Challenge 2 Interview: Bumble Hough

The Cops have tasted their first bite of victory this week thanks to their ability to secure a 24.25 turn average during Seance. Bumble (A.K.A. Bumble Hough) took the lead for her previously humiliated team. She has agreed to an interview with Matt and Cam to discuss what led to this outcome for Challenge 2!

Cam: Wow, it's been a crazy week, but the Cops did it! How does it feel experiencing the first win for your team this season?

Bumble: It feels great! I was really nervous coming into this challenge because I wanted to prove to myself that I'm still able to win.

Matt: What made you go with the alias Bumble Hough?

Bumble: Here's my chance to finally talk about how much I love Derek Hough. He's the greatest and he has a great last name. Right when I saw that we could have a different name, I knew I had to jump on the opportunity to be addressed as Mrs. Hough.

Cam: You took your time during this challenge, but ended up with the lowest amount of moves. Do you feel as though taking your time helped with your victory?

Bumble: For sure! I think the elimination challenge last week prepared me for this in a way because I wrote down my moves and contemplated them just like I did in Ghost. I didn't want to rush because I knew if I did, there would have been a lot of regrettable moves.

Matt: Now that you have finished the challenge, what do you think about it? Was it difficult?

Bumble: Before it started, I wasn't entirely sure I'd be able to do well at all. It seemed like it would be really confusing, but it was the exact opposite. I was really enjoying myself the whole time. I would say it was one of the coolest challenges I've ever participated in. 

Cam: Did you have a plan in mind for the challenge, or did you hit the ground running?

Bumble: I wanted to utilize the clues as much as I could. I wasn't sure where I'd be starting, but once I did, I decided to make my first move be up and then ask for a clue with the hope that I'd be told to go down. Once I was told to go down, I kinda just went with the flow.

Matt: By winning the second challenge, you will be the one who speaks with Operative GHOST in the elimination post. Do you have any predictions as to what will happen in the storyline?

Bumble: Oh, God no...but it's surely riveting. I guess I'll be looking forward to lots and lots of sad deaths. Hopefully, if I have to die, it's not too sad. 

Cam: To set the mood for the next week, do you have anything to say to your archenemies, the Mafia?

Bumble: Oh, this will be a good one. They beat us by quite a bit last challenge, yet we did the same this time. Even though we're kinda even, I feel like our team is gonna be performing very well. I'd enjoy all of the time that you still have left...

Matt: Thanks for coming out to the interview, Bumble, and we'll see if your threat holds weight, or even a foot, in the game of Skool of Salem. Until next time, this has been another successful week of...

Audience: ESSSSSSSSSS! OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! ESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

Cam: Who is even watching this?

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Challenge 3 post will be up on Monday, June 15, 2015.

Thanks for reading this interview, and who knows? Maybe it will be with you next time!

-Matt

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Challenge 2 Results

In one of the greatest scheduling feats in human history, we finally completed the second challenge of Skool of Salem! With the power of timers and liners, the Cops and Mafia were able to use clues in order to figure out where the GHOST was located. Some took longer than others, but in the end, we did not need to use the times to determine a final winning team.

The twist this week had our contestants compete individually rather than with their team in an effort that would add to their team's total score. The team with the lowest overall score among all teammates would end up victorious and the lowest scorer would receive an idol.

The Cops tended to be the late starters this challenge due to last-minute schedule conflicts, but they all successfully handled their business and fought for their spots this week.

The lowest-scoring player of the Cops (which means the one who took the most turns like golf) ended up being the winner for his team last challenge, Lewis, who took a total of 27 turns to get to the objective, 7 of which were clue turns.

There was a tie for second place between the chocolate-hater Andre and the Swimy-dater Bailey with both taking 25 turns to complete their turns. Because of their tie, the one who took longer to complete the challenge will decide the Bottom 2 for their team, in the case that they lost. Both also used 5 clues each, which I found interesting.

With only four players, this leaves Bumble as the best performer out of the Cops with a total of 20 turns to complete the challenge, 6 of which were clue turns.

One more team remained out of the two...who could it be? Oh yeah, the Mafia! After being motivated by their previous victory, this team went into the challenge with enthusiasm and the goal of taking victory from the jaws of defeat.

After using a record 12 clues, Shannon reached her destination in 38 turns. Cam did not have a fun time with this challenge, using clues such as "THE GHOST IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY ANGRY WITH YOUR CONSTANT NEED FOR CLUES, YOU HEAR A BANG UPWARDS" and "YOUR CONSTANT CLUES ARE ANGERING THE GHOST, YOU HEAR A NOISE TO THE RIGHT".

The first person to compete in the challenge ended up being Damon, who fired off commands lightspeed to get to his objective. However, he ended up taking 34 turns, only 4 of which were used for clues.

Luck was on the side of Penny this week, as she just barely missed possibly being on the Bottom 2. She took a total of 31 turns, 10 of which were used for getting clues.

Just as his friend barely missed elimination, Andy barely missed being the top player on his team. He was very cautious and careful with using clues, as only 3 of his 26 turns were clues. Nice playing, Xerxes!

This leaves the last player as the winner of Team Endurance, Zach, who decided to once again undermine Lewis with a 23 turn run where he only used 6 clues. However, this challenge required a team effort in order to get a final immunity, just like Team Endurance. Was this enough? It appears not, as...

With a team total of 97 turns, Bumble has earned the idol of the Map to meet with GHOST during the elimination post. The team average for the Cops was 24.25 turns. As for the Mafia, the team total was 152 turns with a team average of 30.4 turns.

Because the Mafia team failed to secure the victory this week, this means that the players who took the most turns to complete the challenge have become the Bottom 2 this week.

Shannon and Damon must let Peng or Cam know a date and time that would work for them to have the second elimination challenge. The challenge this week will be a word game that I would like to call "Cornucopia". This is how it works:

A host will give the contestants a word such as "cornucopia" or "restoration" separately. Each contestant will get a certain amount of time to say as many words that they can create using the letters of the word. For example, you could create the words "pun", "corn", and "acorn" from the word "cornucopia". Whoever gets the most words created after 5 different words are given will be the safe player this week, while the other player will be pushing daisies.

Thank you guys for helping create another successful week of Skool of Salem. It was stressful to say the least, and I was worried it was not going to work out halfway through the week, but in the end, we all worked together to make a solution and communicate to get scheduling figured out. 

The interview this week will be with Bumble, and I will see you next with the results of the second elimination challenge of the season. For now, enjoy the WWC!

-Matt

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Challenge 2 Twist!

This is not a challenge results post, but rather a post that determines the results of the challenge!

Due to the caller's demand for only one officer to meet with operative GHOST, we decided to utilize a different method in order to figure out who gets to speak with the mysterious figure.

Every contestant will need to individually complete the challenge with the same rule set originally given (Cam or Peng will give the contestant clues if they choose to give up a turn for it).

Every individual challenge will be timed, but the time will only be considered in the event of a tie.

The amount of turns a team takes will be added together and the team that completes the challenge in the least amount of turns wins immunity.

The Bottom 2 will be the players who took the most amount of turns to complete the challenge on the losing team due to the twist adding individual scoring.

If you have any questions, let Cam or I know. We hope that this twist will allow for a clearer winning/losing format and can adjust for schedule issues.

-Matt

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Challenge 2: SEANCE

The larks, still bravely singing, fly scarce heard amid the guns below.

Newspapers had a way of viewing the goings-on around Salem through a tinted glass. In this time of red vs blue, whether interstate, intrastate, or international, division could only be printed in black and white. For the sworn defenders of the crime-ridden Salem, the news could only describe them with dark tones.

A week had passed since the death of Jacob. Or was it years? The two seemed interchangeable in the midst of change. Dr. Bees was making headlines for his killing blow and his blow money. It seems that with the start of an anti-crime initiative, crime rates were increasing and breaking the law became more attractive to the general public.

With options slim and the chances of crime being stopped slimmer, Samuel Lawson was placed between a rock and a hard place. However, he had not lost faith in SKOOL...not even close. A single death does not determine a war, let alone a battle.

Raised as a military brat by an indifferent father and absent mother, Lawson was used to looking ahead while experiencing struggle. One casualty meant nothing to him, and a thousand more wouldn't make him bat an eye...a quality that could be a coping mechanism or a downfall for a man.

Nevertheless, the police force continued on as it always had; answering calls for emergencies, buying donuts for discounts, and completing speeding ticket quotas. The media had a way of exaggerating reality, but nothing seemed to break the focus of the establishment.

Well, until one morning.

Koksa was a mess after the death of Jacob. She had always felt little for him, but she felt awful for her lack of reciprocation for his passion for her. The Russian agent entered her office silently that Tuesday morning when a single ring filled the empty noise of the room. It was strange for a call to occur this early in the day, but she ran to answer it regardless.

"Privyet?"

"Do not make any quick movements."

Koksa's eyes enlarged as she slowly scanned the room. "Who is this?"

"That is not important. What is important is that I have an offer for your so-called..."SKOOL"."

"Offer?"

"We have valuable information that may help you track down the one who killed your associate. However, this will come at a price."

"What price this cost?"

"You have 24 hours to meet with our operative, GHOST, and give him $25,000 IN CASH. I don't want any funny business. In return, we will complete our end of the deal. Coordinates have been placed on your desk. Send one officer. If you send backup or fail to show up, we will give the Mafia even better intel. Thanks for your time."

The man behind the line hung up, leaving Koksa to stare at the blank wall in front of her. After a moment of complete shock, she frantically dialed the number of her boss.

This was about to be a long day.

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Welcome back everybody! It's time to continue on with another exciting week of SOS! This time, you will need to be able to coordinate and debate with your team in order to complete the challenge. Due to the need for a group effort in order to deliver a message, we call it "Seance".

HOW IT WORKS

Teams will be given a 15x15 grid similar to the one below (we may or may not use this one) :

Like Team Endurance, teams will be split up into different chatrooms and given the opportunity to complete the challenge among themselves.

After being given a starting location such as "A-5" or "G-8", a team work together to move from their starting location to the location of an invisible "ghost", which is another point on the grid. 

Each movement counts as a turn. Teams will have to decide among themselves what path they wish to take and one player must act as the speaker for the rest of the group. This person will not be the designated winner of the idol, however; we just want to have a way to determine what a team's final decision is.

Instead of using a turn to make a movement, a team can use up a turn to receive a clue from one of the hosts. A clue may be information such as "look to the right", "you are closer now", or "you're far away". Your team must move the turn after getting a clue.

HOW TO WIN

The team that manages to get to the ghost in the least amount of turns wins the challenge. Cam, Mat, and I are going to be spectating the performance of contestants in this challenge to determine the best players of the teams. I would advise emulating leadership qualities or proposing strategic reasoning in order to prove you are were a worthy part of your team's effort!

IN THE EVENT OF A TIE:

If there is a tie, we will do a second round of the challenge. That's about it. We doubt this will occur, but it might.

TWIST:

Please stay after the challenge for the first twist of the season. More information will be given once we declare a winning team. Information regarding the idol and elimination will be discussed after the challenge.

TIME:

We have not received any comments about availability this week, so we will hold this challenge on Friday, June 12, 2015 at 5 PST. We are hoping to hold all future challenges at 3 PST by default unless there needs to be a schedule change.

Please let us know if you are unable to be here at that time, or if you are available that day.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post, and I hope to see you there on game day.

-Matt

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