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Author Topic: Duel do-it-yourself home game  (Read 3227 times)

alfonzos

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Duel do-it-yourself home game
« on: July 28, 2008, 05:26:47 PM »
Materials: Ten poker chips for each player, homemade gameboards for the placement of said poker chips, shields, a copy of the money tree from the game, the questions from any home version of WWTBAM.

This game is for two or more players and a gamemaster.

Using the questions from WWTBAM the players use a round-robin format so the players will play all combinations against each other. Because there is little conversation during the quiz anyway more than one duel can happen simultaneously. Everyone uses the same question. The player with the most money after everyone has dueled everyone else is the winner.

Opinions?
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J.R.

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Duel do-it-yourself home game
« Reply #1 on: July 28, 2008, 06:04:25 PM »
You're missing one important element to a game of Duel...

A pen.
« Last Edit: July 28, 2008, 06:04:34 PM by J.R. »
-Joe Raygor

Chelsea Thrasher

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Duel do-it-yourself home game
« Reply #2 on: July 28, 2008, 06:08:05 PM »
[quote name=\'J.R.\' post=\'192476\' date=\'Jul 28 2008, 06:04 PM\']A pen.
[/quote]
Nevermind the question of how to remind viewers what show and network they're watching when playing a home game.

clemon79

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Duel do-it-yourself home game
« Reply #3 on: July 28, 2008, 07:15:29 PM »
[quote name=\'J.R.\' post=\'192476\' date=\'Jul 28 2008, 03:04 PM\']
You're missing one important element to a game of Duel...

A pen.
[/quote]
http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/2172/winnarsln6.gif
Chris Lemon, King Fool, Director of Suck Consolidation
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parliboy

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Duel do-it-yourself home game
« Reply #4 on: July 28, 2008, 10:07:18 PM »
This seems like a good thread to talk about my own homebrew Duel attempt.

I help run a small gaming get-together around New Year's, and one of my major responsibilities is the implementation of the Friday Night game show.  Last year, I did the World Series of Pop Culture (which reminds me, I should make the emcee software I wrote available for download once I get back home).  This year, I'm doing Duel.

I'm going to break the game into two halves -- one where the entire audience plays, which produces top scorers, and then the duels themselves, which will play like the show.

In the first half, there will be a series of questions.  Each question will have a series of answers read to it -- some right, and some wrong.  Every time you hear an answer you agree with, you hit your buzzer.  You take 1 point every time you hit your buzzer.  You take 7 points for failing to hit your buzzer for the right answer.  Low scores at the end play Duel in a single elimination tournament.
 
Because we know the total number of chips in the tournament, we can award them a dollar value and convert them into money for prize support purposes.  Players who win a duel keep the chips they save, and the grand champion takes all of the spent chips as the jackpot prize.  We have a local game vendor who shows up with a lot of the Essen releases so that our winners can go crazy with their earnings.
 
I plan to write flash-based emcee software that is four screens in size.  (I know I could write seperate apps and have them talk, but this is less time-consuming, and I can test them all at once.  Also, I used a two-screen system to do the World Series program last year, so I'm comfortable with this.)  Two of the screens will be for each player to see.  One of them will be seen by the emcee and audience (to display all information), and one will be seen by me (the control panel for everything).
 
They can use the colored buttons of the BUZZ controllers to select and deselect their answers (as a toggle).  The red button will be hit twice to hit in answers (I want an "Are you sure?" to reduce accidents).  Additional presses of the red button use a press.

I'm not worried about my question-writing ability, and other staff members help me verify facts.  Two big concerns are length of matches and number of presses per side.  I always hated two presses per side because it consumed over half of the game.  My current inclination is to allow one each instead.  But I also want to impose a a one minute time limit per question regardless, simply because it's a live show and I need to keep things moving.  With that time limit in place, I'm not worried about losing audience interest, based on what we've run over the past three years.
 
I now throw myself out to you for the mandatory evisceration.
« Last Edit: July 28, 2008, 10:07:46 PM by parliboy »
"You're never ready, just less unprepared."

TLEberle

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Duel do-it-yourself home game
« Reply #5 on: July 28, 2008, 10:11:42 PM »
[quote name=\'parliboy\' post=\'192521\' date=\'Jul 28 2008, 07:07 PM\']I'm not worried about losing audience interest, based on what we've run over the past three years.
 
I now throw myself out to you for the mandatory evisceration.[/quote]That sounds like a remarkably good workaround for a MMGS. I'm also curious what else you've run besides World Series. And you have an Essen vendor? Lucky guy. :)
If you didn’t create it, it isn’t your content.

clemon79

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Duel do-it-yourself home game
« Reply #6 on: July 28, 2008, 10:41:40 PM »
[quote name=\'parliboy\' post=\'192521\' date=\'Jul 28 2008, 07:07 PM\']
I now throw myself out to you for the mandatory evisceration.[/quote]
Yeah, I've got one. If you get Gathering Storm before I do there's gonna be hell to pay. ;)
Chris Lemon, King Fool, Director of Suck Consolidation
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parliboy

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Duel do-it-yourself home game
« Reply #7 on: July 28, 2008, 11:14:41 PM »
[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'192522\' date=\'Jul 28 2008, 09:11 PM\'] [quote name=\'parliboy\' post=\'192521\' date=\'Jul 28 2008, 07:07 PM\']I'm not worried about losing audience interest, based on what we've run over the past three years.

I now throw myself out to you for the mandatory evisceration.[/quote]That sounds like a remarkably good workaround for a MMGS. I'm also curious what else you've run besides World Series. And you have an Essen vendor? Lucky guy. :) [/quote]
 
Before I took the lead on the game shows, we ran the Rich List one year.  Absolultely horrible game show, I know, and I expressed why to the other organizers in great detail.  But as a simple game among teams of people who believe they're the smartest ones in the room, it works.
 
As to Essen releases, it's not too hard to get in language independent stuff, since they often get quickly released domestically, especially given the partnerships in the industry.  I picked up Kingsburg and Felix last year at that time, for example.
« Last Edit: July 28, 2008, 11:14:51 PM by parliboy »
"You're never ready, just less unprepared."

TLEberle

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Duel do-it-yourself home game
« Reply #8 on: July 28, 2008, 11:45:30 PM »
[quote name=\'alfonzos\' post=\'192469\' date=\'Jul 28 2008, 02:26 PM\']Opinions?[/quote]I think the Millionaire questions leave out lots of what made Duel interesting, for one the Duel Math(tm) ones. And Duel tended to offer lots of "off the wall" questions that you wouldn't expect to see on Millionaire, but since you could use more than one chip, it was OK.

If you're going to play Duel At Home Instead of ABC, I think you chuck the absurd money tree and declare the winner to be the person who could save the most chips from victories. For that matter, how do you handle the lockdown? And the press?
If you didn’t create it, it isn’t your content.

parliboy

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Duel do-it-yourself home game
« Reply #9 on: July 28, 2008, 11:45:55 PM »
[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'192533\' date=\'Jul 28 2008, 09:41 PM\'] [quote name=\'parliboy\' post=\'192521\' date=\'Jul 28 2008, 07:07 PM\']I now throw myself out to you for the mandatory evisceration.[/quote]Yeah, I've got one. If you get Gathering Storm before I do there's gonna be hell to pay. ;) [/quote]

The vendor in question recently changed his purchase policy to roughly read, "top new games on bgg."  So yeah, I might get it before you.  Of course, you could always fly to Gen Con and try your luck.
« Last Edit: July 28, 2008, 11:46:08 PM by parliboy »
"You're never ready, just less unprepared."

Hastin

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Duel do-it-yourself home game
« Reply #10 on: July 29, 2008, 03:02:55 AM »
[quote name=\'Seth Thrasher\' post=\'192477\' date=\'Jul 28 2008, 03:08 PM\']
Nevermind the question of how to remind viewers what show and network they're watching when playing a home game.
[/quote]

Okay, it's time to move on and...break out the chips and dip...you're playing Duel at Hastin's house. [cue dramatic music]
-Hastin :)

The Ol' Guy

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Duel do-it-yourself home game
« Reply #11 on: July 29, 2008, 08:23:42 AM »
Just finished mine a month ago, and pretty much did what you said. It's geared for three players - contestants and host. THe oval game board from the Men Are From Mars game makes for a nice play area. Took Millionaire questions and one of the question card holders, redecorated for Duel. Set up a screen to put between the players, and it works out pretty well. For the sake of this game, we add the value of a winner's remaing chips ($500 ea.) to whatever was won on the money tree as players attempt to be the first to reach a winning target amount. Now that the kinks in my home computer have been worked out, I'll try to get a flik'r or photo bucket or some other account and post some pictures of these games, per several requests. Right now I'm working on a Mad Dash, and the next two on the list are Malcolm and Caught In The Act.