Search found 2444 matches

by naan/steak-holding toll
Fri Mar 08, 2024 9:05 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: Ancient/Medieval History balance
Replies: 6
Views: 1042

Re: Ancient/Medieval History balance

Totally with Mike here. For the non-Olds - back in 2014, it was normal for most tournaments to have 2/2 European history; US got 1/1 everything else got 1/1, with Canada/Australia/NZ ending up in European or World depending on the editor's preference. Marshall Steinbaum and I agreed when working on ...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Wed Mar 06, 2024 11:10 pm
Forum: Quizbowl History Forum
Topic: Greatest Upsets in Quizbowl History
Replies: 74
Views: 77815

Re: Greatest Upsets in Quizbowl History

Naveed beat myself and Jason Zhou at a history side event in 2017. This would typically just be a normal upset, as Naveed is a strong history player, but it was a tournament with disproportionate amounts of ancient history, so it was a quite a solid one. The reason this fits in "greatest,"...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Sun Feb 11, 2024 1:41 am
Forum: Collegiate Announcements & Results
Topic: ESPN @ Columbia (Open)
Replies: 13
Views: 3751

Re: ESPN @ Columbia (Open)

Provided I don't end up having other plans, I'll happily play TELEOLOGY as well.
by naan/steak-holding toll
Fri Feb 02, 2024 4:31 pm
Forum: Collegiate Announcements & Results
Topic: Clarke Memorial Tournament - Fall 2024, 3 Dot
Replies: 5
Views: 736

Re: Clarke Memorial Tournament - Fall 2024, 3 Dot

Would love if this were open, playing short questions online (as any playtest mirror, if it exists, would likely be) isn't the most ideal. I'd happily pay a higher fee for the privilege and it seems like a good way to generate more revenue for these charities.

Are there 15s?
by naan/steak-holding toll
Fri Feb 02, 2024 2:19 am
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2024 ACF Regionals Discussion
Replies: 54
Views: 7061

Re: 2024 ACF Regionals Discussion

Scatterrshot thoughts on many areas, with some lessons learned about what today's field seems to know, based on looking at the detailed stats: A lot of answers that used to be fairly run-of-the-mill, common bonus parts when I was an up-and-coming player (2013-16 era) have crept up to hard part diffi...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Wed Jan 31, 2024 2:15 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2024 ACF Regionals Discussion
Replies: 54
Views: 7061

Re: 2024 ACF Regionals Discussion

More insights from advanced stats later, but I wanted to respond to one comment in particular: Bezbozhnik is probably too linguistically fraudable as a clue for state atheism as a hard part (this was discussed in playtesting but still made it into the set), considering it is doable from knowing very...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:17 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2024 ACF Regionals Discussion
Replies: 54
Views: 7061

Re: 2024 ACF Regionals Discussion

Glad to see some new posters in this thread! I'm particularly glad that the Oxford Movement question was enjoyed in the UK. Newman and friends used to come up a lot more about a decade ago, but have fallen out of the canon recently, and Anglicanism in general doesn't come up much; I felt that turnin...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Mon Jan 29, 2024 2:18 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2024 ACF Regionals Discussion
Replies: 54
Views: 7061

Re: 2024 ACF Regionals Discussion

Not sure about cluing being on the walls of Troy and being at the gates of Troy as the same location - you also need a prompt on "Scaean Gates" for the Helen clue Noted on the specific gate (I'd probably just accept it). Aren't gates usually part of walls, though - is that particularly co...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Mon Jan 29, 2024 10:59 am
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2024 ACF Regionals Discussion
Replies: 54
Views: 7061

Re: 2024 ACF Regionals Discussion

I'm not sure what specific instructions I'd want to give for "High Church Anglicanism" - that seems like a pretty straightforward superset/subset prompt, as the Oxford Movement is a specific high-church movement, and I think the tossup's clues heavily implied such. However, I definitely ag...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Mon Jan 29, 2024 4:57 am
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2024 ACF Regionals Discussion
Replies: 54
Views: 7061

Re: 2024 ACF Regionals Discussion

Hi all! I edited US History, Painting/Sculpture, Myth, and Abrahamic Religion for this tournament. Having been around the block a few times in all of these areas, my goals with each of these categories were fairly modest. In general, I just wanted to produce high quality, fairly controlled but still...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Mon Jan 29, 2024 4:30 am
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2024 ACF Regionals: General Thanks
Replies: 5
Views: 1753

Re: 2024 ACF Regionals: General Thanks

Had a blast working on this set. I'd like to thank Eve first and foremost for being - in addition to a great editor in general and thoughtful commenter with a lot of actionable suggestions - a proactive head editor and project manager who kept all of us on track and did regular check-ins with the va...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Fri Dec 22, 2023 2:59 am
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2023 ARCADIA General Discussion
Replies: 14
Views: 1672

Re: 2023 ARCADIA General Discussion

I'd call this set three dots, with a small asterisk. The asterisk comes in large part from (1) divergent writing styles (2) somewhat more generous early cluing than we've come to expect from some three-dot sets. In many ways I feel like it turned out similarly to 2020 IKEA - the lit was probably the...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Sun Dec 03, 2023 11:28 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2023 ARCADIA General Discussion
Replies: 14
Views: 1672

Re: 2023 ARCADIA General Discussion

My overall perception of the set was similar to Richard's. I'm glad that this tournament continues to not shy away from using canonical mid-power clues and the lead-ins seemed quite knowable as well. A lot of the stylistic and content trends were carried over from previous editions of ARCADIA as wel...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Sun Dec 03, 2023 11:09 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2023 ARCADIA Specific Question Discussion
Replies: 13
Views: 853

Re: 2023 ARCADIA Specific Question Discussion

I'm going to borrow the Eric Mukherjee/Mike Bentley style of running notes on the packets I played: - Packet 1 - What a choice of tossup to lead off with! I get that you're talking about fixed cost as an aggregate quantity, but I think it's worth accounting for the fact that fixed costs are usually ...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Sun Dec 03, 2023 9:24 pm
Forum: Collegiate Announcements & Results
Topic: 2023 Arcadia at Claremont (12/2/23)
Replies: 1
Views: 1374

Re: 2023 Arcadia at Claremont (12/2/23)

Stats for this tournament are now available.
by naan/steak-holding toll
Thu Nov 23, 2023 6:12 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: How many "cooks" is "too many cooks" (when producing a set)?
Replies: 5
Views: 2860

Re: How many "cooks" is "too many cooks" (when producing a set)?

Fourthly, I do think we should gently encourage a certain amount of "grip it and rip it," especially for lower level collegiate tournaments. I remember my second MUT, I was told I was going to be the literature editor. Surprise! And some of my questions were originally pretty poor. Now, I...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Mon Nov 13, 2023 2:24 pm
Forum: Collegiate Announcements & Results
Topic: 2024 IQBT Undergraduate Championship - Congrats to Cornell!
Replies: 44
Views: 14569

Re: 2024 IQBT Undergraduate Championship - Columbia U (NYC) - 3/2-3/3/24

Given that this tournament costs more to attend than ACF Nationals, with few opportunities for discounts, I might suggest online alternatives to canceling?
by naan/steak-holding toll
Thu Sep 07, 2023 2:28 am
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: “Questions based on Wikipedia links Ophir sent me” Discussion
Replies: 3
Views: 3446

Re: “Questions based on Wikipedia links Ophir sent me” Discussion

All tournaments should have history distributions inspired by Ophir.
by naan/steak-holding toll
Mon Aug 21, 2023 2:16 pm
Forum: Collegiate Announcements & Results
Topic: Age of Empires II (Actually, this time!)
Replies: 2
Views: 1237

Re: Age of Empires II (Actually, this time!)

I am super excited for this. Also, in the Theology/Philosophy/Thought distribution, does the Western subdistribution encompass Byzantine and Islamic thought, or is it more focused on the Latin West? "Christian thought" might be a better label for how the distribution is currently shaping ...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Sun Aug 20, 2023 8:33 pm
Forum: Collegiate Announcements & Results
Topic: Age of Empires II (Actually, this time!)
Replies: 2
Views: 1237

Age of Empires II (Actually, this time!)

I'm pleased to announce that Ankit Aggarwal and I have resumed work on Age of Empires II, a side event that will be available next year (targeting Spring/Summer). This tournament's subject material will cover the period between 500 and 1500 A.D. in keeping with its namesake game. The goal is to imit...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Tue Aug 15, 2023 11:44 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2023 Chicago Open - General Discussion and Thanks
Replies: 41
Views: 19530

Re: 2023 Chicago Open - General Discussion and Thanks

Playing on a team with John Lawrence, I did not get many opportunities to answer classical music questions at this tournament and was very hesitant to buzz when they did crop up. One thing I did notice, though, was that the tossups felt like they emphasized "being in the music world," musi...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Wed Aug 09, 2023 3:04 am
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2023 Chicago Open - General Discussion and Thanks
Replies: 41
Views: 19530

Re: 2023 Chicago Open - General Discussion and Thanks

I definitely agree with Andrew that I prefer open tournaments to actually use the latitude that they're given. People who sign up for CO know what they're getting and getting a healthy serving of hard answers, or not-necessarily-hard-but-unlikely-elsewhere answers, is part of the magic of the tourna...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Mon Aug 07, 2023 4:10 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2023 Chicago Open - Specific Question Discussion
Replies: 17
Views: 7885

Re: 2023 Chicago Open - Specific Question Discussion

As usual, CO social science delivered a wide range of fresh and interesting concepts. Somehow I don't think I've heard a tossup on portfolios before in quizbowl, so that was a nice approach to well-trodden financial topics; I do think it could have spent a bit more time describing the portfolio sepa...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Mon Aug 07, 2023 8:12 am
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2023 Chicago Open - Stories and Favorite Moments
Replies: 3
Views: 3861

Re: 2023 Chicago Open - Stories and Favorite Moments

At lunch, I was speaking about Age of Empires II e-sports with Ankit Aggarwal. To our immense surprise, John Lawrence understood what we were talking about based on player names alone (DauT, Hera, etc.) A couple of rounds later, our team got the trebuchet bonus and I swiftly 30d, giddily noting that...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Fri Jun 30, 2023 7:51 pm
Forum: Collegiate Announcements & Results
Topic: 2023 NASAT @ Columbia (Open)
Replies: 11
Views: 4174

Re: 2023 NASAT @ Columbia (Open)

Seeking teammates, especially ones who know science of various sorts.
by naan/steak-holding toll
Fri Jun 23, 2023 3:27 am
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: Should ACF tossups be shorter?
Replies: 30
Views: 12507

Re: Should ACF tossups be shorter?

Some context is due regarding my comment about editing DEES in 2014. Naturally, I was a less experienced editor at the time and also a player heavily focused on memorizing discrete facts and clue-connections; I was also primarily a history and beliefs player. These are categories that, like all othe...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Wed Jun 21, 2023 1:26 am
Forum: Miscellaneous Quizbowl
Topic: Geoword
Replies: 29
Views: 11334

Re: Geoword

Strongly agree with Ryan. For D1, I think tougher answers in particular are a wise choice given the format. Beterword-style formats excessively reward conservative play, since you get at least 10 for waiting until the end, but nothing if you get it wrong anywhere; this is different from normal quizb...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Tue Jun 20, 2023 12:15 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: Should ACF tossups be shorter?
Replies: 30
Views: 12507

Re: Should ACF tossups be shorter?

Seven lines seems like plenty to me at most difficulty levels. If cutting lines also meant more games, then I could see a good case for making Winter and Regs into six line affairs. I recall editing DEES in 2014 and not having too much of a an issue making six line regular difficulty questions, thou...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Thu Jun 15, 2023 9:30 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: Reworking the History Distribution
Replies: 13
Views: 6911

Re: Reworking the History Distribution

With regards to the history distribution, I think we're mostly in a good spot but could do with a few tweaks that would hopefully nudge writers towards closing a lot of existing blind spots. I'd advocate: Putting British/Irish history inside Euro - not sure how consistently this is done across tourn...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Wed Jun 14, 2023 3:43 am
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: The Direction of ACF Winter
Replies: 4
Views: 4844

Re: The Direction of ACF Winter

I recall reacting to 2020 ACF Winter with the impression that the set's tossups were on-point, or even a wee a bit tough at times compared to what I expected, while the bonuses could have stood to be a smidge harder but it wasn't the end of the world. Glancing over a few packets now, I would stand b...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Mon Jun 05, 2023 11:35 pm
Forum: Quizbowl History Forum
Topic: Greatest High School Quiz Bowl Players Ever
Replies: 15
Views: 9031

Re: Greatest High School Quiz Bowl Players Ever

If we treat "skill as a three- or four-dot player while still in high school" as a metric something like "most able to scale to arbitrarily high difficulties," Tommy Casalaspi was obviously on a different plane than everyone else when it came to reading, writing, and buzzing on ...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Sun May 07, 2023 2:57 am
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: Five Questions I Liked From 2023 ACF Nationals — And Five I Didn’t
Replies: 7
Views: 4702

Re: Five Questions I Liked From 2023 ACF Nationals — And Five I Didn’t

Personally I'm a fan of the Burckhardt question - sure, quotes from long books aren't always ideal clues, but I think this one was well chosen (even if I mis-remembered where it was from and negged with Huizinga in playtesting). For a better buzz curve it might have been better off as a common link ...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Fri Apr 28, 2023 3:17 am
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2022-2023 End of Season Player Poll
Replies: 22
Views: 12494

Re: 2022-2023 End of Season Player Poll

I'll beat a dead horse and say vote for Itamar, though this time I don't think folks will need as much convincing.
by naan/steak-holding toll
Mon Apr 24, 2023 9:31 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2023 ACF Nationals Specific Question Discussion
Replies: 53
Views: 50704

Re: 2023 ACF Nationals Specific Question Discussion

Seconded on the 1967 tossup. Both myself and my teammate realized from the third line that it was cluing the long, hot summer, but neither of us seemed to remember if it was in 1967 or 1968 (and I did eventually neg with 1968). I'm not sure how well it would have played, but perhaps just tossing up...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Sun Apr 16, 2023 1:52 am
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2023 BHSU: General discussion
Replies: 35
Views: 14529

Re: 2023 BHSU: General discussion

I see Other Academic as a healthy "wheel of fortune" category, in that it varies a lot from tournament to tournament and that's part of what makes it fun. Other Academic is a great outlet for the editor/writers to put their personal interests on paper and dredge up clues/topics that quizbo...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Sun Apr 02, 2023 8:35 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: Where are you going next year? (Collegiate 2023)
Replies: 12
Views: 9232

Re: Where are you going next year? (Collegiate 2023)

Not exactly collegiate, but I'm ~99% sure that I'm moving back to New York this year, likely close to winter. Will happily staff a few local events (yay, not having to drive!) and look forward to playing opens here.
by naan/steak-holding toll
Tue Mar 14, 2023 8:28 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2023 BHSU: Specific question discussion
Replies: 59
Views: 35956

Re: 2023 BHSU: Specific question discussion

Strictly speaking, the Khmer empire was not confined to present-day Cambodia and included substantial parts of present-day Thailand, as well as parts of today's Myanmar and Vietnam, at its height. I see what the writer is trying to get at but unless we can show that the oldest prang are from sites i...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Tue Feb 28, 2023 1:11 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2023 BHSU: Specific question discussion
Replies: 59
Views: 35956

Re: 2023 BHSU: Specific question discussion

I'd definitely agree that this set's difficulty really shouldn't be beefed up much. I'd like more tournaments to be at this "classic MO" level. To use the “internet service” example Matt and Will brought up, I’ll embarrass myself and admit I have no idea why “balloons” + “remote areas” cou...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Mon Feb 27, 2023 2:29 am
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2023 BHSU: Specific question discussion
Replies: 59
Views: 35956

Re: 2023 BHSU: Specific question discussion

Also, re: the "elevation" tossup, I too was planning to neg that with "salinity" when a teammate buzzed in first and got it right. Flamingos, generally, are known for living in highly-saline bodies of water. Thankfully Mike buzzed and got this right as well, but I was unsure wha...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Mon Feb 27, 2023 2:04 am
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2023 BHSU: Favorite questions/clues/buzzes/moments
Replies: 21
Views: 4028

Re: 2023 BHSU: Favorite questions/clues/buzzes/moments

Probably my favorite buzz of the tournament was inexplicably recognizing the quotation of an Akan proverb that was used in the lead-in of the Ghana tossup. I was pretty miserable playing most of this event (not because of the questions, mind you) but that brightened up my day. The other tossup highl...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Sun Feb 26, 2023 4:47 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2023 BHSU: General discussion
Replies: 35
Views: 14529

Re: 2023 BHSU: General discussion

I'll probably have some more thoughts later, but one positive aspect of this tournament I wanted to immediately highlight was its length control. Tossups were certainly shorter than events at similar levels and bonuses didn't amble on for particularly long. I don't think this created many buzzer rac...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Sun Feb 05, 2023 2:50 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: Who's Doing CO This Year?
Replies: 31
Views: 8225

Re: Who's Doing CO This Year?

Second everything Matt said.
by naan/steak-holding toll
Sat Feb 04, 2023 3:46 am
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2023 ACF Regionals Discussion
Replies: 27
Views: 8103

Re: 2023 ACF Regionals Discussion

Without getting deep into the details, I wanted to be sure to say how much I loved this edition of Regs, which I think is, in the categories I feel I also have to say that I really enjoy what seems to me to be Nick Jensen's signature geographical/cultural/"world" flavor that seasons most ...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Tue Jan 31, 2023 5:28 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2023 ACF Regionals Discussion
Replies: 27
Views: 8103

Re: 2023 ACF Regionals Discussion

From playing over this set on QBreader, I generally agree with the comments that the bonuses were on the whole well-thought out and generally had reasonably gettable hard parts. In fact, this set might have been my favorite set of myth bonuses ever. . What struck me as negative was how hard a lot of...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Fri Dec 23, 2022 4:08 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: The Winningest Quizbowl Team of "All Time"
Replies: 9
Views: 3355

Re: The Winningest Quizbowl Team of "All Time"

Interestingly, despite all of their hype and prestige, no Ivy League schools appear in the top five of the wins list (Columbia is the highest of the eight).
victory
by naan/steak-holding toll
Mon Dec 05, 2022 6:05 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2022 CMST II at UC Berkeley (December 17th 2022)
Replies: 8
Views: 3586

Re: 2022 CMST II at UC Berkeley (December 17th 2022)

As much as in person play is superior, the audience doesn't really seem there right now and it's not the most convenient time for traveling. I'd personally prefer this to be converted to an online event to draw a larger crowd.
by naan/steak-holding toll
Wed Nov 30, 2022 9:03 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: Editors, please TRIM your bonuses
Replies: 9
Views: 3874

Re: Editors, please TRIM your bonuses

If you're going to write a long bonus part, do so first and foremost for a reason that enhances the play experience (not studying experience) for that bonus part. I'd separate these reasons into two broad categories: Technical: Adding more words/clues makes your bonus part easier for the target audi...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Mon Nov 14, 2022 9:32 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2022 ACF Winter – Specific Question Discussion
Replies: 20
Views: 5363

Re: 2022 ACF Winter – Specific Question Discussion

Agreed that "site" is totally fine for the Aswan tossup. I think it's a good idea, but the writing seems a clue or two too hard for this level IMO. If I had to guess, Abu Simbel probably falls within the realm of "things that many people will visually recognize easily, but may not kno...
by naan/steak-holding toll
Tue Nov 08, 2022 4:29 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: We Need to Make Up Our Minds About Trash
Replies: 27
Views: 8898

Re: We Need to Make Up Our Minds About Trash

Maybe I don't know any trash I'm too much of a purist, but to me a dedicated pop culture distribution cuts into part of what makes mACF quizbowl unique. It's a competition focused on academic subject matter and "high culture," with ample distributional space to 1) treat these areas appropr...