tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2571384408188974384.post5458662255272871006..comments2023-06-02T12:22:11.624+10:00Comments on Playing Letters and Numbers: Ep 298 [SF1]: Jacob Davey, Anthony Kendall (June 5, 2012; originally aired October 19, 2011)Geoff Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11150696891132723600noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2571384408188974384.post-30894182229230986772012-06-06T21:18:10.178+10:002012-06-06T21:18:10.178+10:00Well played Roman and Sam, and thanks for the insi...Well played Roman and Sam, and thanks for the insight into your original performances, Sam. I imagine that, like me, you've become somewhat better since then.<br /><br />Great to hear again from you, Jacob, and I'm glad that you are enjoying the coverage. *chuckles*<br /><br />Totally agreed about the potential for a single round to change the result of a game; while at times this frustrates me (i.e., when I throw away an otherwise good game on such a result), I think it is a crucial part of the scoring system that keeps the games almost always interesting. It takes a lot of effort to be safe from even a single turnaround.<br /><br />You're right about the conundrums: Only 12 of the 28 games were won before the conundrum round. Of the 16 games where the conundrum mattered, it was solved 11 times; only four of those were won by the trailing contestant, but that does include one instance of the trailing contestant solving one conundrum to tie, and then a second to win.<br /><br /><br />I am likewise aghast at the number of people who think that 9*10 = 900. At least this time around a couple of them recognised this error themselves. It's still hugely puzzling how they can make such elementary errors, though.Geoff Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11150696891132723600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2571384408188974384.post-41779710373855381282012-06-06T15:13:58.240+10:002012-06-06T15:13:58.240+10:00...It also amazes me how many commenting viewers b......It also amazes me how many commenting viewers believe that 9x10 = 900!!! It happened when the episode first aired and it's happened again. If the 10 was a 100 I'm fairly certain it would've been a conundrum decider.Jacob Dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2571384408188974384.post-24684332312208166882012-06-06T15:06:42.164+10:002012-06-06T15:06:42.164+10:00Hi Geoff,
I've been particularly looking forwa...Hi Geoff,<br />I've been particularly looking forward to/enjoying your series 3 finals' commentary!<br /> <br />Honestly it was a big relief that a conundrum finally jumped out at me (a previous 2 out of 7 not the best record!) But very true that Anthony could've easily beaten me on another day. He told me afterwards that with the 'leasings' round; had I declared first with a 7 he also would've declared the safe 7! In addition had he spotted 'GASOLINES' that would've been a 25 point turn-around, giving Anthony a 1 point win.<br /><br />It never ceases to amaze me how many matches are decided by one game, and finals are no exception. Of course full monties make a big difference, but just to name a few: if Tina had found PORTION, had Esther found (75+4)*10=790, had Oli solved the conundrum DOMINANCE in <19 seconds, and if Alan had not risked *IMPACTER and stuck with a safe 7 (e.g. PRIMATE/COMPARE) we’d have 4 different series winners (assuming this alteration didn’t impact other rounds). I’m fairly sure over half of all the (28) finals episodes have been decided by the conundrum.Jacob Dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2571384408188974384.post-67235793274459285662012-06-06T10:02:27.931+10:002012-06-06T10:02:27.931+10:00I too thought Anthony played well. I was pipped by...I too thought Anthony played well. I was pipped by 5 in the end as I parallelled both contestants answers bar one number result which left me out of the range. I should point out that my being five behind was only due to me solving the conundrum at the same time as Jacob. The gap would otherwise have been greater. Kudos to those who would have beaten them both. RomanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2571384408188974384.post-58772036675795037622012-06-06T09:39:22.671+10:002012-06-06T09:39:22.671+10:00I thought this was Anthony's best performance ...I thought this was Anthony's best performance of his eight episodes; unfortunately for him, it was also Jacob's best (of the Series 3 finals, at least).<br /><br />Jacob did very well on that last numbers round, the 930 region is brutal in a six small selection - there are no easy factorisations. Anthony might have been unlucky to grab 9 as a multiplier instead of 10; there's an element of luck in which divisor you select in a rat pack, as there isn't really time to investigate every approach. <br /><br />Here are last year's answers from home, where I was tied with Anthony and 24 points behind Jacob:<br /><br />INCITES<br />POUTED<br />430 = 6*(75 - 2 - 1) - 50/25<br />SINGLES<br />COWERED<br />993 = (4 + 4 + 2)*100 - 7<br />TRIAD<br />932 = ((7+3)*10+4)*9-4<br />(don't know, Jacob buzzed in)Sam Gaffneynoreply@blogger.com