FED PHRASE GAME (Early Edition)
Wednesday 28 February
by Gwaptiva
After a last-minute change of venue and an hour later than usual, I was joined at Godot's Snacks on Earth by Supermayman, Delamitrius, Madadder and debutante Sephorin for the roadshow edition of the Fed Phrase Game. After a quick rundown of the (Crooner) rules, Madadder was the one to get the game underway. After finding two consonants and a bunch of Es, he lost his turn to Supermayman (or Mayman to those that know him). After doing quite well for a bit, he must have seen something - don't ask me what - and asked for the X. Nuff said, Delamitrius was quite pleased getting the opportunity, and, leaving the tomatoes in his pockets for about five minutes, managed to gather enough letters to solve "Clive's Decorative Thimbles". With 1450 points, he took an early lead.
Mayman went in search of a two-word Institution, but could not capitalize on spinning 1000. Delamitrius guessed an R and then lost his turn, probably because some tomato had become lodged in the inner workings. Sephorin couldn't add anything to the puzzle this time. Madadder added the N and then spun up Lose a Turn, Supermayman asked for a consonant not there, and Delamitrius managed to get the puzzle board to show G R E E N _ R E E _ _ _ but came unstuck. Despite admitting to not having a clue, Sephorin added a D, before letting in Madadder who solved correctly as Green Freedom, after racking up 1200 points.
Round three saw Dela go in search of a three-word Place. He found the R, then missed the opportunity to gain a Free Spin. Sephorin discovered the Bankrupt segment of the wheel, letting Madadder collect enough of the letters to give everybody but himself an idea about the solution. Well, all except Mayman, who, when he got his chance, floundered, and handed another 1250 points to Delamitrius who had seen that the solution was Knobs and Knockers.
With 2700 points, and 1500 more than Madadder, Dela may have thought he was home and dry, but he was made to sweat a bit. The category was Famous People, which in Phrase Game terms means "someone I've never heard of before". Sephorin's first choice wasn't in the phrase, Madadder found one N, then Lost his Turn, Mayman failed to find anything, Dela found the R, bought an E and Lost his Turn, so Sephorin had another chance. And boy, did she take her chance. Slowly, very slowly, she set about uncovering letter after letter, building up the points: 2200, 2950, 3200... all that was needed now was a successful solution to the phrase and victory would be hers. And then, disaster. Of course, the In-His-Own-Lunch-Time-Famous Person's name eluded her, and with P R O F E S S O R B _ S I _ H _ C K E N B U R G on the board and sweat pouring down her brow, Sephorin finally was caught out, and Madadder solved it quickly and, for the final standings, unimportantly, as Professor Basil Hackenburg, another one of the inhabitants of Phobos's second dome.
After all that excitement, Delamitrius ran off with the donated slithy tove, followed by Madadder, and the others. Nevertheless, it had been one of the closest games in ages, and all expressed their pleasure at the game. And, they can do it all again this coming Wednesday, and every Wednesday. I hope to see you then.
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