Twenty questions - discussion thread

[Spartaculous]

This is a thread where we can post any meta-discussion about our games of 20Q, without cluttering up each individual game thread.

Should we move the list of past answers to somewhere else (like a Google document or Google spreadsheet) and then simply link to it at the start of each round?

[damo666]

Yes, the list is too long now.

[miminena]

With a google spreadsheet, it would also be useful for keeping up with 20Q-related statistics, so I second that option.

[miminena]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uXCl7ynaYyUH86zL98dIx8Bbo9WEJCqFnFFsfGg8vz4/edit?usp=sharing

Spent a bit of time on this, curious how well people think it would work

[DreamTrawler]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uXCl7ynaYyUH86zL98dIx8Bbo9WEJCqFnFFsfGg8vz4/edit?usp=sharing

Spent a bit of time on this, curious how well people think it would work

Really great of you to put this together! I think this is a good idea as well.

[Spartaculous]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uXCl7ynaYyUH86zL98dIx8Bbo9WEJCqFnFFsfGg8vz4/edit?usp=sharing

Spent a bit of time on this, curious how well people think it would work

Very nice work!

[miminena]

And we're back! The spreadsheet now has an unofficial leaderboard built in.

What would make the leaderboard official anyways? Would it have to be approved by MSmart? kestas?

[Hominidae]

I love the spreadsheet! Thanks for making it, miminena.

In the event that the spreadsheet isn't consistently updated, we could just include all the history since the spreadsheet was last updated in each round.

[damo666]

And we're back! The spreadsheet now has an unofficial leaderboard built in.

What would make the leaderboard official anyways? Would it have to be approved by MSmart? kestas?

Vg

I think we can consider it official!

[miminena]

Regarding the spreadsheet: I intended for it to be edited by whoever wins the respective game, so it's currently open for public editing. Would people prefer if I just kept it maintained, leaving it open for editing in case I make a mistake, or should we continue with the traditional method of adding to the list?

[Spartaculous]

Regarding the spreadsheet: I intended for it to be edited by whoever wins the respective game, so it's currently open for public editing. Would people prefer if I just kept it maintained, leaving it open for editing in case I make a mistake, or should we continue with the traditional method of adding to the list?

Thanks again for your updates! I didn't realize that I could edit it anonymously; I will edit it in the future when it is my turn to do so.

I don't mind if you make it so that only you can edit it, or if you made it so that only people you directly invite (read: the usual 20Q crowd) can edit.

[dargorygel]

And we're back! The spreadsheet now has an unofficial leaderboard built in.

What would make the leaderboard official anyways? Would it have to be approved by MSmart? kestas?

Vg

I think we can consider it official!

I approve... I somewhat keep an eye on the game. You do not need official hand holding by webDip officials. Onward!

[damo666]

I've edited the first page of the spreadsheet for the result of 451 but leaderboard is locked. Who does that?

[Spartaculous]

I've edited the first page of the spreadsheet for the result of 451 but leaderboard is locked. Who does that?

My guess is that miminena will take care of it.

[miminena]

I've edited the first page of the spreadsheet for the result of 451 but leaderboard is locked. Who does that?

The leaderboard should update automatically (if I did it correctly)

[Spartaculous]

I've edited the first page of the spreadsheet for the result of 451 but leaderboard is locked. Who does that?

The leaderboard should update automatically (if I did it correctly)

Ah! Very impressive!

[JECE]

I've edited the first page of the spreadsheet for the result of 451 but leaderboard is locked. Who does that?

The leaderboard should update automatically (if I did it correctly)

Ah! Very impressive!

Oooooo, how did you figure out how to automatically skip the special rounds sub-game winners?

[miminena]

The leaderboard should update automatically (if I did it correctly)

Ah! Very impressive!

Oooooo, how did you figure out how to automatically skip the special rounds sub-game winners?

It skips any rounds that say "Special" in the notes column, which is why all the notes are listed in separate columns if there are multiple. The head for each special game, which is counted for the leaderboard, has the amount of winners listed along with the note saying special, so that it isn't skipped. This is all handled in a different sheet, which is hidden.

[miminena]

I've been thinking recently about 20Q strategy. My personal strategy in most of my wins is to come up with someone who fits the criteria, then try to narrow it down with that person in mind, and if they're ruled out choose a new person and repeat until I feel confident in the guess being correct, or other people have put down free guesses. I'm curious, what sort of strategies do others use?

[Spartaculous]

I've been thinking recently about 20Q strategy. My personal strategy in most of my wins is to come up with someone who fits the criteria, then try to narrow it down with that person in mind, and if they're ruled out choose a new person and repeat until I feel confident in the guess being correct, or other people have put down free guesses. I'm curious, what sort of strategies do others use?

It honestly depends on the game. I tend to prefer questions about birthplace (but only down to the level of country - not past that), birth year, and source of fame. My goal is usually to try to rig the questions so that the probability of either a "Yes" or a "No" answer is as close to 50% as possible - the exception is that if there are lots of "No" answers in a row, I sometimes want to get a "Yes" answer in case that the QM has made a sneaky pick.