Category Round

FrankC · **Posted:** Wed Aug 24, 2011 10:11 pm

I stumbled across this today:

The choices for the Categories Round on August 30 will be:
•9/11 Books
•Political Philosophy
•Astronomy
•War Novels
•American Geography
•Prominent Women

When did BT start publishing the catagories?

TomD · **Joined:** Thu Jan 14, 2010 10:55 am **Posts:** 172

FrankC wrote:

I stumbled across this today:

The choices for the Categories Round on August 30 will be:
•9/11 Books
•Political Philosophy
•Astronomy
•War Novels
•American Geography
•Prominent Women

When did BT start publishing the catagories?

This is the first time. It's also being done in Sports Trivia Challenge.

xtrain · **Joined:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 6:09 pm **Posts:** 470

It's good to see that Astronomy is one of the categories, because that usually means it won't be the final tragedy question. However, that still leaves open the possibility that the Final will be "Latin Names for Obscure Animals Nobody Ever Heard Of," which is what it's been (roughly) for the past two weeks.

lewser · **Joined:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 2:25 pm **Posts:** 1028

TomD wrote:

This is the first time. It's also being done in Sports Trivia Challenge.

When did you do that?

-BO- · **Joined:** Wed Mar 10, 2010 3:20 pm **Posts:** 2291

TomD wrote:

This is the first time. It's also being done in Sports Trivia Challenge.

Tom, I realize you didn't make this decision, but it's ridiculous. These are trivia games where those with the most knowledge win. Not a game where those who study the best win. BT had a game like that once, Passport. Where is it now?

As an aside, why doesn't BT actually run these ideas by core players for feedback? That way only the good ideas get implemented.

BO

zog741 · **Posted:** Thu Aug 25, 2011 5:06 am

xtrain wrote:

It's good to see that Astronomy is one of the categories, because that usually means it won't be the final tragedy question. However, that still leaves open the possibility that the Final will be "Latin Names for Obscure Animals Nobody Ever Heard Of," which is what it's been (roughly) for the past two weeks.

I recall last week's Tragedy being the real name for Lev Bronstein (answer Leon Trotsky). It was a pretty easy question. Of the last three final questions, the only real toughie was the one from this week.

Personally, I have mixed feelings about announcing the Category Round in advance. It seems that the next step would be to pre-announce the Final Question category.

-- RWM

TCHCNB · **Joined:** Tue Jan 19, 2010 2:19 pm **Posts:** 284

lewser wrote:

TomD wrote:

This is the first time. It's also being done in Sports Trivia Challenge.

When did you do that?

I dont like it one bit. I have enough trouble as it is staying with the "big boys", and now assuming they are going to have time to study ahead of time (which I do not), this is going to make it even worse. BO is right, its supposed to be a test of knowledge, not study ability or study time. Another great decision in a long line of great decisions.

poman · **Joined:** Sun Jan 17, 2010 12:05 pm **Posts:** 1513

zog741 wrote:

It seems that the next step would be to pre-announce the Final Question category.

That would actually make more sense since that one question accounts for 33% of your final score (or 50% if you go south on it)

Announcing the categories that account for only one or two regular point value questions (per category) doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

ANON · **Joined:** Sun Jan 10, 2010 8:59 pm **Posts:** 2232

TCHCNB wrote:

I dont like it one bit. I have enough trouble as it is staying with the "big boys", and now assuming they are going to have time to study ahead of time (which I do not), this is going to make it even worse. BO is right, its supposed to be a test of knowledge, not study ability or study time. Another great decision in a long line of great decisions.

Apart from "9/11 books"--which is a relatively discrete niche category--and maybe "war novels" (of which there are still thousands), I'm not sure that "studying up" would help much on most of these categories, which are very broad and standard fare for the game already.

I suppose the best way to take advantage of this information would be to recruit people to play who already have a knowledge base that includes such things. Trying to get more people to play is not a bad thing, if that is the intent.

TomD · **Joined:** Thu Jan 14, 2010 10:55 am **Posts:** 172

lewser wrote:

TomD wrote:

This is the first time. It's also being done in Sports Trivia Challenge.

When did you do that?

This is the first week they've done it for both games.

liljol · **Joined:** Sun Jan 10, 2010 8:41 pm **Posts:** 2497

-BO- wrote:

TomD wrote:

This is the first time. It's also being done in Sports Trivia Challenge.

Tom, I realize you didn't make this decision, but it's ridiculous. These are trivia games where those with the most knowledge win. Not a game where those who study the best win. BT had a game like that once, Passport. Where is it now?

Ah, dear grumpy young bastard :lol:

, there are still games out here for which a lil studying :roll:

could help - Topix & Trendalicious.

-BO- wrote:

As an aside, why doesn't BT actually run these ideas by core players for feedback? That way only the good ideas get implemented.

Let's not start on that. :evil:

-BO- · **Joined:** Wed Mar 10, 2010 3:20 pm **Posts:** 2291

liljol wrote:

-BO- wrote:

TomD wrote:

This is the first time. It's also being done in Sports Trivia Challenge.

Tom, I realize you didn't make this decision, but it's ridiculous. These are trivia games where those with the most knowledge win. Not a game where those who study the best win. BT had a game like that once, Passport. Where is it now?

Ah, dear grumpy young bastard :lol:

, there are still games out here for which a lil studying :roll:

could help - Topix & Trendalicious.

-BO- wrote:

As an aside, why doesn't BT actually run these ideas by core players for feedback? That way only the good ideas get implemented.

Let's not start on that. :evil:

Premium games sir, premium games.

Hell, if BT is going to offer important study games, the least they could do is offer a decent prize for the book time. A truck for instance....

I would like to hear the rationale behind this decision, as would many I'm sure.

BO

liljol · **Joined:** Sun Jan 10, 2010 8:41 pm **Posts:** 2497

-BO- wrote:

liljol wrote:

-BO- wrote:

Tom, I realize you didn't make this decision, but it's ridiculous. These are trivia games where those with the most knowledge win. Not a game where those who study the best win. BT had a game like that once, Passport. Where is it now?

Ah, dear grumpy young bastard :lol:

, there are still games out here for which a lil studying :roll:

could help - Topix & Trendalicious.

-BO- wrote:

As an aside, why doesn't BT actually run these ideas by core players for feedback? That way only the good ideas get implemented.

Let's not start on that. :evil:

Premium games sir, premium games.

Nuts, you grumpy young bastard, now you say so.

-BO- wrote:

Hell, if BT is going to offer important study games, the least they could do is offer a decent prize for the book time. A truck for instance....

-BO- wrote:

I would like to hear the rationale behind this decision, as would many I'm sure.

Let's not hold our breaths.

TomD · **Joined:** Thu Jan 14, 2010 10:55 am **Posts:** 172

-BO- wrote:

I would like to hear the rationale behind this decision, as would many I'm sure.

BO

I believe there are two main reasons. Drive traffic to our website and create interest for the game itself.

Dante · **Posted:** Thu Aug 25, 2011 6:04 pm

TomD wrote:

-BO- wrote:

I would like to hear the rationale behind this decision, as would many I'm sure.

BO

I believe there are two main reasons. Drive traffic to our website and create interest for the game itself.

Wait, Showdown is a game?!?!

spotes · **Joined:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 11:27 pm **Posts:** 1558

TomD wrote:

-BO- wrote:

I would like to hear the rationale behind this decision, as would many I'm sure.

BO

I believe there are two main reasons. Drive traffic to our website and create interest for the game itself.

Damn it, man! Are you trying to tell me that BT is trying to run this thing like some sort of business?!? The audacity...!
If it's traffic to the website they're after, perhaps they should change from Buzztime to The Interactive Trivia System. The acronym searches alone will raise the website hits a hundredfold... :mrgreen:

xtrain · **Joined:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 6:09 pm **Posts:** 470

TomD wrote:

-BO- wrote:

I would like to hear the rationale behind this decision, as would many I'm sure.

BO

I believe there are two main reasons. Drive traffic to our website and create interest for the game itself.

If you wanted to drive traffic to the website, you should let the players post messages there, and save Scar the trouble of having to do it himself.
XT

Dante · **Posted:** Fri Aug 26, 2011 9:16 am

xtrain wrote:

TomD wrote:

-BO- wrote:

I would like to hear the rationale behind this decision, as would many I'm sure.

BO

I believe there are two main reasons. Drive traffic to our website and create interest for the game itself.

If you wanted to drive traffic to the website, you should let the players post messages there, and save Scar the trouble of having to do it himself.
XT

Because that went so amazingly well the first time

Dingo · **Joined:** Thu Jan 21, 2010 4:59 pm **Posts:** 162

xtrain wrote:

It's good to see that Astronomy is one of the categories, because that usually means it won't be the final tragedy question. However, that still leaves open the possibility that the Final will be "Latin Names for Obscure Animals Nobody Ever Heard Of," which is what it's been (roughly) for the past two weeks.

"Thylacine" is actually of Greek etymology.

Fortunately that question posed no difficulty for us - we Australian predators keep close tabs on each other (even the allegedly extinct ones).

Falcon · **Posted:** Tue Aug 30, 2011 2:20 am

xtrain wrote:

It's good to see that Astronomy is one of the categories, because that usually means it won't be the final tragedy question. However, that still leaves open the possibility that the Final will be "Latin Names for Obscure Animals Nobody Ever Heard Of," which is what it's been (roughly) for the past two weeks.

I haven't seen that category for a final ever, (unfortunately, as I like both Latin and zoology). Unfortunately, questions on plants and animals are rare, although knowledge of names of major plants and animals and their groups and ecological relationships should be as much a part of a good education as knowledge of historical events, geographical or astronomical features, geological eras, works of literature, classical music and art, or the essentials of chemistry, philosophy, mathematics, etc. The bias towrd humanities is already far too strong, in my opinion.

In the category round there is usually some diversity, but having categories like books on terrorism and books on war are more likely to drive people away than attract them and are non-choices if they come up together. For some reason, astronomy seems to come up all too often as the only science category or question, although the questions in that field tend to be the most obscure to those who are not specialists in it.

zog741 · **Posted:** Wed Aug 31, 2011 7:06 am

We aced both of the American Geography questions. The first question asked which state was part of the Western Cordillera (California.) The second asked for the alternate name for the Canadian Shield (Laurentian Upland.)

My teammates were more enthused about war novels than about astronomy. Then I managed to bomb the second astronomy question, asking which of five stars is farthest away (Canopus.)

Does anyone recall the first astronomy question? Thanks.

-- RWM

Yoduh · **Posted:** Wed Aug 31, 2011 7:44 am

zog741 wrote:

...My teammates were more enthused about war novels than about astronomy. Then I managed to bomb the second astronomy question, asking which of five stars is farthest away (Canopus.)

Does anyone recall the first astronomy question? Thanks.

-- RWM

That distance question was tough, did anyone know it? Just a brutal game all around, for Mitch's team at least. Anyway, here is the question. Astronomers estimate half of all visible stars are this: (double stars)
After precalling brown dwarfs, it took a second to see the keyword "visible".

zog741 · **Posted:** Wed Aug 31, 2011 8:15 am

Too bad I missed that question. If "red dwarf" were a choice, it might have sunk me though.

-- RWM

Gogetem · **Joined:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 11:31 am **Posts:** 785

Yoduh wrote:

zog741 wrote:

...My teammates were more enthused about war novels than about astronomy. Then I managed to bomb the second astronomy question, asking which of five stars is farthest away (Canopus.)

Does anyone recall the first astronomy question? Thanks.

-- RWM

That distance question was tough, did anyone know it? Just a brutal game all around, for Mitch's team at least. Anyway, here is the question. Astronomers estimate half of all visible stars are this: (double stars)
After precalling brown dwarfs, it took a second to see the keyword "visible".

It should have been 'binary' stars'. I know, it has the same meaning, just was worded that way.

That was how the answers were presented. That one was easy, the other astronomy question we only took for half credit, luckily our wrong guess disappeared first.

Yoduh · **Posted:** Wed Aug 31, 2011 3:37 pm

You're absolutely correct Gogetem, also there is a distinction between the two, as not all double stars are truly binary. In my haste to answer RWM I misremembered the wording on that question (and forgot my Astronomy 101).
:oops:

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