Crag: The Numbers Game (Syn., Episode 7)

[dougmorrisontheair]

Welcome to the first episode of Crag: The Numbers Game in this forum – and the seventh since we changed the format of this series.

In basic terms, Crag: The Number Game is based on a board game. The real version of Crag is a Yahtzee-style dice game that requires three dice instead of five, has faster game play and different scoring options. To the best of my knowledge, Crag has not been made commercially available – save for computerized dice game compilations on CD-ROM and, in the here and now, apps for smart phones and tablets.  Further, there's at least one reported existence of a rules sheet for Crag in a rule book of, you guessed it, dice games.

Please visit www.dougmorris.net/crag for the rules to the net game version – as well as the real dice game of Crag.

Ian Laudato, mastercards56, returns with one win and $9500. As we ask Ian to hop onto this thread, who wants to challenge him?


(Qualifying questions remain on hold – but we might bring them back in the future. We’re doing this to move matters forward after a mostly unintended hiatus.)

[Deleted]

Checking in.

[mjyr1]

Let's give it a go.

First - the rules say something about picking a letter between A and F when you want to reroll the dice after you win them. Is there a significance as to these letters?

[dougmorrisontheair]

Hi, mjyr1. Please remind me your first and last name. (I'm having a senior moment. LOL!)

To answer your question, I program randomizer.org to generate three sets of numbers from 1-6 each with no repeats. Here's an example I just activated...


Set #1:
1, 2, 5, 6, 4, 3



Set #2:
6, 1, 4, 3, 2, 5



Set #3:
4, 1, 3, 5, 2, 6



...in the first set, the letters A, B, C, D, E and F are "assigned" the numbers 1, 2, 5, 6, 4 and 3 respectively.

So, staying with the example, on your first roll, if you were to pick the letter C, F and D, you'd end up with triple 5 for 25 points. If you wanted to go for the Crag, freeze two 5s (any 5s really), try to turn a 5 into a 3 and pick the letter C, I'd go back to randomizer.org, call for only one set of six numbers without repeats and...


Set #1:
6, 5, 3, 1, 4, 2


...you'll end up with 5-5-3 to roll a Crag for 50.

Make sense?

[mjyr1]

Got it. Thanks.

And Matt Johnson.

[dougmorrisontheair]

(Thanks Matt. Ian and Matt, each of you please PM me ten buzzcodes -- one for each of the ten questions set aside for this first game of the match. We'll "chat" in the meantime as -- it's go time!)

(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.

(audience cheers)

Helloooooooo, everybody, I'm Doug Morris -- and this is Crag -- the game where 13 can be a lucky number and you don't have to stalk campers at Crystal Lake to win.

(scattered laughter from the crowd)

One of our players today will have a chance to roll our Super Crag dice for $1,000,000. And let's meet those players, Ian Laudato and Matt Johnson.

(audience cheers)

Ian is our newly crowned champion. He won $9500 in a hard-fought match -- and then managed to run into bad luck after just one roll in the Super Crag. Less said about that the better.

Ian, we may have some viewers who missed that epic battle on the last show. Please tell the folks a little bit about the Ian Laudato story.

[Deleted]

Well, I'm a poker player from Dallas, TX and let's hope I do not get a gremlin on the first roll again.

[dougmorrisontheair]

Good luck in poker -- and here on Crag. We also wish good luck to Matt. Matt, please tell the folks looking in about yourself.

[mjyr1]

Hey, I'm Matt, a student from New York. Other than game shows, I enjoy video gaming and bowling.

[dougmorrisontheair]

Vidja games and bowling. Both fun.

Great having both of you on our show. Hope you have a lot of fun here. Remember, the first player to win $5000 wins the match.

Time to start Game 1 -- worth $2500 to the victor and $500 to the runner-up. Ian and Matt, much like the regular dice game of Crag, our game is all about numbers -- particularly the numbers you can roll on dice.

The right answer to every question on our show is a number between 1 and 6 inclusive. Sometimes, we'll ask for the ordinal number or Roman numeral equivalent of one of those numbers -- and then there are missing digit questions to watch out for. I'll explain how they work when we get close to one.

(ding)

One question mark's on the board. That means we're starting the match with a single digit question. And here it is. Hands, please, on your buzzers -- and away we go.

Single digit question: In American history, how many syllables are in the name of the 47th state to enter the union?
35 mastercards56
09 mjyr1
55 randomizer.org

(Ian buzzes in)

And that's Ian.

[Deleted]

4.

[dougmorrisontheair]

All right, are there 4 syllables in the 47th state in the union?

(ding; audience applause)

Yup. New Mexico. Four syllables. Good job.

Ian, with that right answer, you earn the maximum two rolls of our Crag dice. If you like the combination you make on your first roll, take the points and we'll move on to the next round. But if you'd like the second chance, you may freeze up to two dice and reroll the rest.

Let's go to the big screen over here -- for the ways you can score big on Crag: The Numbers Game.

There are four different straights worth 20 points each. Rolling a 1-2-3 is a low straight. A 4-5-6 is a high straight. A 1-3-5 make for an odd straight -- leaving 2-4-6 for an even straight. It doesn't matter the order they appear on the board over there -- just as long as all three numbers are different and they're all low, all high, all odd or all even.

Now, it gets better -- because if you roll three of the same number, that's a triple for 25 points. And as we noted earlier, 13 is a lucky number in this game. Anytime the dice total 13, we'll double the sum for 26.

However -- if that combination of 13 includes a pair of a particular number, that's what we call a Crag. And a Crag is worth 50 big points.

(audience cheers)

(rolling sfx)

Ian, the Crag dice are now rolling. Please stop them one at a time by hitting your buzzer.

(Ian, please "hit your buzzer" by responding with three letters from A through F inclusive -- one letter for each screen. If you think it will help, you may repeat letters.)

[Deleted]

(C, D, A)

[dougmorrisontheair]

(ding)

Starting with a 2.

(ding)

There's another 2.

(ding) (scattered groans)

And a 1 on the end. Not one of the combinations worth 20 or more. Ian, you could stop here and take the dice total in points -- which is 5 in this case -- or freeze up to two dice screens and reroll the rest.

[Deleted]

Freeze those 2's (D)

[dougmorrisontheair]

Going for the triple, obviously. Let's freeze the 2s first, please.

(freeze sfx)

They will not reroll. The 1, however, rerolls right -- about --


(rolling sfx)

...now. Stop it when you're ready.

(ding) (scattered groans)

Fiddlesticks. Another 1.

Ian starts off with a nickel. Remember, there are two ways to win a game: Be the first to reach 100 points or come closer to 100 than your opponent after ten rounds.

And in addition to winning $2500 for the game, we also have a bonus of ten crisp new $100 bills. We award that bonus to the first player to roll a Crag in this match.

Ian and Matt are back in for this Round 2 question. Already, it's time for a missing digit question. I'll give you an example.

(ding)

This is the year the TV series "Private Practice" debuted. All you have to do is tell me the missing digit. Unless there's something off with the space-time continuum, the missing digit is a 2.

(ding)

There ya go. Now, we clear the board and play the intended question for this second round.


Missing digit question: On the TV series "The Dukes of Hazzard", the Duke boys' car, nicknamed the General Lee, had a two-digit number. The first digit was a zero...

(ding)


...what was the second digit?

36 mastercards56
18 mjyr1
37 randomizer.org

(Ian buzzes in)

Ian again.

[Deleted]

2

[dougmorrisontheair]

You say 2 is the missing digit. Was the Dukes' car numbered 02?

(buzz)

'Fraid not. Matt, this means you get a chance to steal. The Crag dice will narrow the field of possibilities down to three choices. It's up to you to pick the right answer.

(ding)

Once again, the question. On the TV series "The Dukes of Hazzard", the Duke boys' car, nicknamed the General Lee, had a two-digit number. The first digit was a zero. Was the second digit a 1, 3 or 4?

[mjyr1]

4?

[dougmorrisontheair]

(scattered groans from the crowd)

Well -- let's see who's right and who's wrong. Was the General Lee numbered 04?

(buzz)

No. It was numbered 01. Hey, I didn't know that either. Back in the day, I was paying too much attention to Daisy.

(scattered laughter from the crowd)

Score remains 5 to 0 in the champ's favor. Let's see if you have better luck in Round 3 with this.

Missing digit question: I'll show you the year "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" was released to movie theaters in America -- and you tell me the missing digit.

(ding)

45 mastercards56
27 mjyr1
27 randomizer.org

(Matt buzzes in)

Matt?

[mjyr1]

Five?

[dougmorrisontheair]

Matt's guessing 5. Was "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" playing at a theater near me in 2005?

(buzz)

No. Sorry. Ian, chance to steal.

(ding)

Again, we're looking for the year "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" was released to movie theaters in America. Is the last digit in the year 1, 2 or 3?

(Ian, in the interest of picking up the pace just a smidge, please respond with your answer as well as three stopper letters in case you pick the right answer.)

[dougmorrisontheair]

(time passes) (buzz buzz)

Sorry -- time ran out. Let's see what year "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" was playing in theaters.

(ding)

2001. Made for quite an odyssey -- er -- uh -- wrong movie.

(a few laughs from the crowd)

Still a 5-0 game with the champ in the lead as we start Round 4.

[dougmorrisontheair]

(obvious edit)

And we're starting Round 4 with a new feature on Crag: The Numbers Game. It's a little something we call -- Fill In The Blank.

(last few seconds of MG 7x theme) (audience applause)


I can name that tune in two notes. (scattered laughter from the crew and crowd) You'll catch on quickly on how this works.

We're going to show you the name of a pop band from Australia. Fill in the blank in the band's name -- with a single digit number. Slide it, Earl.

(ding)

50 mastercards56
42 mjyr1
51 randomizer.org


(Ian buzzes in)

Ian?

[Deleted]

I heard about this before, 5.

[dougmorrisontheair]

(scattered cheers from young members of audience)

Sounds like they've heard of 'em, too. Are we talking 5 Seconds of Summer?

(ding; audience applause)

We sure are.


(rolling sfx)

Dice are yours again, Ian. Let's see if you have better luck this time than last.

[Deleted]

(C, A, D)

[dougmorrisontheair]

(ding)

Starting with a 5 this time.

(ding) (a few cheers)

There's a 3.

(ding) (audience groans)

So close to a Crag. A 4 on the end. Well, Ian, you may stop here and take 12 points -- or that second chance.

(audience shouts suggestions)

[dougmorrisontheair]

(time passes) (buzz buzz)

No decision on the reroll in time. 'Fraid this means you don't get to reroll, Ian.

You do pick up the 12 points, however, and you lead 17 to nothing. As we start Round 5, let's do the math.

(last few seconds of AYSTA5G theme plays) (audience applause)

And we mix multiplication with politics with this next single digit question.

In the 2012 Presidential Election, the number of M's in the last name of the Democratic incumbent multiplied by the number of M's in the last name of the Republican challenger equals what single digit number?
45 mastercards56
45 mjyr1
04 randomizer.org

(Note from Doug: Obviously, we have a tie for closer to the randomizer.org buzzcode. Rules say the player who PMed me sooner takes the edge and "buzzes in first". Matt's 45 came closer -- so...)

(Matt buzzes in)

Matt?

[mjyr1]

Obama (1) times Romney (1) equals 1.