alphabetics question

[Clay Zambo]

I may be in the minority here, but I liked the "no opposites" rule.  Having opposites just made the game way too easy.  I agree when Ludden said at the time that it made the game more "pure".

We actually play "no opposites" when we play at game night, for exactly this reason.

I don't see the increased purity in disallowing opposites; they seem perfectly valid clues to me.  Now, if you had a rule allowing multiple-word clues and then revoked it, I'd buy that argument.

Want to talk "pure" Password?  Axe the rule allowing that the password be a phrase or acronym. Yes, "eye" and "network" would get me to think of "CBS," but I don't think "CBS" is one word.

[clemon79]

I don't see the increased purity in disallowing opposites; they seem perfectly valid clues to me.

They are too easy. Disallowing them encourages creativity in your clue-giving, which is *absolutely* pure Password.

Want to talk "pure" Password?  Axe the rule allowing that the password be a phrase or acronym. Yes, "eye" and "network" would get me to think of "CBS," but I don't think "CBS" is one word.

"The Password is always a SINGLE word, not hyphenated and NOT a proper noun." So it is written, so it shall be, and anyone who fails to heed this rule is merely pretending. Period.

[Jay Temple]

That's why I didn't like it when they went to that no opposites rule. To me it felt like change just for the sake of it.

I may be in the minority here, but I liked the "no opposites" rule.  Having opposites just made the game way too easy.  I agree when Ludden said at the time that it made the game more "pure".

I'll join you in the minority. I wouldn't call it purer, but I'd say it was more interesting.

Here's the trade-off, to me. Even during P+, it was apparent that viewers had a shorter attention span than before, because they shortened it from six clues per password to four. It doesn't make for good television if too many passwords (or worse, puzzles) go unsolved. At the same time, having too many puzzles solved on one or two clues not only hurts the budget but makes the puzzles less interesting. And a lot of interesting puzzles were possible because of passwords for which an opposite was the best, if not the only clue.

How many good clues are even possible for "south"?

ETA: Clay, I'm also with you on the passwords themselves. My rule when I make up puzzles is, if at all possible, don't have a password that wouldn't be legal as a clue.

[BrandonFG]

How many good clues are even possible for "south"?

Other than cardinal directions (minus north of course), all I can think of is saying the name of a southern state with a southern drawl.

[PYLdude]

I don't see the increased purity in disallowing opposites; they seem perfectly valid clues to me.

They are too easy. Disallowing them encourages creativity in your clue-giving, which is *absolutely* pure Password.

How does it encourage creativity, honestly? If there's a word where the best clue or only clue that would lead you to the identity of the word is an opposite, wouldn't that take away from the gameplay?

[SRIV94]

How many good clues are even possible for "south"?

Other than cardinal directions (minus north of course), all I can think of is saying the name of a southern state with a southern drawl.

Or possibly saying the word "direction" and let your voice trail off.

[TLEberle]

How does it encourage creativity, honestly? If there's a word where the best clue or only clue that would lead you to the identity of the word is an opposite, wouldn't that take away from the gameplay?

Then you either pass it away and plan to steal it on the rebound or deflect and say something that doesn't point right at the password if your partner bungles it. As long as the clue logically links to the password, you're good. So maybe you set aside "direction" and "Dakota" and start with "Due", and inflect appropriately.

Not every password needs to be a one-hit kill.

[Dbacksfan12]

How many good clues are even possible for "south"

Confederacy comes to mind immediately.

[chris319]

This was a problem with P+ and Super Password. Words were chosen to describe the subject of the puzzle, not because they were intrinsically interesting words to play. Before the "no opposites" rule, a password which could easily be played with an opposite (e.g. "cold" or "down" or "left") would be used to wrap up a match in a hurry, or in the Lightning Round.

Then there was the time Howard ruled that "cat" was the opposite of "dog". Allen called him on it, and rightfully so. I'm not sure how much of that incident was left in the show. Anybody? I seem to recall Allen remarking that it was a rare occurrence indeed for Howard to admit he was wrong.

BTW, if anyone has asked for a copy of the P+ bible and hasn't received one, please send me a message.

[clemon79]

How does it encourage creativity, honestly?

Because...it forces you to come up with another clue aside from the braindead obvious one, because a braindead obvious word isn't nearly as fun? We don't like it when a team gets the play/pass option on an automatic point. That isn't strategy, that's luck. Password should be a game of skill and strategy. We'll pull out Can't Stop if we want luck.

If there's a word where the best clue

If the "best" clue has been deemed illegal, well, it isn't the best clue anymore, is it? I mean, by that definition, the BEST clue is the word itself, as that SNL skit keeps milking.

or only clue that would lead you to the identity of the word is an opposite

I have played a lot of Password. I mean, a LOT of Password. We have yet to come across a Password, in all the games we have played (so we're probably talking at least a couple thousand words at the minimum, although I strongly suspect we have played a fair bit more than 100 games in the years I have been playing games with my friends) where the *only* clue we could come up with was an opposite. In fact I daresay we have never seen a Password that we could come up with only one clue for, period, and I would further posit that if such a word exists it would be crappy material to include in the game.

[TLEberle]

We have yet to come across a Password, in all the games we have played (so we're probably talking at least a couple thousand words at the minimum, although I strongly suspect we have played a fair bit more than 100 games in the years I have been playing games with my friends)

I remember nights when it was you, me and the brothers and we'd barnstorm through ten packets before we stopped to take a breath. A hundred games seems light. There were a few groaners, but never one where it was so bad that there was but a single angle to a password, and never one that you could only get it through a direct antonym.

Restricting what you can do is what makes the game Password, because if you don't you're only two steps away from Pyramid. The challenge of the restrictions is the fun.

[clemon79]

I remember nights when it was you, me and the brothers and we'd barnstorm through ten packets before we stopped to take a breath. A hundred games seems light.

Upon further review, I agree, since we almost never play fewer than three games at a throw, so that's 60 words right there. One three-game session every five weeks or so over the seven years I've known them is right around 200 games right there. And I suspect that is still estimating low.

[DrBear]

How many good clues are even possible for "south"?

Other than cardinal directions (minus north of course), all I can think of is saying the name of a southern state with a southern drawl.

Or possibly saying the word "direction" and let your voice trail off.

"Dixie"

[Kevin Prather]

"Dixie"

Cup.

/k, sorry.

[Fedya]

Austral, at least if I were playing with Tony Randall.