Haha! NM and I were pretty good. We each got snitty with each other once, I think. Our accomplices were rather incredible, though. Frustrated at times by the game, perhaps, but never seemed frustrated with each other. Cool gaming cats, that's for sure!

Sigh.

I don't know what it is exactly but something about the nature of the puzzles they've been creating no longer excites me. They feel more frustrating and confusing than challenging and clever. Even discounting the ambiguously worded ones, which is a whole other story. I know part of it is a significant move away from on-paper logic puzzles. I'm surely in the minority, but that was my strength and a large part of my enjoyment. That and the fact that everything is all-or-nothing, meaning that, as CP said, you can run yourself ragged doing 99.9% of the work, and get absolutely not credit for it because of one small error or oversight. Frustrating.

I did love having the detective's notepad. I used it a bunch and if we do play again, I'll definitely be bringing that.

There were of course elements I enjoyed. But the overall experience, between the vague quests, frustrating format, and brutal heat, left me feeling pretty sour on the whole.

Also contributing to my general feeling of disconnect from the whole thing was the new schedule. I know there's nothing the staff can do about it with the size of the event and the constraints Disney puts on, but with the staggered start and the short time between registration and game beginning, there was not the usual pre-game social atmosphere at all. We skipped the results at the end and we could have gotten some of it in by then, but by then we're exhausted. And part of what gets me motivated and excited is spending time beforehand talking to fellow competitors, seeing everyone's shirts, trash talking, etc. Without that, it was far more business-like and a bit less fun.

Yeah, it does seem a LOT less social now.

Maybe they could offer a pre-game breakfast option in the future, even if it's just pastries and coffee. They could use early check-in as an incentive to selling the breakfast tickets.

Oh yeah - the yellow mystery part puzzle had one totally ambiguous instruction that the staff couldn't answer. It said to black out any squares in the the same row AND (caps theirs) column as a Q. Did that mean that whereever there was a Q, one was to block out the entire row and column containing that Q? Or that one only blocked out squares if they happened to be both in the same row as a Q and column as another Q? One version eliminated more squares than the other. (not that it would have mattered for us, since we couldn't unscramble the damn attraction name.)

We skipped the end routine because it didn't seem like anyone we knew would be there, and the door prizes are pretty lame. Honestly, I'd rather just have a bit WOOHOO! as the teams turn in stuff, and then we disperse for the evening and get the results the next day.

But we'll still be doing it again in the spring, assuming we register in time. Now that both of us know how to expect, and we're getting better at reading each other's minds, I think we'll be pretty dangerous come spring-time.

Is next fall still at EPCOT?

The problem is that Disney specifically wants them to NOT have people there early. They staggered the registration to keep the hotel area clear and not have all 8,000 (or whatever the number is) players there at the same time. At the awards ceremony when everyone is just sitting in the ballroom it's not a big deal, but during registration when they've got tables set up in the hall, people standing in lines, and team photos being taken, they can't have that many people around.

That, and it costs so much to get Disney to add food service to these events that it would just drive the cost of playing up even more.

With the number of pepole that play, all of this is a logisitcal necessity, but it has significantly changed the nature of the game and I miss the old way.

I've pretty much hated it ever since it moved to the Ballrooms. Charm Gone.


I HATE quests that are poorly worded ... and unless it's the most clever quest ever written, I hate playing in DCA on a hot day.

Sounds like I wouldn't have liked this MouseAdventure.


I have to admit, losing is not as fun as winning ... but we've continued to enjoy the game when the quests are fun and interesting.


It's been hit and miss on that front. But between the ballroom ychhiness, our continued uber-losing streak, games that are only enjoyable half the time and ... the kicker ... not going to Disneyland enough nowadays to make having an AP worthwhile ... I think my days of MouseAdventure are all behind me.


It was fun. But I realized yesterday ... I don't miss it at all.

You had to cross out the Q and the whole row and whole column it was in. It was easy to get confused, I know I did. I read each clue about 4 times before marking anything to make sure I was doing it right (permanent marker makes me extra careful).

Sorry you all missed the wrapup. Joe had a really entertaining presentation.

Spring dates are tentatively April 26 or May 10.

Next fall will be at WDW and tentative date is Nov. 14. The event will require a food and beverage purchase, so that exact cost per person will be passed on. It will be a pre-game breakfast.

I had a blast, except maybe for the part where I had to hang out in Golden State Park to read trivia questions.

Please oh please April 26.

Florida? Well THAT will certainly change the scope of the game.