Main Match #1...

Hello! Some questions before we start the challenge.

1) What are your thoughts on finding out about the main match?

2) Do you think you will be able to find a way to win the main match?

3) What animal do you think is the best for you to have?

4) What animal do you want to avoid in getting?

5) Do you think the main match is too complicated?

1) What are your thoughts on finding out about the main match?

Rushing this because I need to check out of a hotel in like 15 minutes, but... It's interesting. It seems convoluted, but I like that.

2) Do you think you will be able to find a way to win the main match?

Probably not, but I think I can find a way to not lose.

3) What animal do you think is the best for you to have?

Any animal with too symbiotic a relationship to another, without knowing who the other is, seems dangerous. The deer seems good, since it requires 2 attacks to kill. The snake would be a good choice, if there's a way to set oneself up to be attacked.

4) What animal do you want to avoid in getting?

The lion. All have their advantages and disadvantages, though.

5) Do you think the main match is too complicated?

Yes and no. It is, but I like that. I like things that are too complicated.

Here is your role card.

You are the "CROC".

Please post before 11 PM EST the player that you want to peek as well as the first location you want to go. Thanks.

My peek:

Sam/sailormoon

Here is Sam's card.

She is the "LION".

Oh, hey.

I think it's just that Sam is posting on the main confessional board, not her private confessional.  Just to be safe, I'm leaving info off for now (I saved it in Word and will repost later), but for now. You know where to start me.

Yeah, she posted in the main thread. I'm guessing u start in ur habitat?

Yeah, the river.

Do I just start a thread with "I attack..." to get it rolling?  Shouldn't Switza be there, too?

EDIT: nevermind, saw the updates... Sam, and her "alliance", and the pawn she she needs (Switza)... and me, with her the only person who can eat me. Crap.

Round 2: Jess (eagle) eats Henry (mallard).  Sam, back in the field, has Dana (based on what she decided her moves to be - may change)... anyone else there will need to be coordinated, with PMs disabled.  Once people see her back in the field, and if they knew who either Jess, Sam, or I are, will know she's the lion (only the lion could kill croc, and if Jess is the eagle... bam).  So even people who didn't know who Sam was before will know next round, and Dana's the only one who *has to* be in the field at some point.

Round 3: Jess would be smart to stay in the sky and eat Nat.  Sam would probably go to the river again for Mets/MrDuck.

Round 4: Jess can go most anywhere (just not the sky) and eat.  Sam is back in the field.  Unless someone follows her to the field (and with everyone knowing she's the lion, they'd have to deliberately do so to help her win - but that's very possible), she'll only have Dana.  So her fate will probably come down to Round 4 (whether she and Adam win or lose).

As much as I'd like Switza to win, I'd also like Sam out of the voting pool.  So, I'm conflicted.

I know Than got info on Kathy, and Kathy/Sam are surely sharing some info.  So I wanted to lay out a brief scenario, without details, to make Than wonder if I'm right or not, and try to get everyone confused.  Both Sam and Kathy could easily win if they play this well, so I'm rooting for a misstep from at least one of them (ideal scenario, Sam thinks she needs to eat Kathy as a safety buffer - and since Nat and Kathy would be out, and probably either Mets or MrDuck, the voting pool would look a lot better).

Does the "no communication rule" go for Than and me, too? I thought the point of the Hall was to communicate - if not, I apologize/I'll stop.

you are allowed to communicate with people in the rooms, just not outside of it

Alright, cool.

In that case, I'm feigning ignorance while I try to suggest ideas that would get Sam eliminated.  I don't want it to look like I'm trying to get Sam eliminated, but I don't want to give enough information that would be required of making it look like I'm rooting for her (because then anyone truly with me could get upset at me for sharing info).  Than knows Pete is the snake, so he's not going to suggest Sam go for Pete (if he's helping Sam off the board).  He seems to think Dana is a fair target, and she's not, but lying to say she is would backfire (as it is, witholding info just makes it look like I'm keeping quiet/not targeting anyone).  So I need to go with it, but then stupidly suggest maybe she's trying to save Nat for the end (which would be dumb of her to do - her only good move here is to attack Nat), which might make them think that maybe they should (and hopefully not think of Jess' next play).

We'll see... if this works, it'll be amazing.

Also, I'm officially declaring that Sam is my target.  I don't think it's feasible this round, but next round - if I can make it work - I'm going full force (if I can't make it work, or if it would put Switza/Pete at risk, I won't try).  Sam's confessional may have been a ploy (I wouldn't be surprised if at least some aspects of it were, but there's also some real info thrown in), but it doesn't matter.  If it's a ploy, everyone will know next round - so it's a dumb ploy.  Nothing personal against Sam, but whether it's a ploy or not, it gives some transparency by the next round.  I also find it funny when people say they can trust no one, while themselves being so untrustworthy.  I have a habit of smiling and nodding along until I can slit a person's throat, but I am loyal to those I feel are loyal to me (and have put myself in bad situations for their sake in both Survivor and BB).  But even I'd never complain about not being able to trust someone, at least not without acknowledging they can't trust me, either.

Interesting that Jess didn't attack Henry... way too obvious a play ("hey look, everyone - we're in an alliance!"). She might be screwed now - Nat will have to go back to the sky for round 3, Kathy and Blake will need to go back to the forest. She can go to the forest to kill one of them, but then she's done with round 4 (unless Nat is helping her); or she can stay in the sky and kill Nat, but then round 4 there are no guarantees she'll have a target (either no one in the habitat, or it'll only be Pete - or Dana, depending on which one Sam attacked/if Dana still has a spare life).

It does mean that Jess/Henry are easy targets now (unless there are ties to Sam and/or Kathy), in lieu of being able to make the move to get rid of Sam/Kathy (they're both strong social players, and 1 misstep, and them winning the Death Match, could be suicide).

I'm also wary of Sam being chosen for the Death Match - while Adam and I are both eligible - because it's probable she'd pick Adam, and I wouldn't be at all shocked if she were to pick me. Kathy might do the same. Blake is always a wildcard to me, and I have no clue who he'd pick (despite his argument with Sam), but he might be the safest bet, so I hope he's killed off for that reason.

I wish I could contact Jess and try to figure out what's up, or contact Switza and get him to stay far away from her (so she has to eliminate someone who's not already eliminated)... or contact Pete to get him to stay in the forest for the entire match (bait for Jess - because after that play with Henry, she should be an easy target for most everyone if she's eliminated). I wish we could at least talk between rounds - I'm sure Sam/Nat/Kathy are talking on Skype and we all know it. Ugh.

Some questions.

1) What do you think about the challenge overall?

2) Were you pleased with the animal you got in the challenge?

3) Do you think that there was any best strategy for this challenge?

4) For winners, anybody who you think should be sent to death match?

5) For losers, who are the people that you would want to face off in the death match?

1) What do you think about the challenge overall?

I enjoyed it. Great concept, it was really interesting figuring out how everything played together.

2) Were you pleased with the animal you got in the challenge?

No. Not at all. I knew I'd be screwed - needing to eat so often while still having someone who could eat me, especially as it turned out with who the lion needed to follow (the mouse/Switza) following me as a buffer. It's no real surprise all of the predators were eaten (maybe Than's was alright - he won by banking on that happening).

3) Do you think that there was any best strategy for this challenge?

Maybe Than's - but we'll see what actually happened at some point. In hindsight, for this particular challenge, it would've been better to go radio silent at the beginning, so no one knew anything about what anyone else was going to do. Just because no matter how good a strategy was (our final strategy wasn't very good), with people leaking information, it gave others the option to counter it. With complete randomness, no one could predict anyone else's moves, which actually would give better odds. A great secret strategy is only a great secret strategy if it remains a secret... otherwise, it's a trap.

4) For winners, anybody who you think should be sent to death match?

N/A

5) For losers, who are the people that you would want to face off in the death match?

Nat/Jess/Sam. Some combination of that. That's improbable, though. Hopefully Pete can sway Than away from choosing Adam or me (are PMs back???). Mets is... I'd still like to work with him - to be fair, I think he'd justifiably have a fear of sending me to the Death Match this early, knowing that if I win, he's screwed (and while it's not fool-proof, I have a way of winning by the skin of my teeth, which he also knows) - especially after Sam's post (whether what she said is true or not, he needs to shift gears - and I hope he knows that, and I'm sure he knows that I'm far less likely to put an ally down to collateral damage than Sam is). Blake/Dana/Henry... no clue. Kathy would almost surely take a potshot at one of us if she could, so thankfully the vote needs to be unanimous.

thanks for the reminder. PMs are now enabled.

So, that turned out surprisingly well.  I would've liked to nominate Blake (only because I feel he's more likely the challenge Kathy/etc), but it's fine.  

I am confused about Jess... she didn't kill Henry, but then she suggested nominating him (and she didn't kill Nat, either, despite it being irrelevant to him winning/losing).  I wonder what's up there.  If I were to the point of being more paranoid already, I'd think it was a set-up to flip the vote (if so, that's some amazing strategy... but I remember in previous games thinking people made these amazing moves and it turning out they just fell into it for some reason, so...).

We'll see who Henry picks.  It might be Mets, after that fiasco.  I hope not, but at this point, I'm not too bothered (I do wonder what he's up to, and I kind of want him to stay in the game just to find out, if for no other reason - but obviously I have other reasons).  It'll suck if Henry is eliminated (I'm not working with him and have no intent of doing so, but he's a strong player when he's around).

Also, a question for future reference:

How do we bargain with garnets? Do we just tell that person we're giving them our garnets, or do we tell you in our confessional and then you pass them along? Also, can we put them in escrow? ie: could we "give" them to you and then you pass them along when the agreed upon conditions are met (like a contract), or does one person just need to trust the other person will carry through with their end of the deal?

You need to post either in a room or in a confessional that you are giving it to someone.

And there's no giving it to me. You can give to someone but you have to bank on them doing what you ask them to do.

Re: garnets

Giving the Death Match pool the garnet sort of gives more incentive to challenge them next round.  The winner of this round will have twice as many garnets as anyone else.  It also gives incentive to purposely flip the vote (keep the garnets, get more even more if you're selected and win the Death Match).  It's a whole new level of strategy when deciding who to challenge - and who to nominate for the Death Match, as it might make more sense to pick someone who lost the previous round, so not as many garnets are up for grabs - and it means the winner will also have a larger target on their back (more to win if you beat them next round).  Rather than awarding the garnets to the people who are exempt from being considered for the Death Match, but also don't stand to win even more garnets.

Interesting, but it does kind of change the game a little.  It'll be interesting to see how that plays out.

EDIT: On that note, lol @ Mets giving his garnets to Blake (now there's plenty reason to challenge Blake - winner would have 6 garnets, while everyone else only has 2 at most - and not any real gain from challenging/beating Mets). That was clever.

1) What do you think about the whole flipping of results?

2) Do you believe that the garnets should have also been flipped?

3) What do you think of Henry being chosen as the candidate?

4) What do you think of Metsrus giving his garnets to Blake?

5) What do you think of Metrus being the one Henry chose?

6) What do you think of the Death Match?

7) Anyone that you might prefer to win over the other?

1) What do you think about the whole flipping of results?

Not complaining at all, but I'm curious if it was intentional or just how it played out.

2) Do you believe that the garnets should have also been flipped?

Yes. Not only for selfish reasons, but because the advantages of not being eligible for the Death Match are 1.) you can't be eliminated, and 2.) you get a garnet. The disadvantage is that you lose the chance to win someone else's garnets. With the garnets not flipped, then flipping the vote means 1 Death Match contestant not only gets a garnet for winning, but also the opportunity to win more by beating the other person. A lot of garnet advantage there, while the other side neither gets a garnet nor has any way of winning them. That said, it makes for an interesting dynamic.

3) What do you think of Henry being chosen as the candidate?

No strong feelings. I like Henry (he loves his dogs, so - respect), and he's a good player when he's around, but he is the least active.

4) What do you think of Metsrus giving his garnets to Blake?

I thought it was clever, but it didn't really pay off. Still, it sounds like he's going to win 2 more, so he'll be right where he started - not bad.

5) What do you think of Metrus being the one Henry chose?

It actually might be a decent play to stay in the game, but not for accumulating garnets. Maybe Henry figures that if someone besides him is eliminated, may as well be Mets (after the flip and the Sam/Blake argument, it won't make too many waves - which is kind of why Henry was chosen, too... so fair enough).

6) What do you think of the Death Match?

Pretty straight forward, I remember this challenge well. It's basically decided before the challenge even takes place, so... yeah.

7) Anyone that you might prefer to win over the other?

Mets is the bigger risk/threat in this game, but he's also more active and I'd still like to see if he can be swayed (or exactly what he's up to). Henry would be the "safer" one to keep, but if he's not even gonna be around, there's no sport in that.

For Death Match 1...
EDIT:

Metsrus: Rock x 5
Henry: Scissors, Paper, Scissors (x3)