And the Winner is...

For a week now, the members of chat have anxiously awaited the final reveal for the winner of Skool of Salem. The jury has voted, challenges have been faced, comments have been submitted, and bonuses have been distributed. Overall, this has been a very close finale.

However, the focus here is on the ends, not the means. A single winner has been found for Skool of Salem, meaning a mysterious reward of their choice awaits them. Who could it be?

I would figure the best way to go about revealing the winner is to analyze each and every factor to see how well the contestants did.

Seeing as this is a very challenge-focused gameshow, I will begin with the results of each challenge. Shootouts was not an option for this finale due to scheduling issues, but we were able to complete every other challenge.

Seance: 

Penny reached the ghost in 11 moves and took 38 seconds.

Andre reached the ghost in 24 moves and took 2 minutes, 10 seconds.

Lewis reached the ghost in 19 moves and took 1 minute, 15 seconds.

Penny has earned 3 points for winning Seance.

Codebreak:

Penny's average time was 49 seconds.

Lew's average time was 28 seconds.

Andre's average time was 27 seconds.

Andre has earned 3 points for winning Codebreak.

Observation:

Every contestant earned 6 points in this challenge (not the finale points), which meant we had to rely on speed in answering questions. On average, Andre answered questions the fastest.

Andre has earned 3 points for winning Observation.

From the very start, everyone could know the point amounts from this category. Each victory this season was worth one point. Therefore, Penny and Lewis both earned one point.

The past two idol rewards have been bonuses in the finale, which earned Lewis one extra bonus point. Had Zach still been on the gameshow, he would have had an incredible amount of points in this category.

All former contestants, except for Damon (Marco voted in his place), were contacted asking for their opinion on who they felt deserved the final victory in Skool of Salem.

In order to keep the chances of figuring out the winner low, the results of this category will be revealed below.

I think it's best to conclude with the personal statements of each contestant. The best written comment, as chosen by Cam and I, is worth 2 points.

Andre's comment: Hiiieeeeeeeee. It's Andre. Personally I think that I should win SOS because I've fought hard under the toughest circumstances out of anyone in the game. No, I haven't won a challenge (though I did miss one due to being in the ER). However, I have made sacrifices in that I altered my work availability to suit the schedule the game called for. Also, I've been through everything from playing a partner challenge on my own to fulfilling my responsibility to complete a challenge while I was held up in the hospital. I think my work speaks for itself here. Many thanks and I hope you feel the same as I do.

Lew's comment: I think I should be the winner of SOS because I think I've put in the most effort and preparation for the challenges. Both Penny and Andre have definitely tried hard in every challenge and have both been so close to victory in past gameshows, and even though I’m not a fan favorite to win, I think that I’ve put in more time and energy in terms of preparation for challenges to deserve winning this gameshow. Some challenges in this competition had a nature that I couldn’t practice for, such as the three Séance challenges, Shootouts (which was originally really different from Battleship so I was unable to practice for it), Lingo, and the Observation challenge. But for the challenges that could be prepared for through practice, such as Haxball, Territory War, JigsawPlanet, and Pictionary, I practiced for hours upon hours straight almost every day up until the challenge so that I could do well and most importantly stay in this competition for as long as I can. The winner of SOS should be the person who has put in the most effort into this competition, the person who has tried their absolute hardest to do their best, and the person who performed well in the challenges, and, out of the Final 3, I believe that I fit these descriptions the best.

Penny's comment: Penny's comment is so incredibly long that I can't even post it on the site, even in the smallest text. Therefore, I put it on another website: http://pastebin.com/yfkK6TR7

Cam and I have spent hours analyzing these three comments to decide who we felt deserved the points for this category. We have decided to keep the results of this category secret for the time being so we can reveal the winner...below.

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Well, that's all the categories! I guess now all that's left is finding out who the winner is.

It's been a total of nine weeks since the first team reveal of Skool of Salem. I personally was not sure if a gameshow of this scale could even still exist in the current time we're in. People have been so busy and the connection between chat members has been slowly lost due to new life ventures. 

The last gameshow before this left a sour taste in everyone's mouth toward the idea of any other gameshows. The fear of a gameshow tearing apart chat terrified its members. 

Skool of Salem was a way to prevent this and bring chat together once again.

We've had two contestants (technically even three) contestants eliminated due to the new things being thrown on their plate in life. However, we've still managed to hold a season where people would show up every week and compete. Extreme modifications had to be made to compensate for this, but it happened.

Tonight, we find out who truly deserved the title of victor.

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Now that you have scrolled down here and ignored the entire post, I guess it's a good time to say that the winner will be announced live, rather than on the site.

We will reveal at a time where all three contestants and two hosts are able to be on at the same time.

After the live reveal, I will begin on a final story post to tie up loose ends.

-Matt

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Challenge 8: THE FINALE

Welcome back, everyone, to another week of Skool of Salem. This week is quite the unique one, as it just so happens we have reached the finale!

You may be wondering, "Finale? Aren't there three people left?"

We have decided to deviate from the norm this gameshow due to upcoming schedule issues as the month of August approaches. As a result, the finale will consist of the Final 3 contestants:

The finale of Skool of Salem will consist of multiple factors which earn contestants points. After all of the factors have been completed, the total points will be added up and a final victor will be decided. We will be holding the point values of each factor confidential until after the winner is revealed over the weekend!

Now, let's go over each factor individually. I have put due dates for the different factors next to ones that require one.

Jury Vote (due Thursday, July 30)
Cam and I will be asking all previously eliminated SOS contestants (except for Zach) who they believe should be the winner of the season. Votes will be kept anonymous, so do not feel pressured to vote a certain way due to guilt.

Past Challenges (due Friday, July 31)
There will be two past challenges that the contestants will need to complete. These challenges will be Seance and Shootouts. Both will follow the same rules as in their original posts.

Codebreak Challenge (due Friday, July 31)
All contestants will be given a key of how symbols correspond to certain letters. A host will then give the contestants a code that needs to be deciphered as fast as possible. Incorrect codes will result in a time penalty of 5 seconds.

Player Comment (due Thursday, July 30)
To add some variety to how a contestant could earn points, all three contestants will need to write a brief, yet convincing comment on this post arguing why they feel they should be the winner of Skool of Salem. Cam and I will then discuss who we feel has the best argument and distribute points.

Observation Challenge (due Friday, July 31)
This challenge was actually planned to be used but was not used... until now. All players will be shown the same video and then, after viewing, will need to answer questions under a small amount of time. The victor will be the player with the most questions answered correctly. If there is a tie, it will be based off total average time.

Amount of Wins

The total amount of wins per contestant will be accounted for and will earn them points toward their final score. Note that this is not based off idols, but rather just wins, so Penny's victory last week does count.

Idol Rewards
Lewis redeemed an idol on Friday. As a result, he has gained one point towards his victory. This is the same reward Zach received last week.

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Since people will have different scheduling issues, we are leaving all participants of this finale the responsibility of completing their parts on time. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Good luck to all contestants. Every one of you deserve where you've gotten.

-Matt

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Elimination 7

The police department was almost completely abandoned the morning after the resignations. Salem's anti-crime initiative had failed, even with the help of the most elite crime fighters from across the globe.

What would become of the city? 

Koksa had about a month's worth of savings to hold her over until she would be forced to go back to the Old Country. She arrived in America to ensure the safety of her children and their children for generations, but now, it appeared as though they would have to go through the same struggle as her. Perhaps it was for the greater good after the corruption allegations.

Exactly 24 hours after her resignation, Koksa stood outside the police department and sighed. Years of memories were made in this place, yet it had been tainted by the circumstances. The conflicting emotions regarding the way to handle this transition affected Koksa's sleep.

Maybe the best form of closure was to look around inside one last time.

Koksa opened the doors to the department and breathed in a large whiff of air. It smelled like dust and office supplies. Home, sweet home.

The first floor cubicles reminded her of all the people employed to help make Salem a better place. Some of these people worked all throughout the night to respond to 911 calls, or to investigate criminal cases. Cold cases lay in the file cabinets, but not everything could be solved.

Suddenly, Koksa's nostalgia was interrupted by a loud thumping. Was someone inside this police department with her? Koksa ran to an office and hid behind a desk.

After a few minutes of waiting, it seemed as though the coast was clear.

"I know you're in here. Come out. I'm not looking for trouble."

Koksa's eyes bulged as she thought about the possible consequences of standing up. What if it was a trap? Was she going to be arrested for trespassin--oh. She decided, against her better judgment, to stand up.

Standing at the doorway of the office was an unarmed Mafia member wearing a bee hat under his Mafia hat. She didn't recognize him, but then again, she never really left her secretary desk except to fetch coffee for higher-ups.

"H-hello..," Koksa stuttered. "What do.. what do you want?"

"I'm guessing you're one of the secretaries?"

Koksa gulped. "Ye--yes, sir."

"This used to be quite a beautiful place," the Mafia member pondered. He laughed for a moment.   "You'd probably expect me to say it's even more beautiful now that it's in ruins."

"I would, no? Your people... bring destruction."

"I think my people brought your people purpose, which was mutual. Every police department needs equal and opposite organized crime. What employs your officers without crime? And what gives my people a rush of adrenaline day by day? The police."

Koksa contemplated the words of a man she should have attacked the minute she saw. "Why--why you come here?"

"I need to find any information I can about a rival of ours, a crime boss named Il Liberatore. Do you happen to know where I could find any?"

A smile spread across Koksa's face as she started to walk over to a cabinet nearby. "We come to right place. It is right---"

Officer Lawson fired a single bullet into the head of his former officer from outside the office, then aimed his gun at the second Mafia member to break into his department.

Dr. Bees pulled out a pistol and fired a shot right before yelling "BASTARD" at the top of his lungs. Lawson fired a shot into his lung.

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Dr. Bees lay against the desk where Koksa's corpse lay, while Lawson lay against a cubicle outside the office. The two knew that the end was upon them.

"...Wh--why did you kill him?" Dr. Bees mustered out, referring to the death of previous police chief, Edward Bishop.

Lawson stared at the pool of blood below him, then looked up at the man who had killed him. "He wanted... change."

Silence filled the air as the person responsible for SKOOL and the person who fired the first bullet of this war lost consciousness.

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Thank you, Bailey, for participating in Skool of Salem. Your win in the Haxball challenge as a solo player was astonishing and worth the effort. You took on the big names in gameshow history and did not settle for last place. As the season went on, your schedule filled with more and more, but you still made sure to help your team in any way possible. We hope you enjoyed your time on the gameshow.

Thank you, Zach, for participating in Skool of Salem. You were the only person to use idols, and you used two. You once again showed your dominance in challenges, similar to your run in CP College. Your efforts in helping reach a compromise in Challenge 3 was also admirable. However, right before the end, you had to take a leave to go to camp, taking victory out of your grasp. Regardless, we hope you will look back on Skool of Salem with fond memories.

The Challenge 8 post will be up tomorrow.

Thanks for reading if you took the time.

-Matt

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Challenge 7 Results

Another week, another challenge. After a week of Cam hosting alone, I am back to writing posts. Since these posts have started getting smaller and smaller, I figured I'd take some time to reflect on the history of our contestants.

Just a quick note that I am going by the order of CPSkool seasons in this reflection, not my predictions on the order of eliminations.

The first of the Final 5 to be eliminated was Bailey, otherwise known as Sand Flipper. Bailey was also the first runner up of the first season of CPSkool, all the way back in October 2009. Season 1 set the trend of having a multi-challenge finale. In this particular season, the competitors had to play Card Jitsu, draw crowds in Banned Band, then perform a dance routine in Dance Contest. After a close analysis, Bailey barely missed her chance at victory to Mat's dance skills. This would forever be remembered as the only time Mat's dancing was considered award-worthy.

After a successful first season, CPSkool immediately jumped into its second season. CP High would be the season that began the running joke that Penny Mickey, otherwise known as Penny, tends to get victory ripped out of her arms once she gets close to it. Interestingly, the second season was the only season to have one part to its finale. It would also be the only season to have three teams instead of the standard two. Both contestants had to rush to find Lady Danger around the world of Club Penguin. Laura beat Penny by over a minute, meaning she was the final victor. Since then, Laura has vanished without a trace... except if you mention Asian boy bands.

CP College was one of the longest seasons, spanning across 17 weeks with 15 contestants. However, its finale ended up comprising of the Trainer Dynasty. Guitarking97, otherwise known as Zach, was pitted against Checkers4562, otherwise known as Shannon. Interestingly, Shannon won every single part of this four-part finale, resulting in her final victory. Zach was considered one of the strongest competitors of the season, however.

Ty Waddles, otherwise known as Andre, and Gabriella737, otherwise known as Bumble, were considered some of the worst slackers in Season 4. Season 4's Final 5 was entirely comprised of people who no longer go on chat.

After a year hiatus, CPSkool returned with a fifth season entitled "CPSkool Forever". Blooper5, otherwise known as Lewis, was personally chosen by Bumble to be eliminated after the Final 3 challenge. Afterwards, Bumble and Andre faced off in an interesting three-part finale where Bumble won a vote by previous contestants, Andre won a three-part challenge, but Bumble ended up with the most tickets in the end. Andre was voted to be the preferred winner in a poll that turned out to not have any relevance to deciding the final victor.

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Here are the results for Challenge 7: Lingo.

First Round: 4 turns (86 seconds)

Second Round: 3 turns (40 seconds)

Third Round: 2 turns (46 seconds)

Average Turns: 3 turns

Average Time: 57 seconds

First Round: 2 turns (8 seconds)

Second Round: 5 turns (412 seconds)

Third Round: 2 turns (79 seconds)

Average Turns: 3 turns

Average Time: 166 seconds

First Round: 2 turns (29 seconds)

Second Round: 5 turns (156 seconds)

Third Round: 4 turns (126 seconds)

Average Turns: 4 turns

Average Time: 104 seconds

First Round: 5 turns (45 seconds)

Second Round: 3 turns (27 seconds)

Third Round: 6 turns (91 seconds)

Average Turns: 5 turns

Average Time: 55 seconds

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I have a few announcements to make:

1) There will not be an idol given out this challenge due to the fact that we are very close to the finale. Penny is the victor for this week and this will be accounted for later.

2) Zach redeemed an idol while I was on vacation, so I did not put what he got into the Challenge post. His idol reward was an "advantage in the finale". 

3) Because Zach will be going to camp for the next few weeks, he will be eliminated this week in replacement of a Bottom 2. Tomorrow there will make a story post that explains the deaths of both Bailey and Zach.

4) I have all of the Lingo rounds saved. Let me know if you want to see them posted on the site.

That's all for now. Thanks to all the contestants for finishing all puzzles without needing to go past 9 turns. This challenge went smoother than expected.

Until next time.

-Matt

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