Asunto: Seasonal Competition

Well we'll get this started as of today. Basically have done something very similar to this in the past but this time there's a slightly different approach.

Every day I'll put up a clue about a player you have to guess. Problem is the clues start off hard and get easier as each clue gets put up. There will be a total of 5 clues and you will be awarded points based on how quickly you answered correctly and on how many attempts you have taken. You will be penalised harder for taking more attempts then by waiting for an extra clue so make your decisions on when to inform me carefully. You also only have a maximum of 3 attempts.

All guesses/attempts must be sent via skmail to me to avoid others potentially seeing the right answer.

This is the same as last time I did it a few seasons ago, but I've got an extra feature which can score you bonus points which is a hidden coded message related to the current round. For those who find the name easily there are bonus points awarded for decoding the message and explaining briefly what the format for the code is. For example there might be a message written as NVHHZTV which when decoded means MESSAGE, simply by flipping the alphabet the other way where A=Z, Z=A etc. Note also that in the competition, spaces may be represented by replacement characters in the coded message outside that of the code. So for the previous example if I wanted to have 3 spaces either side of MESSAGE the code could look something like this atgNVHHZTVjhg where in this example, lower case letters are used to symbolise spaces (doesn't mean lower case letters imply a space other than this example).

Might seem tricky but it should be possible to work out if you've got the answer to the round but we'll see how it goes anyway and it is optional.


Point System is as follows:

Correct 1st attempt: 5 points
Correct 2nd attempt: 3 points
Correct 3rd attempt: 1 point

+

Correct on 1st clue: 5 points
Correct on 2nd clue: 4 points
Correct on 3rd clue: 3 points
Correct on 4th clue: 2 points
Correct on 5th clue: 1 point


+

Code correct: 5 points - 1point for every attempt after the first.


We'll get this underway with the first clue for the opening round. Any questions about the format feel free to ask and I'll clarify it if as soon as possible.
(editado)

1st Round:

Who Am I?

Clues

1. I've been outstanding for my club and country and have been around for multiple years.
2. I have never played in a world cup but I have represented Australia in the 3 most commonly played squads that indicate player status. (Up at 6:57 2008-12-10)
3. I have been involved in a mixup substitution with the NT where the replacement coming on for me wasn't meant to have played. This hurt our chances of winning against a Southern Hemisphere opponent. (Up at 7:16 2008-12-11)
4. I have never lost a game when I've contributed to the NT with assists or scoring 2 or more goals. (Up at 7:10 2008-12-12)
5. I have scored a hattrick for the NT on 5 occasions, had a 100% accuracy rate on my NT debut and have been located in an Australian club the entire time. (Up at 7:09 2008-12-13)

Secret Code
SOtPwOSEtAGRFiEJYdEiHgJWsQToYS (Doubt anyone will get this before they've cracked the answer to the clues)
(editado)

Are we talking a year = a sokker season, or "real world years"?

real world years.

Then he's ancient...

Quite possibly yes, since the question is meant to test knowledge of the NT in depth :).

Hmm, interesting. Will wait for the next clue.

I assume he doesn't necessarily have to be a current member of the NT?

That makes it a little more difficult. Time to scour the 2005/06 NT matches...

Your assumption is correct.

2nd clue has now been posted for those concerned. Enjoy.

represented in all three major squads.

What would the be? first XI, U21's and?

I have no idea what you mean by "major squad" either.

Do we have an "old boys" squad for those over 40? Would have been interesting to see old stars get an all star game ;)

by major squad I'm meaning the 3 most commonly played squads that actually have any meaningful status for players. For example 1st XI is one such squad,competition matches aren't. Everyone should be able to easily work out 2 of the 3 squads without too much thought, the 3rd might require a little bit more thought but it shouldn't be too difficult to uncover. Biggest hint is that there's been more than 10 of these matches that I've recorded (and I'm sure there's more than that because I only went through a few seasons myself). I'll reword it a bit in the clue.
(editado)

We don't have anyone over 40 that's still in the game so we don't have that kind of a squad. Only 7 players remain from the debut game against the USA.

2nd clue modified a bit to hopefully make it clearer without giving it away, let me know if it still causes problems.
(editado)