a discussion, not an argument, for the game runner will decide all anyway. We can put our counter-arguments effectively here.

 

It's true that the Drop 40 bonus doesn't help much, which is why it should be increased to an additional 10 points, ha ha! If you can't have a game runner checking and re-checking entries to decide whether someone qualifies under some sort of ban on certain picks, then you need something that effectively dissuades people from that sort of pick. If you do away with the Drop 40, the only alternative is to deduct say 5 points when a certain person dies based on some sort of rule about cancer/terminal nobodies. That might be a problem for the website and how calculations are made.

 

I'd argue picking someone who is famous for something, anything, who may die should be rewarded over someone who will definitely die who never did anything in their life apart from getting ill and getting a "compassionate" write-up from the press.

[CaptainChorizo 1,968]

I like the drop 40 bonus,it adds another layer to the game. No one is gonna win by loading up their team with the Kirk Douglas and Olivia DeHavillands of the world, but if you got a gut feeling on one of them making them 7-8 points makes someone a should I shouldn't I proposition for the top teams.

[RadGuy 1,614]

Y'all have good points. I guess it does add another layer of competitiveness, since predicting the Drop 40 becomes another important part of researching.

 

But I'm still somewhat skeptical towards it... I just feel like rare but non-unique picks who aren't FFBI suffer.

 

Oh, well, clearly most people are in favor of a Drop 40 bonus. I'll concede.

[Death Impends 7,924]

3 minutes ago, CaptainChorizo said:

I like the drop 40 bonus,it adds another layer to the game. No one is gonna win by loading up their team with the Kirk Douglas and Olivia DeHavillands of the world, but if you got a gut feeling on one of them making them 7-8 points makes someone a should I shouldn't I proposition for the top teams.

 

Good example of the above: One of the major possible game changers at this point in the DDP would be Bruce Forsyth dying, whereas under last year's rules that would only decide who just sneaks into the top 20. The FFBIs are still there but I like how even among the top teams bonafide celebs become a bit more a part of the conversation.

[Joey Russ 7,209]

I also like that at least a couple of us will try a new strategy with a reduction on the amount of FFBI that actually makes the cut (fringes of fame is still fair game for me), and as a whole, will make the competition a lot more exciting.

[Spade_Cooley 9,464]

My take on the Drop 40 bonus is it serves a little bit like the chips in fantasy football - they're deliberately included to help the casuals maintain interest and get a better score, but even so a fully committed expert should be able to get more use out of them than the entry-level player.

[msc 18,379]

If Spade is bowing out DQSP next year (afaik), then 2018 will be a rather open. Be interesting to see how some folk deal with the position of being favourites rather than as underdog. Perhaps someone entirely unheralded will come racing up to the front, or even Ali or Banshees will finally win one. All very open and interesting.

[Death Impends 7,924]

It is worth noting that every year Spade won, the runner up has always been different - OoO, Drunkasaskunk, DDT, and CaptainChorizo (though only the last one hasn't won the gold before). This would remain true if he wins again this year as it would almost certainly mean Bert or Cow in second place.

[Spade_Cooley 9,464]

I am bowing out. Like I said, two years as gamerunner, then I'm back to win the 2020 title. Marián Čišovský's already pencilled in.

[msc 18,379]

1 hour ago, Death Impends said:

It is worth noting that every year Spade won, the runner up has always been different - OoO, Drunkasaskunk, DDT, and CaptainChorizo (though only the last one hasn't won the gold before). This would remain true if he wins again this year as it would almost certainly mean Bert or Cow in second place.

 

OoO retired, the Skunk is always there or there abouts in the top 30 now, and DDT's record speaks for itself.

 

Curious stat though. Was convinced you finished 2nd at some point, just from vague memory.

 

 

[Joey Russ 7,209]

It'll be exciting that in 2020, it'll be a new, tense, race between DQSBP and the winner/s to see who'll claim victorious. Of course, an all new threat could easily beat them in 2020 as well...

[themaninblack 2,112]

On 14/08/2017 at 13:07, Spade_Cooley said:

I am bowing out. Like I said, two years as gamerunner, then I'm back to win the 2020 title. Marián Čišovský's already pencilled in.

And there was me thinking he'd declare he'd outlast me, Colin Baker stylee....

[DevonDeathTrip 2,348]

On 8/14/2017 at 14:17, msc said:

 

OoO retired, the Skunk is always there or there abouts in the top 30 now, and DDT's record speaks for itself.

 

Curious stat though. Was convinced you finished 2nd at some point, just from vague memory.

 

 

 I've finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th in the DDP.   Was hoping to finish 4th this year to complete the set, but, alas I don't think I'll attain such lofty heights if current performance is anything to go by.  

 

I'll be back with a better team in 2018 though.  Nothing like a bad year to get me back into competitive mode.

[Joey Russ 7,209]

Wonder if the Living End could snatch the title again with DQSBP gone next year...

[msc 18,379]

14 minutes ago, DevonDeathTrip said:

 I've finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th in the DDP.   Was hoping to finish 4th this year to complete the set, but, alas I don't think I'll attain such lofty heights if current performance is anything to go by.  

 

I'll be back with a better team in 2018 though.  Nothing like a bad year to get me back into competitive mode.

 

*ominous music plays*

 

Nah, it's always cool to have DDT in best form in these things.

[Joey Russ 7,209]

I'm sure he's not the only one coming back with a much better team...

But yeah, it's certainly cool. It's honestly seems like a lot more fun when your well researched picks go up against other well researched picks. And my team will be better, so even though it's still 4 and a half month aways (with more potential picks to come), I still have high hopes for my team next year. 

Still, I can't really complain about my debut performance. Despite a poor joker choice and being an idiot by leaving Leah Bracknell off the team, my team is currently at 95 points, and I think I'll likely break into the 100 point boundary, as while some picks will almost certainly see 2018, I still vie Tony Booth and Colin Meads as likely deaths, and I think that one of them will die before 2018. And that Ian Brady gut pick being successful worked so well for me, probably one of my best achievements yet. I've learned a lot my first year...

[msc 18,379]

Oh I'm going for the weaker team. Bernard Hepton and co returning.

[gcreptile 10,929]

1 hour ago, DevonDeathTrip said:

 I've finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th in the DDP.   Was hoping to finish 4th this year to complete the set, but, alas I don't think I'll attain such lofty heights if current performance is anything to go by.  

 

I'll be back with a better team in 2018 though.  Nothing like a bad year to get me back into competitive mode.

In the absence of Spade, DDT is the closest thing to an incumbent there is.

 

But there are probably around 10 likely title contenders from the outset.

 

Personally, I've learned to ban prisoners from my teams. Even Kevin Murray doesn't overcome my disappointment with Catherine Nevin. Plus, there's Rena Salmon and Brian Reader. Not to mention Gary Haggarty and Scott Thorson, or ...that disgraced nonagenarian US telecom executive...forgot the name.

I also want to get better at picking those "2nd year with cancer" types. It's not enough to pick those with terminal cancer who announced it the year before. You can't expect all of those Simon Ricketts/Stefan Karls/Gord Downies/Leah Bracknells to die. You also need to pick those who are likely to have a downturn - like Connie Johnson. My pick of Daisy Berkowitz was a miss in this regard.

 

Edit: This implies that I won't pick everyone who was diagnosed with terminal cancer this year. To be precise, I might not pick Olivia Newton-John.

 

[Joey Russ 7,209]

44 minutes ago, gcreptile said:

In the absence of Spade, DDT is the closest thing to an incumbent there is.

 

But there are probably around 10 likely title contenders from the outset.

 

Personally, I've learned to ban prisoners from my teams. Even Kevin Murray doesn't overcome my disappointment with Catherine Nevin. Plus, there's Rena Salmon and Brian Reader. Not to mention Gary Haggarty and Scott Thorson, or ...that disgraced nonagenarian US telecom executive...forgot the name.

I also want to get better at picking those "2nd year with cancer" types. It's not enough to pick those with terminal cancer who announced it the year before. You can't expect all of those Simon Ricketts/Stefan Karls/Gord Downies/Leah Bracknells to die. You also need to pick those who are likely to have a downturn - like Connie Johnson. My pick of Daisy Berkowitz was a miss in this regard.

 

Edit: This implies that I won't pick everyone who was diagnosed with terminal cancer this year. To be precise, I might not pick Olivia Newton-John.

 

That's probably one of the most difficult tasks, figuring out who'll take a turn for the worse. As we seen over the years, several people in the past were expected to survive the year, but then it turns out they had died. Simon MacCorkindale immediately comes into mind. From what I read, people were considering him a cert for 2011, but then he died in October 2010. So you have to be smart on who you choose. It also shows why it may still be many years before someone gets 20/20 on their team in one year. Of course, that's not the only factor to take into consideration. Other factors still apply as well...

[marinade 18]

On 13/08/2017 at 22:56, Death Impends said:

 

Good example of the above: One of the major possible game changers at this point in the DDP would be Bruce Forsyth dying, whereas under last year's rules that would only decide who just sneaks into the top 20. The FFBIs are still there but I like how even among the top teams bonafide celebs become a bit more a part of the conversation.

Not much chance of that hap- oh.

[Joey Russ 7,209]

Death Impends jinxed himself. Not even one week after and Brucie has died. 

[Death Impends 7,924]

On 8/11/2017 at 21:34, YoungWillz said:

I'm guessing Brokenshire won't be far behind....

 

On 8/11/2017 at 21:44, Death Impends said:

Aye, be stunned if by the 20th we're still waiting for a full Times/Telegraph obit on him.

 

Well took a bit longer than that but full Telegraph obit for Brokenshire: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2017/08/27/commodore-laurie-brokenshire-royal-navy-officer-puzzlist-obituary/

[msc 18,379]

Some potted highlights from that Telegraph obit. Quite the fascinating character.

 

Quote

 

Commodore Laurie Brokenshire, who has died aged 64, was a successful naval career officer, a member of the Magic Circle and a world-class puzzling expert.

After retiring from the Navy, Brokenshire and his wife, Ethel, camped and bicycled the length of several continents to reach the annual and secretive International Puzzle Parties (IPP), attended by invitation only. They wild-camped or stayed with friends along the Eastern coast of Australia, around the North Island of New Zealand, across Japan, Europe and Scandinavia, and several times across the US. In 2014 he organised and hosted IPP 34 for 200 fellow puzzlists at a hotel near Heathrow.

Brokenshire was in regular contact with puzzlists worldwide, and was retained by a number of puzzles companies as a consultant. His own puzzle collection was considered one of the largest in Britain, so large that he built an extension to his home to house them all.

A long-standing challenge was the “Dudeney Problem”, a chessboard dissection puzzle with a solution which had been revealed in by the British puzzle compiler Henry Dudeney (1857-1930). An American rival, Sam Loyd (1841-1911), showed that there was a second solution, and after a hundred years Brokenshire revealed a third. It is now known as the “Dudeney-Loyd-Brokenshire Problem”.

Brokenshire was also accepted into the Inner Magic Circle, and was an occasional professional magician. He used his magic to raise money for charities and performed for members of the Royal Family. He always carried his magic bag with him and was adept at finding tricks to suit any occasion.

...He gave his first magic show aged 13.

He read Mathematics at Exeter, where he played hockey and table tennis for the university. He also beat his head of department, Professor David Rees, at chess and, at Rees’s insistence, the strategy game Go. Later he read for a science degree at the Open University.

...

In 1994 Brokenshire and his wife heard a radio advertisement by Hampshire County Council seeking foster parents and felt that it was a sign from God. They went on to foster more than 70 children. During his protracted fight with cancer, he delighted in meeting some of those they had cared for.

 

 

[Spade_Cooley 9,464]

Yeah, definitely one of the most fascinating DQSP hits of all time. Up there with Andrew Millwall.

[gcreptile 10,929]

I really like the NYT obits. Lady Lucan, Zuzana Ruzickova, Eberhard Van Der Laan, Ralphie May...pretty eclectic.