Showing posts with label theFamineGame. Show all posts
Showing posts with label theFamineGame. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 07, 2014

SnoutCast #201: Ana Roeszler

Kicking off our year of interviews with women who make puzzle games is Ana Roeszler, one of the co-founders of Puzzled Pint and a core GC member for WarTron PDX!


Show length: 26:39
File size: 25.6MB
  [Download mp3]


What Else?

Tell us we're wrong on the Internet! E-mail podcast@snout.org or post a comment at www.snout.org/podcast.

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "Tom Cruise Crazy" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

Curtis DeeAnn Ana

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

SnoutCast #195: Capitol Gamemakers (Part 3 of 3)

Gamemakers Todd Etter, Phil Dasler, Natalie Parisi, and Sam Freund tell us about Lincoln Logs and more as we conclude our extended conversation on The Famine Game!


[ Download mp3 - 29 MB ]

What Else?

Tell us we're wrong on the Internet! E-mail podcast@snout.org or post a comment at www.snout.org/podcast.

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "Chiron Beta Prime" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

Curtis DeeAnn Todd Phil Natalie Sam

Tuesday, November 05, 2013

SnoutCast #194: Capitol Gamemakers (Part 2 of 3)

What did Gamemakers Todd Etter, Phil Dasler, Natalie Parisi, and Sam Freund decide to leave out of The Famine Game's Friday night activities? Find out as we continue our conversation!


[ Download mp3 - 25 MB ]

What Else?

Tell us we're wrong on the Internet! E-mail podcast@snout.org or post a comment at www.snout.org/podcast.

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "Chiron Beta Prime" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

Curtis DeeAnn Todd Phil Natalie Sam

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

SnoutCast #193: Capitol Gamemakers (Part 1 of 3)

Now hear this: the first part of our extended conversation with Gamemakers Todd Etter, Phil Dasler, Natalie Parisi, and Sam Freund from The Famine Game!


[ Download mp3 - 26 MB ]

What Else?

Tell us we're wrong on the Internet! E-mail podcast@snout.org or post a comment at www.snout.org/podcast.

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "Chiron Beta Prime" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

Curtis DeeAnn Todd Phil Natalie Sam

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Puzzle Reciprocity

TL;DR: solve this video clue and get a tiny prize!*

(Famine Game peeps: find Curtis at the Friday night event, tell him the answer, and collect a physical tchotchke. Everyone else: e-mail your answer to "ZBIVRF NG FABHG QBG BET" [rot13] and receive a more intangible reward.)

ALSO: Please tell Curtis how you first met him!


http://youtu.be/bmtOMCYd59w

This past Saturday was crazy. In a good way. My friends and my wife apparently conspired for months to plan a surprise birthday party for me--the biggest surprises were that the party (which I was expecting) happened two weeks before I thought it was scheduled, and that it was preceded by an all-day, Star Trek-themed puzzle hunt my friends had created (which I was most definitely NOT expecting). It. Was. AMAZING.

I'm still overwhelmed by all of it: the magnitude of the event they organized in secret (even as we met multiple times per week to work on other projects and for social gatherings), and the fact that people even came from out of town to join us for the big EndGame party. I'll write more about the whole experience later, and "Game Control" has also promised some wrap-up documentation. For a start, here's some of what I tweeted during the weekend.

Meanwhile, feel free to solve the modest little puzzle I put together for my party! (See the video and instructions above.) I knew there would be some puzzlers there, and I wanted to provide a structured activity people could enjoy while eating, drinking, or just being introverted. :) Twenty people picked up prizes during the party--probably over thirty percent of the guests--and that makes me very happy.

Thank you to everyone who was there on Saturday, everyone who contributed to the event from afar, and everyone who sent me well-wishes through other media. I don't actually turn forty until October first, but you've already made this the best birthday celebration I could never have imagined.



* Offer only valid if you didn't already get a prize from me on Saturday! Duh.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

The Famine Teams: District 12, Mining

Jasper here! This is part twelve in a twelve-part series, looking at the teams who will be playing in The Famine Game this fall!

District Twelve is home to a whole lot of miners! No, not minors, miners! People who do mining! You know, digging stuff out of the ground! Like coal, or diamonds, or ancient alien artif--oh, never mind!


Trivia question: Two of the players shown below are working together on a puzzle hunt event scheduled for 2014! Do you know who they are? Scroll to the bottom of this blog post for the answer!



12 Hangry Nerds
South Bay CA and Seattle WA


http://youtu.be/gJttrcQ-C6o

That person is wearing Google Glass! They may even have recorded part of this video #throughglass! I guess that is pretty cool, but cats don't like wearing things on our heads. I don't even like wearing things around my neck! Anyway, that training montage sure is something--all it's missing is some 1980s rock 'n' roll music! I have every confidence that Dan, Ederlyn, Francis, Richard, and Yuan will be prepared for whatever challenges await them in the Capitol!


Coeds on Fire
SF Bay Area


http://youtu.be/VZfJhRuR57A

Hey, wait a minute! These six people are actually three couples--two of them married, and the last engaged. Now I'm just a cat, but going into a possibly life-or-death contest with your significant other seems like a terrible idea! What are Dale & Linnsey and Wei-Hwa & Trisha and Melinda & Corey thinking? Well, maybe they just love each other so much they can't bear to be separated for even a single weekend. I suppose I can respect that! Humans are weird.



And that's all the Famine Game teams!

If you have more free time, you can watch all the public Famine Game application videos, including some teams who were not selected as tributes. I feel bad for them, but on the bright side, they've got that whole weekend free to do other fun things!


Trivia answer: YUAN NIU and COREY ANDERSON are the "lead coordinators" for next year's DASH 6!


Jasper

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

SnoutCast #187: Shameless Self-Promotion

Well, hello there, friend! Have you filled out Curtis' 40th Birthday Survey yet? Why not do it while you listen to this week's show? He'd really appreciate it!


[ Download mp3 - 25 MB ]

00:59 - "miscellaneous"
05:08 - a record-breaking Puzzled Pint September event in Portland, Oregon!
09:51 - Tell Curtis how you met him: snout.org/40survey
12:02 - The Octothorpean Order reveals itself on November 16th, 2013
13:55 - FREE to read (and vote for) online: Curtis' short story "Born to the Legion"
16:33 - Jasper's Famine Game team profiles
21:03 - Now on sale: Song Stories: Blaze of Glory (Kindle or paperback), featuring Curtis' short story "Don't Fence Me In"
25:45 - The End

Tell us we're wrong on the Internet! E-mail podcast@snout.org or post a comment at www.snout.org/podcast.

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "Ikea" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

Curtis DeeAnn Jasper

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

The Famine Teams: District 11, Agriculture

Jasper here! This is part eleven in a twelve-part series, looking at the teams who will be playing in The Famine Game this fall!

District Eleven is all about agriculture! That means growing plants and stuff! Or so I am told. Cats aren't really into gardening. We are mighty hunters! Anyway.


CRANEA
SF Bay Area


http://youtu.be/2nXTvBYGs4w

These impressive young men certainly seem confident! I don't know who the unfortunate orange-haired victim is, but that fellow appears to have frequent and unfortunate encounters with Daniel, Eric, Mike, Jeremy, and/or Troy.

By the way, I love watching outtakes! Don't you just love watching outtakes? Let's watch them together.


http://youtu.be/HDyGhaOpYH4


Here Be Dragons
Seattle WA, Washington DC, San Francisco CA


http://youtu.be/ExqRPIsn8Wo

Boy, there sure is a lot of information packed into this one video! Not only does each team member have his or her own pangrammatic set of personal details, there's also action footage featuring other Gamers at what appears to be a Shinteki event!

At any rate, it's nice that they're so up front about their intention to be TOTAL CHEATERS. Other teams, you'd better watch your backs around Evan, Carl, Mark, Tanis, Sean, and Gaby! Their plan is so crazy, it just might work!

Next week: meet the teams from District Twelve!

Jasper

Wednesday, September 04, 2013

The Famine Teams: District 10, Livestock

Jasper here! This is part ten in a twelve-part series, looking at the teams who will be playing in The Famine Game this fall!

District Ten raises livestock! Like cows! And sheep! And... cows!


R.E.D.T.A.P.E.
Seattle WA



No video for you, but I believe many of the people on this team help run the annual Microsoft Intern Game! I also believe it's a thing for them to make their team name into a different acronym for every event, and this time they're the "Redundant Extraneous District Ten Agrarian Prairie Enforcers!"


Golden SmokingJay
San Francisco CA, East Bay CA, Los Angeles CA


http://youtu.be/f6PzlCPsyPQ

OMG DID THAT GUY JUST EAT SOME POOP.

Game veterans Brent & Linda Holman (Shinteki), Jonathan McCue (2013 Ravenchase Great America Race), David Andre (Cerebellum Capital), and John Owens (Associate Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UC Davis) have combined to form a Voltron-like super-team of puzzlers! And when I say Voltron, I mean lions, not vehicles. Lions are super awesome!

Next week: meet the teams from District Eleven!

Jasper

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

The Famine Teams: District 9, Grain

Jasper here! This is part nine in a twelve-part series, looking at the teams who will be playing in The Famine Game this fall!

District Nine grows grain! Which is an ingredient in many types of cat food, even though we are obligate carnivores! Raaawwwrrr!


Revolution #9
Maryland


http://youtu.be/jr5eS-F6KM4

Filking! They're filking! And consuming alcoholic beverages on camera! Hide your kids, hide your wife!

The rubber chicken bits are pretty funny.

Anyway, Dustin, Mike, Alex, Donna, and Dave certainly seem to know their way around the wilds of... a local state park?


Disobedient Children
SF Bay Area and beyond



This teams sounds like a bunch of troublemakers, if you ask me!

Since they didn't provide a public video, here's something else for you to watch!


http://youtu.be/N_NspDWssIY

Next week: meet the teams from District Ten!

Jasper

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

The Famine Teams: District 8, Textiles

Jasper here! This is part eight in a twelve-part series, looking at the teams who will be playing in The Famine Game this fall!

District Eight makes textiles! Textiles are used in clothes! And hats! By the way, cats do not like hats, contrary to liberal media propaganda.


Silly Jefes
Seattle WA, New York, Virginia, North Carolina


http://youtu.be/UXzCgHKAGUk

I recognize many of these humans from their excellent work running the World Henchmen Organization Game a couple of years ago, not to mention several other events in the Seattle area! They sure seem to enjoy wearing a wide variety of hats, costumes, and personalities. Keep your eye on Jett, Nikhil, Sergey, Jeff, Donna, and Rena--I'm sure they're putting together real spiffy fancy-dress outfits for the Friday night opening of the Famine Game!


XX-Rated
San Francisco CA, Chicago IL, Seattle WA



This team also chose to keep their application video private, but I'm guessing they're captained by the crafty Rachel Weinstein Petterson, Ph.D.! And if that is the case, she has surely assembled a brace of brainy ladies who will give The Hunger Dames a run for their money! So to speak. I don't think there's any actual money on the line here!

Next week: meet the teams from District Nine! (Not that one.)

Jasper

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

The Famine Teams: District 7, Lumber

Jasper here! This is part seven in a twelve-part series, looking at the teams who will be playing in The Famine Game this fall!

District Seven is known for their lumber! I hope that's a noun and not a verb!


League of Extraordinary Puzzlemen (LXP)
CA, MA, MD, WA

NO VIDEO

These humans didn't make their application video public, but if it's the same team listed on the Bay Area Night Game (BANG) site, it should include puzzle masterminds Nick Baxter, Derek Kisman, and Thomas Snyder!


District Ubik
Washington DC, Nashville TN, San Francisco CA


http://youtu.be/BssGWBqembk

Well, I recognize two of those humans: Sarah Barnum, formerly of team Blood & Bones, and some guy named Rex who is currently playing in the Great America Race! Plus, I don't know if you noticed, but two of the other humans gave themselves away as husband and wife in this video. Giving away personal information? I'm not sure that's a great strategy, guys!

Next week: meet the teams from District Eight!

Jasper

Wednesday, August 07, 2013

The Famine Teams: District 6, Transportation

Jasper here! This is part six in a twelve-part series, looking at the teams who will be playing in The Famine Game this fall!

District Six handles transportation! I'm not sure what that means. Do they build trains? Provide operators to drive them? Do they also refine the fuel products used in such vehicles? It's honestly a bit confusing. Get it together, Suzanne Collins!


Briny Deep
Seattle WA


http://youtu.be/W83QUfOiiqM

You know these guys! They're pirates! Kenny, Andrew, Dave, Jeff, Peter are pretty well known in the Microsoft puzzle community, and I'm sure they'll do just fine in the Capitol! Unless they die! That probably won't happen.


The Burninators
Palo Alto CA


http://youtu.be/NRI6JLrO4NA

These may not be exactly the same Burninators as you've seen in other puzzle hunt events, but don't underestimate them! Doug Zongker once created Isotropic, an online version of the popular deck-building card game Dominion! Dan Egnor maintains the Puzzle Hunt Calendar, and a few years ago, shared some of his favorite Computer Tools for Puzzle Creation & Solving! And their teammates Cynthia Wong and Kekoa Proudfoot have bicycled through the Alps! Humans do some pretty wacky stuff.

Next week: meet the teams from District Seven!

Jasper

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

The Famine Teams: District 5, Power

Jasper here! This is part five in a twelve-part series, looking at the teams who will be playing in The Famine Game this fall!

District Five generates power--the electrical kind, I guess? That's pretty important!


Apetitius Giganticus
Boston MA, Las Vegas NV, Providence RI, San Fran CA, Seattle WA


http://youtu.be/BYG9mhMFQh0

Now these look like some serious competitors! I recognize Mike Selinker from his wildly successful Maze of Games Kickstarter (plus some other random stuff), inveterate crossword fiend Tyler Hinman, and mechanical puzzle maker Pavel Curtis. I'm sure their teammates Rachael Groynom, Dan Katz, and Scott Purdy are no slouches either!

Also, they appear to control a frog puppet, which always spells trouble.

ETA: Mike Selinker has dropped out, but Winston Breen creator Eric Berlin has taken his place!


Occam's Unicorn
SF Bay Area


http://youtu.be/kPkjY2shj5Y

Unicorn unicorn unicorn! That's a funny word, isn't it? Unicorn. Unicorn. Unicorn. What was I talking about? Oh, yeah! I've seen these humans before too, though not always wearing funny hats.

Ellen Juhlin and Erik Stuart were part of Game Control for the Doctor When Game, which they talked about in SnoutCasts #119 and #114, respectively! Stephanie Geerlings and Rion Snow both came to Portland for WarTron in 2012. Joanna Bresee is apparently good at Sudoku, and she used to work for NASA! Last but not least, Brett Rogers has two of the funniest bits in this video, and he knows a lot about geocaching!

Next week: meet the teams from District Six!

Jasper

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

The Famine Teams: District 4, Fishing

Jasper here! This is part four in a twelve-part series, looking at the teams who will be playing in The Famine Game this fall!

District Four is near and dear to my heart, because its main industry is something cats love: fishing!


Mystic Katfish
SF Bay Area, Sacramento CA, Pittsburgh PA, Washington DC


http://youtu.be/WNMh0bVTgdM

I had no idea Nancy Grace was so interested in The Famine Game, but okay, 'tevs, lady! You sure have a lot to say about stuff! And the Tributes' video certainly showed off their puzzling skills, but what's the deal with not showing your faces? Humans can be sooooo weird sometimes!

At any rate, that Twitter account totally exists. Maybe they'll say some more things later on!


This Space Intentionally Left Blank
Boston MA


http://youtu.be/AVaPNKEAOhw

Wow! These humans are all dressed up and looking sharp! I also have it on good authority that several members of this team were involved in running the highly successful WARTRON: BOSTON event last month! (Keen-eyed observers will recognize this "Caesar Flickerman" as Boston's "Professor Goto.") You might have to turn up the volume on this video to hear all their dialogue, but the "wilderness survival" footage is priceless!

Next week: meet the teams from District Five!

Jasper

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

The Famine Teams: District 3, Technology

Jasper here! This is part three in a twelve-part series, looking at the teams who will be playing in The Famine Game this fall!

District Three specializes in technology, which these two teams certainly show off in spades, what with their fancy graphics and modern architecture!


Bloodshot
SF Bay Area


http://youtu.be/MjWv-zrfVAM

These guys are bona fide Game veterans! They've helped run many events, including the Bay Area re-cast of the WHO Game, and some of them are starting to branch out even more! Bob has started a series of charity puzzle events which are also available online, and Rich is developing the ClueKeeper platform which anyone will be able to use for all kinds of hunts! I don't know what else Chris, Rico, Bill, and Mike have been up to, but I'm sure they are also fine upstanding young men!

Hey, look, more outtakes!


http://youtu.be/hCtZUY4lhl0


Death From Above
Boston MA


http://youtu.be/_CQvqJz_Ve0"

I have no idea who these humans are, but they appear to have shot their video in some kind of classroom setting, so they must be smart! Not only that, but they also incorporated at least five different codes that I recognized: Braille, semaphore, Dancing Men, Pigpen, and Morse! And I have it on good authority that they survived WARTRON: BOSTON a few weeks ago! Let's hope that Pranjal, Teasha, Paul, James, Sam, and Henry don't turn out to be too clever for their own good!

Next week: meet the teams from District Four!

Jasper

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

SnoutCast #178: Listener Mail Potpourri

This week, we respond to your feedback from the last few weeks. Keep those cards and letters coming in, folks!

CORRECTION (ADD 16 Jul 2013): commenter Nathan Curtis is NOT Nathan Fung who helped us playtest WarTron.


[ Download mp3 - 23 MB ]

00:58 - "sympathetic"
01:47 - Nathan links to many online hunts
03:15 - Chris in England discovers overnight puzzle hunts in the Czech Republic
07:03 - Nathan knows a lot about BAPHLs
09:37 - a lively discussion about Game application puzzles
11:09 - yes, Nathan, we'll talk about both WARTRONs Real Soon Now :)
14:21 - James asks about removing motor vehicles in the middle of a Game
20:39 - our cat Jasper is very interested in The Famine Game!
24:11 - The End

Tell us we're wrong on the Internet! E-mail podcast@snout.org or post a comment at www.snout.org/podcast.

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "I Feel Fantastic" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

Curtis DeeAnn Tye

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

The Famine Teams: District 2, Masonry

Jasper here! This is part two in a twelve-part series, examining the teams with which the humans will be playing in The Famine Game this fall!

Supposedly District Two specializes in masonry, but I'm not sure how that applies to these two teams, since neither one appears to demonstrate any skill in bricklaying or stonework. Maybe we'll find out later? Or maybe they mean Freemasonry? It's a mystery!


Bostucky Plugh
Kentucky, New Jersey, and Massachusetts


http://youtu.be/nIG6FrgSj8w

It's another bunch of unfamiliar humans! That would make sense, since I haven't been to any of those easterly states since 2008! Cats don't really like traveling that much, I've found. And we don't really enjoy puzzles, either, but if we did, I'm sure I would find some of the bits in this video downright fascinating! Or something. Anyway, nice to meet you, Mark, Joe, Nathan, and Paul! Try not to die!


The Puzzle Underground
Portland OR


http://youtu.be/VbZDD0GzJyw

Hey, I know these humans! Ana, Rob, Vic, Matt, and Emily have all been to our house many times before! Kate hasn't visited yet, but I hear she plays a mean harp. And I understand they're all regulars at Puzzled Pint, either as "solvers" or "constructors!" (I just learned that terminology recently, from Greg Costikyan's book Uncertainty in Games!) This trip to the Capitol might be the farthest these guys have ever traveled for a weekend Game, but I'm sure it'll be lots of fun and totally worth their while!

Next week: meet the teams from District Three!

Jasper

Wednesday, July 03, 2013

The Famine Teams: District 1, Luxury

Jasper here! I don't understand why the humans like these "puzzle hunt" Games so much, but apparently there's another one coming up in a few months! They got very excited two weeks ago when something called "The Reaping" happened and their "team" was named as a Tribute. Hooray! I guess?

Anyway, twenty-three other teams were selected to play in this Game at the end of September, and I got curious about who the humans were going to encounter on their trip, so I did a little research! (Cats are awesome at Internet research. It's a fact. Look it up.) I'll be sharing my results over the next several Wednesdays, one district (two teams) at a time!

Let's begin! This is part one in a twelve-part series!


Team Snout
Portland OR, SF Bay Area, Norfolk, UK


http://youtu.be/x6JJEvriEZU

This team comprises my humans (Curtis and DeeAnn) plus their friends Cary, Chris, Corby, Josh, Karl, and Lisa! Astute observers will notice that eight people is two more than Game Control's recommended maximum team size, but that's okay. The humans have fielded teams as large as nine people in the past, and lived to tell the tale! I believe this time they've reserved a fifteen-passenger van, which should be quite (wait for it) luxurious!

But wait, there's MOAR: ten and a half minutes of outtakes, if you can stand it!


http://youtu.be/ZiH9W1ual24


The Hunger Dames
Los Angeles CA


http://youtu.be/nMjTh0OF1E4

I have never met these humans before, but if I'm not mistaken, they are all female! That makes this only the second all-female Game team I've seen. It's about time! And I love how they own their womanliness in both word and wardrobe--calling themselves "The Hunger Dames," making their slogan "may the broads be ever in your favor," and wearing those stylish V-neck shirts! Knock 'em dead, Amy, Annie, Maggie, Maya, and Summer! But not literally. My humans need to come home and feed me! Cats get hungry too, you know!

Next week: meet the teams from District Two!

Jasper

Tuesday, July 02, 2013

SnoutCast #176: Gone in 15,638,400 Seconds

In which we look back on some significant-to-us (and possibly relevant-to-your-interests) events from the first half of 2013.


[ Download mp3 - 25 MB ]

00:59 - "semiannual"
02:10 - January/ongoing: monthly Puzzled Pints, weekly SnoutCasts and 512s
02:45 - February: JoCo Cruise Crazy 3, Oscar Party
05:35 - March: GC Summit, ClueKeeper alpha test, WARTRON: BOSTON applications, Tabletop Day
09:57 - April: that QueryShark thing, Paradise Lost, playtests for...
12:40 - ...May: Portland Afoot Game and DASH 5 PDX
20:54 - June: Famine Game applications, WARTRON: BOSTON
22:17 - upcoming events: Great America Race, Elevate Tutoring Puzzle Hunt, Midnight Madness NYC, and more!
26:55 - The End

Tell us we're wrong on the Internet! E-mail podcast@snout.org or post a comment at www.snout.org/podcast.

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "The Future Soon" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

Curtis DeeAnn