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Subject: The Quiz and Crossword Contracts

Posted by: WesleyCrusher
Date: May 01 19

Sometimes a throwaway joke can inspire an idea. When explaining to a newer author how to best deal with challenge requirements in the edit process I mentioned, jokingly, that they had only become an issue since we had tasks like "Write a Fill the Blank quiz in a subcategory of Sci/Tech that you have exactly one quiz ranked worse than 50,000 in, featuring the name of a deceased actor from Bhutan in the title, using all 26 letters in the alphabet in each question and writing the info in limerick form". Then, about 20 minutes later, I was struck by the realization that, if this task were posted in the Lounge, someone would probably actually do it, sooner or later.

And that means we can make a game out of it, right?

So let's get creative - both in setting tasks and in solving them. Here are the current ten tasks:

Contract #312 - 22 points: Write a classic style quiz or photo quiz in the History category on the history of any one country that does not already have a history quiz on FT. (by BigTriviaDawg)
Contract #318 - 16 points: Write a quiz for the Sub-Sets Challenge. (by Kyleisalive)
Contract #320 - 14 points: Write a photo quiz about coronations. At least one question must be FITB, and one question 50/50. (by Reedy)
Contract #325 - 9 points: Write a quiz about Adrien Brody. (by VBookWorm)
Contract #328 - 6 points: Write a quiz about a Russian television series of your choice. (by VBookWorm)
Contract #329 - 5 points: Write a classification quiz where the categories are all related to ducks but are not in the animal or science categories. (by Ilona_Ritter)
Contract #330 - 4 points: Write a 15-question quiz with exactly six words in the title, without using the letter 'e' in the title. At least three questions must be FITB, and two T/F-Y/N questions. (by Reedy)
Contract #331 - 3 points: Create a crossword on the history of any country with no more than 20% fillers. (by Sam388)
Contract #332 - 2 points: Write a quiz containing the word 'Pizza' in its title that is exactly 15 questions long and is neither in Food (Hobbies), Sci/Tech, nor World. The quiz can be either a Photo Quiz or a Photo-Match Quiz. (by Ilona_Ritter)
Contract #333 - 1 point: Using COVID-19 as an example, write a quiz about epidemics that changed the course of history. (by 1nn1)


Once you have picked a task and written, please submit it with the entire contract stipulation (including the number) in the note to the editor.

Wait for the quiz to go online, then report it here to claim the contract. If it's good, you'll receive the task's point value for the leaderboard AND you get to set up a new contract, entirely of your choosing. Come up with an evilly convoluted challenge, set up an easy one in the hopes of it being snatched quickly or just use the opportunity to make someone write a quiz about THAT ONE topic you always wanted to play but never got the chance as all nineteen online entries about it are yours... anything goes as long as it is possible. ("Write a match quiz in which every answer is a pangram" would not work - answers that long would not be accepted in the format). You must provide a new contract stipulation in the same post as your claim or the claim is invalid.

Every time a new contract goes up, all others increase in value by one point. Thus, there will always be ten options and after the starting phase in which scores are a bit on the low side, there will be always be a task (the oldest one) worth at least 10, and possibly considerably more if no one has taken it for a while. Thus, the longer a contract sits there (and thus the harder it presumably is to fill), the more lucrative it will become. And at some point, even writing that Sci/Tech quiz named after a dead Bhutanese actor will sound like a really enticing proposition...

You can finish any unfinished quizzes/crosswords to fill a contract, no need to make a new template, as long as the template was never submitted by the time the contract went up. You can't claim your own contracts of course, although authors whose contracts go all too high in value are encouraged to prove that it CAN be done.

There is no reserving in this game - you need to be the first to claim a contract, by actually fulfilling it with a quiz that meets the requirement. There's also no double-dipping - if you submit a quiz, you fill one and only one contract with it (if it qualifies for more than one, you must indicate which one you want - it'll probably be the higher score).

Yes this counts for Pangalactic and while it is probably not the best idea to advertise what you are working on (someone else might feel encouraged to steal it from under your nose), bluffing and other tactics are perfectly legit in this game. The only thing we don't want to see is collusion - so don't post a contract specifically tailored to your best buddy.

As some authors may wish to request clarifications for a contract by personal message (to not immediately alert anyone to the fact they're working on), we ask that anyone who answers such a clarification request post the answer to the thread as well while preserving anonymity, so that everyone is on the same page regarding a specific task.

Also, importantly, please remember the editors are under no obligation to check your entry for compliance with the task. You will find that most are willing to send it back for fixes if they find an obvious, easily fixed, mismatch, but there are no guarantees. If your entry only almost qualifies and goes online, well, you have a good quiz online and a second opportunity to work on the contract, possibly even for a higher score.

And now have fun!

LEADERBOARD

bernie73 - 683 points
1nn1 - 411 points
RedHook13 - 257 points
leith90 - 236 points
Kankurette - 205 points
psnz - 183 points
reedy - 151 points
ramonesrule - 140 points
LadyNym - 107 points
zorba_scank - 78 points
Kyleisalive - 77 points
windrush - 68 points
Ilona_Ritter - 51 points
rossian - 48 points
Pollucci19 - 44 points
Lpez - 43 points
AcrylicInk - 38 points
fifiona81 - 35 points
Gracious1 - 34 points
VegemiteKid - 34 points
spanishliz - 33 points
WesleyCrusher - 26 points
CmdrK - 25 points
Saleo - 23 point
moonraker2 - 22 points
Rowena8482 - 21 points
Apathy100 - 20 points
BigTriviaDawg - 20 points
VBookWorm - 16 points
Sam388 - 9 points
Angikar - 4 points
Godwit - 4 points
Ceetee - 1 point

COMPLETED CONTRACTS
(For earlier contracts, please click here.)

Contract #301 - 1 point: Write a TRIC quiz (X, Y or Z, it doesn't matter) in a category you don't usually write in. - Bernie73
Contract #302 - 5 points: Write a quiz of any size or format in any category you like other than Celebrities. - Lpez
Contract #303 - 1 point: Create a symmetrical medium or large literature crossword focussing on a group or genre of authors, such as science fiction or the Lakes poets, or the Bloomsbury Group. The choice is up to you. No 2 letter words or IATA codes. - Psnz
Contract #304 - 5 points: Identify two words or phrases which meet these criteria: (a) 15-17 characters in length; (b) the same length; (c) connected in some significant way. Insert these words or phrases as the first and last lines of a puzzle and construct a symmetric crossword between them. No two-letter words or IATA codes, please. - Windrush
Contract #305 - 6 points: Write a 10 question, all multiple choice quiz on either Australian flora or fauna, then create a medium symmetric crossword on Australian flora and fauna. No two letter answers in the CW. Both Quiz and CW should have the same title. - Bernie73
Contract #306 - 8 points: Write a quiz with a title that contains the name of a country that starts and ends with the same letter. The quiz cannot go in the Geography category. - Ilona_Ritter
Contract #307 - 23 points: Write a classification quiz in the Entertainment category where all answer choices end with a vowel. - Reedy
Contract #308 - 21 points: Write a quiz with "Tom Hanks" in the title in any category except for Celebrities, Movies, People, or Television. - Ilona_Ritter
Contract #309 - 10 points: Write a large Religion crossword with at least 6 clues being 10 letters or longer, and at least 4 words relating to religious festivals (words can fit either or both criteria). No 2 letter words or IATA codes please. - Psnz
Contract #310 - 22 points: Construct a crossword with a least fifteen colors and then write a quiz using fifteen of the colors as names (first, last, or middle) for people (real or fictional) as the answers to the corresponding questions. - Ilona_Ritter
Contract #311 - 14 points: Write a quiz or crossword puzzle that is inspired by the work of another author on FunTrivia. - VBookWorm
Contract #313 - 13 points: Write a quiz from the "Old is New" list, using any of the 'new' quiz formats (order/label/classify), AND use an Author Challenge Title. - Bernie73
Contract #314 - 1 points: Write a quiz or crossword puzzle with a four word title where all four words begin with the same letter for either History or Humanities. Quiz must be a format other than MC. - Psnz
Contract #315 - 1 point: Construct a symmetric medium crossword puzzle whose answers do not contain any of the letters in "SKIN". No two-letter words or IATA codes, please. - Ceetee
Contract #316 - 5 points: Construct a symmetric medium crossword puzzle all of whose answers contain any of the letters in "SKIN". No two-letter words or IATA codes, please. - Windrush
Contract #317 - 1 point: Write a quiz or symmetrical crossword with a theme surrounding April Fools Day. - Kyleisalive
Contract #319 - 3 points: Create a symmetric medium or large crossword puzzle in which at least 60% of the clues or answers relate to loanwords commonly used in English. A minimum of six loanwords must be of Hungarian origin. No two-letter answers or IATA codes, please. - Windrush
Contract #321 - 2 points: Create a symmetrical crossword relating to important landmarks in Europe. These can be natural formations or man-made. - Psnz
Contract #322 - 9 points: Create a symmetric medium or large crossword puzzle in which at least 60% of the clues or answers relate to loanwords commonly used in English. A minimum of six loanwords must be of Italian origin. No two-letter answers or IATA codes, please. - Sam388
Contract #323 - 1 point: Construct a large symmetric crossword containing at least one word with consecutive double letters for 20 different letters (or more) of the English alphabet. The crossword title must include "double" or a variant of the word, such as "doubling." Please, no two-letter words, Roman numerals or IATA codes. - Leith90
Contract #324 (1) (2) - 3 points: Construct TWO crosswords, one large and one medium, to submit to the Brain Teasers category. Both puzzles should be in different sub-cats (eg, drop or add a letter, anagrams, cryptic etc) and the titles should reflect that they are a pair. Grids must be symmetrical with no two-letter words, IATA codes or Roman numerals please. - Psnz
Contract #326 - 2 points: Write a quiz that is meant to satisfy the Author's Gallery monthly challenge for at least one requirement. - VBookWorm
Contract #327 (1) (2) (3) - 6 points: Create a set of THREE linked crosswords (one small, one medium and one large) for either the Celebrities, History, Religion or Video Games categories. Titles should reflect that they are a set. Each puzzle grid must be symmetric, with no two-letter words, IATA codes or Roman numerals. - 1nn1

807 replies. On page 3 of 41 pages. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41
CmdrK star


player avatar
Wow, pretty tough talk! Have you become a UFC fan? :)

Reply #41. May 08 19, 11:00 AM
RedHook13 star


player avatar
I claim contract #7. I'm surprised this movie only had one quiz.

http://www.funtrivia.com/quizdetails.cfm?id=397540

New contract: Write a Photo quiz in any For Children subcategory, but all the photos need to be hand drawn.

Reply #42. May 08 19, 11:55 AM
WesleyCrusher


player avatar
Just three Starter Kit options left now, and why am I not at all surprised that #1 is among them :)

Reply #43. May 08 19, 12:05 PM
1nn1


player avatar
I would like to claim contract number 13.
7 points: Create a small crossword, diagonally symmetrical with a minimum of 80% filled squares and none of the words in the crossword contain the letter "E"
http://www.funtrivia.com/crossword/play.cfm?gid=6383

Its replacement contract should be:
Create a medium crossword, diagonally symmetrical with a minimum of 70% filled squares where at least 10 of the words have double letters (Bigram) within them (eg abbey, alley) No double letter combination can be used more than twice.

Reply #44. May 08 19, 2:16 PM
spanishliz


player avatar
Are we allowed to claim contracts that we propose? I would have thought not, but would love to know for sure.

Reply #45. May 08 19, 2:39 PM
Fifiona81


player avatar
The blurb for the challenge says:

"You can't claim your own contracts of course, although authors whose contracts go all too high in value are encouraged to prove that it CAN be done."

Reply #46. May 08 19, 3:00 PM
spanishliz


player avatar
Aha, thought I'd seen that somewhere. The last claim made me think I was mistaken.

Reply #47. May 08 19, 3:23 PM
bernie73 star


player avatar
Is it too early to ask WesleyCrusher if one of those remaining three quiz contracts can be done? :)

Reply #48. May 08 19, 3:24 PM
1nn1


player avatar
In my defence, I thought this was a relatively easy challenge and I was surprised it went so high. Hence the prove it could be done clause was invoked.

Reply #49. May 08 19, 3:30 PM
zorba_scank star
I have one in the queue for a starter kit and I could do one of the others as well. I may have a go once the Team Challenge is done.

Reply #50. May 08 19, 3:41 PM
zorba_scank star
My understanding of the prove it can be done clause was the challenger could do it to show its not impossible but would not gain the points for it or be able to claim the contract. Wes may clarify what he meant.

Reply #51. May 08 19, 3:42 PM
WesleyCrusher


player avatar
Yes, that's exactly it. If your contract reaches a really high value (I was thinking at least 25 here - don't give up early), whoever placed it should consider showing everyone it can be done. They won't get the points for it of course, but at least now everyone knows they've just not tried hard enough.

And I'd say none of the remaining three starters is that difficult. The 6am one should not be that hard for European or Australian race/sprint veterans, the Sci/Tech is straightforward and the theme park is mostly about actually going to one - if someone wants to quickly visit me and mind my cats for a few days, I'll have that one solved in a flash (the main obstacle is that not that many parks here allow taking a Go-Pro on the rides):)


Reply #52. May 08 19, 3:54 PM
malik24 star


player avatar
Yep - TTC is the main reason I've not looked too closely at this thus far. Definitely looking for good options for Contract #10 when the time's right.

Reply #53. May 08 19, 3:54 PM
spanishliz


player avatar
I'm another hoping to dive into this more once the Team Task Challenge is over. I did write one crossword for an early contract, but not nearly quickly enough. Save it in case it came in handy for the last week of TTC (it didn't) and will submit eventually

Reply #54. May 08 19, 3:58 PM
WesleyCrusher


player avatar
With regard to the Sci/Tech one:

I'm essentially going by a "would this be a different course at first year university".

For example, one question on organic chemistry and one on inorganic would work. You could also do one on optics and one on acoustics. Animal anatomy and Plant structure would work. Two plant questions or two animal ones would be too close.

Reply #55. May 08 19, 4:04 PM
looney_tunes


player avatar
Both the Sci/Tech one and the duel one are in my sight, but I need to get the TTC out of the way first. (Since the FT day starts at 4pm for me, using the first 6 hours to write a quiz would be simple, if those hours weren't already dedicated to other things. :) )

Reply #56. May 08 19, 5:26 PM
kyleisalive


player avatar
I also wanted to go for the duel one but it relies on my schedule. I can bide my time...

Reply #57. May 08 19, 7:45 PM
CmdrK star


player avatar
I am claiming Contract #13:
Contract #13 - 7 points: Create a small crossword, diagonally symmetrical with a minimum of 80% filled squares and none of the words in the crossword contain the letter "E"
http://www.funtrivia.com/crossword/play.cfm?gid=6404

New contract: write a 10-question Match Quiz, in any category, in which all the answers are palindromes.

Reply #58. May 09 19, 9:56 PM
zorba_scank star
I claim contract 10.

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/Sweet-Valley-High---Meet-the-Characters-397517.html

New contract: Write a quiz on the Bus Ride country of the day, but in a different category, and submit it before the day ends.

Reply #59. May 09 19, 11:41 PM
bernie73 star


player avatar
To clarify about Contract 18 (as I recently did in an individual message, the. 11 characters do not count spaces.

Reply #60. May 10 19, 8:28 PM


807 replies. On page 3 of 41 pages. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41
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