acwof
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Post by acwof on Mar 2, 2020 19:10:03 GMT -5
Note: A HUGE thank you to MarioGS for providing the recap placeholders for last week, and a HUGE thank you to tenpoundhammer for taking over for me, last week! Episode #7146: Leave Winter Behind Day 1
$1,000 Toss-Up: On the Map_ H _ / IS _ AN _ S O _ / _ A _ AII Julia locates THE ISLANDS OF HAWAII. Julia Kyser,
Little Rock, Arkansas,
Cardiac Nurse | April Bauzon,
Milpitas, California,
Labor & Delivery Nurse | Timothy Dalton,
Manhattan, Kansas,
Agricultural Economist |
_ A _ ERBACK B _ OKS Julia solves PAPERBACK BOOKS. Our Prize on the Wheel is a trip to Spain of unknown value, while our Gift Tag is $1,000 courtesy of Air BnB. Round 1: Crossword (The Big __________ )_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Julia guesses a bad R on $550. April gets $500 from 1 B, $700 from 1 M, but then lands on Lose A Turn. Timothy guesses an already called R on $2,500. Julia gets $1,400 from 2 S's worth $700 each, buys 3 E's and 2 O's, $1,600 from 2 L's worth $800 each, buys 1 I, $600 from 1 K, buys 2 A's, but guesses a bad N on $650. April gets $900 from 1 G, buys 1 U, but then lands on BANKRUPT. Timothy $650 from 1 W, $600 from 1 H... LEAGUES A H M O LEBOWSKI ...and solves LEAGUES, GAME, SHOW, LEBOWSKI for $1,250. Julia
$3,000 | April
$0 | Timothy
$1,250 |
$1,850 Lose A Turn hits: 1 Round 2/Mystery Round: Food & Drink
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ _ _ _ April gets $1,100 from 2 R's worth $550 each, $3,000 and the Spain trip with 6 S's worth $500 each, buys 4 E's and 1 U, $2,000 from 2 M's worth $1,000 each on the Mystery Wedge, gambles, reveals $10,000 on the other side, but then lands on BANKRUPT. Timothy gets $1,800 from 2 T's worth $900 each, buys 1 O, $1,300 from 2 D's worth $650 each, $600 from 1 Y... STE _ MED MUSSE _ S / _ _ D R _ _ / OYSTERS ...and eats up some STEAMED MUSSELS AND RAW OYSTERS for $3,450. Julia
$3,000 | April
$0 | Timothy
$4,700 |
$5,450, Spain Trip, $10,000 Mystery Wedge Lose A Turn hits: 1 Round 3/Prize Puzzle Round: Event _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Timothy spins a BANKRUPT. Julia gets 2 A's from the Free Play, $2,000 from 2 R's worth $1,000 each on th e Express Wedge, does not hop aboard, $650 from 1 T, buys 3 E's and 1 I, $1,000 from 1 L on the Express Wedge, hops aboard, and calls the following letters: 2 V's, 2 S's, 1 N, 1 G TRAVELING _ VERSEAS Julia will be TRAVELING OVERSEAS on her cruise to Holland and Belgium worth $11,690 (plus $9,150 to boot). Julia
$23,840 | April
$0 | Timothy
$4,700 |
$5,450, $10,000 Mystery Wedge, Spain Trip Lose A Turn hits: 1 Triple Toss-Up #1: Phrase_ _ / _ _ _ D _ _ / _ _ / _ ETS Julia solves AS GOOD AS IT GETS. Triple Toss-Up #2: PhraseS _ _ OND TO / N _ _ E April solves SECOND TO NONE. Triple Toss-Up #3: PhraseT _ _ / B _ _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ / _ _ _ T Julia solves THE BEST OF THE BEST. Round 4: What Are You Doing?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ _ _ Final Spin: $500Julia: 3 N's April: 2 G's Timothy: 1 R Julia: 1 D April: 1 P (Wrong with PRUNING A GARDEN) Timothy: 1 L PL _ N _ _ NG _ / G _ RD _ N Timothy solves PLANTING A GARDEN for $3,000. Julia (WINNER)
$27,840 | April
$2,000 | Timothy
$7,700 |
$5,450, $10,000 Mystery Wedge, Spain Trip Lose A Turn hits: 1 Julia's choices for the Bonus Round are Phrase, Thing, and Living Things. $100,000 Bonus Round: Julia has Jimmy, Rani, and Eli in the audience with her.
Julia spins the Bonus Wheel, and lands on the E in AMERICA'S. The category is LIVING THINGS. RSTLNE gives us this: _ _ _ T _ N _ _ _ LS Julia's BR Picks: G M C O _ OOT _ NG O _ LS Julia hears some HOOTING OWLS for the Wrangler worth $34,285.
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Post by chilidogwof on Mar 2, 2020 20:15:21 GMT -5
Talk about juxtaposed. This episode had a little bit of everything! Also, welcome back acwof |
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Post by jakemathis4520 on Mar 2, 2020 21:00:19 GMT -5
Julia turned down the Express. Can't believe she did that. I know she landed on it again a few spins later and hopped on but still don't like the fact she turned it down the first time. My guess for that puzzle was "Traveling Overhead". I was close.
Couldn't get the first word in the BR. Glad Julia did. And she won a car too. Car wins are amazing. We have had 2 in the last 3 episodes.
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tenpoundhammer
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Post by tenpoundhammer on Mar 2, 2020 21:31:10 GMT -5
Declining the Express the first time was not a bad move. It was early and there was a chance of calling a dud.
Easy BR set up for a win. I'm glad she didn't pick the A.
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Post by gameshowfandanny on Mar 2, 2020 21:40:15 GMT -5
Declining the Express the first time was not a bad move. It was early and there was a chance of calling a dud. Easy BR set up for a win. I'm glad she didn't pick the A. I don’t think you should decline the Express. The Mystery Wedge is different because there’s a 50:50 chance of getting a Bankrupt. I remember someone (I think Jamie from December 6) made a thread with tips and one of them said “Always take the Express.” On the Nintendo Switch game, I’ve never declined the Express ever since reading that post. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2020 23:21:57 GMT -5
R2: Yikes, what a painful bankrupt after a gutsy MW move…
R3: Seems like Julia had a plan to hop on the Express if she knew the puzzle already. Not the best strategy since it’s more reward than risk, but not the worst either. Also, did we really need another week of Emerald Waterways PPs? I’d prefer the Trafalgar ones instead.
TTU3: I thought it was THE BEST OF THE REST – whoops!
BR: Had it off RSTLNE. I’m glad Julia called that O to win a Jeep Wrangler Willys Sport right off the bat this week.
The unclaimed Spain trip was to the Majestic Hotel & Spa in Barcelona courtesy of FlightGuru (worth $8,112). That meant that a total of $23,562 was thrown away to the black space this episode.
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Post by antmanb on Mar 3, 2020 0:02:10 GMT -5
3 BR wins in a Row! nice!
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Post by jakemathis4520 on Mar 3, 2020 7:46:58 GMT -5
I remember someone (I think Jamie from December 6) made a thread with tips and one of them said “Always take the Express.” Can I have the link to that thread? |
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Post by gameshowfandanny on Mar 3, 2020 8:20:51 GMT -5
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RoonilWazlib
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Post by RoonilWazlib on Mar 3, 2020 8:23:10 GMT -5
Can I have the link to that thread? Hey, that was my thread! Link is here: buyavowel.boards.net/thread/10901/general-specific-gameplay-strategyNearly everyone is of the opinion that the Express is too good to pass up for a few reasons: first, it assigns every consonant the very solid $1,000 payday, but perhaps even more importantly, taking it completely negates the Wheel's ability to wreck your day with a Bankrupt or lost turn. If you know your puzzle's solution with, say, six consonants left and you spin Express, that's an awesome outcome for you and you can milk way more money out of it than would have been safe to do playing it straight. Of course, what if you don't know the answer and miss a letter? Well, then you Bankrupt, sure, but guess what? Missing a letter, losing a turn, and booting it over to an opponent who then manages to solve wipes your total just the same as a Bankrupt would have. If there is a real downside to the Express wedge, it is something that I wasn't giving its due before playing the game myself, and that's the nerve factor. Those few seconds during the Wheel's spin when you can finalize your letter choice and examine the puzzle a bit are precious, and losing them could potentially make the difference between a puzzle you could have slowly conquered and one you just barely flub on the quickened Express timetable. Overall though, I think the reward outweighs the risk by a lot. |
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tonyscv
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Post by tonyscv on Mar 3, 2020 10:52:52 GMT -5
Julia turned down the Express. Can't believe she did that. I know she landed on it again a few spins later and hopped on but still don't like the fact she turned it down the first time.
Agreed. The game play was really rough generally.
The repeat R on $2,500 - Not buying vowels early enough
- Gambling on mystery with the trip. It worked out, but that was nuts
- Not hopping on the express the first time (odds are very high you won't be getting your turn back regardless during the PP given how generally easy the puzzles are, so hop on every time)
I'd like to see express moved to R1, or offered on every round. Express in R3 supercharges an already supercharged round.
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Post by gameshowfandanny on Mar 3, 2020 11:37:27 GMT -5
Agreed. I think it should be moved to R4+ since R4+ has no special gimmicks, though if Pat landed on it on the Final Spin, I think consonants would be either worth $2,000, or Pat would spin again and treat it like a Bankrupt/Lose a Turn/Free Play Final Spin. If it was moved to another round, then if you went Bankrupt on Express, you wouldn't have to worry about someone overtaking you by like $10,000. I definitely wouldn't want it in Round 2 because then someone could win both the Mystery $10,000 after a full Express run. |
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tonyscv
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Post by tonyscv on Mar 3, 2020 11:58:39 GMT -5
Agreed. I think it should be moved to R4+ since R4+ has no special gimmicks, though if Pat landed on it on the Final Spin, I think consonants would be either worth $2,000, or Pat would spin again and treat it like a Bankrupt/Lose a Turn/Free Play Final Spin. If it was moved to another round, then if you went Bankrupt on Express, you wouldn't have to worry about someone overtaking you by like $10,000. I definitely wouldn't want it in Round 2 because then someone could win both the Mystery $10,000 after a full Express run.
I liked JJ's suggestion of R1 Mystery, R2 Express, and R3 Prize Puzzle. That way there is something interesting in every round. Right now R1 has nothing, and if that continues in to next season I'd like to see the TU2 winner get the choice of what round to start, because starting R1 isn't really that advantageous anymore now that the 1/2 car is gone and the PP doesn't move around.
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MarioGS
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Post by MarioGS on Mar 3, 2020 13:11:02 GMT -5
I prefer it the other way around: PP in R1 and Express R3 (maybe even keep it for R4+). With the PP in R1, it gives two other players a lot more chances to play catch-up, rather than the usual proceedings where one contestant solves R1 for a paltry $2,000 to "get one under their wing", then someone else solves R3 to jump into five-digit territory in an instant, and the only catch-up opportunities are the TTU and what will likely be an immediate Final Spin round. Having the PP early also tells the other contestants how much they need to amass to take the lead, as opposed to needing to estimate what's a good amount to solve R1 or R2 with, and having to play a guessing game as to whether the PP will be in the cheap 7-8K range or the high 10K+ range.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2020 15:01:21 GMT -5
^ I think the crew still wants the PP at R3 so that people won’t be aware of the score changes. That, and it’s best for the paltry budget. I’m still in favor for moving the PP to R1. Heck, if I did care that much about game balance, I would’ve put the PP at R1 and have the prize Wedge be introduced in R2 IMO. But since the show itself doesn’t care that much about balance, having the PP in a randomized position doesn’t make that much of a difference after all (Including the fact that the prize Wedge is in R1-R3.).
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elle1723
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Post by elle1723 on Mar 3, 2020 15:03:25 GMT -5
This was definitely an interesting episode. I could not believe April flipped the Mystery wedge when she was sitting on the Spain trip plus cash. Granted this is a game show and you're there to win money, but that seemed reckless. It was pretty heartbreaking to see her lose both the trip and all that money with that Bankrupt. I am firmly of the opinion that you should ALWAYS take the Express. The Express is exactly like playing the regular game, just without the risk of spinning, and with a mostly higher dollar amount per letter than what you would get if you spun. If you don't know the puzzle, well, then you're going to be guessing either way, and you might as well guess at $1,000 per letter with no risk of losing your turn as long as you're correct. If you guess incorrectly and go Bankrupt, you still have a chance at getting your turn back, and at worst you've lost some money. But the possibility of what you can gain is far worth that risk. If there is a real downside to the Express wedge, it is something that I wasn't giving its due before playing the game myself, and that's the nerve factor. Those few seconds during the Wheel's spin when you can finalize your letter choice and examine the puzzle a bit are precious, and losing them could potentially make the difference between a puzzle you could have slowly conquered and one you just barely flub on the quickened Express timetable. Overall though, I think the reward outweighs the risk by a lot. I agree that those precious few extra seconds to make your decision would make a difference, since the game moves really fast. But you would still have the time it takes Vanna to reveal the letters, and you would not have to divert your attention away from the puzzle board to spin the wheel. So I think it would work out to be about the same amount of decision time. It just pains me to watch people pass up the Express when it's almost always worth the risk for them, given what money they currently have. I also agree that the Express should be moved to a different round. The PP is enough of an advantage on its own; it makes no sense to have the Express here. I personally like JJ's idea of R1 Mystery, R2 Express, and R3 Prize Puzzle. I tend to think if the PP came in the first round, the people who didn't win it would get too discouraged at having to play catch up. Saving it for R3 is exciting. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2020 20:18:40 GMT -5
acwof , you might want to add this in. The Winner’s Circle segment was done after R1 featuring David & Keri Dailey (captions misspelled the last name as Daly). David went viral for fouling up his geography (he jokingly said Paris, France for the PP location of GONDOLA RIDE THROUGH VENICE). Also, previous uses of HOOT and OWL: HOOT: GIVE A HOOT (10/4/07 [$100K Loss] & 4/28/11 [Win]), WHAT A HOOT (2/6/14 - Win), HOOTING OWLS (3/2/20 - Win) OWL: OWL (9/9/96 - Loss), DOVES AND OWLS (2/7/19 - Win), HOOTING OWLS (3/2/20 - Win)
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genius2751
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Post by genius2751 on Mar 7, 2020 3:18:34 GMT -5
Things started off slow, but Julia picked things up nicely thanks to a reluctant Express ride. I also understand her initial hesitance to hop aboard.
Timothy sure cashed in on April’s bad luck, and I’m glad she solved a Triple Toss-Up because her BANKRUPT in R2 really hurt. It took guts for her to successfully risk the Spain trip on the Mystery wedge. (And I was rooting for her given she’s from my area.) Bumzers. 😥
Speaking of trips, interesting that we have yet another week where the PP vacations are all from the same provider (like Great Escapes, National Parks, and season 35’s edition of this theme week).
I had the BR with RSTLNE. Great vowel picking by Julia to win the car! 😉
My rating: 7
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Post by herkguy on Mar 7, 2020 23:36:13 GMT -5
Question: Could Julia have been from the January 14 audition in Little Rock for this show taped in February? Or would she have auditioned earlier you think?
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MarioGS
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Post by MarioGS on Mar 7, 2020 23:49:38 GMT -5
^ It's quite possible that they asked her to tape immediately after her audition.
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