c4countdown

Well, for those of you who've heard already, I said that more details would follow, but I can now properly announce the first ever Countdown event in Milton Keynes. Or as I'm calling it, .co.mk.

I've been saying I'll do one of these for some time, and finally, with some help from Ben Wilson, it's happening. So first things first, the basics.

Date: Saturday August 22nd 2015
Time: Doors open at 10:30, Round 1 draw at 11:00, Games start at 11:15, Whole thing should be wrapped up by 7pm at the absolute latest.
Venue: Upstairs of The New Queen Victoria pub, Wolverton, Milton Keynes, MK12 5JN
Price: £15
The tournament itself will be a slight variation on things that have gone before. Players will play 9 rounders in pairs from one set of letters at the front, Bristol style. However in order to sort out one of the main gripes with that, numbers will be slightly different. Rather than one person picking the numbers for the whole room, the player whose turn it would be to pick the numbers within their own game, will still have that choice. When they've chosen, 5 numbers rounds will be shown, 1 of each available choice with one common target. This should allow people to play tactically within their own game, whilst the matching letters rounds should mean that the maxes of games shouldn't deviate too much.

Each player will play 9 9-rounders over the course of the day, with a 9-round final for the top 2 players over those 9 games, the winner of which will take home the inaugural .co.mk title!

The venue itself is in Wolverton which is the next train station on from Milton Keynes if you're coming from London on a London Midland service, or the one before coming from Birmingham. It's around a 5-10 minute drive from the centre of MK and it's also well linked from MK train station via bus. It is up some stairs, which might seem an odd choice from me, but it was preferable to having to hike the entry fee right up.

With regards to accommodation, I would advise perhaps using the Travelodge in the centre of Milton Keynes. It's right on the doorstep of MK train station, not too expensive, and if Friday night stayers were organised, you could probably split a cab to the venue for a quid or 2 each should you not wish to take the bus. There are many other hotels available in the area though with a range of prices.

Ben is kindly handling the finances for me so I can get rid of the bit that I'm not so good at, so payments to be made via paypal to hulla.mahulla@btopenworld.com................................................... if you'd be so kind. Please put a note in the notes box about it being .co.mk that you're paying for please, as he's also taking payments for Nottingham.

Hope to see you all there!

Z

Confirmed entries (52):

Ben Wilson
James Robinson
Dylan Taylor
Phil Collinge
SJ
Alan Young
Heather Styles
Jamie McNeill
Callum Todd
Adam Curran
Jen Steadman
Phyl Styles
Alan Styles
Adam Dexter
Lucy Westwood
Thomas Cappleman
Eddy Byrne
Ryan Taylor
Michelle Nevitt
Jack Worsley
Paul Worsley
Graeme Cole
Dan McColm
Andy Platt
Mark Davies
Gevin Chapwell
Chris Marshall
Mark Murray
Tracey Mills
Mark Mills
Catriona Cappleman
Mauro Pratesi
Natasha Pratesi
James Rowan
Thomas Carey
Stewart Gordon
Tony Atkins
Jamie Ilett-Jones
Giles Hutchings
Kevin Davis
Rob Foster
Matty Artell
Zubair Patel
Paul Erdunast
Anthony Endsor
Julie McCarthy
Matthew Brockwell
James Wilson
Jonathan Wynn
Ned Pendleton
Rhys Benjamin
Oli Moore

Count me in! I've confirmed and its the week before the great Scottish Swim so I can make it! Payment sent!

A quick note:

The interest in the buffet option has been incredibly minimal. To this end, it doesn't seem viable to ask them to put on a spread at this stage. This option has therefore been taken off the table (pardon the pun)

For the 2 people who paid in advance for the buffet, you will receive a £5 refund in due course

We are in Mark and Tracey Mills, train tickets booked paying Ben in Nottingham event....

Feel like I've not done too much plugging here - but it's been a great thing that I haven't really needed to. I mean seriously guys - 31 already, and there's still another 26 days to go! Quality stuff

Let's see if we can get it closer to 40

Find ourselves free on Saturday 22nd !! Jessica not so keen as she has a resit exam on Monday at Brimingham Uni, but youngest Natasha is. Obviously I'd like to come too.

Buffet is off you say ? Boo! Will have wanted some of that. Tasha is only 17 though. Will that be a problem as it is in a pub?

Will pay Ben once know these bits - probably tomorrow.

Thanks, Mauro

Can't foresee there being any issue with a 17 year old, Mauro - this place seems to do wedding receptions etc. so there's bound to be far younger around for those. Just advise her not to be a boozehound to be safe

Buffet had to be taken off, I'm afraid. A minimum uptake was required, and 2 out of about the first 15 wanted it, so felt there was no chance of hitting. Nothing to stop you ordering a bite at the venue, or at one of the eateries in the vicinity though

Zarte Siempre wrote:Can't foresee there being any issue with a 17 year old, Mauro - this place seems to do wedding receptions etc. so there's bound to be far younger around for those. Just advise her not to be a boozehound to be safe

Buffet had to be taken off, I'm afraid. A minimum uptake was required, and 2 out of about the first 15 wanted it, so felt there was no chance of hitting. Nothing to stop you ordering a bite at the venue, or at one of the eateries in the vicinity though

Thanks Zarte, money sent to Ben, see you in three weeks

Mauro

I'm in - money sent to Ben.

What's the recommendation for parking? Does it have a car park or is parking on streets nearby possible?

Parking on streets nearby CAN be possible.

When I looked into this for someone else though, it seemed to suggest that the best place to part in Wolverton was in the Tesco car park which is a short walk from the venue

If there was anyone here who isn't on Facebook who was still coming, please don't pay. I have had to close entries, as this has been way more successful (in terms of turnout) than I ever thought possible. Apologies if this applies to you, however, next time, try paying quicker

Hmmm, looked at the venue on Google, and the on street parking I zoomed in on was one hour only Mon to Sat.
Supermarket car parks tend to be max 2 or 3 hours.
However, this review link http://whatpub.com/pubs/BUN/1888/new-qu ... -wolverton does say there's a public car park nearby.
Starting to have misgivings, as if I can't park really close, and so would need to use my mobility scooter, I'd have to leave it somewhere as the event is upstairs.
Thanks for raising the point, Tony.

OK Julie - obviously understand if it's logistically difficult for you - let me know if it's definitely going to be a problem and I'll make sure you're reimbursed

Hi. I've actually already spoken to the venue and they advised there's free parking opposite all day in a car park.

Is anyone getting the train from London tomorrow (Friday)? If so, what time?

Thanks, Adam, for the parking info,

I should be fine then, especially as my daughter's coming with me (not playing) and can help. I really should encourage her to learn to drive - being able to drop me off and park would solve a lot of problems!
I'm also a bit nervous I suppose, as I don't often travel more than half an hour's drive from home these days.

Thanks for the offer of refund Zarte, but I'm looking forward to Saturday.

Great to hear Hope everything works out well

Note to those driving to the event, I have some local knowledge:

DO NOT *NOT* /NOT\ park in the Glyn Square car park - they have a camera on the entrance and exit, and if you stay there longer than 90 minutes they will charge you £60.

Thanks, Zarte,

Looks like your original suggestion of Tesco, Wolverton is correct. I phoned them up, and the guy who answered initially assumed there was a 3 hour restriction, but looked it up on the system and said there wasn't. He checked with the manager who said they don't recommend all-day parking (well, they wouldn't!), but there's no actual rule against it. We intend making a few purchases (it's open til midnight on Sat) to make it fairer.

It's a 3 min walk from the venue:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Wolve ... 625171!3e2

If for some reason you get a ticket, only councils can issue enforceable Penalty Charge Notices.
Parking Charge Notices from private car parks (who also can't clamp anymore) are unenforceable in law - I successfully used the following link after getting a ticket in a hospital car park:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclai ... ng-tickets

I did think that that was the case, but thanks for corroborating, Julie

The winner of this should be called the Co.mk Don.

Charlie Reams wrote:The winner of this should be called the Co.mk Don.

Don Dylan Taylor then (8 wins 509 points, then winning the final 61-71).
Second was James Robinson (7 wins 502 points, then losing finalist).
3rd was James Rowan and 4th Jack Worsley.

Thomas Carey won the Beater's Raffle and Graeme Cole the best made-up 9 prize (for GROMITCUE).

Thanks go to Zarte and his Rachel (aka Innis), and also part-time assistantants e.g. Mark Deeks.

[Edit 3rd/4th corrected - note it took 3 conundrums to decide the winner of the final - it would have
been 71-61 if you were looking at the players from the front and not from the audience.]

Tony Atkins wrote:

Charlie Reams wrote:The winner of this should be called the Co.mk Don.

Don Dylan Taylor then (8 wins 509 points, then winning the final 61-71).
Second was James Robinson (7 wins 502 points, then losing finalist).
3rd was Jack Worsley and 4th James Rowan.

Thomas Carey won the Beater's Raffle and Graeme Cole the best made-up 9 prize (for GROMITCUE).

Thanks go to Zarte and his Rachel (aka Innis), and also part-time assistantants e.g. Mark Deeks.

Wrong way round, but I don't mind being third.

Tony Atkins wrote:

Charlie Reams wrote:The winner of this should be called the Co.mk Don.

Don Dylan Taylor then (8 wins 509 points, then winning the final 61-71).

Otherwise known as winning the final 71-61.

Gavin Chipper wrote:

Tony Atkins wrote:

Charlie Reams wrote:The winner of this should be called the Co.mk Don.

Don Dylan Taylor then (8 wins 509 points, then winning the final 61-71).

Otherwise known as winning the final 71-61.

If you must be picky, it was 71*-61.

Graeme Cole wrote:

Gavin Chipper wrote:

Tony Atkins wrote:Don Dylan Taylor then (8 wins 509 points, then winning the final 61-71).

Otherwise known as winning the final 71-61.

If you must be picky, it was 71*-61.

Might it have even been 71**-61?

Anyway, thank you to Zarte and Innis for organising this event. I thought it was very well run. I think Zarte seemed a bit worried things might go wrong, especially with so many expectant players. But I thought it all ran very smoothly and I really enjoyed myself, and I'd go again. It was also really good to see so many people in the Wetherspoons on both the Friday and Saturday evenings.

Unfortunately I didn't get to experience the Wetherspoons breakfast on either Saturday or Sunday because I did the Milton Keynes parkrun on Saturday (where were the rest of you?) and had to go early on Sunday to watch the Belgian GP (obviously).

Also, unlike other people, I'm posting this on c4c rather than in a post on Facebook where it will just get lost into the labyrinth that is Facebook.

STANDINGS

Players are ranked by wins, then points.
Draws count as half a win.

P W D Pts
1 Dylan Taylor 8 8 0 509
2 James Robinson 8 7 0 502
3 James Rowan 8 7 0 474
4 Jack Worsley 8 6 0 497
5 Thomas Cappleman 8 6 0 467
6 Michelle Nevitt 8 6 0 449
7 Paul Erdunast 8 6 0 444
8 Jen Steadman 8 5 1 473
9 Dan McColm 8 5 0 514
10 Giles Hutchings 8 5 0 508
11 Callum Todd 8 5 0 483
11 Rob Foster 8 5 0 483
13 Matthew Brockwell 8 5 0 462
14 Andy Platt 8 5 0 445
15 Jonathan Wynn 8 5 0 442
16 Tracey Mills 8 5 0 437
17 Oli Moore 8 5 0 406
18 Jamie Ilett-Jones 8 5 0 395
19 Alan Young 8 5 0 379
20 Julie McCarthy 8 5 0 364
21 Graeme Cole 8 4 1 451
22 Heather Styles 8 4 1 380
23 Phyl Styles 8 4 1 373
24 Thomas Carey 8 4 0 443
25 Ben Wilson 8 4 0 441
26 Paul Worsley 8 4 0 436
27 Catriona Cappleman 8 4 0 415
28 Mark Murray 8 4 0 412
29 Anthony Endsor 8 3 2 388
30 Ryan Taylor 8 3 1 427
31 Matty Artell 8 3 1 388
32 Gevin Chapwell 8 3 1 387
33 Adam Dexter 8 3 1 371
34 Zubair Patel 8 3 0 403
35 Mark Davies 8 3 0 391
36 Eddy Byrne 8 2 2 389
37 Kevin Davis 8 3 0 358
38 James Wilson 8 3 0 339
39 Chris Marshall 8 3 0 335
40 Alan Styles 8 3 0 334
41 SJ 8 3 0 285
42 Stewart Gordon 8 2 1 380
43 Phil Collinge 8 2 1 359
44 Adam Curran 8 2 0 370
45 Tony Atkins 8 2 0 367
46 Natasha Pratesi 8 2 0 329
47 Rhys Benjamin 8 2 0 285
48 Lucy Westwood 8 2 0 234
49 Mauro Pratesi 8 1 0 277
50 Mark Mills 8 0 0 189
51 Apterous Prune 3 0 0 0
51 Apterous Prunier 3 0 0 0

It did not help me having no sleep night before at all was shattered, embarring score for me so from now on its back to watching... still enjoyed the day though.

Countdown recap for Saturday 22 August 2015.

Three weeks on an no one has recapped the final yet. I hope you don't mind.

C1: James Robinson (7/8 wins, 502 points.) His second co-event final this year and seventh (?) overall. Looking to win his fourth and first for over three years.
C2: Dylan Taylor (8/8 wins, 509 points.) His second consecutive co-event final, his fourth overall and first against someone other than myself. Can he make it a hat-trick of victories? He has got here by impressively winning all eight of his heats, just don't mention who the last of them was against.
DC: Zarte Siempre, Innis Carson, Mark Deeks.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: A A E U G R T S B
R02: G T L H O U E S P
R03: A O A E L M N N E
R04: 10, 5, 7, 1, 4, 8. Target: 829.
R05: A O U E A X N D N
R06: S M B T R E U E E
R07: A I O R N J S T D
R08: 100, 50, 7, 6, 4, 2. Target: 507.
R09: C O N A N D O M K (conundrum)


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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: A A E U G R T S B

James: GATEAUS (7)
Dylan: BAUERAS (7)
OT: ABREAST (7) RATBAGS (7) TEABAGS (7)
Score: 7–7 (max 7)

For two players who have made the final of a co-event with such a strong field, this opening round isn't much of a challenge.

Round 2: G T L H O U E S P

James: PLOUGHS (7)
Dylan: PLOUGHS (7)
DC: TUPELOS (7) PUTLOGS (7)
Score: 14–14 (max 14)

This one isn't much better as they both PLOUGH their way to seven more points.

Round 3: A O A E L M N N E

James: ANEMONE (7)
Dylan: ANEMONE (7)
DC: MELAENA (7)
Score: 21–21 (max 21)

Matching words again, with DC mentioning the impressive alternative, which I know so well from my first TV game.

Round 4: 10, 5, 7, 1, 4, 8. Target: 829.

James: 829. ((7 + 4) x 8 - 5) x 10 - 1 (10)
Dylan: 829. ((7 + 4) x 8 - 5) x 10 - 1 (10)
Score: 31–31 (max 31)

No surprise to see Dylan go for his traditional six small. It's not immediately obvious, but both contenders manage it to keep the double max alive.

Round 5: A O U E A X N D N

James: ADNEXA (6)
Dylan: ADNEXA (6)
DC: DUENNA (6) UNDONE (6)
Score: 37–37 (max 37)

ADNEXA makes its second appearance of the day and both players remember it. Dylan has since told me that he missed it when it cropped up in game 4.

Round 6: S M B T R E U E E

James: BERETS (6)
Dylan: MUSTER (6)
OT: BEMUSE (6) BRUTES (6) BUSTEE (6) BUSTER (6) EMBERS (6) EMERSE (6) ESTEEM (6) MEETER (6) MEREST (6) METERS (6) METRES (6) REBUTS (6) RESUME (6) STUMER (6) SUERTE (6) TUBERS (6) UMBERS (6)
Score: 43–43 (max 43)

Incredibly flat. After some deliberation, James decides to stick with his six. He apparently considered MEETERS, but only MEETER is valid, as in more meet. Hats off to him for making the right decision.

Round 7: A I O R N J S T D
Dylan: JANITORS (8)
James: INTRADOS (8)
DC: ADJOINTS (8)
Score: 51–51 (max 51)

In terms of testing the finalists, the letters rounds have been a major disappointment. Can't fault them, though, they still have to be maxed and both of them have done so in every round. We're now guaranteed a crucial conundrum but can we at least have a challenging numbers game next?

Round 8: 100, 50, 7, 6, 4, 2. Target: 507.

James: 507. (6 + 4) x 50 + 7 (10)
Dylan: 507. (6 + 4) x 50 + 7 (10)
Score: 61–61 (max 61)

No.

Round 9: C O N A N D O M K

No one buzzes. The answer was MONADNOCK (WTF?).
Score: 61–61 (max 71)

A very tough conundrum and no one except Rob Foster has any idea. It ruins the proper double max game and instead, we'll have to go through the motions all over again. Hopefully with something more gettable.

Tiebreak: E L O C A L L U M

Dylan buzzes on 1 second to say MOLECULLA which is incorrect.
James buzzes on 17 seconds to say MOLECULAL which is incorrect.
The answer was COLUMELLA (WTF?#2)
Score: 61-61 (max 71)

The drama just increases as both finalists make similar guesses but are both incorrect. I thought my guess of CELLULOMA had a decent chance of being right, so I was disappointed when I was told it wasn't. Inevitably, Rob is called on again to put us out of our misery. If you want a challenge, try finding a nine that he can't solve. It's not easy, trust me.

Now to the third conundrum and hopefully this time we will be able to find a winner. Let's hope that the organisers have run out of nasty conundrums or we could be here until the next Co:MK.

Tiebreak 2: N O B T O N I T E

Dylan buzzes on 7 seconds to say OBTENTION which is correct.
Score: 61-71* (max 71)

Finally! Dylan becomes the inaugural Countdown in Milton Keynes champion and what a way to do it! It was a final worthy of a brilliant co-event and hard luck to James on losing out in a marathon battle. In terms of drama, that has to be up there with the best finals I have ever witnessed. Many thanks again to Zarte, Innis and Mark for making a fantastic day with an amazing finale possible. Let's hope CO:MK becomes a regular fixture over the coming years.

Before I go, I think the final and the event as a whole deserves the Robbo treatment.

MAX EXCITEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't mind at all Jack More than happy for other people to do it

Zarte Siempre wrote:Don't mind at all Jack More than happy for other people to do it

I've been meaning to put them up this weekend, but I haven't had the time!!

I might get some of them done tonight, when I have a break or 2...