Hi, all! Having played all those Deep Bench packets at Technophobia, I didn't even notice the "lies." Silly me! But I must say I had a great time playing those packets despite the avalanche of repeats (uh, Garcia-Marquez, anyone??), overtly-easy questions, a few "list knowledge" tossups, and stupid "linked" bonuses. Some of the Deep Bench bonuses were nearly impossible without expert knowledge in the field. Nonetheless, the atmosphere of the tournament was very animated, and kudos to the Caltech staff (Kevin [all dressed up], Richard, Maribeth, Jordan, etc.) for providing much quiz-bowl fun!! If there is one thing to "improve upon," I guess the questions could be a little less Eurocentric or DWHIM-based (DWHIM = Dead WHIte Men). In my packet, I purposely went overboard with the multiculturalism (one player commented that I snuck in two minority groups in one "ruthless Chinese women" bonus). I also tried to expand the canon (Spanish composers, Barbara Kingsolver novels) while avoiding QB cliches (Popes/Crusades, name-that-dynasty, or battles [I swear I'll scream if I ever hear another question on military history!]). Anyway, I maintain that these packets at Technophobia were lots of fun! They are miles above the ACF Fall tournament packets. A major complaint I had with the ACF Fall tournament last week was that those packets were dreadfully boring to play on. In addition to all those "list knowledge" questions that I bagged on in the previous post, there were lots of "what are you talking about??" questions received with blank stares or rolling eyes (even by the geniuses of Berkeley A and Berkeley B!). There were also tons of 10-10-10 bonuses where the first two parts were gettable but the third part was from hell. This problem prompted one Caltech player to comment, "Is it ACF policy that a team is not allowed to thirty a bonus??" On the topic of linked tossups and bonuses, I agree with Jerry and Ross that linked bonuses sucked. With specific links like that, it is hard to cover more subject areas in one packet. For example, a ballet tossup is followed by a dancers bonus, but not a bonus on composers, operas, or musicians. The idea "might" work if the link is very loosely defined to be in the "general realm of knowledge." That is, a tossup on ballet can be followed by a bonus on art history, architecture, musical theater, or drama. In any event, I don't think linked tossups/bonuses will become a trend in quiz bowl. Okay, enough babbling for now. Willie
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