Crag: The Numbers Game (Syn., Ep. 18; audience game)

[dougmorrisontheair]

(We'll take a page from Mary Poppins' playbook and restart this episode from the very beginning.)

Hope 2016's going well for you thus far. We're starting the third year of Crag's netgame existence. Indeed and appropriately, the netgame started in 2013.

Some notes are in order.

\ John Lopez returns with two match wins and $18,000.

\ The reward for winning for winning five straight matches remains at $175,000 on a gas card as well as a Pikachu-inspired Toyota automobile.

\ Please visit DougMorris.net/crag if you're interested in how Crag works as a netgame -- and as an actual, Yahtzee-esque game.

Now it's on to qualifying. The player closest to the right answer, high or low, plays against John. And this is a new qualifying question...

On August 30, 2012, at 2:30am Central, we recorded a GSN rerun of "Super Password". At the start of the episode, what was the combined value of the CA$HWORD and "the end game". Please respond in increments of $1000 and make sure your answer is higher than $5000.

We operate on 24-hour deadlines. Please PM me in 24 hours from now.

[dougmorrisontheair]

And here's the answer...

(ding)

....$25,000 for the end game and a $2000 CA$HWORD add up to 27 large. BTW, a puzzle of "witty", "happy", "homemaker", "golden" and "girl" was correctly solved by one of the show's guests, Betty White.

Clément Couvreur's bid of $11,000 was the closest. Let's get the show on the road.

---

Singers: TV 40's the one for all.

---

(lights in studio gradually are turned on)

(shortened version of the WGYN opening theme plays)


Three dice...



...two players...




...one million dollars. It's time to play...




...Crag: The Numbers Game.

[/div]

(audience cheers)

Helloooo, everybody, I'm Doug Morris and this is Crag: The Numbers Game -- where 13 can be your lucky number.

Our current champion has won two matches -- but has run into terrible luck in the Super Crag. Will the third time be the charm? We'll find out as we welcome back from Titusville, Florida, who is $18,000 to the good, John Lopez.

(audience cheers)

Doug: And challenging him is Clément Couvreur. John, you play the main game well. Think you can win and conquer Super Crag?

John: I hope so, Doug.

Doug: For new viewers who might be tuning in, please tell us what you do back in Titusville.

John: Well, I'm a budding writer, but generally I like to enjoy playing a video game or two and listen to some rock, though lately I've been listening to a lot of Motorhead.

Doug: Ah -- great band. Good luck as you go for your third win today. And we wish good luck to Clément. Please tell us about yourself.

[CCSCO]

I'm Clément, 26, working for a life insurance company in Angers, France. I'm the proud dad of my 1-month daughter, and my hobbies are gameshows and sports.

[dougmorrisontheair]

All right -- France versus Florida today. Let's see who wins this match as we start Game 1.

John and Clément, just like the regular dice game of Crag, our game is about numbers -- particularly the numbers you can roll on dice. The right answer to each question on our show is a number between 1 and 6 inclusive. Sometimes, we'll ask for the ordinal or Roman numeral equivalent. And then there are missing digit questions to watch out for.

(ding)

Right now, we start with a single digit question. Hands on the buzzer, please, and away we go.

Single digit question: How many bits add up to 50 cents?
10 john1987248
61 CCSCO
03 randomizer.org

(John buzzes in)

John?

[Deleted]

4

[dougmorrisontheair]

Do four bits add up to 50 cents?

(ding; audience applause)

Yes -- good job, John. Yeah, two bits add up to 25 cents -- so four bits make half a dollar.

John with that right answer, you've earned the maximum of two rolls of the Crag dice. If you like what you roll the first time, take the points associated with that combination and we'll start a new round with a new question -- or you may freeze as many as two of the dice and reroll the rest.

And these are the ways you can score big on Crag. We have four different straights worth 20 points each. The 1-2-3 make a low straight, the 4-5-6 make a high straight, the 1-3-5 make an odd straight and the 2-4-6 make an even straight. Remember, it doesn't matter what order the numbers appear on the board -- just as long as all the numbers are different and they're all low, high, odd or even.

If you get three of the same number, that's a triple for 25 points.

And as I noted earlier, 13 is a lucky number in this game. If you roll any sum of 13, I'll double that sum for 26 points. But if that sum of 13 is made up of a pair of a particular number plus one odd number, that's a Crag for 50 big points.

(audience cheers)

(rolling sfx)

Away go the dice, John. They lock into your buzzer one at a time.

(John, please "stop the dice" by responding with three different letters from A to F inclusive. You may repeat numbers if you think it will help.)

[Deleted]

(AAA)

[dougmorrisontheair]

(ding)


Stop on a 5.

(ding)

Stop on *another* 5.

(ding) (scattered groans)

Almost déjà vu all over again.

(scattered laughter from the crew)

Less said about the reasoning behind that statement the better.

John, you may take the sum of the dice in points -- a sweet 16 -- or freeze up to two dice and roll the rest.

[Deleted]

Freeze up the two fives, and let's shoot for a crag (D)

[dougmorrisontheair]

(scattered cheers)

Get the feeling the man's played this before? Alright, we ice the puppy paws.

(freeze sfx)

The fives do not reroll. The 6 will reroll shortly. When it does, you may stop it with your buzzer.


(rolling sfx)

There it goes. Can you complete the Crag?


































(ding)

Oooooh! Overshoots it by one.


After Round 1:
john1987248
CCSCO

Well -- you do pick up 14 points for that.

Let's talk money for a moment. The first to reach 100 points wins the game and $2500. If no one reaches 100 after ten rounds, the player closer to 100 points wins. Runner-up of each game picks up $500. And we also award $1000 to the first player in the match to roll a Crag.

We clear the board when a new round starts -- and this round has a missing digit question. We'll play a sample question first.


(ding)

This is the amount of money the host of "$ale of the Century" would spot each player at the start of a game. All you have to do is identify the missing digit represented by the question mark. And of course we know the host gives each player...


(ding)

...a $20 head start. Now let's clear the board again and play the intended question.

Missing digit question: On "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", Ted Baxter often noted his broadcast journalism career began at a radio station in Fresno, California. I'll show you the maximum power of that station in watts -- and you tell me the missing digit.

(ding)

59 john1987248
60 CCSCO
64 randomizer.org

(Clément buzzes in)

Clément?

[dougmorrisontheair]

(Bump for Clément.)

[dougmorrisontheair]

(time passes)
(buzz buzz)

Out of time. John gets a chance to steal. John, the Crag dice will offer the right answer and two wrong answers. It's up to you to pick the right one.

(ding)

Oddly enough, the choices come from the components of the odd straight. Question again.

Missing digit question: On "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", Ted Baxter often noted his broadcast journalism career began at a radio station in Fresno, California. I'll show you the maximum power of that station in watts -- and you tell me the missing digit.

John, is the missing digit a 1, 3 or 5?

(John, please also respond with three stopper letters in case you pick the right answer.)

[Deleted]

5 (BDF)

[CCSCO]

(exhausted this weekend and completely forgot)

[dougmorrisontheair]

(Sorry we missed you, Clément.)

---

(Doug tries to impersonate Ted Baxter) Did it all start at a 5000-watt radio station in Fresno, California?

(scattered laughter from the crowd)

(ding; audience applause)

Sure did.

(rolling sfx)

All right, John, you got close to a Crag last time. Let's see what happens here.

(ding)

Stop on a 3.

(ding)

There's a 2.

(ding)

3-2-1 contacts a 20-point straight if you stop the round here, John.

[Deleted]

I'll take it.

[dougmorrisontheair]

Taking the straight. Very well.

After Round 2:
john1987248
CCSCO

John quickly up to 34 points. Clément, still plenty of time for a comeback.

Players, I'll invite your attention to the big screen for our next round -- with a question about music.


Single digit question: Members of a famous metal band announced in early 2014 they will retire from the music business at the end of their farewell tour -- which was completed as the year 2015 was ending. I'll show you the name of this band on the big screen. Tell me how many umlauts should be included in the name.

(ding)


07 john1987248
59 CCSCO
89 randomizer.org

(Clément buzzes in)

Clément?

[CCSCO]

2?

[dougmorrisontheair]

Clément guesses 2 umlauts. Is that right?

(ding; audience applause)

Good guess. That's it -- and there they are -- the umlauts over the "o" and "u" in Mötley Crüe.

We were talking about Motörhead earlier with John; Motörhead's name has an umlaut over the second "o".


(rolling sfx)

Clément, your first roll in the match comes now. Let's see what happens.

[dougmorrisontheair]

(Bump for Clément.)

[CCSCO]

Come on Crag! (CAD)

[dougmorrisontheair]

(ding)

Stop on a 5.

(ding)

There's a 2.

(ding) (scattered applause)

And stop on a 6. Dice total 13 -- but no pair therein. So, Clément, we'll double this sum to 26 points if you end the round here.

[dougmorrisontheair]

(time passes)

(buzz buzz)

No decision in time. Clément, we'll have to assume you'll take the 26.


After Round 3:
john1987248
CCSCO

Does make it an eight-point game as we play a follow-up question to Round 3 -- as we start Round 4.

And we have a Crag's List in Round 4. Let's see what's on the list tonight.

The Clash, Foreigner, Kansas, the aforementioned Mötley Crüe *with* two umlauts, The Rolling Stones and Styx. Here's the question that could narrow things down a bit.

In rock history, how many of these bands include or included a member named Mick Jones?
21 john1987248
58 CCSCO
76 randomizer.org

(Clément buzzes in)

Clément?

[CCSCO]

(I'd have taken the 26, anyway)

I'm trying 4.

[dougmorrisontheair]

Clément says 4 of these bands should stay on Crag's list. Is that right?

(buzz)

No. Sorry. John, chance to steal. Since we don't want to divert your attention away from the big screen...

(ding)

...your choices for the right answer are in the upper left hand corner. I'll repeat the question.

In rock history, how many of these bands include or included a member named Mick Jones?

[Deleted]

2. (As an added bonus, the other Micks were Mick Jagger of the Stones and Mick Mars, formerly of Motley Crue)

[dougmorrisontheair]

It's as if he's reading over my shoulder. (scattered laughter) Which he's not, of course.

(ding; audience applause)

Two is right, John, you were right and all over it.



(rolling sfx)

Chance to pad your lead comes now.

[dougmorrisontheair]

(Bump for John.)

[Deleted]

(DDA)

[dougmorrisontheair]

(ding)

Stop on a 1.

(ding)

Stop on a 4.

(ding)

And stop on a 2. Well -- want the 7 points or a reroll?