Fed II Star newsletter - masthead The weekly newsletter for the Fed II game by ibgames

EARTHDATE: May 14, 2006

EVENT REPORTS
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CRYPTOGRAMS

Saturday May 6
by Catseye

Felines are independent creatures by nature, and also tend to make friends rarely, and usually for strange reasons. Hence, it is not surprising that the mouse and I have developed a close friendship - and not because I'm fattening it up for lunch. For weeks now, Squeeky and Lynnea have been at odds, usually over her odd rats-nest hairstyle. I side with the mouse in this battle of wits, as I have seen for myself how often there is movement in that wild smelly mop she calls a hairdo.

In the spirit of peace, however, the mouse and I went to Lair to try to mend a few fences with Lynnea. We found her rooms and, being tired from our trek, curled up on her nice comfy bed for a nap. After being rudely awakened by the screams of Lynnea and Honoria, I leapt into the air to land on a tall armoire, where I was promptly sick with fright - literally. The mouse, being frightened as well, burrowed into the wall. The screams and screeches continued until Necrose, the master of Lair, appeared and called the exterminators. How rude!

As you can imagine, I was not in the best of moods. So I repaired to Cafe Blanc on Magellan for a nice croque monsieur before this week's game of Cryptograms. The food was superb, and put me in a much better mood for the game.

We tested a new method of scoring this week, with great results, as it evened the playing field and gave everyone a chance to beat Fancy, which is always fun. Basically, there is a time limit for each puzzle, and in addition to the points for first, second and third, we awarded points for EACH correct answer given in the allotted time.

The first puzzle was an excellent warmup puzzle. Fancy finished it first for three points plus six. Gilar finished it second for two points plus six, and Zadymka finished third for one point plus six. In additions, Gwaptiva finished in the allotted time for six points. (See how the new scoring works? We did learn to vary the puzzle times, depending on the difficulty of the puzzle.)

EXPENSIVE COMMODITIES - VALUE GREATER THAN 700:
K E C N A K J C H
P K P A K L
L N F J F S T F P M P C H
C U O K E D H
S F P F T F X M H
J F P C E F X X M E H

Fancy finished the second puzzle first as well, for three plus six points, followed by Gilar for two plus six points, Zadymka for one plus six points, and Gwaptiva for six points. You're thinking Fancy won, right?

THINGS YOU CAN DISPLAY:
N B B Z A C U J
B Z X D N C F
B V N C C T R
T H T C U J
D R N C T U
J F J U T X J

The third puzzle was a little harder, but the players solved in the same order. So at this point, Fancy had 27 points, Gilar had 24 points, Zadymka had 21 points, and Gwaptiva had 18 points.

PLANET OWNERS WHOSE NAMES START WITH "F":
I V Q D V Y
I R Y M U Q
I N H A V Y D
I Y U M E U K K J
I H B B Z
I Y V J U

Things turned around a bit with the fourth puzzle, with Fancy finishing first for three plus six points, Gwaptiva finishing second for two plus six points, Gilar finishing third for one plus six points, and Zadymka receiving six points. This brought the totals to 36 for Fancy, 31 for Gilar, 27 for Zadymka, and 26 for Gwaptiva. Still looks like a shoe-in for Fancy...

MERCHANT FLEETS (DI REGISTRY):
W V I J W V U V N
A V F K D X V I J
Y V N H I V
B H S B X V I J
B V X X Z A D D I
V N Z Q H V

The final puzzle was inspired by my nasty experience on Lair and, lo and behold! I stumped Fancy! He managed to get two items on the list in the ten minutes allotted, and Gilar got all six. So, when the scores were tallied, Gilar came in first with 30 points, Fancy came in second with 38 points, Zadymka came in third with 27 points, and Gwaptiva came in fourth with 26 points.

REASONS YOU MIGHT GET EXILED FROM A PLANET:
Y E I W K T Z / K T / H D C / C N Q D J T Z C
K T M E B H K T Z / H D C / W B J T C H / V G T C O
D J Q L K T Z / E W / D J K O U J B B M
U C K T Z / J T T V F K T Z
W B J T C H / V G T C O / Y V C M T ' H / B K L C / F V E / I E Q D
F V E / M H V B C / H D C / D V O M C / S O V I / B J K O

Thanks to everyone for playing, and for their suggestions. I invite everyone to try the new scoring system and see if YOU can sneak ahead of Fancy next time! We play Cryptograms every Saturday afternoon at 4.00pm eastern.


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