Monday, August 24, 2015
WIZFEST 2015
Here are a couple of pictures from the recent Wizard Tournament in Toronto Ontario.
FINAL TABLE RESULTS - ANIRAM, THE STEVE, WIZARD and MACTONIGHT
All players in awe of Wizards knowledge and skills? Or desperately waiting for him to play?
This years, Wizfest "CUP. Thank you Mudd for supporting us!
Here are a couple of pictures from the recent Wizard Tournament in Toronto Ontario.
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Wizard on Facebook
WIZARD on FACEBOOK
YES! The BETA is up for public use. I can access the game on SAFARI and FIREFOX but not on "EXPLORER" .
The URL is https://www.facebook.com/
Click on "Play Game" to load.
Because there is a paucity of players you can try playing against the A.I. (which is not good) by clicking on "USE A.I." The main purpose of the AI is not to play practice games but to replace dropped players and permit a game to finish properly.
Then click "host". "OK" and "play".
NOTE: The dealer is indicated by a gold Crown next to his name.
The person to play is indicated by a gold star next to his name.
There is a slight delay as you cannot play your card until the gold star appears on your name.
Bid by clicking the arrow to the right to go up and to the left to reduce the number.
To see the scorecard click the "score" box in the upper right.CHAT box is in lower left.
Shortly we hope to get Wizard available on "Explorer" . Then we need players to host games on Facebook to test what we have available so far.
FACEBOOK is the future so if you wish to continue to play WIZARD and participate in online Tournaments you need to join FACEBOOK.
Although the old site will be maintained for an indefinite period all gaming activity will move to Facebook.
Unanticipated Problems: * We will try to correct.
1. Facebook appears to use the player's real first name and automatically displays a picture if one was provided. This is not what we want.
2. Wert reports that two players on the same router apparently are dealt identical cards. However I hosted on Firefox then joined under a different ID on SAFARI and was able to play a game.
3. If a Host is UP and you click, "Join Random Game" the only message you get is, "The game will start when the Host clicks Play".
However you can confirm the connection with the host in CHAT.
4. Question: when you click "4 Player Game" are you committed or can you wait for 5 or 6 players before starting?
YES! The BETA is up for public use. I can access the game on SAFARI and FIREFOX but not on "EXPLORER" .
The URL is https://www.facebook.com/
Click on "Play Game" to load.
Because there is a paucity of players you can try playing against the A.I. (which is not good) by clicking on "USE A.I." The main purpose of the AI is not to play practice games but to replace dropped players and permit a game to finish properly.
Then click "host". "OK" and "play".
NOTE: The dealer is indicated by a gold Crown next to his name.
The person to play is indicated by a gold star next to his name.
There is a slight delay as you cannot play your card until the gold star appears on your name.
Bid by clicking the arrow to the right to go up and to the left to reduce the number.
To see the scorecard click the "score" box in the upper right.CHAT box is in lower left.
Shortly we hope to get Wizard available on "Explorer" . Then we need players to host games on Facebook to test what we have available so far.
FACEBOOK is the future so if you wish to continue to play WIZARD and participate in online Tournaments you need to join FACEBOOK.
Although the old site will be maintained for an indefinite period all gaming activity will move to Facebook.
Unanticipated Problems: * We will try to correct.
1. Facebook appears to use the player's real first name and automatically displays a picture if one was provided. This is not what we want.
2. Wert reports that two players on the same router apparently are dealt identical cards. However I hosted on Firefox then joined under a different ID on SAFARI and was able to play a game.
3. If a Host is UP and you click, "Join Random Game" the only message you get is, "The game will start when the Host clicks Play".
However you can confirm the connection with the host in CHAT.
4. Question: when you click "4 Player Game" are you committed or can you wait for 5 or 6 players before starting?
Sunday, August 2, 2015
Wizard: Top Ranked Commercial Card Game
Try
It – You’ll Like It!
“The proof of the pudding is in the eating”
“One’s man’s trash is another man’s
treasure”
“Advice is cheap”
“Advice is cheap”
The point is you have to experience
something yourself to find out if it is “your cup of tea”.
Nevertheless if a great majority of people
enjoy something it is more likely that you will enjoy it too.
With this thought in mind a number of
popular card games have been ranked. It is important to know who has done the
ranking. The data used has been culled from the site called,
“boardgamegeek.com”.
“BoardGameGeek” is a website that that reports on over 30,000 different games including card games and other tabletop games, as well as war games and video games. In addition to the game database, one of the key features is the statistical information obtained from player ratings. The site allows users to rate games on a 1–10 scale.
Ten games have been selected and their overall rankings are indicated. Only 4 of the 10 games are commercial games that require special decks. The 4 commercial games are marked with an asterisk *.
“BoardGameGeek” is a website that that reports on over 30,000 different games including card games and other tabletop games, as well as war games and video games. In addition to the game database, one of the key features is the statistical information obtained from player ratings. The site allows users to rate games on a 1–10 scale.
Ten games have been selected and their overall rankings are indicated. Only 4 of the 10 games are commercial games that require special decks. The 4 commercial games are marked with an asterisk *.
Game Rank
Bridge 129
Cribbage 271
*Wizard 408
Spades 528
Euchre 635
Pinochle 753
Cribbage 271
*Wizard 408
Spades 528
Euchre 635
Pinochle 753
Hearts 806
*Skip-Bo 6094
*UNO 6096
*Skip-Bo 6094
*UNO 6096
*Phase 10 6154
WIZARD…Try it!
You’ll like it!
Thursday, July 2, 2015
July 2, 2015.Wizard on Facebook
Programming has SLOWED!
Yes, it may seem impossible but things are moving more slowly.
Why! Because I gave up on using the new program for a tournament to decide the reps for Prague.
Consequently the pressure to meet a deadline is off.
However, I see some positive signs. The development of a workable (not strong) A.I. has been a major problem. Now I believe we are close to an acceptable A.I. and can move forward. Real live players is much easier than programming an A.I. Even with the old system we never had any kind of A.I. although I had wanted it. The programmer kept resisting my pressure to develop one and now I know why. It is a monumental challenge.
However there are other challenges, mostly related to analytics. i.e. Recording statistics and compiling them to produce the monthly ranking and running online tournaments.
I am still unable to provide any meaningful timelines but we continue to inch forward.
Yes, it may seem impossible but things are moving more slowly.
Why! Because I gave up on using the new program for a tournament to decide the reps for Prague.
Consequently the pressure to meet a deadline is off.
However, I see some positive signs. The development of a workable (not strong) A.I. has been a major problem. Now I believe we are close to an acceptable A.I. and can move forward. Real live players is much easier than programming an A.I. Even with the old system we never had any kind of A.I. although I had wanted it. The programmer kept resisting my pressure to develop one and now I know why. It is a monumental challenge.
However there are other challenges, mostly related to analytics. i.e. Recording statistics and compiling them to produce the monthly ranking and running online tournaments.
I am still unable to provide any meaningful timelines but we continue to inch forward.
Monday, June 15, 2015
WIZARD TOURNAMENTS
Live Tournaments: The advantages of live tournaments are obvious. Ideally there would be numerous local live tournaments, leading eventually to a final “Tournament of Champions”. This is the pattern followed in Europe where it has been quite successful. However attempts to generate similar events in Canada and the USA have not worked out as well. The problem largely hinges on the distances and costs involved. Most entrants to tournaments are from areas within 200 miles of the location. Even more challenging is the cost and logistics of local tournaments. It is not unusual for a single event to cost upwards of $10,000 and to involve hundreds of hours of preparation and planning.
* Regardless of how many live tournaments are held there will always be players who will not attend even though they are avid online players.
Online Tournaments: The disadvantages of online tournaments are equally obvious. However there are a number of positives. Unlike live tournaments costs and logistics are manageable once the programs are in place. The main advantage is that online tournaments can potentially draw players from distant locations. By offering attractive prizes large numbers of players can be attracted.
* Regardless of the convenience and prizes offered by online tournaments there will always be players who will only play in face-to-face situations.
The current “World Tournaments” hosted by “Amigo” are limited to the countries of central Europe.
The push to provide reliable online play on “Facebook-Games” is designed to provide access to areas such as Latin America and Asia. The ultimate goal is to have a truly “World-wide “Wizard Tournament” accessible to all.
Live Tournaments: The advantages of live tournaments are obvious. Ideally there would be numerous local live tournaments, leading eventually to a final “Tournament of Champions”. This is the pattern followed in Europe where it has been quite successful. However attempts to generate similar events in Canada and the USA have not worked out as well. The problem largely hinges on the distances and costs involved. Most entrants to tournaments are from areas within 200 miles of the location. Even more challenging is the cost and logistics of local tournaments. It is not unusual for a single event to cost upwards of $10,000 and to involve hundreds of hours of preparation and planning.
* Regardless of how many live tournaments are held there will always be players who will not attend even though they are avid online players.
Online Tournaments: The disadvantages of online tournaments are equally obvious. However there are a number of positives. Unlike live tournaments costs and logistics are manageable once the programs are in place. The main advantage is that online tournaments can potentially draw players from distant locations. By offering attractive prizes large numbers of players can be attracted.
* Regardless of the convenience and prizes offered by online tournaments there will always be players who will only play in face-to-face situations.
The current “World Tournaments” hosted by “Amigo” are limited to the countries of central Europe.
The push to provide reliable online play on “Facebook-Games” is designed to provide access to areas such as Latin America and Asia. The ultimate goal is to have a truly “World-wide “Wizard Tournament” accessible to all.
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Wizard on Facebook: Updated June 13, 2015
ALAS:
The new Wizard on FACEBOOK continues to experience glitches.
It will not be ready in time for a Tournament to select reps for the PRAGUE finals.
"US GAMES" has decided to send 2 of its employees to represent the USA.
Consequently the proposed online tournament to select the 2 US reps is cancelled.
My apologies to those who registered.
I will provide an update on the selection of the 2 Canadian reps shortly.
The new Wizard on FACEBOOK continues to experience glitches.
It will not be ready in time for a Tournament to select reps for the PRAGUE finals.
"US GAMES" has decided to send 2 of its employees to represent the USA.
Consequently the proposed online tournament to select the 2 US reps is cancelled.
My apologies to those who registered.
I will provide an update on the selection of the 2 Canadian reps shortly.
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