Board 8 > How many prizes will I win at the fair?

(+) Yeah! (+)

WHOSE PRIZE IS IT ANYWAY

Where the rules are made up each year and the shoes don't matter.

BlueCrystalTear posted...

I presume they'd be fine with you parking there so long as you're a paying customer too. From what I gather that's saying "Don't park here for the fair if you're not gonna eat too."

I can now confirm this is correct.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/9/0/AABgm0AAE03C.jpg

Meet Thomas.

i

Thomassssssssss!

(Good work!)

Aw yeah, 2-4 looking good on the poll!

nah 2-4 be sweating after a 2 for 2 start. 5-9 feeling confident.

I'm counting on the staff changing the "prize limit" ruling to stop him.

He just needs to let them know he'll wait until it's crowded so more people will see him and think the game is possible for mere morals to win.

Went to the fair to win a mid-day prize in-between chores, no big deal.

I found out that restaurant does in fact allow parking there if you eat first. Their manager got me a printed piece of paper that probably didn't take a minute to create -- boom, parking pass. I had a seven dollar potato which seemed a little pricey, but when the alternative's $5-$20 parking? I am happy.

So I march into the fair and begin to go straight to the game, but I got turned around a few times. I saw the officer at the entrance eating and I thought it was Subway so I asked him about it. The wrapper was similar but he got a gas station hot dog. I asked him if he liked it, and the dude SWEARS by it -- very big fan, and he told me which gas station on which street it was too. I halfway want to check in again once that gas station hot dog passes through his digestive system, because I have fears that is the happiest he will be this weekend.

Then there was a dude with four bubble guns in his two hands and one of those big long dangly hats of Stitch on his head. His name was Walker. Walker was a man who told me about how he liked thin bubble liquid from his bubble liquid bottles instead of thick bubble liquid, a man who goes through multiple big long dangly hats of Stitch each year, a man who tried to sell me each of these for $20, a man who told me he usually sells them for $25 during the day and $20 at night even though it's basically lunch-time, and a man who cussed a whole bunch along the way for someone on the clock at a fair.

Another food-based turn-around happened after that when I saw there were deep-fried Oreos at one of the food-tents. I stopped, asked if the cook liked them, and was quickly dissuaded when he said that wasn't a good idea.

Because he has deep-fried cheesecake on a stick.

=O

He lifted this pre-packaged slice from the freezer, and we both knew I was sold. A ten dollar upsell later, the guy was right -- it was awesome to have something that tasty go from hot to cold. I ate about three fourths of it before I concede this cannot be good for me. I heard a quote recently about trying to treat my body like a retirement account, and this was the first time I let that quote influence me. Nine out of ten doctors would recommend acting on the quote sooner and more often probably, but dangit the fair's in town.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/2/2/AABgm0AAE08O.jpg

My favorite spot in Monopoly: free parking.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/2/4/AABgm0AAE08Q.jpg

Free strawberries!

i will never understand deep fried sweets

they gross me out just thinking about them

Good news everybody: the holy land is still there. I had a fear they might take the game down after I found them yesterday -- nope. I also hoped they would have new prizes -- also nope.

Brock was there as well as the other game-runner and they were both celebratory even though Brock seemed a little weirder about seeing me again. Brock asked me for my name and I guilted him for not remembering from yesterday before telling him. The other game-runner asked me and she did not hear me say it from yesterday, so I didn't give her a hard time. I ask for her name and she tells me Kathy.

Let's talk about Brock and Kathy. First of all, I like them both -- most people I met who run this game are pretty cool, and these two seem like young people rounding out a summer job. Sometimes I think Brock is the responsible one because he refused to do three tries for ten dollars yesterday when I asked him about it while Kathy suggested the idea to me soon after...however, today I told him I want to do three tries for ten dollars and he said okay. Sometimes I think Brock is the insecure one, because I haven't seen him stand the bottle one time in two days and I don't like his two-hand attempts to hold the pole. This has not been countered with evidence yet. Kathy seems to care less about her job, but she can win the game and is having a lot more fun there.

They tell me their boss is coming in a minute so I offer to come back shortly -- but not before Brock asks for a piece of the deep-fried cheesecake. I start to break off a piece, and then he changes his mind. I walk away, mad at the amount of powdered sugar I didn't want that has since blown onto me from the wind. I dust myself off in the shade, trash my unnecessary calories I couldn't finish, and then I walk back for the rematch of the year.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/4/4/AABgm0AAE08k.jpg
Exclusive access.

It's time. I give ten bucks for three tries. He lines up three bottles like shots at a bar.

My first time was a miss, but a very close one. Got it my second try though!

Remember what I said about being unsure if Brock was the responsible one or not? Well, he wears a referee shirt with a referee whistle, and Kathy yesterday had to tell him to blow his whistle for me...and he did not seem enthused to oblige last night. Today, however, when it was just him and Kathy had stepped away for her break, Brock made no such effort. I wanted to ask him to blow his whistle, but like...come on, he doesn't want to and I don't *actually* want the sound of a whistle ten times in ten days. I just want what's mine: victory and everything that entails. Also, it felt like they were trying to warn me about the boss, so in that way he was already kind of a whistle blower today. I let it slide. He's working -- let him have that moment free this time.

Brock mentions money hasn't been good for them so far today. At no point do I apologize for my part on that. He says he's only made about twenty bucks so far from customers while Kathy's made about eighty bucks. I ask if that's pretty normal, and he says no. Apparently they tend to round out their totals to about $700 each night. Who else is instantly doing the math with me? That's about 140 attempts each night -- or up to about 210 attempts if they were all three-for-$10 deals. I didn't ask this time but I want to know about how many winners they have a day soon.

There's a teenage-couple beside me who see me holding my new prize -- the second time I've ever won this kind of blue snake in four years -- and they ask for advice. I offer what I can, but like...you can't just hear how to do it and then really be expected to do it. They get the bottle turned around and it's just over for them at that point even though Kathy yesterday said it can be done. I believe this must be very rare to be able to do, but I digress. I ask Brock to give my last of three tries to this couple since I only got to use two of them and Kathy gave Rys my two remaining tries, but Brock then eases back into responsibility saying he can't do that. I contemplate the humor of asking him to blow that whistle then, but I kept that to myself while I was there.

Time to go home, we're almost done.

When you have a big prize, bystanders talk around you and a lot of the time right at you about it. Someone shouted I had a huge snake, and I resisted using a previous retort I once had of "I get that a lot!"

I had an interesting stop though. Two girls walked right in my path and one asks what my snake's name was. I was unprepared but also thought it would be more fun to hear what they said, so I asked them what is the snake's name. They pause and smile, buying time to think...then the same girl said Thomas. We all agree this snake is Thomas, and then I continued walking back hoping that I was not soaking my sweat into Thomas's furry scaley skin too bad.

For the record, Thomas is as long as my vehicle and this is why I like the fair.

Maniac64 posted...

I'm counting on the staff changing the "prize limit" ruling to stop him.

This is the looming fear, yeah. Kathy said yesterday prizes would be for each day and not just one per fair, but the pillar doesn't say it like that -- it just says "prize limit." Would they defend her casual statement over their vague rule? They were both seemingly happy to see me today, but also maybe they won't always be so happy all week. Their boss was around which isn't exactly uncommon, but they did seem to want me away for that moment -- were they protecting me from the higher-up?

My thought's that we are ultimately fine...but that's what Bret Hart thought too, so I dunno.

Fuck yeah Thomas the snake.

Also day 3 hype.

Did my daily reps for practice and did the second best I've ever done: 29/30, meaning twenty-nine in a row.

My personal best came about a week ago: 36/37.

Both of these smoke the record I had before this year of 16/17.

Out of all my practice reps at home for normal bottle stands, today just put me at an even 80% success rate. Even if you also include my hard-mode backward bottles and ten-second challenges, I'm still at just over 66%.

Right now, my numbers at the fair are 2/5 -- 40%. Very small sample! But also I don't like it.

Calling my shot right here: getting it my first try today.

MZero posted...

i will never understand deep fried sweets

they gross me out just thinking about them

Maybe you haven't had them done right? That said, I don't think the Japanese are particularly into deep-frying, and you have to be particular when you're stateside, so... I guess that makes sense.

With deep-fried Oreos, it's best if they don't melt too much inside, because then it tastes like mush, not like Oreos. It's very tricky to do right. Deep-fried cheesecake sounds amazing though!

HaRRicH posted...

Brock mentions money hasn't been good for them so far today.

Maybe you can be good advertising for that. Maybe he's trying to plant a seed...? You make the game look easy, so that can attract people given their prizes.

Congrats on obliterating your old record! Hopefully you do get it your first shot. Don't let the pressure get to you.

Deep fried cheesecake sounds awesome but I wouldn't want a full slice.

A stunning development has happened. I am leaving the fair empty-handed. Details soon.

Oh no, did they flee town in fear of your skills

Ha! Looks like my prediction of 5-9 could come true? Or maybe he won a prize and gave it to an impoverished and/or cancer-stricken young one because Harrich is the best. I can't wait to see how this stunning development unfolds...

I have been banned from the holy land.

I arrived at the game, and it is hot today -- weather says eighty degrees but it feels much warmer, so I just came straight here this time. Nobody is at the game -- eerie. I wait around a minute to study their platforms before a new employee named Summer arrives. She explains the rules to me and I pay five dollars to try one time. I asked Summer to show me how to play, and she said she's just subbing in for another employee until they return. Cool, I'm on it.

I start to raise the bottle up, and then Kathy walks in. I dropped the bottle, failing the calling of my shot earlier. Summer leaves and so does my pride. I get my wallet back out to play again.

That's when it happened: Kathy ambushed me with a refund and hands me my previous five dollars back. She regrets to inform me her boss is aware of me, and now I cannot play anymore.

</3

We all know I know how to play the game at this point, so no point in being coy anymore. I drop the facade and get real.

It feels so weird that they can ban people for being too good at the games.

Especially if they aren't doing something like playing/winning for other people.

Maniac64 posted...

It feels so weird that they can ban people for being too good at the games.

Especially if they aren't doing something like playing/winning for other people.

Yeah that's pretty nonsense. I mean I could see a ban if you were repeatedly winning the same day but at least give one prize.

I wonder if you had spaced it out over more days it would have been less suspicious.

Same guy winning 2 days in a row who talks to them a lot is going to get back to their boss in conversation. If it had been spaced several days apart and you had been less chatty, maybe they are less likely to mention it

That being said, it's stupid they can ban you. I get it from a business perspective but they already have the odds stacked massively in their favor and they were already limiting you to a prize a day.

Time to train a protege!

Ya'll know I gave away all those prizes I won before. What was I planning for this year?

I wanted one to go to a close friend for a birthday gift, and I wanted one to go to a non-profit I've given to before that made $476 off one one of these stuffed animals before...but beyond that, what else? What's the big idea I had? Here was the goal:

Last year a close friend and an icon of my town suddenly passed away. It's been extremely bittersweet to see how much people banded together at the time of his passing, and we've been able to accomplish some truly exceptional things in his memory. Our biggest achievement in celebrating his life was getting an endowment in his name, so now high school seniors can apply for an annual scholarship every year. We also managed to get the city to write a letter of support for the scholarship, and we even got the county to write a proclamation to name his birthday after him each June. These were awesome and meaningful milestones honoring a very good man.

I was thinking about other ways to highlight him when an idea struck me: these stuffed animals would make a great fundraiser in pursuit of getting a billboard to celebrate my late friend's birthday next year. That's what I wanted to do, and I think seven or eight of these prizes would have been enough to do it.

So I tell Kathy this and she understands but says that's what her boss said. I ask if I can talk with her boss, and she expected him back later today but it would probably be awhile. I ask if I can leave my number for him, and she says her phone is dead...but then she offers me her number and tells me she will screenshot these for her boss when she charges her phone on her break.

I text her the context here -- which is kind of a lot, right. I've been playing low-key with my skills and am now having to reveal the positive thing I was intending to do with it with the skills I actually have, so like Lucy I have some 'splainin' to do. I explain my goal and what's been done for my late friend so far...and then I also address how I've been paying entry fees, playing other games, inviting friends, and encouraging others to play when I am nearby holding my prizes including Rys. I held off on explaining what I've done with previous years -- just kept it to here and now. We will see if that is enough.

Kathy and I are chatting while I text her all this. She tells me she's been working the fair for five years and has seen my kind at the fair before. We laugh. I asked her when she figured it out, and she said the first day. I asked her what the give-away was, and she can't name it exactly but she said it's something about my stance. I let her know I'm worried about coming back if they're going to charge me again, and she said she'd ask the boss to call or text me. One thing she mentioned was that coming in at night is better since there are more people around -- it just looks bad for them apparently when I do it in daylight with fewer people around...don't know if this is Kathy's thought or her boss's. I told her I could do that most of the remaining nights.

I called Rys when I got home and told him the news. "They banned me." We rolled.

So now we wait. This topic might be over, and it might not be over. Who knows.

HaRRicH posted...

I have been banned from the holy land.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

HaRRicH posted...

One thing she mentioned was that coming in at night is better since there are more people around -- it just looks bad for them apparently when I do it in daylight with fewer people around...don't know if this is Kathy's thought or her boss's. I told her I could do that most of the remaining nights.

I was gonna say that was probably part of it. At least doing it at night with a crowd, you work as an advertisement that it can be done.

You can see why I don't do carnival games. Not worth the bullshit.

Maybe, now that you've informed her of your noble intentions, you can cop a deal: You show people how easy it is by playing here and there and they give you another prize in exchange. You make it look perfectly doable, which to a newbie will get them to spend $10 to try it twice and fail. In other words: You're in on suckering others into it. Particularly at night when more people are around. You do that enough, they reward you when you draw in enough passerby.

*refreshes page*
HaRRicH posted...

I held off on explaining what I've done with previous years -- just kept it to here and now. We will see if that is enough.

Is this the same thing I was proposing...? lol

You're a great story teller! What a fun topic. I eagerly await updates and have my fingers crossed for you!

Shattered posted...

I wonder if you had spaced it out over more days it would have been less suspicious.

Same guy winning 2 days in a row who talks to them a lot is going to get back to their boss in conversation. If it had been spaced several days apart and you had been less chatty, maybe they are less likely to mention it

Absolutely valid. Counterpoint though:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/8/5/AABgm0AADql1.jpg

Can't get ten out of ten without going ten days.

Sent a follow-up text a few hours ago. No word at this time. Might text mid-week as a final follow-up but otherwise it's wait and see.

I've wondered if I got Kathy's number wrong, but I'm not going back just to check. I started watching Crazy Ex Girlfriend this weekend and that seems like behavior just an episode away. I shan't do it.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/5/8/AABgm0AAE1Ma.jpg

And so ends the legendary journey.

Shattered posted...

Time to train a protege!

Not thinking big enough.

Over the next year, assemble an Ocean's Eleven type crew filled with experts in each game at the fair. Then, next year, your crew rolls up to the fair... only after the first day you hang back. Let them return again, and when the Kathys of the fair are in a panic at how the rest of the crew are cleaning them up everywhere else, you head in while they're distracted and clean out your game.

or just shave your beard and go back now

NoHaiRRicH

Shattered posted...

Time to train a protege!

A protege sounds like a blast -- I used to make and give away these platforms and rods for little gifts, but unfortunately the people who got them never went on to do much with them besides my dad who already taught me how to play. In that way, he and I need to go together and I'll be his protege. =)

why do you limit it to just this one fair every year? Surely there are other fairs/festivals/carnivals within an hour's drive from you that go on throughout the year that might have this booth there.

Thorn posted...

Not thinking big enough.

None of ya'll are thinking big enough.

One of the biggest and most unfair things the carnival workers have to deal with is the underestimation of their intelligence. It's easy to joke about the reasons and write them off too fast...but when you talk with the people, you see real problems with that mindset. We're still talking about people of all ages and backgrounds travelling around to deal with the public most nights of each summer. Like when Kathy said she's seen my kind before, come on, she read me from my stance because that's what these people do. Cynically, it's a group of con artists on their home-turf, or more positively they're salespeople and entertainers who probably enjoy the people-watching aspects here...but in any of those perspectives, the point is they know how to read people.

Coming in every other day, shaving the beard...these things each help, kinda, but realistically they don't solve much after I stand a bottle and they size me up and down. They'll know. How much can I get away with talking before they recognize my voice? I can't just go in with the mime treatment and not set off some red flags, right? I'll have to talk. My wallet doesn't look like everybody else's either. Have any of you thought this through beyond the word "disguise?"

It's time to treat these people like the professionals that they are.

I have a fat suit.

this plan cannot fail !!

HaRRicH posted...

Have any of you thought this through beyond the word "disguise?"

excuse me. have you seen ocean's eleven? you go in there with george clooney, brad pitt, and matt damon and i think you're going to get results.

Okay I have bad news for those of you the fat suit baited. The implication that I would wear a fat suit to the fair is not happening.

It's hot.

Also that sounds legally dicey when they just banned me for the year. No me gusta -- shan't do it.

Shortly before the fair though, ideas of ways to be funny this year crossed my mind and I do have a fat suit. I thought about wearing that for my first day at the fair...then go back as my usual self for the next nine days looking totally different from the first day just to see if they ever catch on. That seemed like an interesting experiment. When thinking it through further, however, that feels less like Nathan For You and more like The Rehearsal.

Also it's hot.

Also-also I was meeting friends. That seemed like a weird thing to bring unannounced.

But still, I tried it on since it's been a long time.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/7/0/AABgm0AAE1Ua.jpg

I look like a rotisserie chicken, or if Meat Boy controlled a mecha.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/7/1/AABgm0AAE1Ub.jpg

Turns out I ain't really got much to fit it.

Looking great brother!