Contact

Isaac Soto

00:01

hello?

Helka Homba

hi

Isaac Soto

sooo?

are we gonna play?

Rubio

who's in?

Isaac Soto

me

ASCII-only

me

Alconja

00:14

something something my axe

Isaac Soto

so how do you exactly play?

I read the instrucctions but I'm still a little confused

Alconja

Did you expand the full text?

Rubio

it's easier to watch for a bit to understand

Isaac Soto

yes

okay

Alconja

Who's defending?

Rubio

00:16

I shall

unless someone else is itching to do so

Alconja

I can, but am not itching in anyway (contact related or otherwise)

Rubio

welp. ok then.

Rubio defending: A

Alconja

1: pond scum

Rubio

1: It's not ALGAE

Alconja

+1

1: sign of life

2: penthouse

Isaac Soto

00:19

What do I do?

Rubio

2: It's not APEX maybe

Helka Homba

3: == beer?

Alconja

-1

Rubio

1: It's not ANIMATION perhaps

Alconja

@IsaacSoto If you think you know what one of the clues is, you can "contact" it

1: nope

Gareth McCaughan

00:20

contact 3 @HelkaHomba

Rubio

3: It's not ALE

Helka Homba

yup

Isaac Soto

What are the numbers for?

Alconja

@IsaacSoto So, if you think you know which word I'm cluing by "sign of life", you would say "contact 1".

Rubio

ease of reference

Isaac Soto

00:20

And when do I use them

oh okay

ffao

3: Location of Vegreville

Rubio

oh what the hell. :)

Isaac Soto

contact 1

Rubio

I wasn't playing that game

Helka Homba

5: he shrugged in a book

ASCII-only

00:21

it's like at the top of this page though

Alconja

I remember seeing that in the chat log, but I don't remember either...

Rubio

1: It's not ANIMA

Alconja

contact 5

Rubio

2: It's not APARTMENT ?

ffao

come on, everyone knows where vegreville is

Alconja

00:21

1: nope

Gareth McCaughan

contact 5 @HelkaHomba

Rubio

5: It's not ATLAS

Alconja

2: nope

Helka Homba

correct on 5

n_palum

@Alconja It is not "something something my axe", how dare you disrespect the greatest dwarf who ever lived

ASCII-only

00:21

contact 3

Gareth McCaughan

4. Automatically-optimized computational linear algebra library

Rubio

1: It's not ACTIVITY

Alconja

@n_palum :) close enough

Rubio

4: It's not one heck of a mouthful

ASCII-only

ok so what do i do after I say contact

Helka Homba

00:22

7: between Sweden and Finland

Isaac Soto

Yeah

Alconja

@ASCII-only you wait, until the defender passes on that clue

Helka Homba

@ASCII-only wait until Rubio passes on it, then you can guess once

Gareth McCaughan

5. Carrot's partner

Isaac Soto

okay

Rubio

00:23

also - you are not allowed to look things up, so unless you actually knew where Vegreville is, you can't answer.

Isaac Soto

k

so how does he pass on the clue?

Rubio

if I pass, you'll know

Alconja

he says "pass 1"

:)

Helka Homba

he says pass, give him time

Isaac Soto

oh okay

ASCII-only

00:23

@Rubio :| so if I saw the chat log before the game started I can't answer?

ffao

crap, I knew 4

Isaac Soto

got it

ffao

but it's not coming to my mind

Helka Homba

contact 2

Alconja

Generally, once someone has contact, it puts pressure on them to either guess or pass, but there's no strict time limit to do so.

Rubio

00:25

1: i guessed ACTIVITY, was that not it?

Alconja

no (sorry missed that)

Rubio

@ASCII-only If you knew it before the game started you're safe.

then I will PASS on 1 - go for it @IsaacSoto

Isaac Soto

wait now?

Rubio

now you guess on 1

Isaac Soto

Aardvark

Alconja

00:26

-1

sorry

Rubio

Any other contacts on 1?

Alconja

It was ANKH

Gareth McCaughan

why would "aardvark" mean "sign of life"?

Isaac Soto

Oh nice

Gareth McCaughan

(you mean ANKH, right?)

Rubio

00:27

don't you mean ANKH?

Alconja

:) of course I do

Rubio

also "anima" was a really good answer for your clue :)

Isaac Soto

like the egyptian symbol?

ASCII-only

@IsaacSoto yeah

Gareth McCaughan

1. Flying plant

Alconja

00:27

Yes, egyptian "symbol [sign] of life"

ASCII-only

"key of life" as well

Isaac Soto

Wait can I make a clue?

Alconja

Yeah, almost clued as that, but thought that might be a little too obvious

ASCII-only

@IsaacSoto yeah

Isaac Soto

so what number do I use the next one?

Alconja

00:28

it's a balancing act.. needs to be easy enough so other attackers can get it, but hard enough that the defender can't

ASCII-only

@IsaacSoto any that isn't used atm

Alconja

Anything that's not currently in play

Gareth McCaughan

@IsaacSoto any number that isn't already used

Rubio

What else is contacted please?

Alconja

someone has contact on 2

Isaac Soto

00:29

I have to go play later sorry

Helka Homba

me contact 2

Gareth McCaughan

bye @IsaacSoto

ASCII-only

helka 2, me 3

n_palum

Contact 3

Rubio

2: It's not ABODE ?

Alconja

00:30

well, if everyone else is contacting 3, I will too (I have several vague guesses that may work)

2: -1

Rubio

very well. PASS on 2 - go @HelkaHomba

Helka Homba

is 2 ATOP maybe?

Rubio

and i'll just wildly guess It's not ALABAMA for 3

ffao

3: no, not ALABAMA, but decent guess

Rubio

nor ALASKA nor ARIZONA nor ARKANSAS

Alconja

00:31

@HelkaHomba -1 ...anyone else have contact on 2?

ASCII-only

does -1 signify anything

Gareth McCaughan

-1 means "wrong"

but I wish people wouldn't use it

n_palum

Short for not right

Helka Homba

@Alconja if you live in one I'd guess your name

n_palum

Alconja should be giving us the number responses at least :P

Isaac Soto

00:32

im back!

Gareth McCaughan

because it just adds a little bit of obfuscation to an already-confusing game

Rubio

so no other contacts on 2 - what was it?

ffao

I don't think anyone else contacted 2

Alconja

@n_palum I usually do, unless it's literally the next line in chat.

2 was ATTIC

ffao

I would guess attic, but it's a long shot

... or not

Alconja

00:33

:)

Rubio

wow. that's not at all what I think of when I think of a penthouse. hehe

ffao

meh, should have contacted

n_palum

I got yelled at for doing that :P

Rubio

@ffao So 3 was none of the four states I named?

ASCII-only

> archaic an outhouse or shelter built onto the side of a building, having a sloping roof.

Alconja

00:33

all good. I should have been a little less obtuse.

ASCII-only

It's actually less of a long shot than I thought

Helka Homba

contact 3

ASCII-only

why is everyone contacting 3 :P

ffao

I wasn't very confident in the answer, but I could have at least guess-contacted

Gareth McCaughan

not everyone. I don't know the answer, and I know I don't know the answer.

(nor do I have any guess worth bothering to make)

ASCII-only

00:34

contact 7

n_palum

Because 3 is one that GPR used the other day

ASCII-only

not very sure at all but worth a shot anyway

ffao

@Rubio I didn't get that message, can you resend?

ASCII-only

3 mins ago, by Rubio

nor ALASKA nor ARIZONA nor ARKANSAS

Rubio

(thanks)

ffao

00:35

3: no, neither of those

Rubio

3: It's not ALBERTA ?

ffao

3: indeed it is

Rubio

whew

5: I'll just wildly guess (vitamin) A

Gareth McCaughan

nope, 5 is not any vitamin

Helka Homba

8: ever clear singer

ASCII-only

00:37

contact 8 (i don't actually know though)

Rubio

7: It's not ANIMOSITY maybe, I can't think of anything here

n_palum

2: Heuristic

Rubio

2: It's not ALGORITHM

Helka Homba

@Rubio no on 7

Gareth McCaughan

contact 2 @n_palum though I have a quibble if my guess is right

ffao

00:38

contact 2

n_palum

2 No

Rubio

2: It's not APPROXIMATION maybe

n_palum

Nope 2

Gareth McCaughan

contact 8 @HelkaHomba though I rather doubt my answer

Helka Homba

contact 2

Alconja

00:39

3: main man

Rubio

PASS on 8

oh lol. 7: it's not AND ? @HelkaHomba

ASCII-only

@HelkaHomba idk but is it Adele

Gareth McCaughan

My feebly guess at 8 is ALTO

Helka Homba

@ASCII-only no and no ^

Gareth McCaughan

*feeble

@HelkaHomba was one of those noes directed at me?

ASCII-only

00:41

@GarethMcCaughan yeah

Helka Homba

@GarethMcCaughan yeah, 8 not ALTO

Gareth McCaughan

@ASCII-only unless you are either a sockpuppet or a telepath, I'm not sure why you're answering that :-)

Helka Homba

did 8 have more guesses?

Gareth McCaughan

I don't think there were any others

Rubio

nope, just those 2

Gareth McCaughan

00:41

so @HelkaHomba what was it?

ASCII-only

@GarethMcCaughan the caret makes it kinda obvious

Helka Homba

8 was ART (ALEXAKIS) the singer of band Everclear

ffao

well, no way anyone would get that unless they knew the band

so the guesses were warranted

Gareth McCaughan

@ASCII-only It makes it plausible but I have seen enough Contact games damaged by people mis-guessing what someone's slightly-cryptic comment meant that I am going to keep banging the drum for clarity and explicitness.

Helka Homba

@ffao I would have known :P

ffao

00:43

well, you know the band, proving my point :P

Helka Homba

10: at infinity it goes like this

Rubio

7: It's not AND ?? @HelkaHomba

Gareth McCaughan

contact 10 @HelkaHomba

Alconja

contact 10?

Helka Homba

@Rubio no

Rubio

00:43

10: It's not ASYMPTOT(IC)

Helka Homba

right on 10

Rubio

fine, PASS on 7

Helka Homba

were there any contacts on 7?

Gareth McCaughan

I think so

ffao

yes, @ASCII-only contacted

Alconja

00:44

@ASCII

ASCII-only

7: is it Austria

Rubio

?

Gareth McCaughan

oh damn, I think I may have just worked out 7

ffao

I would go for arctic something

Helka Homba

@ASCII-only Nope. 7 is ALAND (island)

Gareth McCaughan

00:45

oh, no, actually I obviously hadn't

(and indeed what I thought I'd worked out was wrong)

ffao

yep, pretty far off

Rubio

I liked my answer of "AND" actually hehe

Helka Homba

It starts with a fancy Å so maybe that's cheating

ASCII-only

@HelkaHomba why are you using such hard attacks :P

Rubio

3: It's not ADAM

ffao

00:46

@Rubio I did too haha

Alconja

3: not ADAM

Rubio

PASS on 2

Helka Homba

11: the fish here

ffao

2: A*

Rubio

11: It's not ASCII-Only

Helka Homba

00:47

yes on 11 :P

ASCII-only

:| I didn't mean that you should use really easy attacks instead

Gareth McCaughan

my guess for 2 was the same as ffao's

Helka Homba

^

ffao

ponging @n_palum

ASCII-only

6. Unwanted noise resulting from compression

Rubio

00:47

@n_palum is the guess for 2 correct?

Gareth McCaughan

contact 6 @ASCII-only

Rubio

Please don't add clues while a pass/contact is in progress

6: It's not ARTIFACT

ASCII-only

6: yes

n_palum

Whos guess

ASCII-only

@Rubio sorry didn't realize

n_palum

00:48

yours for algorithm was not

ASCII-only

2 mins ago, by ffao

2: A*

n_palum

ah yes

Helka Homba

we win a letter?

Rubio

yes. one moment please, sorry

Gareth McCaughan

@HelkaHomba if "ah yes" meant "ah, yes, that answer is correct" rather than "ah, yes, now I see that someone else made a guess". I guess it did, but wouldn't it be nice not to have to guess?

Rubio

00:50

Rubio defending: A N

Helka Homba

8: minecraft rock

Alconja

3 dies, was ALPHA (MALE)

Rubio

ugh. I don't do minecraft.

ffao

@GarethMcCaughan of course not, guessing about obscure utterances is the whole point of this game, Gareth! :P

Gareth McCaughan

1 was ASPIDISTRA (reference to a book by George Orwell) and dies

n_palum

00:51

@GarethMcCaughan Sorry wasn't specific, but A* was right

Gareth McCaughan

@ffao yes, so we should minimize the amount of non-game guessing-about-obscurity so that the in-game guessing is highlighted

4 was ATLAS (a bit of a silly clue; I posted it mostly because we'd just had another very easy one with answer ATLAS and it amused me) and dies

5 however is alive still.

ffao

I knew 4 was one implementation of BLAS

Gareth McCaughan

yup

ffao

but I couldn't remember the name

ASCII-only

8 seems like it must be relatively new

Alconja

00:53

1: making ambiguous comments at Gareth

Rubio

1: It's (not?) ANNOYING

Alconja

1: no

Rubio

um

1: It's not ANATHEMA?

ASCII-only

wait there's a second letter nvm

Alconja

1: not anathema

Helka Homba

00:55

7: when you can't see and it bugs you

Rubio

If you uncontact please say you uncontact, don't just delete it

ASCII-only

uncontact 1

Helka Homba

contact 1

Rubio

1: It's not ANTAGONISING/ISTIC or ANGERING

Joel Harmon

greetings!

also, contact 8

Alconja

00:56

1: Yes, was antagonising

Rubio

Hello @Joel

Joel Harmon

Hello @Rubio

Destructible Lemon

2: 😡 (noun)

Gareth McCaughan

contact 2 @DestructibleLemon

Rubio

2: It's not ANGER

Destructible Lemon

00:58

you got it

ASCII-only

2. Mark a document

Rubio

PASS on 8, I suspect this is going to be unfair though.

Gareth McCaughan

contact 2 @ASCII-only

Helka Homba

contact 2

Rubio

2: it's not ANNOTATE

ASCII-only

00:58

yes for 2

Gareth McCaughan

1. Alienation

Helka Homba

@JoelHarmon go ahead and guess 8

Joel Harmon

@Rubio 8: Andesite is a mineral type in Minecraft

Destructible Lemon

3: different in all directions. also its kind of the current letters plus an atom with a weird number of neutrons, plus an r in there. plus adjectivising

Helka Homba

@JoelHarmon correct on 8

Gareth McCaughan

00:59

oops, failed to notice ongoing contact check, sorry

Rubio

@DestructibleLemon was 3 intended to be a clue?

Gareth McCaughan

I fear it was

Destructible Lemon

@Rubio this is a clue?

Rubio

Rubio defending: A N I

Destructible Lemon

I'm confused about the question

Gareth McCaughan

00:59

and it looks like 3 survives

contact 3 @DestructibleLemon

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