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Round 11: SS How to Play, Help & Discussion
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Denise, Manufacturing Director
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Aug 15, 2019 07:08AM
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✸ This is a team challenge that requires 1 book a week . The object of the game is to roll the dice and move along the board. To win a team must roll past 100. Teams will roll on Fridays.
✸ R11 Super Series Sign Ups are open 08/17 through 08/26. Then teams will be formed and the game will officially start on 08/30.
✸ Team are formed at random.
✸ Teams will roll the dice by clicking here on Fridays once their team has completed their reads. Please note you will be using two dice for each roll.
Holiday Scheduling:
✸Thanksgiving: Teams will roll the Friday before (11/22). No roll on 11/29. Reviews are due and the next roll will be on 12/06, at which point the game resumes its normal schedule.
**VERY IMPORTANT**
A team CANNOT advance if all the reviews are not complete and in by the deadline. Reviews are due at the latest by end of day on Friday - 11.59pm Central Time. Without a free pass to cover a review still missing by deadline, the team will have to sit out the next roll. That being said, players should have their reviews in on Thursday as your team captain cannot roll until ALL of the team reviews have been posted.
❖If a player fails to have their book done two times throughout the game (excluding a prearranged absence) they will no longer be a part of the team.
HOW TO PICK A BOOK:
✸ Books are based on the spot you're on, not the roll of the die.
If you land on single digit spot, for example let's say you land on spot 5, then you have to read a book that's #5 in a series. For double digit numbers, for example you land on spot 48, you can read either a #4 or a #8 in a series.
✸ Standalone books can be used for a 1 or a 0
✸ First in a series can be used for a 1
✸ I don't expect anyone to read a series out of order and for people that don't read series books that still want to play there will be an alternate option. There will be an alternate option for each spot.
✸Half books: ½ or .5 count only if they meet the page requirement AND will be judged by preceding whole number numeral on Goodreads.
Example: Spot 8: A MacKenzie Clan Gathering (MacKenzies & McBrides, #8.5) would count for spot 8 because it meets the page limit.
✸ Books in multiple series can be used for ANY of the series. An example: Azagoth (1001 Dark Nights, #6; Lords of Deliverance, #5.5; Demonica, #10.5) can be used for spot 6 for 1001 Dark Nights, spot 5 for LoD or spot 10 for Demonica because it meets the page limit.
✸ There will be a separate thread for captains to post their place on the board after rolling and a link to the team's completed reviews.
FREE PASS
✸ Teams will have a chance to earn 1 Free Pass to roll. To earn your free pass your team has to complete their reads a day before the next roll. Once your team has done this you will have 1 free pass. The free pass will allow a team to roll if they are missing a review(s) before the cutoff. Once you've used it, you can't earn another one. It's a one-time shot. NOTE:
✸ The free pass may not be used for the win.
✸ If the player whose review the free pass is covering for has already previously missed a deadline, they must submit the missing review within one day after the deadline if they wish to retain their place on the team.
BONUS POINTS:
✸ One point can be earned for reading three or more books in a series.
✸ One point can be earned for reading a book with >500 pages.
✸ One point can be earned for starting and finishing a series. There must be at least 4 books in that series. Series + spin-off totalling ≥4 books also counts. For series with >9 books, point will be awarded for reading books 1-9. For still ongoing series, all books published to date (OR up to #9 in longer series) must be read.~ No re-reads on this one.
✸ 2 in 1: One point can be earned for reading a book that fits both the series number and the alternate for the spot you are on.
✸ One point can be earned for never picking a book from the alternate lists. This point is awarded when your team rolls past 90.
✸ Halloween Bonus: One point can be earned for reading a Horror/Paranormal/Urban Fantasy book for the roll on 10/25.
NOTE:
✸ Each point can only be earned once per team.
✸ The series-specific bonus points (3 or more books/ starting and finishing a series) must be two different series.
✸ Single book bonuses (>500 pages/ Halloween/ 2 in 1) may overlap with a series bonus.
How to use bonus points:
✸ Bonus points can be added to your roll to move you further along the board. Each bonus point can only be earned once and spent once.
✸ Bonus points may be used for the win. Example: Your team rolls and lands on spot 97. Your team has earned 4 bonus points. You can use your bonus points to move to spot 101 and compete for the win.
✸ You don't have to use all your bonus points at the same time.
✸ You can also use your bonus points earlier in the game. Example: Your team has earned 3 bonus points. Your team rolls and lands on spot 88. A team member doesn't have a book that is either #8 in a series or fits the alternate. They do however have a #9. Your team may decide to use 1 bonus point to move to spot 89 and have 2 bonus points remaining for later use.
✸ Re-reads are allowed ( ~EXCEPT on Winning Spots, no re-reads to win)
✸ Page limit is 140
✸ When using an anthology you may use any of the numbers in the book except for the .5 since this means ½. But you must review each story in the anthology. The same applies to short story collections.
✸ Series # will be based on how GR has it listed.
✸ Comics, graphic novels and manga don't count for this challenge
✸ Deadline cutoffs are based on US Central time zone
✸✸✸ Any questions please feel free to ask!
Round 11 SS Sign Ups
Mod
**Titles exclude leading articles like A, An, The
2. Title N
3. Cover Item: Furniture
4. Author L
5. South America
6. Cover: Black
7. Published 2016
8. Character has a pet
9. Cover Item: Lamp/Candle
10. Character has at least one child
11. Romance
12. Set in a place you've visited
13. GR average rating <3.6
14. Cover Item: Jewellery
15. Book that one of your teammates read shelf rated a 5-star
16. Cover: Pink
17. Four or more Words Title excluding articles like A, An, The (i.e. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)
18. Multi-Colored (3 or More Colors)
19. North America
20. Title G
21. Cover Item: Animal
22. Historical
23. Female Author
24. Cover: Green
25. Published 2015
26. Non-Fiction
27. Cover Item: Two or more people
28. Author uses their middle name/initial (e.g. Robert J. Sawyer, Rita Mae Brown)
29. Cover: Red
30. Cover Item: Water
31. Young Adult/New Adult
32. Set in a Fictional Location/Universe
33. Africa
34. Seasonal Theme (i.e Christmas, Halloween etc)
35. Author I
36. GR average rating >4.0
37. Number in the Title (i.e. Third Grave Dead Ahead or Every Fifteen Minutes)
38. Originally published in a language other than English
39. School/College/University
40. Cover Item: Food/Drink
41.Title B
42. Cover Item: Weapon
43. LGBTQ+
44. Author W
45. Published 2011-2012
46. Cover: White
47. Published 2019
48. Australia
49. Author D
50. Cover: Blue
51. Published 2017
52. Cover Item: One person
53. Author R
54. Published before 1950
55. Favorite Author
56. One Word Title excluding articles like A, An, The (i.e. The Witness or Divergent)
57. Cover: Yellow/Gold
58. Mystery/Thriller
59. Author H
60. Asia
61. Several authors
62. Author A
63. Award winner (must state which/when)
64. New to you author
65. Published 2013
66. Title V
67. Cover Item: Book
68. Published the year you were born
69. Title C
70. Cover Item: Mode of Transportation
71. Title F
72. Published between 2001 and 2010
73. Cover Item: Hands/Arms/Feet/Legs (no other body parts visible)
74. Book to Movie/TV (must state how book qualifies i.e. listopia or precis)
75. Male Author
76. Two Word Title excluding articles like A, An, The (i.e. Deadly Silence or The Hunger Games)
77. Title J
78. Cover: Purple
79. Debut Novel or Debut Author
80. Cover Item: Instrument
81. Title K
82. Cover Item: Building
83. Published between 1950 and 2000
84. Author O
85. Cover: Grey/Silver
86. Title T
87. Cover Item: Sun/Moon
88. Sci-Fi
89. Title E
90. Cover: Orange
91. Published 2014
92. Three Word Title excluding articles like A, An, The (i.e. Behind Closed Doors or Etched in Bone)
93. Europe
94. Author P
95. Cover Item: Dress
96. Fantasy
97. Cover Item: Hat/Helmet/Other Headwear
98. Author M
99. Cover Item: Plant
100. Author S
101. Four or more Words Title excluding articles like A, An, The (i.e. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)
102. Cover: Brown
103. Published 2014
104. Author B
105. Title L
106. Romance
107. Award Winner (must state which/when)
108. Cover: Green
109. Title A
110. Favorite Author
111. Author Y
Mod
★ You can use any edition of the book you read.
★ Books must be started after your team has rolled.
★ Review posts MUST include the following: Book title, author, cover, how it qualifies for the spot you're on, date finished, rating, review (min. 3 sentences)
Alternates:
★ Publication years: any edition so long as it is published in the given year
★ Cover Colour: must be at least 50% (see guidelines in post below)
★ Cover Item: must have the given item on the cover
★ Locations: book must be set at least partially in the given location
★ Author letters: author's first, middle, or last name must start with the given letter
★ Title letters: first word in the title starts with the given letter, excluding the lead ARTICLE (The, A, An...)
FOR THOSE PLAYING BOTH
★YES, you can use the same book in both challenges.
EXAMPLE OF AN ACCEPTABLE POST
Week 2
Spot: 13
Book: Hell & High Water by Charlie Cochet
Qualification: THIRDS #1
Finished: 11 Jun 2017
Rating: ★★★★
Review:
Testifying against his partner and getting him locked up for murder leaves Detective Dex Daley deserted by his friends and colleagues as well as his boyfriend, a repeat target of violence, and on his way out of the job at the Human Police Force he loves. Instead of fired, however, he is recruited to join the elite Therian-Human Intelligence Recon Defense Squadron (THIRDS), working side by side with shapeshifters as a Defense Agent. Tossed right into the middle of a murder investigation, Dex has to get accustomed to his new situation quickly - and the fact that his new team is still reeling from the loss of one of their own and not at all happy to integrate his replacement really doesn't help. Neither does the fact that Dex's new teamleader may be a jerk, but he's a very attractive one.
These books have been on my TBR for ages, and I'm glad to finally get around to reading them. It took me a while to get into the story, familiarise myself with the universe (I'm really, really not a fan of "let me explain the entirety of my worldbuilding to you textbook-style" prologues, so I was immediately a little dubious about the whole thing), get to know the characters and pick up the terminology, but after a few chapters I was thoroughly hooked. Looking forward to continuing this series.
When using the alternate that involves cover items, colors, or publications years, please be sure to link the correct edition to show how the book qualifies.
Mod
Cover colour alternates tend to be a little tricky, since it can be very hard to tell whether something is 50% a certain colour. Here's a handy little 3-step guide for figuring out whether your chosen book qualifies.
1) Use your own judgment. If a book cover is quite clearly overwhelmingly the colour in question, you don't need additional verification.
Examples:
Blue:
Grey:
Yellow:
2) When in doubt, you can use this tool TinEye Labs to check a cover. If TinEye confirms your cover is at least 50% the colour in question, go ahead and use it.
Note: You may need to uncheck "Exclude background color from extracted colors" to get a proper result.
Example:
White:
(50.3% white according to TinEye)3) If it's a close call (say, 40-49.9% the right colour according to TinEye), or TinEye gives you a result you vehemently disagree with (apparently it does that sometimes, unfortunately), or you have trouble using the site/ would generally prefer a human opinion, post the book cover in question to the discussion thread and ask me. I reserve the right to overrule TinEye in cases of a close call or dodgy result.
Examples:
Grey:
(44.9% grey according to TinEye. I chose to overrule and let the player use it.)Orange:
(41.1% orange according to TinEye. I would probably choose to overrule.)
Mod
Please do use the sign-up thread for signing up though. :)
Question re BONUS points* 1 point for reading 3+ books from the same series
* 1 point for starting and ending a series (5+ books in series)
Would reading a series book count even if I'm reading it for an ALTERNATE? For example, let's say I read All Sales Final, which is book # 5 in a series ... but I read it as the Alternate for Spot # 3 "Cover item: Furniture". Would I still be able to count it for either of the bonus points (assuming I read the rest of the books in that series to qualify)
Mod
Just so I’m clear on the Thanksgiving Week, are the reviews due on the 29th even though there’s is no roll? Or will we have technically two weeks for our books for the roll on the 22nd? Also are we allowed to check in before Friday if everyone has finished their books and posted reviews?
I have a question, do we all start at the same spot? Or does everyone start on a different spot?
Mod
Reviews would be due on December 6th, so there'd be two weeks to read. Unless we're having an uncharacteristically slow round we'll most likely finish just before Thanksgiving, though.
Also are we allowed to check in before Friday if everyone has finished their books and posted reviews?
I'm not quite sure I follow what you mean by "check in". Do you mean in the Post Your Spot thread? Teams can't roll before Friday, even if all reviews are already in by, say, Wednesday, so there'd be no need to check in earlier. Or am I misunderstanding the question?
Mod
Technically everyone starts from spot 0. On Friday, each team rolls the dice and the resulting number determines the spot the team reads for that week.
Denise~ I'm captain of Team 3 name Readers on a Roll. We're missing one player checking in Sallie(GeorgiaGirl). What should we do?
Mod
Have you tried to reach her via pm? If she doesn't turn up by game start, I'll send her one as well and keep an eye on your thread.
Just in case you haven't heard from her by the time reviews are due: Your team won't be penalized for a missing review by a player who never checked in and she'll forfeit her place on the team at that time.
The above goes for all teams that are still missing players - pm them if you haven't already and let me know if anyone's still missing by Friday. Thank you!
Denise wrote: "Beth wrote: "Just so I’m clear on the Thanksgiving Week, are the reviews due on the 29th even though there’s is no roll? Or will we have technically two weeks for our books for the roll on the 22nd..."Yeah that's what I meant, sorry! I worded that weird
Just so I'm clear, we can earn a max of 6 bonus points?
Mod
Yes, one of each kind per team. Only one player needs to fulfill the requirements for each bonus point to earn it for the team.
QUESTION re deadline for reviewsThis is from the info on the "free Pass"
✸ Teams will have a chance to earn 1 Free Pass to roll. To earn your free pass your team has to complete their reads a day before the next roll. Once your team has done this you will have 1 free pass. The free pass will allow a team to roll if they are missing a review(s) before the cutoff. Once you've used it, you can't earn another one. It's a one-time shot
What's the 'cutoff'? I don't see it mentioned anywhere else in the rules of the game.
Other quotes from the rules:
✸ Teams will roll the dice by clicking here on Fridays once their team has completed their reads.
**VERY IMPORTANT**
A team CANNOT advance if all the reviews are not complete and in by the deadline. That being said, players should have their reviews in on Thursday. Your team captain cannot roll until ALL of the team reviews have been posted.
It states we roll on Fridays and that we cannot roll until all reviews are posted. What if someone doesn't post the review until Saturday? Do we still roll on Saturday? (Or whatever date if someone is really late?)
Mod
Rolling day is always Friday, either with all reviews in or using the free pass. The only exception is if all reviews were in before the deadline, but for some reason (technical difficulties, team captain being unavailable, etc) you didn't get around to rolling on Friday, then you should do it ASAP on Saturday.
I may have to rephrase that rules section a little for the next round if it's unclear.
Denise wrote: "The cut-off is end of day, Friday, central time - 23:59pm. Reviews posted on Saturday are too late, and without a free pass to cover a review that's still missing the team will have to sit out the ..."I think a little re-write / addition is in order because as it stands right now there is no mention at all of a team having to skip a week if all reviews are not in by Friday at 11.59 pm
Mod
Mod
I have added the precise cut-off time and the fact that teams will miss out on the next roll in case of reviews missing by deadline to the rules.
Mod
Will do!
Mod
Will do!"
Thanks.
We're missing a player Twinkle they checked in once on the 26th of Aug but we haven't heard from them since. I messaged them and am waiting for a reply.Team 11
Mod
Twinkle's checkin post is now gone from the both the team thread and sign up thread. Team 11
Mod
Hi, I have a question. "A Darker Shade of Magic" does this title qualify as "Four or more Words Title excluding like A, An, The (i.e. The Girl on the Train or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)", I am a bit unsure about that "of". And I would also like to know how "The Girl on the Train" fits that profile.
Mod
Regarding "The Girl on the Train" - now that you mentioned it, it doesn't. The mod, aka yours truly, screwed up on that one... and will now be spending half the morning fixing that across all threads. XD Thanks for pointing it out though!
The description of the alternate is meant to read "articles like A, An, The" - I thought I'd at least fixed that everywhere, but apparently I missed it in your thread... Either way, "of" counts in my books, so "A Darker Shade of Magic" will work for this one. (Hope you enjoy it, I loved that book!)
Denise wrote: "Suman wrote: "Hi, I have a question. "A Darker Shade of Magic" does this title qualify as "Four or more Words Title excluding like A, An, The (i.e. The Girl on the Train or Harry Potter and the Sor..."Thanks @Denise :)
Just to clarify, Denise ... for the word counts we're EXCLUDING articles ... no matter where they appear in the title, not just the first/leading article. (SO ... that's why The Girl on the Train doesn't work for 4+ words)
Mod
To clarify I'm understanding correctly... Whatever spot we are on, if it's a 2 digit, we can read one or the other. So if we were on spot #69, we could read a #6 or a #9 of a series. We could also get bonus points, if that book starts w/ C according to the alternatives.Am I understanding that correctly?
Mod
As for the bonus points for reading a book that fits both the series number (in this case 6 or 9) and the alternative option, keep in mind that this bonus point can only be earned once per team over the course of the game. Elena's book from last week earned that point for your team, so you can't earn it a second time.
Denise wrote: "You've got it right as to what reading options you have. (You could also read a #69 if you had a series that goes that high.) As for the bonus points for reading a book that fits both the series n..."
Oh ok. Good to know.
We're on spot 27 ... Alternate is 2 or more people on cover
Do the silhouettes in the window qualify as 2 people? (I have a series book waiting at the library in case it doesn't)
Mod
Hope you enjoyed your vacation! :)
I just want to make sure I have this right - there is a 0.5 book in a series I'm reading (prequel with over 300 pgs, lol - not really a short prequel) - if I wanted to read it during SS it qualifies for a #5 book - correct?
Mod
Denise wrote: "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:★ You can use any edition of the book you read.
★ Books must be started after your team has rolled.
★ Review posts MUST include the following: Book title, author, cover, how it qualifies for the spot you're on, date finished, rating, review (min. 3 sentences).."
I'm seeing "completion" posts that do not contain one or more of these elements:
Link / cover
Date finished
Rating
3-sentence minimum review
How strict are you being on these requirements? For example: If a team member is missing a finished date, but all else in posted, can the team still roll?
I'm on Spine Crackers and won't be able to finish my book today. I am not sure what this means for me or my team. I just haven't had time to read this week. Can you let me know what this means for me going forward?
Mod
Mod
Denise wrote: "Angie, if your team doesn't have a free pass yet, the team will have to sit out this week's roll. Can you find a shorter alternative that you might be able to fit in before the deadline?"I'll see if I can find a really short audio.
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