 | Matthew Brockwell It's quite something to create a round where my response is "I'd rather play spoilage numbers"! |
 | Stu Harkness So we don't have to actually solve the cons? It's just typing them in reverse alphabetical order? |
 | Chris Hare That's right! What fun! |
 | Dave Kempshall I required a sedative after playing this round last year in normal alphabetical order. |
 | Elizabeth Beer Do you get the bonus point for just not declaring anything for 20 rounds? Because there is no hope for me in the main game with only ten seconds… |
 | Jon Stammers What am I missing here? If it's just spelling it in reverse alphabetical order surely you don't need to unscramble the conundrum at all though??? Remembering the letters is the hardest part then? |
| Dave Kempshall Yes, that is exactly what you have to do Jon. Give it a practice, it's the subtle mix of putting them in order in 10 seconds and then remembering them once they've disappeared that plays havoc with your general existence. |
| Jon Stammers Yes, not looking forward to this one so much then!! |
| Chris Hare Elizabeth: Yes; if you don't buzz in at all then you haven't made any incorrect declarations. |
 | Fiona T sounds like a strategy |
| Jon Stammers It's a shame SPOONFEED isn't valid: that would be the only way to score points if that came up (or to bring my infinite practice game to an end). |
| Jon Stammers Stupid question, ignore me: I see now there's zero advantage to getting a slightly longer word (unless going for bonus) |
| Jon Stammers Sorry meant to say that on game 8 - thanks for your reply re buckets of agoutis. LOL |
 | Florence C-L Not sure you've understood the rules, Jon - this is a conundrum attack. If, for example, the conundrum scramble was NONMUDRUC, your declaration would be correct if and only if you declared UURONNMDC, since that is the conundrum in reverse alphabetical order |
| Jon Stammers Yes sorry Florence, again, this comment was meant for game 8 scavenger hunt. Sorry for confusion can't delete it now. |
| Stu Harkness TSPNNIEEA
|
 | David Holmes Very unpleasant. |
 | Mark Baker Hi. I don’t seem to have any games showing up after game six? |
| Show all comments | |
| Elizabeth Beer You must be getting your games in two instalments, I expect the rest will arrive soon |
| Chris Hare Mark: Yes, that's intentional (albeit fairly arbitrary); for obscure historical reasons, people who sign up before the start and don't indicate a preference get all their games at once, but people who sign up once things have got underway usually get their games by instalments unless they vote otherwise. |
| Mark Baker No problem |
| Chris Hare (I think everyone should now have all their games.) |
 | Andres S. Wow this round was harder than I expected. |
Tourney round: The Twelve Games of Chris-mas: Vol. IV: The Holly and The: Game Seven
Notes from the organizer: Game Seven! Starve a fever, feed a cold.
Last year, I gave you an Instant Conundrum Attack and asked you to declare the letters in alphabetical order. The good news is that I'm not going to ask you to do that again. Hooray! The bad news is that I'd like you to unscramble the conundrum and declare the letters in REVERSE alphabetical order instead. Boo!
The player with the most correctly-reverse-alphabetised declarations will win. In the event of a tie, the player who makes their correct declarations in the smaller total time will win. If, somehow, there's still a tie, the player with the fastest single correct declaration will win. Any further ties will result in a match-fixing investigation.
The BONUS TOURNAMENT POINT will be awarded to any player who makes no incorrectly reverse-alphabetised declarations.
If you have any questions about the rules, scoring, or anything else pertaining to this tourney, please feel free to ask.
Here is a spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sEia7l7u7cJ6jBWZQWistIjD9j7KAwGvWK2OAcjpPno/edit?usp=sharing
Ran from: 15 December 2025 – 1 January 2026. Format: Instant Conundrum Attack. Matches: One-off. Approved.
Fixtures: 49. Completed: 41.
Results and fixtures
Key. Green: winner. Red: loser. Grey: tie. (Stripes: provisional, match in progress.)
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