Forum Game Silver Tongue

TehPilot

Member
silver–tongued (ˈsil-vər-ˌtəŋd)
(adj) marked by convincing and eloquent expression.
Those who are said to have a way with words find success easily.

The rules are very straightforward. A scenario will be presented, and your goal is to satisfy the Unspoken Rules of Conversation. Every post in this thread will be analyzed, and you will be told how many of the Unspoken Rules are satisfied. Using this information, your goal is to make a post that satisfies every rule at once. Collective cooperation or individual competition is allowed - how you approach the problem is entirely your choice.

What is the gameplan?
Every round, I will open with a flavor-text scenario, the number of rules in play, and provide a sample post with the rules it follows. I will occasionally update the game with a post including all submissions and the rules they passed. The round concludes when a post satisfying all of the rules is found.

How will rules be checked?
I will take the text of a post from the plain BB Code editor and run it through a quick analysis program. You can see what string will be analyzed by clicking the page with a wrench icon in the top-right of the default rich text editor. After a round is resolved, I will make the code for each rule publicly available to validate the results.

What if we're stuck?
If all posters in a round cannot solve the puzzle after approximately five posts each, I will allow everyone to vote on which rule to provide a hint for. A total of two hints (one on two separate rules) or one answer (asking for a hint on the same rule twice) will be offered. This may change depending on the number of rules and the complexity of the ruleset involved.

Just you?
For now, I will run through a handful of premade scenarios to establish the game, and then I am open to letting others run rounds or submit rule suggestions.


Thread Directory
Scenario 1 Solution (Mercerenies)

Scenario 2 (Publishing Company)


-----​

SCENARIO ONE
You've recently caught wind of a secret organization that you'd like to join. It is quiet, secretive, and shy to outsiders - and the membership process reflects that. Finding their meeting location and times was a challenge, and now you are left with one final task before you can join their ranks.

At their meetings, a guardsman stays at the door and greets visitors. The organization looks for certain traits and mannerisms for their members. You'll need to make a fantastic impression and fit to their overall demeanor if you want him to open the door for you.

Let's say you walk up and calmly state your wish:

Sample Post said:
I'd like to join.
This post passes Rule 2, Rule 4, and Rule 5.

Can you convince them you're the perfect fit?
 
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R

roytheshort

Guest
If you don't open this door I'll leave quietly, sorry for bothering you.
 

Lukasmah

Member
Heh. Now that I think about it, this is a little bit like that Mastermind board game.

I'm not very good at Mastermind. Anyyyyway...

Will you please let me in?
 
Z

zendraw

Guest
stabs guard with hidden knife, takes his clothes, enters master chamber. 'im the new rookie'.
 

TehPilot

Member
Alpha beta gamma delta beta epsilon.

Zeta eta theta.
Passes Rule 2 and Rule 5.
Heh. Now that I think about it, this is a little bit like that Mastermind board game.

I'm not very good at Mastermind. Anyyyyway...

Will you please let me in?
Passes Rule 5.
stabs guard with hidden knife, takes his clothes, enters master chamber. 'im the new rookie'.
Passes Rule 3, Rule 4, and Rule 5.
You would love it if I joined, wouldn't you?
Passes Rule 2, Rule 4, and Rule 5.
 
Z

zendraw

Guest
so i found us guys on google, thought its a bunch of baloney but then i investigate and here DF i am, so give it to me. the test, hurry up now.
 

TehPilot

Member
Love me or I will stab your join
Passes Rule 2, Rule 4, and Rule 5.
Screw you, let me in!
Passes Rule 2, Rule 4, and Rule 5.
i know a couple of the rules now. this one will pass three and four.
Passes Rule 3, Rule 4, and Rule 5.
so i found us guys on google, thought its a bunch of baloney but then i investigate and here DF i am, so give it to me. the test, hurry up now.
Passes Rule 5.
 

Lukasmah

Member
So, somehow everything passes rule 5... This is like Mastermind on steroids and my brain hurts.

Anyway...

Allow me to enter.
 

Mercerenies

Member
((I don't think that's a coincidence. I think Rule 5 might be a freebie, just to throw us off. Anyway, this post isn't intended as a guess or anything, but if you want to run it through the parser, then... go ahead, I guess.))
 

TehPilot

Member
i'd like to join please.
Passes all rules. Congratulations!

General Information: In all the following rules, a "word" is defined as a contiguous block of characters within the string of a submitted post (herein referred to as the "phrase"). The delimiter chosen for this ruleset was the space character (' ').

The rules below are all written in JavaScript if you'd like to test them for yourself.

Rule 1: Ask politely. Phrase must end with "please" in the last word.
Code:
function(str) {
    var words = str.split(' ');
    return (words[words.length - 1].includes("please"));
}

Rule 2: Be concise. All posts should be ten words or less in length.
Code:
function(str) {
    var words = str.split(' ');
    return (words.length < 10);
}

Rule 3: Talk softly. Phrase should contain no capital letters.
Code:
function(str) {
    return (str == str.toLowerCase());
}

Rule 4: Keep it simple. No "word" in a phrase may exceed 10 or more characters in length.
Code:
function(str) {
    var words = str.split(' ');
    for (var i in words) {
        if (words[i].length > 10) {
            return false;
        }
    }
    return true;
}

Rule 5: This is Fight Club. You cannot refer to the organization as the "club". Phrase should not include "club" within its text.
Code:
function(str) {
    return !str.includes("club");
}

-----​

While I draft another ruleset: any feedback? For this first round, I went with a ruleset that was simplistic, but not exceptionally easy (i.e. "post should contain these five letters") or difficult. Would you like easier or harder challenges, themed challenges or theme-agnostic ones, anything in particular?
 
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Mercerenies

Member
Well, that was fun. No complaints from me. I like the idea of thematic challenges though, where the flavortext has a lot to do with the rules themselves.
 

TehPilot

Member
Let's try something a little bit harder, shall we?

SCENARIO TWO
It's taken some time, but you've found a publisher for your new book. They're looking to include a brief snippet on your novel with their electronic newsletter. They demand a descriptive passage which is pleasing to the ear when read out loud - the newspaper itself is a bland email production out of the early days of the Internet, and without any fancy headings or eye-catching colors, a good hook is all but necessary.

You shouldn't make it super short, but you don't have to go for a full abstract. Try and find a happy medium between a one-liner hook and a descriptive paragraph. Maybe something to the effect of this sampler:

Sample Post said:
"Big Dingus in New York City" is one enticing summer read. Our distinctly named protagonist uncovers a great conspiracy on his vacation! Find out what secrets he ultimately exposes to the public.
This post passes Rule 1, Rule 3-A, and Rule 4.
Rule 3 has two components to it.

Try and form a description that tops that one - and don't forget to take pride in your work.
 
R

roytheshort

Guest
"Harry Plotter and the New Guy Fawkes" is a crime romance novel. Our hero decides to blow up the government with magic! But then he falls in love with a politician (who is dead at the point he falls in love with them). What exciting tales await you in the world of Harry Plotter?
 
R

roytheshort

Guest
(Am I allowed two guesses here?)

"Seinfeld's Surpise" is a hot romance novel about Jerry Seinfeld and his true affection for George Costanza. You may be thinking "What is wrong with you, why did you write this?" and the answer is it's a money laundering scheme and I expect my book to be pulped.
 
Z

zendraw

Guest
this game is actually very creative, i think if implemented right in a game wuld be a great feature.

'A cat or not, that is the question.' a man went to find his dog, then he climbet a tree, then peolpe saw him and thoght hes a cat, so some1 called the fire department and post a signal for a cat in danger, but when the fireguy tryed to take the kitty which is not a kitty down, he fell with it and died. then the cat found his dog and on the gravestone theyve written, 'Died of a cat, or not?'
 

TehPilot

Member
"Harry Plotter and the New Guy Fawkes" is a crime romance novel. Our hero decides to blow up the government with magic! But then he falls in love with a politician (who is dead at the point he falls in love with them). What exciting tales await you in the world of Harry Plotter?
Passes Rule 2, Rule 3-A, and Rule 4.
Mein Kampf is alright.
Passes Rule 1.
"Seinfeld's Surpise" is a hot romance novel about Jerry Seinfeld and his true affection for George Costanza. You may be thinking "What is wrong with you, why did you write this?" and the answer is it's a money laundering scheme and I expect my book to be pulped.
Passes none of the rules.
'A cat or not, that is the question.' a man went to find his dog, then he climbet a tree, then peolpe saw him and thoght hes a cat, so some1 called the fire department and post a signal for a cat in danger, but when the fireguy tryed to take the kitty which is not a kitty down, he fell with it and died. then the cat found his dog and on the gravestone theyve written, 'Died of a cat, or not?'
Passes none of the rules.
Just a guess!
Passes Rule 1.

(Am I allowed two guesses here?)
Nothing stopping you. Just don't spam the thread nonsensically. [Thumbs up emoji here.]
this game is actually very creative, i think if implemented right in a game wuld be a great feature.
I've given thought to writing something like a Discord bot that refreshes a random challenge list every and people can play that way. I mean, rule code for at least ten rules is already written, and I'm not stranger to chatbots, so who knows...

:squirrel:
 

Yokcos

Member
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Mercerenies

Member
"Something to do with quotes," Mercerenies said aloud, in that gruff voice that made it sound like he wanted to set everything in the room on fire just for lulz.
 

TehPilot

Member
This is my test book, (and this is a test description).
Passes no rules.
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Passes no rules.
Passes Rule 1.
"Something to do with quotes," Mercerenies said aloud, in that gruff voice that made it sound like he wanted to set everything in the room on fire just for lulz.
Passes Rule 4 and Rule 5.
 

Yokcos

Member
huh, I'd thought rule 3 was about length; A specifying a minimum length and B specifying a maximum. Apparently arbitrarily long/short pieces violate both halves of this rule
 

Lukasmah

Member
Okay, I feel like rule 4 might have something to do with quoting, but it's not as simple as quoting the book title as some posts that do that fail the rule. Of course, I could be completely wrong.
 

Mercerenies

Member
"How about this?" I agree that Rule 4 has to do with quotes. I thought Rule 1 had something to do with buzzwords, but after my last post didn't pass any rules I think that theory is more or less nixed.
 

TehPilot

Member
Okay, I feel like rule 4 might have something to do with quoting, but it's not as simple as quoting the book title as some posts that do that fail the rule. Of course, I could be completely wrong.
Passes Rule 2.
"How about this?" I agree that Rule 4 has to do with quotes. I thought Rule 1 had something to do with buzzwords, but after my last post didn't pass any rules I think that theory is more or less nixed.
Passes Rule 4.

If you two can agree on a rule to receive a hint for, I'll give you one. ;)
 

Mercerenies

Member
((I'm not quite ready for a hint yet. If Lukasmah is then that's cool but I feel like i could go on a bit longer.))

((@Lukasmah I think Rule 4 is something to the effect of: "Have a quotation of at least three words." Testing that proposition now.))

"The River" is a famous Bruce Springsteen album.
 

Lukasmah

Member
Honestly I'm awful at that game but damn it if I give up that easily.

Rule 1 might have something to do with brevity. Maybe it needs to contain a relatively short sentence?

Anyway, what I want tested is:

"The Tested Thing" is an excellent read.
 
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