GameShow PACO Rankings, week of Nov. 19th, 2007

Here are the rankings from the latest PACO run. Conspicuously absent is RedSkyReborn who has not competed since the last time the rankings were done. So I've held him out until I can come up with a procedure that doesn't reward laurels resting. Lots of new players this week, and i've expanded it to 20.

GameShow 101 part 4: Tokens

Tokens are the universal currency of GameShow. They're used for everything from purchasing avatars, to buying power ups, to acquiring raffle tickets. But how do you get them? Here's a quick outline of token making. Each correct question nets you five tokens, as does every poll. Full star questions are the same, but completing a star gets you an extra fifty. Winning your room will give you 20 tokens per player you outscore, ranging from 20-100. Starting at 60% correct for the round, you earn bonus tokens, which ramp up to a 60 token bonus for 100% correct. Also you earn streak bonuses for the number of correct answers in a row, which start at 2 tokens. Wagering is also important in stockpiling tokens. You can learn more about the black art that is wagering here. Compared to the regional and overall windfalls, these may seem paltry, but they do add up over time, as evidenced by the wager max being cut in half recently. speaking of regional and overall wins, they net you 1000 and 2500 tokens respectively.

GameShow 101 part 3: Scores

Scores are the very heart of GameShow. Sure it was enough to take the region or overall, but how well did you or that other guy actually do? Well, here are the theoretical maximum scores, dependant on power ups

15 questions
no power ups: 14985
4 x 4x points: 26793
4 x 6x chickens: 34989
4 x 10x guessers: 50949

30 questions
no power ups: 29970
4 x 4x points: 41958
4 x 6x chickens: 49974
4 x 10x guessers: 65934

GameShow 101 part 2: Wagering

First time players are often wary of the wagering system. In fact, I didn't use it for a while after starting. What I came to realise, though, is that it's a great way of earning tokens and paying for your power ups. As of now, the token limit for wagers is 100. Depending upon the percentage you choose, your payout is affected by a multiplier. However, if you fail to reach your percentage, you lose those 100 tokens that you wagered. Here's a chart with gross values for 100 token wagers


15 questions
100% - 0 wrong - 2100
95% - never -1100
90% - 1 wrong - 800
85% - 2 wrong - 550
80% - 3 wrong - 500
75% - never - 450
70% - 4 wrong - 400
65% - 5 wrong - 350
60% - 6 wrong - 300
55% - never - 250
50% - 7 wrong - 200

30 questions
100% - 0 wrong - 2100
95% - 1 wrong - 1100
90% - 3 wrong - 800
85% - 4 wrong - 550
80% - 6 wrong - 500
75% - 7 wrong - 450
70% - 9 wrong - 400
65% - 10 wrong - 350
60% - 12 wrong - 300
55% - 13 wrong - 250
50% - 15 wrong - 200

Using 4 6x chickens a round costs 300 tokens/round. Achieving and betting a 70% at 100 tokens will cover the cost of the wager and the chickens.

If you're really conservative, a 65% bet at 100 tokens will net you 250 tokens for the chickens, and the 10 answers you must get right to achieve it gives you 50 more, thereby allowing you to break even and pocket a paltry few tokens from polls and streak bonuses.

GameShow 101 part 1: The Power Ups

GameShow offers a variety of power ups for purchase which affect the gameplay in different ways. Learning which to use and how to use them are key to token earning.



10x guesser: randomly picks an answer, if it guesses right, you get 10x the points. pretty useless. Use it only if you want to be annoying every once in a while.




5x guesser: same as above but only 5x. costs less than the 10x.







4x points: gives you 4x the points for getting a question right. These are enticing to new players, because they are straightforward, and play just like the rest of the game. Unfortunately, it leaves you with a low cap of just under 27k points.



3x points: same as above, but just 3x








2x points: same, but 2x.







4x tokens: quadruples the tokens you earn for a question. Normal is 5, cost is 15. The key is to use it when completing a full star.







3x tokens: same. but triples; cost 10







2x tokens: same, but doubles; cost 5







6x chicken: Wait until the last possible second to answer for 6x points. The power up of choice if you wish to contend for regional or overall winner.







4x chicken: same, but 4x points







2x chicken: same, but 2x points.







-1 eliminator: eliminates 1 answer choice







-2 eliminator: eliminates 2 answer choices

Welcome!

This blog is for detailing and discussing the new EA Sports trivia game GameShow. GameShow is an online trivia game featuring questions mostly relating to sports along with some pop culture sessions on the weekends. The majority of the sessions are hosted by live TJs(Trivia Jockeys©2007 FP) who make this a unique experience in both trivia and online gaming. Among the entertaining personalities who make it happen are hosts Jason and Rob Thompson, heard nationally on Fox Sports Radio; Mike Bower, stand-up and former host at Maxim Radio; "SweetNasty" Chris Cause; and Jana Sutter of WXXL Orlando. Also adding to the experience are producers Paul Ihander, Eric "E" Gray, and the mysterious Carlos. Players can interact directly with the hosts and producers through either text messages or phone calls to the studio.

The trivia game itself is pretty straight forward; 15 or 30 questions per session, each session lasts 15 minutes. power ups can be purchased to assist in earning high scores and taking the overall or regional crowns. Competition takes place in rooms divided by state or favourite sports team -- being in a full room makes the game that much more intense and fun. Overall and regional wins will net you a load of tokens which can be used to purchase an avatar, more power ups, or raffle tickets for prizes such as EA video games. Each of the sessions usually has a theme, be it the dreaded(by Bower and me) NBA Spotlight sessions or a session about Players with Naughty Sounding Names. There's also usually a poll sprinkled in, sometimes serious, sometimes silly, it's always interesting to see the result. Live sessions run Monday through Thursday 7:0pm - 1:00am ET; Fridays 5:00pm - 2:00am ET(5-7, 12-2 are pop culture blocks); Saturday 6:00pm - 2:00am ET(pop again 12-2); Sunday 6:00pm - 1:00am ET. Drop by and give it a try. If you're any sort of trivia nerd, you'll be as hopelessly hooked as I am. http://www.eagameshow.com/