Finals...

[Bandage Man]

We will now begin the final round of The Genius.

Pete was eliminated in the 10th round and Tomcat and Nyx have made it to the finals!

I will explain the overall game rules for the finals.

3 games have been prepared for the finals and the first player to win 2 games will be the champion.

There are 11 items which will give you an edge in the games.

One item was given to each of the 11 eliminated guests.

The guests will decide who to give their items to.

These items will be revealed to the players before each relevant game is played.

The eliminated guests will have until Thu, 9 PM EST to decide who they want to give their items to. If they don't post it by then, the item will be given to Nyx since she holds more garnets.

You are now also given the opportunity to state your case to the eliminated guests and tell them why they should give you the items.

On Thu, 10 PM EST, I will reveal more about the games.

[Nyx]

All I'll say to the players is that I enjoyed playing this game with you all, and to vote your conscience. If you want to give me an item, I'm happy to accept it. If you don't, no hard feelings, I'll do my best to win either way.

Good luck, Tom.

[Bandage Man]

Eliminated guests, you are allowed to ask them questions if you want to.

[Nyx]

Oh, I'll answer any questions asked too, that's fair I suppose.

[Bandage Man]

Some slight adjustment, the deadline will be on Fri 9 PM EST instead and the games will be revealed on Fri 10 PM EST.

[Tomcat Murr]

I considered doing a Tammy-style speech for this, but eh...

This was a great game, and I basically begged Mas to ask me back for this 2nd season. So, Mas - thanks for inviting me back and putting up with me.

As was probably expected, Pete, Adam, and I began the game working together, picking up where we left off in season 1. Through them, I heard that Nyx and Lukas were targeting me from pretty early on, around round 2. Both Nyx and Lukas are very strong players, so I think being able to navigate that and get to the finals is pretty good, especially while maintaining the top ranking (per Lukas' chart) throughout the game, and I *think* the most challenge wins (? too lazy to look it up). And yet I took a backseat through some of the early stages, to try to give Nyx and Lukas a sense of control, and it worked out.

Cherry... you know I hate you. Misty... you know I love you. Tara and Rachael - I think this game was the first I talked to either of you, though we also crossed paths in NatKat during this (um... sorry, Rachael! Ha!), and it was great getting to know both of you. David and Sam - I really didn't talk to either of you much at all this game, but thank you both for playing and letting this game happen.

I tried hard to not overtly lie to anyone, though there were definitely lies by omission. Cherry, Misty, Rachael - you 3 in particular I was really hoping would make it further in the game, and was sincere in collaborating with all of you, to try to get Nyx and Lukas out, but also just because I think Misty and Rachael are great players and would be fun competition near the end/great winners if you got to that stage. Though I get the format of this game is so different that coming in blind can be a pretty big disadvantage. Cherry, you just suck but are entertaining.

Lukas - I was seriously impressed with you, especially given how young you are. You're legit - complete respect. I actually thought I was gonna lose our Death Match for a bit, until I saw what I saw. Amazing job throughout, and I love your enthusiasm for this game.

Adam - I'm not 100% sure where you stood near the end, but you're the one who first recruited me for these games, and have been a great ally in 2 games now. So, thank you. And you're an amazing player, and it's been awesome getting to see that, rather than just you as a host.

Pete - funny how our NatKat schism almost seemed to bring us closer in this game. I've played a few games with you now, and am always (except in NatKat... heh, sorry) impressed. And for the Games board/online world, consider you a friend.  Can't say enough good things about you, but I don't want to sound like I'm sucking up, either.

As Nyx said, everyone vote your conscience. Nyx is also a great player, and hopefully people ask questions and she has a chance to explain that. It's been a great game, and thank you!

[Nyx]

Lukas had a chart?

[Tomcat Murr]

Yeah, but he stopped updating it a while ago (and round 7 elimination is obviously not accurate): Lukas' chart

Oh!  Lukas, you asked me why I volunteered for our Death Match.  I was reluctant to say at the time, but here's why: 1.) I was preoccupied during the challenge leading up to it and kind of sucked at it, so I felt like Adam deserved to make it to the next round more than I did (without making up for it in the Death Match), and 2.) last season, Adam was the first of our trio to go to the Death Match and be eliminated, and since he helped me a lot in this game, I wanted to make sure he'd get further/return the favor (so it wouldn't seem he was always the fall-guy).  That's why.  It wasn't anything against you (though I did also think a challenge against you would be fun).

[Nyx]

Huh, cool.

Also, if you want to know about the stuff I did this game and how and where I felt about stuff, you can always ask, Tom.

Like, for me it's more than I think people can make decisions based on reading the games and stuff, I didn't do a whole lot of behind the scenes stuff after Round 4.

But I'm always happy to talk about how I was feeling or what I was thinking at any time.

[switza]

Congrats both of you.

Nyx- you came in (along with with Lukas) with a disadvantage in that the rest of us had some level of familiarity due to belonging to the same gaming community. I don't like when previous relationships determine future games, so I was more than happy to work with you. When you proved to be really good at the game, even better. Although I was loyal to my original group of Tomcat and Pete, I enjoyed working with you throughout. You really are an amazing competitor.

Tomcat - well done. Someday, maybe when mas gets to season 35, you, Pete and myself will make final 3 together. Had I not screwed up that 1 bet, we would have made it this time. You too are amazing and having more friends around will probably garner you the majority of the items to win this last match.

Good luck to you both.

[Nyx]

My absolute favourite round was Open, Pass. Working closely with you an being able to win so convincingly and keep you safe felt really good. I think it was the first time since the Miner Game I really decided to trust someone and work with them.

[lukachkinas]

First of all, thank you very much for the game. All of you, and especially Mas. It was my first ORG experience, and quite liked it (except the bit I was eliminated in, that was terrible).

As of the chart, to help everyone decide, I will update it in a couple of hours.

My vote is already decided and will be very boring. I admire both of you as very strong and experienced players, and no one could say, that "the wrong ones got to the finals".

On an unrelated note, I want to say a huge thanks to Adam, who was my biggest ally in this game. Thank you very much, I always knew, that if you'd be in the final, my item would go to you.

Yes, I've got some regrets about the game, but anyway, good luck to both of you. Then, I will cheer for you!

[Tomcat Murr]

Adam - we should all have it sorted out by season 5, provided Mets isn't in season 5, I'm thinking. 

And Nyx - you don't need to tell me, you need to tell them.  I wasn't really that bothered... when we had our argument, it wasn't that I felt betrayed or anything (I already knew you were targeting me, and that didn't bug me), it was 1.) that I felt like I was banging my head against a wall, and 2.) I wanted to see what Adam and Pete would say about it/what your reaction would be.  If you want to talk about the game after the finals and explain things better/have me explain things better, I'm down for that and would be happy to do so - but right now, you should probably outline your game for people (gives them a chance to make a more informed decision, and the respect of being able to make that decision, rather than just who they got along with... and though you could be a *tad* abrasive, you're also a great player, and it would help them see that).

Lukas - you should seriously join the Games board on IMDb.  It needs new blood, and you'd probably slaughter everyone.

[Bandage Man]

I will post the final matches in a bit. Sorry about the delay.

[Nyx]

Dec 1, 2016 1:19:39 GMT -5 Tomcat Murr said:

Adam - we should all have it sorted out by season 5, provided Mets isn't in season 5, I'm thinking. 

And Nyx - you don't need to tell me, you need to tell them.  I wasn't really that bothered... when we had our argument, it wasn't that I felt betrayed or anything (I already knew you were targeting me, and that didn't bug me), it was 1.) that I felt like I was banging my head against a wall, and 2.) I wanted to see what Adam and Pete would say about it/what your reaction would be.  If you want to talk about the game after the finals and explain things better/have me explain things better, I'm down for that and would be happy to do so - but right now, you should probably outline your game for people (gives them a chance to make a more informed decision, and the respect of being able to make that decision, rather than just who they got along with... and though you could be a *tad* abrasive, you're also a great player, and it would help them see that).

Lukas - you should seriously join the Games board on IMDb.  It needs new blood, and you'd probably slaughter everyone.

Only a tad abrasive~? Damn. That's an understatement.