1ST Ever oblvion wordsearch. TEST

[pooshoe]

we were but if you post them publicly your just going to get answers stolen. I understand answers can be wrong but its incredibly not likely. If the results for most words were being put in private Messages. It would be just as easy to tell the words and see how many they find that way. I dont mind reading Private Messages

[DM8954]

Alright. Let me explain how my idea was supposed to work through an example:


Stage 1:
The puzzle is posted.
Only the rules, the puzzle, and a category is included in the first post. [No one knows the number of words in the puzzle.]


Stage 2:
Anyone who wants to participate posts how many words they found. The only thing they are allowed to post is a number and absolutely nothing else.

SN-01 says: "Eight"
SN-02 says: "Nine"
SN-03 says: "Ten"
SN-04 says: "Nine"


Stage 3:
After enough time has passed, or if the right number has been called by one or more people, the winner is chosen. If the puzzle had only nine words in it, then SN-03 was either cheating or found some sort of accidental word, which is unlikely. SN-02 & SN-04 both said the right number but SN-02 posted first. So, SN-02 is asked to post their answers in order to prove that they actually found the right words. SN-03 is also asked to post their answers to see if their mysterious 10th word was actually in the puzzle or if they'll be banned from all future competitions.

At this point, since there might be a chance that the winner isn't clear, they could each send their answers directly to Gray Fox for verification. Most of the time, it shouldn't be a problem, since I don't expect to see any cheating.


Stage 4:
After the answers are posted (only to verify that the winner chosen in stage 2 is valid) the right answers are posted (perhaps the whole puzzle with the answers circled) and the winner is officially announced.

"The winner of the word search contest is SN-02!"
"The complete list of words found is here: "
" ~post~ "
" ~the~ "
" ~words~ "


I can see why someone might consider that overly complex. The main reason for going to the extra trouble is simply to keep everything public. If you post the puzzle, everyone PMs their answers to you, and you post the winner, then no one will know if anyone else is participating. "Maybe someone solved it within 30 seconds, before I even saw the puzzle, why should I bother?" Maybe no one entered the competition at all, or maybe one person is taking their time with it.

In both of our currently running competitions, most of the entries are posted only after the first person posts. OSC is open for 2-3 weeks. If someone posts a screenshot 3 days before the end, suddenly people remember that they haven't entered yet and quickly gather some screenshots. The internet is a big place and people have a short attention span. A contest is quickly forgotten or buried under other posts, if there are no participants posting.


In any case, we can also still go with your rules, if you think that's best but they need to be more formal:

Welcome to Oblivion Word Search round [One].
The rules are simple:

• Never post your answers or share them with anyone else.
• Send a Private Message (PM) to Gray Fox with your entire list of words as soon as you think you've found them all.
• The first person with all the words wins.
• If no one finds all the answers before time is up, the first person with the most words wins.
• The winner will be announced here in this thread at the end of the game.

You have until [Date and time] to find all the words you can in the following puzzle. The theme is [Theme Name].
[ P U Z Z L E X X X ]
[ X X X G O E S X X ]
[ X X X X X H E R E ]
[ X X X X X X X X X ]

[pooshoe]

I like you Scenario. But do you like making things Conlicated DM. Im just saying tell everyone what words they are they download or copy the Wordsearch. Mark where the words are. Then post it back to me in a PM

[DM8954]

Well, it's your contest. I still think that if everything happens behind the scenes you might get fewer participants. It would be an easier puzzle for the players and the rules would be pretty simple. The main problem with this method is still that people will need a graphics program in order to participate. Needing nothing besides an internet browser was one of the goals of the contest. That's why I was leaning toward the 'theme-based' rules. You can tell them a theme and how many words there are, as long as all they have to do is tell you which words they found. Then there is no circling required.

Go ahead and post your specific rules for whatever version you want to do in a way similar to what I have above. If you want me to PM the code for all that, just let me know. You can copy the whole thing and change the appropriate rules and phrases.

[pooshoe]

In any case, we can also still go with your rules, if you think that's best but they need to be more formal:

Welcome to Oblivion Word Search round [One].
The rules are simple:

Never post your answers or share them with anyone else.
Send a Private Message (PM) to Gray Fox with your entire list of words as soon as you think you've found them all.
The first person with all the words wins.
If no one finds all the answers before time is up, the first person with the most words wins.
The winner will be announced here in this thread at the end of the game.

You have until [Date and time] to find all the words you can in the following puzzle. The theme is [Theme Name].
[ P U Z Z L E X X X ]
[ X X X G O E S X X ]
[ X X X X X H E R E ]
[ X X X X X X X X X ]I like this idea.


EDIT: I think we a ready to put this up in contests and competitions. Every Monday One shall be made I think. Feel free to dissagree. DM. Do you think this is Postable the rules the wordsearch.

Quick Recap.

I post the wordsearch not saying what words are in it or how many there are. They arew clearly Based on Elder Scrolls Subjects, But mainly Oblivion. Anything Rellevant really. This May include names, items, provinces, shops etc
The Contestants Look for all words rellevant and send the words to GrayFox in a list. I then post a new topic saying the Winner. Is this good.

[DM8954]

....I post the wordsearch not saying what words are in it or how many there are. They arew clearly Based on Elder Scrolls Subjects, But mainly Oblivion. Anything Rellevant really. This May include names, items, provinces, shops etc
The Contestants Look for all words rellevant and send the words to GrayFox in a list. I then post a new topic saying the Winner. Is this good.

I agree with everything here except posting the results in a new topic.

The Puzzle is a single post and the announcement of the winner is a single post. There won't really be any other posts involved so it makes no sense to start new topics for them.

New Thread: Oblivion Word Search #1
Post #1: Puzzle and rules.
Post #2: Winner and answers.


Now, for your convenience, I'm posting the code for the rules. You can change the working however you like but I think it looks better with the extra formatting. Also, you'll notice a link in the rules directly to sending Gray Fox a PM for the convenience of the user. If you don't want to set a new theme every week, just delete that sentence from the last line. Obviously the theme is always going to be The Elder Scrolls, as found in TES4, but I mean a sub-theme like Mage Guild (Traven, Archmage, Arcane University, etc.) or Anvil (Lighthouse, Benirus Manor, Umbranox, etc.). [That's a lot of themes already: 9 Cities, 5 Factions, then things like Aylied, Wilderness, Cave, Plants, maybe even on to skills and attributes as themes.] I think it will actually help you to come up with words if you use themes, rather than selecting them completely at random.

Every time you're ready to post a new competition, just copy the text below into a new thread, edit the Puzzle Number, Due Date & Time, & Theme, and paste in the puzzle.

Code:

[size=12pt]Welcome to[/size] [size=14pt][b]Oblivion Word Search[/b][/size] [size=12pt]round [[b]One[/b]][/size].
The rules are simple:
[list]
[li]Never post your answers or share them with anyone else.[/li]
[li]Send a Private Message (PM) to [url=http://www.cyrodiil.net/forums/index.php?action=pm;sa=send;u=619]Gray Fox[/url] with your entire list of words as soon as you think you've found them all.[/li]
[li]The first person with all the words wins.[/li]
[li]If no one finds all the answers before time is up, the first person with the most words wins.[/li]
[li]The winner will be announced here in this thread at the end of the game.[/li]
[/list]

You have until [[b]Date and time[/b]] to find all the words you can in the following puzzle. The theme is [[size=12pt][b]Theme Name[/b][/size]].

[pooshoe]

OK now its official The 1st Ever Cyrodiil Forums wordsearch will be released under those rules on the 1st of September.

(I would do it sooner but i think it would be cooler if the 1st would be on the 1st, Also we are having my bedroom Extended so I cannot use my computer for about a week.)