The weekly newsletter for Fed2 by ibgames

EARTHDATE: June 10, 2007

Event Reports - page 3


FED PHRASE GAME (Early Edition)

Wednesday 6 June
by Gwaptiva

Upon entering this week's venue for the roadshow edition of the Phrase Game, the Bridge on Pearl, I got quite a shock as a grand total of 7 (!) players showed up; Sean, Necromancer, Korak, Toawa, Supermayman, Yuko, and Trilleth were all eager to play. Far be it from me to disappoint, so I put on my brave face and got things going.

After determining the order of play and Supermayman having given up his seat to Cloudbase (whether or not that was under threat of loss-of-pocket-money is as yet unclear), we got things going with the first phrase. Korak, on his debut, showed he has plenty of talent, finding quite a number of letters, but he lost his turn mainly due to his inexperience. Trilleth went to work and it appeared to all that she knew the answer and was just trying to score points until she asked for a Y, which wasn't in the phrase. Toawa made no mistake and scored 850 points with the correct solution "Master planet designer Slarti".

Trilleth's second attempt came when she started the second round, looking for a four-word Institution. She found three letters but then spun Lose a Turn, handing over to Toawa, who added one and then spun Bankrupt. Cloudbase then showed everyone how to spin, adding two letters for 1750 points before solving Solar Federation of Miners as the correct answer.

The wheel had been oiled right before the show, but it appeared that made it only more likely to land on bogey fields, something Toawa discovered on the first spin of his turn to start the third phrase: a three-word Institution. Cloudbase built up a score of 1900 points before being undone by trying to buy the vowel E. No such vowel was present in the phrase, so, while the rest was discussing ladies' undergarments, Sean and Yuko tried, but couldn't find a consonant. Necromancer did a little better, but neither he nor Korak could really dent the puzzle. Trilleth did seem to head straight for a solution until the wheel again showed Bankrupt, so that Toawa could solve Dirty Boy Productions.

With Cloudbase leading Toawa by 150 points and the rest by 1750, he looked to seal his victory early, starting the fourth puzzle. He found one consonant in the five-word phrase in the category Objects, but then the wheel interrupted again with a Lose a Turn. Sean added a consonant, then lost his turn through bad guessing, and that pattern was repeated by Yuko. Necromancer nor Korak had any idea how to add to the phrase, and Trilleth's efforts seemed doomed, thwarted as they were by the wheel. The same fate struck Toawa, making it quite straightforward for Cloudbase to solve "A Golden Dragon Tea Pot".

The category for the fifth phrase was a little unclear, being either an event or an institution, or possibly both. That notwithstanding, Sean built himself a lovely score, revealing consonant after consonant, with the odd vowel and free spin, before miss-guessing. Yuko did get the tricky Q into the phrase, but then spun Lose a Turn, and so Necromancer solved the phrase as "squeeks at the big cheese".

At this point Yuko had to drop out, so the sixth round became the final round. To the pleasure of the regulars, this phrase was in the category Fed Songs, and Necromancer had first go at it. He found the R, but then failed to find another consonant. Korak found nothing either. Now, Trilleth could still catch up with Cloudbase and looked like she would. Letter after letter was revealed by her, with Cloudbase desperately hoping for the wheel to come to his aid again, having spotted the answer after only 3 letters.

Trilleth found the complete phrase except for the two-letter second word. However hard she tried to think, it wouldn't come to her, so in the end, so close to the finish and a magnificent win, she managed to grab defeat from the claws of victory. Toawa tried but he too didn't manage to find either of the two letters, so Cloudbase romped to victory by solving Starmaker by The Kids from Fame. Runner-up was Toawa and Necromancer came in third.

Next Wednesday, we'll play the Phrase Game again, somewhere in Sol. Come and have a go and see if you can beat the wheel.


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