Realms: Europe

[Platypus]

Coming January 5th to January 22nd, Sunday to Thursday nights Aussie time.

I'm hosting an online game next month, and I'm looking for at least one more co-host, and four more players.

If it sounds like something you might be interested in, send me a preference list for 4 of the following countries:

Italy, Serbia, Turkey, Ireland.

Netherlands or Denmark might be available, too.

Sweden, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, the UK, Russia, Greece, and Romania are taken; Poland, France, and the Vatican City are already taken by hosts. Hungary and Ukraine are still available for hosts

European countries only cos if it's a success, I'll be doing other continents in future seasons. But one step at a time.

The game will be live, Australian eastern, and events will start at 8pm and finish no later than 10pm.

Details:

Each night there will be a task. All that succeed will earn the right to vote a nation out, all that fail will be at risk in the vote. One by one, players will be eliminated by their peers, kind of like Survivor.

Each nation will have two randomly assigned allies who they will have an embassy with, and the best performing nation in each task will be able to build further embassies with whichever nation they choose. There will also be the occasional ability to send diplomatic parcels, available to whoever snaps them up first. These will basically be one-off messages sent to any nation, with or without an embassy.

Once we reach the final three, all eliminated realms will have the opportunity to set a task for the remaining nations. Whichever succeeds in the most will win the game. Obviously these tasks could be completely fair, or hideously biased.

The tasks will be a mix of and inventive, nation-based tasks, and puzzles. Despite the tasks, the real focus will be on being a good communicator and diplomat, as in most rounds the tasks won't particularly favour 'challenge whores'. Being strong in the tasks is important, but not the be-all-end-all.

This game will be hilarious, and I'm trying to make it as unique an experience as possible. If it sounds like something you'd like to play, shoot me a message!

IMPORTANT: THIS GAME IS ANONYMOUS, SO IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PLAYING, PM ME. DON'T SAY SO DIRECTLY IN HERE. [/size]

[Platypus]

Also, here are the avatars. As people sign up, I'm working with them to customise them:



Austria (evil)


Belgium (plain)


Denmark (plain)


Germany (Reichtangle)


Greece (plain)


Ireland (leprechaun hat)


Italy (boot)


Netherlands (stoned)


Romania (vampire)


Russia (fur hat)


Serbia (eye patch)


Spain (birthmark)


Sweden (viking hat)


Switzerland (gold lust)


Turkey (plain)


United Kingdom (top hat and Commonocle)

Basically, *almost* anything goes, just let me know what you want to do. I know they're not exactly high art, but the plus side is that they're flexible.

[Platypus]

Maybe some west coasters, maybe some Euros, maybe even some Aussies

But as I say, lurkers are also welcome

[Platypus]

At least one Atlasian will be playing, so sign up now so they don't feel lonely at the cast reveal at the end of the game

I'm hoping for two to three of you guys playing, but I'm also definitely hoping for at least a half dozen as lurkers, too, so if the times are just all wrong for you to play, you can lurk

[Platypus]

There are just three spots to play left, but as many as are needed left for lurkers. If the hours don't suit, or you can't commit to them, send me a PM and sign up as a lurker and watch it all unfold

[Platypus]

The game now has a full cast (...if I get the emergencies to play). But I would prefer not to compel the emergencies to play, so sign up!

Also, I really think many of you would enjoy lurking this game. A couple have already signed up to lurk, but there's room for more!

[Platypus]

Kind of getting desperate to fill the last spot, so even if you think you wouldn't be very good but do want to have a go, sign up

Also have just one lurker spot left, and I'd like it to go to one of you guys

[Platypus]

Also after drops and shuffles, the last spot left is for a pretty excellent country - Germany. Although I could shuffle you into Austria or Serbia if you'd prefer.

[Platypus]

Round One

"Kiss My Turkish Delight"

On Sunday night, 16 nations signed in for the start of a big and unique adventure. From the start there was humour and controversy.

Many players were in character, as the game got underway.

Germany signed the rules just as one would expect them to:

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Romania had a bit of an ....accent... too:

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Yes, every one of Romania's posts is an image uploaded in that font.

And Ireland left the pub for long enough to greet the crowd:

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Russia felt they had an advantage:

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But not everything so positive. Right from the start, Serbia and Turkey were at each other's throats:

Serbia was the first to post:

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They were later asked to tone down the language, but the hate remained:

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Turkey wasn't a fan of Serbia, either.

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Neither was going to step down, neither was going to find peace, until the other was gone.

After most had arrived, the first task was announced, Eurotrashy.

In this challenge, countries had about an hour to choose a song submitted by their country to the Eurovision Song Contest. After they were all chosen, the rules for voting were announced:

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While some either claimed or actually did vote based on the music, there was much political intrigue and dealmaking, from many including Spain:

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Turkey was single-minded in reply to the UK:

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Serbia [/quote]

As was Serbia:

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Switzerland was true to their neutrality:

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Greece also made deals... for money.

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In the meantime, there was a feast of nations. For some reason, nobody liked Poland's dish of Zurek, but Denmark hit the right note:

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Although Romania was famished in a different kind of way:

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After a quick and glittery reveal, Greece claimed the win with an actual Eurovision winner!

YouTube BBC: Invalid youtube link provided
Elena Paparizou, My Number One (2005)

The final points were as follows:

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Belgium was unlucky to clear 50 points but not make the top half:

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They were then saved, by not just having the best result of the non-winners in the lurker vote, but winning it outright with this song:

YouTube BBC: Invalid youtube link provided
Sandra Kim, J'aime la Vie (1986)
Meaning Belgium gained immunity from the vote, but not the right to cast a ballot.

The players then had a very small window to plead their cases, make deals in the embassies, and try to form voting blocs for or against the seven countries at risk: Romania, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

Austria had a vote, but like everyone, was uncertain of where the land lay:

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Sweden was at risk, and tried to turn away votes:

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As they entered the International Court of Justice, where the loser of the vote would be ejected, the mood was tense, but people were enjoying the twists.

Italy liked having no Private Messaging responsibilities:

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And so were the Netherlands:

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Some weren't quite as happy with it, though, especially countries at risk in the vote.

Sweden felt unsettled:

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As did Russia:

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The UK was glad to have embassies with which to chat to two other nations:

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But Turkey and Serbia's feud continued. With Turkey at risk and Serbia safe and a voter, Turkey was in a tough spot and knew it:

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In the end, it was clear that people had used embassies to good effect, as the votes came in and there were two clear candidates for elimination.

Turkey found themselves on three votes, and Ireland also had three. One vote was wasted on the immune Serbia, meaning there was just one vote left, between Ireland, which had a relatively silent presence in the game, and Turkey, who was part of the loudest discussion.

The final vote came in...

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And with that, Turkey, who had been the victim of Serbia's hate from the very first post of the game, was gone.

But not without one final warning, as they are still able to set a task for the finalists:

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15 remain. What now? Find out tomorrow!

[Platypus]

Kebab was removed, but not my spelling errors. I'll fix it up later.

[Platypus]

Round Two

"Ugh i'm no good at these"

After Turkey's elimination, the players went straight into the next task. This was designed to be short, easily understood, but hard.

It certainly was hard.

Players were asked to watch the following video about Ukraine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sOaVSpofkTo

They had ten minutes to watch it, before I would post twenty questions. They had to get 18 right to win the right to vote and also immunity, and had 5 minutes after the questions were posted to submit their answers.

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Not just Romania, with their particular font, was going to be struggling.

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This really was too ambitious.

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In the end, only three countries submitted ANY answers before the 10pm cutoff. Sweden scored 5, Netherlands scored 6.5, and Belgium scored 11.

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After a brief discussion between hosts, we had to go with what the rules provided for, which meant that reducing down from 18 step by step we ended up with just one winner, Belgium. This wasn't how it was meant to be but I guess we just underestimated the ability of players to mess up? Like, if they'd actually posted on time, there were four countries that had more than 11, and most of those who went over time did so by less than 30 seconds. Sigh.

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Still, Belgium was the best because he actually followed the rules! So he had all the power in this round. People knew it.

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It was a heavy burden alongside a great opportunity, and the embassies got into gear well and truly, as plans were passed around like Chinese whispers, deals were made, and at the election, Belgium was wooed by everyone.

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Well, by most.

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But who did wooing in embassies and through diplomatic envelopes? And was it the difference in end? Can't say and can't say. What I can say is that Belgium gave the following reasons for his vote:

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There was a lot of relief for the 10 countries that had just found themselves safe.

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And from there, he had to cast just one vote, the only vote, of the round.

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Spain is out, but still able to set a task for the finalists.

14 remain. What will happen next? Find out tomorrow.

[Platypus]

Round Three

"A change is coming..."

Following Spain's boot, the next challenge was up, 'Shootout':

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Ireland made a mistake, only rolling one die , so was first out of the ten who signed in.

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But Italy had no sympathy:

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Switzerland was the next to fall, and then in the third roll Sweden rolled too many dice and so after a ~brief discussion between the hosts~ was eliminated. Everyone accepted it wholeheartedly

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Then the last seven standing rolled, and Serbia was out.

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Then we had the six winners, who one by one were pared down - Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and Austria fell before the final two were up for the outright win.

Belgium got his roll in first - a one.

Then Russia - a two.

Taking one point off Belgium and two off Russia, we had a 0-0 tie, which under the rules should have eliminated both players so no SPECIAL PRIZE!!!

But Poland felt kind and allowed a re-roll, and Russia emerged victorious. So it was time for the four who didn't get into the winning six to roll a six, and two of them actually managed it! Ireland and Switzerland were now winners, meaning of those who played, only Sweden and Serbia missed out on the win.

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But the night wasn't quite over - Poland warned of a special announcement...

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No tribes to swap, but...

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Anyway, overnight the numbers were all picked, and the new embassies were formed. Yay!

Some were happier than others, but can't give quotes cos players actually read these. Who knew, right?

So long day of people getting used to new emabssies was fun, at least for the 8 safe nations. The six at risk - Serbia, Sweden, Denmark, Romania, the UK, and Greece - not so much. Some tried to bribe the voters:

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While others promised big things if they stayed:

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As we entered the vote, people had largely settled in to their new embassies.

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But all countries were wary of the lack of information going in to the vote, with many losing trusted friends needing to find other ways to keep their game alive.

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The votes came in, and with the votes at 3 Romania, 2 Denmark, 1 Greece Romania needed the last vote to be for Denmark to have a chance at survival.

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Romania bit the dust, but will still set a task for the final three.

The players then went to their next task . Who won? Who will be gone next? Find out tomorrow.

[Platypus]

Round Four

"DO NOT PUSH ME."

After Romania's turf, players went to their next task. As I said at the end of the last update...

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So, at 8:35, I opened the challenge:

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and then at 8:45, I closed it.

Easiest challenge ever, right? Switzerland and Greece thought so:

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But some others were a bit confused:

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In the end, of the thirteen remaining in the game, all but the Netherlands, Belgium, and the UK managed to sign in and with it, win. That was the whole challenge

The UK was only three minutes late:

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...and the Netherlands, too.

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If they had been three minutes earlier there was a particularly evil task to run if there weren't at least two vulnerable countries, so that was fortunate.

With just three options at the vote, the new embassies were in for a workout. Unfortunately I can't bring you any quotes from them, but there was still some dealing done in public:

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So, will you be voting for the Netherlands then?[/quote]

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But really, there's not much else to show as it became quite clear that there was a consensus building among a large part of the group that the relatively quiet UK would be out.

In the election, some said as much before the votes were due.

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Anyway, the Dutch received a self-vote for failing to vote in the last election, and Belgium received two, but it was indeed the UK who were sent home to blighty.

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The UK was turfed, but not out as the game. Because like all losers, he will set a task for the final three.

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Then the players went to their next task, and it was as hard as the previous one was easy.

Six puzzles were provided to the players:

A kak-Euro: http://i40.tinypic.com/qzg7z5.png
A maze: http://i.imgur.com/MMIkqpQ.jpg
A sudoku: http://i42.tinypic.com/2igk5jl.jpg
A treasure map/alberi (2 T's): http://i43.tinypic.com/rkd7ia.png
A numberlink: http://i.imgur.com/5piHq7C.png
A wordfind, in which they had to find the capital of the competing countries not listed: http://i44.tinypic.com/2n92ld.png

If a country was the first to complete a puzzle, they won the right to vote and immunity. In the end, Serbia won the maze and the wordfind, but Russia was the star, winning the other four puzzles.

This meant the other 10 countries would have to dig deep to secure a vote in the second stage, in which they were somehow having less fun. They had up to 40 minutes to complete this beautiful picross:



Did any succeed? Who will be voting on Sunday night, and who'll get the chop? Find out next week!

(Also, a note to all lurkers. Sunday night's task is rather spectacular, so I strongly recommend checking in for it.)

[Platypus]

Just a reminder to lurkers that your presence tonight would be very welcome

[Platypus]

Round Five

See you in Roman Catholic hell!!!

We finished the last update half way through the last challenge, after Russia and Serbia has claimed wins with 4 and 2 of the opening 6 puzzles. The remaining players each had a chance to gain a win by completing the rather large picross above. How did players react after we posted the puzzle...?

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Yes, nobody got it. Very sad, it's a fun puzzle! Give it a go yourself, and see if you can do it in 40 minutes.

And then it was time to shuffle the embassies again!

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Poland also announced that there would be no Diplomatic Envelopes over the weekend, so players more or less got the next 70 hours off.

They ran with it, and everything was basically silent until Sunday night, with people coyly getting to know their new embassy partners.

But eventually Sunday did come, and Serbia had a target. He chose to say so in public, in the hope that the only other voter, Russia, would join him and avoid a tie.

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After a bit of frantic embassy work, tribal opened, and Russia was still thinking:

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Serbia made his position clear again:

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Germany was sick of Serbia, and called him out.

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The votes came in, and unsurprisingly, the first was for Germany. And then:

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Switzerland was surprised to receive a vote:

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And Italy seemed miffed by the alliance talk:

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The votes stuck where they were, and Germany and Switzerland were on the block for a tiebreaker. The others breathed a sigh of relief, while wishing them well, and glad not to have rocks in the game.

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The rules of the tiebreaker were simple. Both Switzerland and Germany would choose from a pool of tiebreaker questions that had been written, with a set of questions for each country in the game, in seven categories: Sport, Art and Literature, History, Politics, Pop Culture, Geography, and Unlucky Dip.

There would then be four questions, and the first to three would win. If it was 2-2, a question picked at random from the full pool of questions would be asked.

Switzerland chose Sport and Serbia; Germany chose Art and Literature and Belgium, and the tiebreak started.

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GER 1-0 SUI

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GER 2-0 SUI, 2 match points.

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GER 2-1 SUI

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We were tied at 2-2 and going to a tiebreaker for the tiebreaker. One question at random.

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Just 7 seconds before Germany, Switzerland submitted their answer:

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...and it was correct. Switzerland had managed to pull back the win with three straight answers, and was to stay in the game.

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Germany moved on in dramatic circumstances, but is still in the game - as with all losers, he will set a task for the final three.

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Indeed. But maybe a blessing in disguise, as the players immediately went to their next task...

Or should that be, their next 100 tasks? Find out that and more, like whether Ireland or Denmark actually turned up, tomorrow!

[Platypus]

Round Six

"A--holes."

After Germany's harsh boot, we went straight into the next task, Colonisation.

100 threads, each with a different mini-task, all running live at the same time. Claim ten, win immunity.

Just to repeat - that was 100 threads for the players to look over and claim, and for the hosts to monitor. So big big big thanks to my fellow hosts who allowed this task to go ahead, and to the lurkers who were a great help too!

Here are some of the tasks:

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There were another 90.

After 10pm, there was one thread that remained live - Jamaica's - for which the person to complete would win a special prize. It was a tough one:

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But eventually Greece claimed it. When all was said an done, we had 5 winners, who would have immunity and the right to vote: Russia, Austria, Greece, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With 6 at risk and the game stepping up a gear, the embassies were frantic. Some pushed one way, others cajoled the other, as the votes remained up in the air until right before they were due. Unfortunately the public threads weren't, so there's not much I can bring you in terms of quotes. But it was an exciting hour or two

The election started, and Sweden was getting sick of not having a vote, after not having had the chance since the easiest challenge ever. Sweden did like the task, even if not successful.

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After the voting comment the night before about alliances, people were asked their thoughts.

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So, is it Survivor or not? Are there alliances, or not?

Wherever the truth lies, there certainly was a voting block, as in a 3-1-1 vote...

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As people said goodbye, as Russia predicted another shuffle:

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And Serbia had a new sparring partner.

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Was a shuffle on the cards? Would Serbia and Russia be at war? How would the next challenge play out? And who will be the next to go? Find out tomorrow!

[Platypus]

Round Seven

"How is that fun?"

Ireland was gone, but the game continued as the final 10 started their next task - Potatoes!

What cruel timing for the Irish :/

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Also, here are the pretty potatoes:

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So, basically, this was a political task. Deals needed to be made, and friendships would be tested - and exposed.

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After 8 rounds, the potatoes were all assigned (Greece didn't participate, Italy disappeared after the first round):

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I include it so you can see who traded with who...sorry it's so big

Anyway, this meant we had our winners - The Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, and Belgium.

And then we had another shuffle, the last for the game.

Players were asked to select three countries they wished to have an embassy with, and by midday this had been done. To keep things fair, after some countries had been selected more than others, every country was given one embassy on their preference list, and one country outside of it. From now on, when a country was voted out, the gaps would close and the two countries that had an embassy with the eliminated country would find themselves together.

By lunchtime, the new embassies were up, and discussion was focused on the two countries at risk with the most controversy surrounding them - Russia and Serbia.

At the election, it was clear one of them would be sent off.

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The votes came in, and Russia was in danger:

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And so in a 5-1 vote,

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As the others said their goodbyes...

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Russia had some final words for the remaining countries:

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Would someone be able to dominate the tasks as well as Russia? And would they pay for it if they did? Find out that and more tomorrow!

[Platypus]

Round Eight

"Name and Shame"

After Russia's vote, it was time for the next task - Shear the win! The players were informed that the next vote would be a double elimination, and that they'd be forming three groups to share the win.

The task was a map-fill-in-for-points thingie, as used in the ORG-y Murder Mystery and Versus Universe. It's a good challenge. Each group had to work in concert but without being able to discuss strategy to fill in a map of France for points.

Unfortunately three people didn't attend the task, and so they were automatically put into the same group, and that group automatically came last, which meant that those three would be at risk in the first of the coming elections - Sweden, Italy, and Switzerland.

The other six were in two groups, that came right down to the wire. Group A, Belgium, Serbia, and Austria, posted this map for 50 points:



And so, if scores were tied, would win for getting in first.

But Group B - The Netherlands, Greece, and Denmark - had outsmarted them, even if only surviving a couple of the rounds by seconds in their uploads.



With Greens worth 4 points, golds worth 2, purples worth 1, oranges worth 0, and pinks worth -1, Group B has scored 52.

This meant that after one of the three in 'Group C' was eliminated, one of the members of Group A would be too. In the first election of the evening, it would be the 6 from Groups A and B voting, in the second, it would be the three from Group B, plus the two surviving members of Group C, who would potentially have to turn against one of the countries who had saved them.

You'd think that in this situation, the embassies would be in overdrive as everyone scrambled to save themselves... but they kind of weren't? It was weird.

Anyway, the first of the evening's elections took place, and with Sweden, Italy, and Switzerland at risk, two of them sought comfort in each other:

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When asked about trust, Switzerland was pragmatic:

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As the votes were coming in, Italy gave their opinion on whether not having any power or being at risk was worse:

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The first two votes came in for Italy, and they weren't particularly happy with their timing:

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Which turned out to be accurate, as the last vote came in:

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So, in a 6-0 whitewash, the players from groups A and B had decided it was Italy's time to go. But next up one of Group A would be sent packing, and they started the please whilst saying goodbye to Italy...

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And so, at 8:20, the next election started. Belgium, Serbia, and Austria were at risk, while the Netherlands, Greece, and Denmark would be casting their second votes for the evening, joined by the survivors from the first election - Sweden and Switzerland.

Belgium bribed people with hugs, while Sweden was befuddled:

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Austria also used emotion to hope for salvation, and Denmark was weighing up the options:

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Greece, too, seemed confused:

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Belgium thought it might be them, as he and Austria wooed the voters:

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...while Serbia stayed curiously quiet.

The votes came in...

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In a surprising 5-0 vote, at least if you believe that none of the voters knew what was going on, Belgium was gone... but not silently.

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and after that explosiveness, Serbia did turn up:

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Would the players be heading to the beach for the next task? Probably not. How would things shake down for the final 7? Find out tomorrow!

[Platypus]

Well, he's definitely not playing Serbia

[Platypus]

Round Nine

"It looked fun at first but we didn't like it in the end."

With just seven left, and the game shifting with embassies connecting most countries by only one step if that, the next task was a devilish one.

In 'Same, Same - But Different' the players were given 56 flags to represent countries, and asked to assign them to groups. The groups could be anything that was proveable and not subjective, and was true of everything in that group and nothing outside it. There were two groups of 1, two groups of 3, two groups of 3 etc. up to 7.

It was hard, and so was the judging.

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In the end, Austria managed 25 points, Sweden 20, and Serbia 19, earning them immunity and the right to vote at the next election. With the other four at risk, they started to woo the voters:

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But Serbia announced their intentions immediately:

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With three voters and four at risk, the discussion in embassies was pretty business like, but active enough. Unfortunately, I can't bring them to you

Denmark expressed his shame in the 'Caroline Wozniacki Appreciation Thread':

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Before at the election, remaining silent.

Serbia, however, was not:

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Serbia's language was getting to be a real problem.

Also a problem for the Australians was the extreme heatwave, so Poland offered them an Icy Pole:

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Before reading the votes:

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The reaction was mixed:

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The final 6 then went to their next task, Iconik, where Poland offered them a deal:

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After which the countries quickly chose:

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They weren't all happy

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That mouth, tut tut. Somebody should do something about it.

Anyway, the task rules were posted. Players would be asked to design a symbol, flag, and t-shirt to be sold as official merch for Realms, and the lurkers would be judging.

Serbia wasn't particularly impressed:

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France had edited the word filter to turn 'motherf--king' into 'I play with myself', and 'motherf--ker' into "I'm actually a knob', and Serbia had paid the price for his foul mouth.

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Poland then changed 'c--t' to 'ladyregion'. It was getting too much.

Anyway, the players weren't in love with the task:

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But maybe their creations will be brilliant? The task results will be up for the players on Sunday, after they submit by midnight tonight, so if you're a lurker sign in over the weekend and vote on their designs. One more will be going home before we enter the final few days next week!

[Platypus]

Just a reminder to lurkers to please log in and vote on the player's designs

[Platypus]

Finals are starting in less than one hour!

[Platypus]

Round Ten

"Van Gogh wasn't properly appreciated in his time either"

The final 6 got busy with their designs before the lurkers judged. Some were more generous than others, with one judge scoring one of the designs as 3/50. The standard wasn't astronomical, true:






... but one clearly stood out head and shoulders above the rest and came first in every lurker's judging. With such a dominant win, Greece secured sole voting rights, as they left no room for the others to pass the threshold.

Greece's entry:





Greece then built a special prize extra embassy, and hqad links to everyone left in the game. Discussion was fierce, as everyone tried to convince Greece of the right way forward, but none of it was public. Tribal council started, and Greece was in a tough position:

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With the swear filter changed to dashes, Serbia was in full voice about no longer having any enemies:

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The Netherlands admitted to an alliance with Greece, keeping them safe perhaps:

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In the end, it was accurate, as the only vote was read:

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[Platypus]

Was hoping to get these finished before tonight's Grand Finale, but it won't be happening, sorry. Will get it done over the weekend though!

[Platypus]

This has now finished! I won't spoil the winner, but the sole Atlasian representative was RosettaStoned as Ireland. Thanks so much for playing!

Hope to see more of you in the next one