Basic problems with the way this game is played
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Celebrity Name Game
GraceFromSoCal — 10 years ago(June 18, 2015 12:11 PM)
I'm only an occasional viewer, as this show tends to annoy me more than entertain me. There are a few things that bother me, and I can't help but notice them every time I do watch. Among them:
- The "celebrities" are way below "D list" level; most of them, I've never even heard of before. Since I only glance up at the TV occasionally, and not necessarily when people are being introduced, I often have NO IDEA which person on a team is the celebrity and which are the contestants.
- The way they play is all wrong! The problem with how they're doing it is that they attempt to give clues regarding the ACTUAL person or object, whereas if they simply gave generic clues to get the people to say parts of it, they'd do a lot better. For example, let's say they're trying to get the team to say "Butterfinger"as in the candy bar. They immediately focus on the actual object, which is a candy bareven though its components are two very common, very easily evoked words. They'll go off on something like, "umit's sweetumit's a candy barit has chocolateand it'sumit's long and umI think it might have peanutsum" Tick tick tick10 seconds gone, 20 seconds If, instead, they had said, "not margarine but?" the answer "butter" would pop outtotal time, 2 seconds. Then hold up their hands and wiggle their fingers and say, "these are?" and out would come "fingers"total time 2 seconds. "Butter fingers." "Butterfinger!" Total time 5 seconds, tops.
- Not a playing issue, but: Craig Ferguson doesn't seem happy! I loved his late night show and wish he had stuck with that. He's the ONLY reason I ever tune in to this show.
http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com
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Zippy B — 10 years ago(June 18, 2015 12:50 PM)
First of all it is Celebrity NAME Game, so the names are supposed to be well known. On top of that, while the relative popularity of the celebrities that are actually ON the show is not going to be high (and it rarely is for this kind of show) you would have to have been living under a rock for the last 10 years to not recognize most of them to some degree.
Secondly, it just goes to show that MOST people don't play charades or similar games but to say NOBODY does that is flat out wrong. People that do well, start with obvious clues and when that doesn't work do exactly as you say.
For butterfinger, for example, you could do 2 pieces, or just say Bart's Candybar and hope the person has seen those commercials and save a few seconds.
Finally, he actually does seem happy to me. He certaily seems happier than he was as his Late Night Show came to an end (he was clearly bored with it all) but I could see him getting bored with this show after a few years. -
eelw11 — 10 years ago(June 18, 2015 08:14 PM)
Unfortunately they can't get the majority of the celebrities that come up as clues in the games. Most are friends or people that have worked with David and Courtney in TV and movies.
Wonder who they will get for celebrity family feud? -
bgrhu — 10 years ago(June 22, 2015 10:16 PM)
- What kind of celebrities were you expecting? Tom Cruise? Whether you know them or not, they are celebrities, and they're exactly the kind of celebrities that have been showing up on game shows since game shows were invented. I'm guessing most viewers of Matchgame back in the day didn't really know who Charles Nelson Reilly or Brett Somers were, either. And as Zippy pointed out, the "celeb" part actually comes into play for the clues, not necessarily the players.
- It's very easy to criticize somebody's clue-giving from the comfort of your own couch, where you don't have the pressure of a ticking clock, an in-studio audience, and a bunch of cameras in your face. It's not as easy as you think.
- Are we watching the same show? Craig seems VERY happy, especially when somebody wins the final round. I miss his late night show, too, but do you know who doesn't miss it AT ALL? Craig. He was so beyond ready to move on to something new. He wanted something different to deconstruct and play with, and this game show is what he chose. When he's done all he can/wants to with this show, he'll move on to something else. That's his nature.
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GraceFromSoCal — 10 years ago(June 26, 2015 07:07 PM)
- What kind of celebrities were you expecting? Tom Cruise? Whether you know them or not, they are celebrities, and they're exactly the kind of celebrities that have been showing up on game shows since game shows were invented. I'm guessing most viewers of Matchgame back in the day didn't really know who Charles Nelson Reilly or Brett Somers were, either. And as Zippy pointed out, the "celeb" part actually comes into play for the clues, not necessarily the players.
Point taken. - It's very easy to criticize somebody's clue-giving from the comfort of your own couch, where you don't have the pressure of a ticking clock, an in-studio audience, and a bunch of cameras in your face. It's not as easy as you think.
Again, point takenI do agree that actually BEING there is stressful and puts pressure on you that people watching at home don't have. But I disagree that that should render them clueless when they're presented with a name they can't immediately describe in terms of the actual person. For example, let's say the name is "Snow White" and the person blanks out on any clues that would actually describe Snow White. How hard is it to switch gears and say "icy flakes that fall from the sky" and then "not black but?" And I see this ALL THE TIME! People "passpasspass" like crazy, because they're ONLY thinking in terms of trying to describe the actual person, and when they can't, they skip it. SMH. - Are we watching the same show? Craig seems VERY happy, especially when somebody wins the final round. I miss his late night show, too, but do you know who doesn't miss it AT ALL? Craig. He was so beyond ready to move on to something new. He wanted something different to deconstruct and play with, and this game show is what he chose. When he's done all he can/wants to with this show, he'll move on to something else. That's his nature.
His "happiness" seems put on, and not really genuine, at least to me.
http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com
- What kind of celebrities were you expecting? Tom Cruise? Whether you know them or not, they are celebrities, and they're exactly the kind of celebrities that have been showing up on game shows since game shows were invented. I'm guessing most viewers of Matchgame back in the day didn't really know who Charles Nelson Reilly or Brett Somers were, either. And as Zippy pointed out, the "celeb" part actually comes into play for the clues, not necessarily the players.
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GraceFromSoCal — 10 years ago(November 17, 2015 07:22 PM)
It's been a while since I posted the OP, and I thought I'd just update it a little. Since posting, I've become a regular viewer, actively catching both episodes every day. And I like it more than I did before. However
The players, both the contestants and the celebrities, still suck as outlined in my OP! Time and time again I'll see something that they waste an ENORMOUS amount of time on, or simply pass immediately, because they're going about it all wrong. Like if the name is "Sugar Ray," they go on and on trying to describe the boxer, when they could get the first word in milliseconds by saying "it's sweet and you put it in coffee." I've seen them waste 10, 20, 30 seconds on ONE NAME, the whole time going about it all wrongand it aggravates the hell out of me!
As for Craig, he seems much more at ease and more comfortable this season. I think it took a little time for him to grow into the role, but I'm enjoying him much more than before. And, wow, some of his stuff is really risque! I'm surprised he gets away with some of it.
Oh, I wish he'd lose the "you're a couple" thing when one team consists of two females. It's getting pretty old.
http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com -
GraceFromSoCal — 10 years ago(February 06, 2016 11:38 AM)
Even though I like the show more now than I did originally, the REALLY STUPID approach the participants use when giving clues still annoys the hell out of me!
On one of yesterday's shows, the word was "kitten." Sheryl Underwood said (and I'm paraphrasing): "It's an animal. It's a furry animal. It's a little furry animal." The contestant threw out tons of guessesas anyone might with such great clues! What DIDN'T Underwood say? "It's a baby cat."
http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com -
bgrhu — 10 years ago(February 07, 2016 06:50 PM)
CelebNameGame is casting for Season 3 perhaps you should audition and show them how it's done.
http://www.celebnamegame.com/ -
GraceFromSoCal — 10 years ago(February 08, 2016 12:12 PM)
CelebNameGame is casting for Season 3 perhaps you should audition and show them how it's done.
http://www.celebnamegame.com
Aw, thanks for the suggestion!
Unfortunately, I have no desire to appear on a game show with such a low payout. If I ever go on a game show, it'll be one where the potential payoff is A LOT higher than this one's.
http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com -
GraceFromSoCal — 10 years ago(February 13, 2016 03:22 PM)
How on earth is it cowardly to not want to go on a show with a paltry $10,000 top prize?
http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com -
MurphAndTheMagicTones — 9 years ago(May 14, 2016 03:07 PM)
$20,000 is standard game show money these days. Nobody's watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire anymore, and on that show you'll average that amount if you're lucky.
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to exit the doughnut!"Nick Fury,
Iron Man 2 -
GraceFromSoCal — 10 years ago(February 18, 2016 04:18 PM)
$20,000 is a low payout?
Yesbut $10,000 is even worse. Honestly, I wouldn't be bothered with going on a show if the potential payoff was less than a few hundred thousand dollars. $10,000? Not even close!
http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com -
kristen1165 — 10 years ago(March 04, 2016 03:31 PM)
I don't play charades, but I've played Catch Phrase quite a bit and I always try to start with describing the overall phrase. If they don't get it immediately, THEN I break down the individual words.
One thing the clue givers need to realize when breaking down the words though, is that once the contestants says a part of the word, they can say it too from that point on. I've noticed once the guesser gets a part of the word correct, the clue moves on to the next part without informing them that they got the first part correct already. If that makes sense? -
GraceFromSoCal — 10 years ago(March 04, 2016 07:31 PM)
I don't play charades, but I've played Catch Phrase quite a bit and I always try to start with describing the overall phrase. If they don't get it immediately, THEN I break down the individual words.
That makes a lot of senseif you're not dealing with a short time limit! On this show, where there's never more than 45 seconds, you need to get RIGHT ON IT. On a rerun I saw today, the name was "Pizza Hut." This was in the final round. The contestant said things like: "after playing football you eat it," "it's square," "no, it's a rectangleand you eat it all the time!" What DIDN'T she say? Oh, things like: "pepperoni??" or "not Domino's but??"
One thing the clue givers need to realize when breaking down the words though, is that once the contestants says a part of the word, they can say it too from that point on. I've noticed once the guesser gets a part of the word correct, the clue moves on to the next part without informing them that they got the first part correct already. If that makes sense?
Yes, it does.
I know exactly what you mean, and you're right, this happens a lot. Plus, the players all seem to think they're forbidden to say RELATED words, even though they're not. Like if the phrase is "chocolate ice cream" they act like they can't say "vanilla is a favorite flavor of this frozen treat." There's no reason not to say vanilla, but they think they can't.
http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com -
MurphAndTheMagicTones — 9 years ago(May 16, 2016 07:29 PM)
- The "celebrities" are way below "D list" level; most of them, I've never even heard of before. Since I only glance up at the TV occasionally, and not necessarily when people are being introduced, I often have NO IDEA which person on a team is the celebrity and which are the contestants.
I'm pretty sure Kevin Pollack, Sheryl Crow, Minnie Driver, and Lisa Kudrow don't qualify as "way below D list." - Not a playing issue, but: Craig Ferguson doesn't seem happy! I loved his late night show and wish he had stuck with that. He's the ONLY reason I ever tune in to this show.
Sounds like you just contradicted yourself. And I'm going to guess that someone who isn't happy with their role doesn't go two for two on Outstanding Game Show Host Emmys.
"I see you passed on Andy Dick. Well, who hasn't?"Craig Ferguson,
Celebrity Name Game
- The "celebrities" are way below "D list" level; most of them, I've never even heard of before. Since I only glance up at the TV occasionally, and not necessarily when people are being introduced, I often have NO IDEA which person on a team is the celebrity and which are the contestants.
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GraceFromSoCal — 9 years ago(May 16, 2016 08:10 PM)
- The "celebrities" are way below "D list" level;
most of them
, I've never even heard of before. Since I only glance up at the TV occasionally, and not necessarily when people are being introduced, I often have NO IDEA which person on a team is the celebrity and which are the contestants.
I'm pretty sure Kevin Pollack, Sheryl Crow, Minnie Driver, and Lisa Kudrow don't qualify as "way below D list."
I guess you missed the part about MOST OF THEM. - Not a playing issue, but: Craig Ferguson doesn't seem happy! I loved his late night show and wish he had stuck with that. He's the ONLY reason I ever tune in to this show.
Sounds like you just contradicted yourself. And I'm going to guess that someone who isn't happy with their role doesn't go two for two on Outstanding Game Show Host Emmys.
Too bad you didn't read my 'update' post,
http://www.imdb.com/board/12112923/board/nest/245150349?d=250580308#250580308
, before commenting!
My pet peeves:
http://thesearemypetpeeves.blogspot.com
- The "celebrities" are way below "D list" level;
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MurphAndTheMagicTones — 9 years ago(May 25, 2016 08:47 AM)
Too bad you didn't read my 'update' post, http://www.imdb.com/board/12112923/board/nest/245150349?d=250580308#250580308, before commenting!
If you want to update your posting, edit the ORIGINAL posting. People tend not to read the entire thread because they don't have the time to do it.
"You know I feel about mind games, Nate. NE-GA-TIVE-LY!"Hardison,
Leverage