The Mole: Episode 03 - The Beach Trip / The Ball and Chain / The Popularity Contest
Oct 5, 2011 0:03:34 GMT -5
Post by Beelzebibble on Oct 5, 2011 0:03:34 GMT -5
Time's up!
Let's see how the cookie crumbled. First off, it's time to reveal the pairs:
Bulbs was a prisoner. Sem was his ball and chain. Tangrow and Biscuit knew about this pair.
Iron Mouse was a prisoner. Ninety was her ball and chain. Bulbs and Belle knew about this pair.
Tangrow was a prisoner. DL was his ball and chain. Iron Mouse and Elliot knew about this pair.
Belle was a prisoner. Elliot was her ball and chain. Ninety and Testbug knew about this pair.
Testbug was a prisoner. Biscuit was his ball and chain. Sem and DL knew about this pair.
And now, the earnings:
Ninety posts Oct 1 at 2:39 pm: -1 EP.
Belle posts Oct 2 at 10:33 am: +1 EP.
Biscuit posts Oct 2 at 3:02 pm: -1 EP.
Belle posts Oct 2 at 8:47 pm: +1 EP.
Bulbs posts Oct 3 at 3:41 pm: +1 EP.
Bulbs posts Oct 3 at 3:50 pm: +1 EP.
Belle posts Oct 3 at 3:57 pm: +1 EP.
Biscuit posts Oct 3 at 4:21 pm: -1 EP.
Belle posts Oct 3 at 7:52 pm: +1 EP.
Belle posts Oct 4 at 8:47 am: +1 EP.
Bulbs posts eight times Oct 4 between 3:09 and 3:10 pm: +8 EP.
Belle posts Oct 4 at 4:17 pm: +1 EP.
Total: +13 EP.
Ah. Hmm. Well, okay. 13 EP... out of a possible 50. That's... you know, the team didn't take quite such a bath on this challenge as on the last one, but still... Man, I don't really know what to say. Fluttershy, can you help me out here?
Thank you, Fluttershy. No no. You're nice. But yeah. Thirteen out of fifty is not the greatest batting average. Bad luck, of course, that Tangrow landed the role of a prisoner instead of a ball and chain, and that Iron Mouse also happened to be offline for the challenge's whole run, but at least 30 EP was up for quite easy grabs, and you ended up pulling in not half that.
Although one is tempted to roundly fault Ninety, Biscuit and Belle for posting in the topic before the players had done any coordination by PMs, at least Ninety did the right thing and clammed up once Belle posted that he was a ball and chain. And Biscuit, whose role apparently was never made clear, nonetheless minimized the damage by only posting twice altogether in the topic. One wonders, though, why Belle didn't take a page from Bulbs' book and finish all ten of her posts in time? There would have been another 4 EP in it if she'd maxed out her posts the way Bulbs had. A small sum, but enough to make you wonder if she deliberately overlooked it under the guise of having stricter post standards (i.e. funny gifs instead of counting to 10).
On the other hand, it's really just Bulbs' luck that Biscuit didn't lie about the pair he'd been notified of. If Sem were the prisoner and Bulbs the ball and chain, and Biscuit had lied, then Bulbs would have dealt a very heavy blow to the challenge's winnings by maxing out his posts. And what a good move that would be, for the Mole! With ten posts under his belt, Bulbs was sure to either be the challenge's hero (not a common position for Bulbs, so far) or drag it down as much as he could. Well, the coin came up heads, and Bulbs is the champion... or just a very crafty Mole who's only beginning to tip his hand.
As for our other Mole candidates, where were most of them? Testbug's absence is especially felt: he apparently communicated with Belle, since she cites both his and Ninety's PMs as proof of her being a prisoner, but why didn't he post in this thread at all? It would have been a gamble, but the usually-game Testbug should have been up for it... unless he, the Mole, knew full well he was a prisoner instead of the ball and chain, and didn't want to earn the team any money? What about Sem? He was online at points during the challenge's run, but contributed nothing -- and his knowledge, at least, would have clarified the relationship between Testbug and Biscuit and likely stirred the former to post. Instead, silence -- which kept a potential 8 EP, taking into account Biscuit's two posts, out of the pot.
As it is, the Mole takes home all the 37 EP the team failed to earn, putting him or her ahead of the team for the first time since "The Hidden Awards". Time to step it up, contestants!
But we need not beat ourselves over the head analyzing such a simple challenge. Let's move on in a few days to an even simpler one. Yes, in an episode full of low-maintenance games, this might just be the simplest yet. I'm serious. You cannot hope to defeat this next challenge in a simple-off. It is simply the best there is.
THE TEAM POT: 113 EP
THE MOLE'S POCKET: 123 EP
Let's see how the cookie crumbled. First off, it's time to reveal the pairs:
Bulbs was a prisoner. Sem was his ball and chain. Tangrow and Biscuit knew about this pair.
Iron Mouse was a prisoner. Ninety was her ball and chain. Bulbs and Belle knew about this pair.
Tangrow was a prisoner. DL was his ball and chain. Iron Mouse and Elliot knew about this pair.
Belle was a prisoner. Elliot was her ball and chain. Ninety and Testbug knew about this pair.
Testbug was a prisoner. Biscuit was his ball and chain. Sem and DL knew about this pair.
And now, the earnings:
Ninety posts Oct 1 at 2:39 pm: -1 EP.
Belle posts Oct 2 at 10:33 am: +1 EP.
Biscuit posts Oct 2 at 3:02 pm: -1 EP.
Belle posts Oct 2 at 8:47 pm: +1 EP.
Bulbs posts Oct 3 at 3:41 pm: +1 EP.
Bulbs posts Oct 3 at 3:50 pm: +1 EP.
Belle posts Oct 3 at 3:57 pm: +1 EP.
Biscuit posts Oct 3 at 4:21 pm: -1 EP.
Belle posts Oct 3 at 7:52 pm: +1 EP.
Belle posts Oct 4 at 8:47 am: +1 EP.
Bulbs posts eight times Oct 4 between 3:09 and 3:10 pm: +8 EP.
Belle posts Oct 4 at 4:17 pm: +1 EP.
Total: +13 EP.
Ah. Hmm. Well, okay. 13 EP... out of a possible 50. That's... you know, the team didn't take quite such a bath on this challenge as on the last one, but still... Man, I don't really know what to say. Fluttershy, can you help me out here?
Thank you, Fluttershy. No no. You're nice. But yeah. Thirteen out of fifty is not the greatest batting average. Bad luck, of course, that Tangrow landed the role of a prisoner instead of a ball and chain, and that Iron Mouse also happened to be offline for the challenge's whole run, but at least 30 EP was up for quite easy grabs, and you ended up pulling in not half that.
Although one is tempted to roundly fault Ninety, Biscuit and Belle for posting in the topic before the players had done any coordination by PMs, at least Ninety did the right thing and clammed up once Belle posted that he was a ball and chain. And Biscuit, whose role apparently was never made clear, nonetheless minimized the damage by only posting twice altogether in the topic. One wonders, though, why Belle didn't take a page from Bulbs' book and finish all ten of her posts in time? There would have been another 4 EP in it if she'd maxed out her posts the way Bulbs had. A small sum, but enough to make you wonder if she deliberately overlooked it under the guise of having stricter post standards (i.e. funny gifs instead of counting to 10).
On the other hand, it's really just Bulbs' luck that Biscuit didn't lie about the pair he'd been notified of. If Sem were the prisoner and Bulbs the ball and chain, and Biscuit had lied, then Bulbs would have dealt a very heavy blow to the challenge's winnings by maxing out his posts. And what a good move that would be, for the Mole! With ten posts under his belt, Bulbs was sure to either be the challenge's hero (not a common position for Bulbs, so far) or drag it down as much as he could. Well, the coin came up heads, and Bulbs is the champion... or just a very crafty Mole who's only beginning to tip his hand.
As for our other Mole candidates, where were most of them? Testbug's absence is especially felt: he apparently communicated with Belle, since she cites both his and Ninety's PMs as proof of her being a prisoner, but why didn't he post in this thread at all? It would have been a gamble, but the usually-game Testbug should have been up for it... unless he, the Mole, knew full well he was a prisoner instead of the ball and chain, and didn't want to earn the team any money? What about Sem? He was online at points during the challenge's run, but contributed nothing -- and his knowledge, at least, would have clarified the relationship between Testbug and Biscuit and likely stirred the former to post. Instead, silence -- which kept a potential 8 EP, taking into account Biscuit's two posts, out of the pot.
As it is, the Mole takes home all the 37 EP the team failed to earn, putting him or her ahead of the team for the first time since "The Hidden Awards". Time to step it up, contestants!
But we need not beat ourselves over the head analyzing such a simple challenge. Let's move on in a few days to an even simpler one. Yes, in an episode full of low-maintenance games, this might just be the simplest yet. I'm serious. You cannot hope to defeat this next challenge in a simple-off. It is simply the best there is.
THE TEAM POT: 113 EP
THE MOLE'S POCKET: 123 EP