Wiktionary:Christmas Competition 2012

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Intro

This is to announce the start of the 2012 Christmas Competition.

It is based on the ever-popular British TV show Countdown.

There are two main parts of this gameshow:- word games and numbers games. This competition comprises both of these. Instead of a final "Countdown conundrum" there will be a final round, probably over the New Year, that I shall announce later.

Now, because multiple contestants may submit the same entries to these games, and because we are scattered around the globe in several time zones, the fairest system I could think of that wouldn't give anyone an advantage is to use an email system for submitting entries. After each day's game has been announced you may submit your entry via Wiktionary email to User:Countdown2012 that I have set up (along with a gmail account) specifically for use with this competition. At the end of each day's game, I shall review the emails, check that the entries meet the rules, and announce the day's results here (together with the points scored). At the end of the competition the person with the most points wins (see later).

Rules

Word games

For each word game I shall generate nine letters (including from three to five vowels). You have to find the longest word you can that uses any of these letters but no others.

The score obtained is simply the number of letters in your word, with the exception that a nine-letter word scores eighteen.

Words must exist (in any language that uses the Latin script) in Wiktionary. You may create such an entry during the day's play, or within 24 hours of the game's close. The letters used may have "accents". Unlike in the TV gameshow, words may start with a capital letter and may have a hyphen. No spaces are allowed, neither is any type of punctuation. It must meet our current CfI, and not be the subject of a RfV or RfD debate, and must not be a misspelling entry.

It is hoped that you will find your chosen word using your head, rather than automatically searching Wiktionary or a dump. But I will never know.

An example:- from "I E S T I D C A I" - "cats" scores 4, "staid" scores 5, "iciest" scores 6, "acidities" scores 18.

Numbers games

For each numbers game I shall generate six numbers. They will include up to four of the large numbers (25, 50, 75 and 100) and the rest will be small numbers (1 to 10). I will also generate a target number (between 100 and 999). You have to create the target number by using any number of the six numbers and simple arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) with brackets where needed but nothing else, and no intermediate fractions and no decimals.

The score is 10 points for an exact answer, 7 points for a number up to five away from the target, or five points for a number six to ten away from the target.

An example: From 50 25 10 7 1 2 with a target of 113: (50 + 10) x 2 - 7 = 113 so scores 10

Note: you may submit your entry as multiple lines of simple expressions e.g.:-

  • 50 + 10 = 60
  • 60 x 2 = 120
  • 120 - 7 = 113

If you do, I shall convert it to bracket form for you.

Questions

Feel free to ask questions on this page's talk page.

Play

6 Dec 2012

  • Word game. Letters:- C T A B W O F D E

7 Dec 2012

  • Word game. Letters:- S P I N O R E U N

8 Dec 2012

  • Numbers game. Numbers:- 50 25 9 1 4 5, Target: 979
  • Wikt Twitterer (((50 * 5) + 1) x 4) - 25 = 979
  • Pingku (25 - 1) * (50 - 9) - 5 = 979
  • Ungoliant MMDCCLXIV (4 × 5 × 50) − 25 + 1 = 976 (7 points)
  • DTLHS (((4*50)-1)*5)-25+9 = 979
  • Metaknowledge (50 x 4 x 5) - 25 - 975 (7 points)
  • Equinox ((1 + 25) x 9) x 4 + 50 - 5 = 981 (7 points)
  • msh210 ((9 x 25) + 5 + 1) x 4 + 50 = 974 (7 points)

9 Dec 2012

  • Word game. Letters:- F O O B I R U N D

10 Dec 2012

  • Word game. Letters:- S C A T D O L A R
  • Pingku cartloads 18
  • Metaknowledge cartloads 18
  • Wikt Twitterer cartloads 18
  • Equinox castaldo 8
  • DTLHS ascrotal 8
  • Msh210 cartloads 18
  • Ungoliant MMDCCLXIV cartloads 18
  • EncycloPetey cartloads 18

11 Dec 2012

  • Numbers game. Numbers:- 100 75 50 25 9 1, target 297
  • EncycloPetey (75 / 25) * (100 - 1) score 10
  • Equinox (100 - 1) * 75 / 25 = 297 score 10
  • Pingku (100 - 1) * 75 / 25 = 297 score 10
  • This, that and the other (25 * 9) + 75 - (100 / 50) - 1 = 297 score 10
  • Wikitiki89 (100 - 1) * 25 * 9 / 75 = 297 score 10
  • Wikt Twitterer (75/25) X (100-1) = 297 score 10
  • DTLHS 50*(9-1)-100-(75/25) = 297 score 10
  • Metaknowledge (100-1) * 75 / 25 = 297 score 10
  • Ungoliant MMDCCLXIV (9 + 1) x 25 + 50 = 300 score 7

12 Dec 2012

  • Word game. Letters:- H K L O E U A B F

13 Dec 2012

  • Word game. Letters:- H D Y C I A D E L

14 Dec 2012

  • Numbers game. Numbers:- 100 75 50 25 5 7, target 901
  • Wikt Twitterer 75 * (7+5) = 900 (7 points)
  • Pingku (75 + 50) * 7 + 25 = 900 (7 points)
  • Quesotiotyo (75 - (100 / 50)) * (7 + 5) + 25 = 901 (10 points)
  • This, that and the other 100 * (7 + (50 / 25)) = 900 (7 points)
  • Metaknowledge (5 * 7 * 25) + 75 - 50 = 900 (7 points)
  • Wikitiki89 75 * (5 + 7) = 900 (7 points)

15 Dec 2012

16 Dec 2012

  • Word game. Letters:- L Y E J A V N E H

17 Dec 2012

Numbers game. Numbers:- 7 2 8 6 1 5, target 670

  • DTLHS 8*7*(6+5+1) - 2 = 670 (10 points)
  • Wikt Twitterer 2*((6*7*8)-1) = 670 (10 points)
  • Pingku ((7 * 8) + 5) * ((6 * 2) -1) = 671 (7 points)
  • Quesotiotyo ((6 * 7 * 8) - 1) * 2 = 670 (10 points)
  • Wikitiki89 2 * (7 * 8 * 6 - 1) = 670 (10 points)
  • This, that and the other ((7 * 6 * 8) - 1) * 2 = 670 (10 points)

18 Dec 2012

Word game. Letters:- L L F P A T O C I

19 Dec 2012

Word game: Letters:- D U N E S T I N K

20 Dec 2012

Numbers game: Numbers:- 25 1 7 1 3 4, target 237

  • Wikitiki89 25 * (7 + 1 + 1) + 3 * 4 = 237 (10 points)
  • Wikt Twitterer (25+4+1)*(7+1) - 3 = 237 (10 points)
  • This, that and the other (25 - 1) * (7 + 3) - 4 + 1 = 237 (10 points)
  • Pingku (25 - 1) * (7 + 4 - 1) - 3 = 237 (10 points)
  • Quesotiotyo (25 - 1) * (7 + 3) + 1 - 4 = 237 (10 points)
  • Ungoliant MMDCCLXIV (1 + 1 + 7) × 25 + (4 × 3) = 237 (10 points)

21 Dec 2012

Word game. Letters:- M E C N E V A N E

22 Dec 2012

Word game. Letters:- N E E U B Q I Z O

23 Dec 2013

Last numbers game:- Numbers 100 9 7 1 3 2, target 257

  • Msh210 2*100+9*(7-1)+3=257 (10 points)
  • This, that and the other (100 - 3) * 2 + (7 * 9) = 257 (10 points)
  • Wikt Twitterer (3*(100 - 9))-(2*(7 + 1)) = 257 (10 points)
  • Pingku 3 * (100 - 7 * 2) - 1 = 257 (10 points)
  • Wikitiki89 100 * (9 - 3 - 1) / 2 + 7 = 257 (10 points)
  • Ungoliant MMDCCLXIV (2 × 100) + (9 × (7 − 1)) + 3 = 257 (10 points)
  • Quesotiotyo (100 - (7 * 2)) * 3 - 1 = 257 (10 points)
  • Metaknowledge (3 x 100) - (9*(7-2)) +1 = 256 (7 points)

24 Dec 2012

Penultimate word round:- Letters K E N F A T L U J

25 Dec 2012

Last word round (finale starts tomorrow):- Letters S G A D I N U D P

Finale

I am ending this competition with a taster of the next one.

For the next competition I am proposing to generate one based on the British gameshow Only Connect, suitable modified for wiki use.

Please see the Wikipedia article for the full rules of the TV game but, basically, there are four rounds. In the first round you have to identify the connection between four things - here they will be words or phrases only (no pictures or music). In the second round you have to identify the fourth in a sequence of things (again, only words or phrases here). In the third round you have to split sixteen words or phrases into four groups of four related ones and, in the last round you have to identify a word or phrase that has had its vowels (and spaces, punctuation) removed. See the Wikipedia article for examples. Notes: capitalization may be fluid, and sometimes playfully wrong; correct solutions may be non-unique - you'll get full points for a correct solution that is different from mine.

To save time, I shall run the first two rounds concurrently.

Points are scored as in the TV show:- round 1 (5 points if correct after the first clue, then 3, 2,1), round 2 (5 points after the first clue, then 3,2), round 3 (1 for each group, 1 for each connection, bonus 2 if perfect), round 4 just 1 point each. You are only allowed one attempt in any round.

Rounds 1 and 2

Round one will take four days; round two will take three days. Results will be announced at the end of round two.

  • Round one (day four). What is the connection between the following:- evergreen, golden, garden, sunshine?
    • Wikt Twitterer (day 3) - They're all nicknames of US states. (2 points)
    • Pingku (day 3) - US states (2 points)
    • EncycloPetey (day 3) - US state nicknames (2 points)
    • Quesotiotyo (day 3) - nicknames of U.S. states (2 points)
    • Msh210 (day 4) - state nicknames (1 point)
  • Round two (is now over). What comes fourth in this sequence:- xylophone, mandolin, accordion, ? - answer "sousaphone" or any other musical instrument whose name starts with a "s" - first letters spell "XMAS".
    • Wikt Twitterer (day 3) - I reckon it is "saxophone" because the initial letters spell out "XMAS" (2 points)
    • EncycloPetey (day 3) - tambourine (wrong - though good explanation given)
    • Quesotiotyo (day 3) - saxophone (2 points)

Round 3

Split the following into four groups of related words.

  • Tunis, Tripoli, barley, millet
  • yellow, sank, Cairo, wheat
  • oat, Algiers, fear, rice
  • beef, maize, Rabat, dry
  • My grouping:-
    • Tunis yellow oat beef - can be followed by "cake"
    • millet barley rice maize - cereals
    • Tripoli Cairo Algiers Rabat - north African capital cities
    • wheat (huit), sank (cinq), fear (vier), dry (drei) - sound like numbers in French or German
  • Wikt Twitterer
    • fear sank wheat dry - sound like foreign numbers vier, cinq, huit, drei (2 points)
    • Tunis Tripoli Cairo Algiers - capital cities of Africa that are also the largest city (2 points - though wrong grouping)
  • DTLHS
    • African capital cities: Tripoli, Cairo, Algiers, Rabat (2 points)
    • Grains used in beers: millet, wheat, oat, maize (1 point - oat, not oats)
    • Cakes: Tunis, barley, beef, rice (2 points - I didn't know about barley cake)
    • Verbs from Old English: dry, fear, sank, yellow (1 point - correct grouping, wrong reason)
  • Pingku
    • African cities: Algiers, Cairo, Rabat, Tunis (2 points)
    • Words: that combine with "cake": beef, oat, rice, yellow (2 points - I didn't know about rice cake)
    • Grains: barley, maize, millet, wheat (2 points, though wheat should be in the next group)
    • Words that don't fit other categories: dry, fear, sank, Tripoli (0 points)
  • Quesotiotyo
    • Tunis, Tripoli, Cairo, Algiers (African capitals) (2 points - though see above)
    • barley, millet, wheat, oat (grains) (1 point - oat not oats)

Round 4

  • FINAL DAY!

Add vowels, spaces and/or punctuation as appropriate to reveal the title of a film (not necessarily in English).

  • smlktht
  • f
  • btdsffl
  • lbnlbrttlcttv

Note: One point per film, but I shall award a bonus of 10 points if you get them all correct.

  • Wikt Twitterer (14 points)
    • Some Like It Hot
    • If
    • À bout de souffle
    • Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo
  • Pingku (14 points)
    • Some Like it Hot
    • if....
    • À bout de souffle (Breathless
    • Il buono, il brutto e il cattivo (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly)
  • Quesotiotyo (2 points)
    • Some Like It Hot
    • If

Result

  1. Pingku 228
  2. Wikt Twitterer 218
  3. Quesotiotyo 151
  4. Metaknowledge 125
  5. EncycloPetey 122
  6. Ungoliant MMDCCLXIV 117
  7. This, that and the other 101
  8. DTLHS 76
  9. Wikitiki89 73
  10. Equinox 56
  11. Msh210 18

I hope that those of you who participated all enjoyed it. SemperBlotto (talk) 08:28, 1 January 2013 (UTC)

Thank you so much for putting this on! —Μετάknowledgediscuss/deeds 01:20, 2 January 2013 (UTC)
Yes, the numbers game was fun! DAVilla 04:50, 5 January 2013 (UTC)
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