OlympicIRL

So the second heat is drawing near.... I hope we are all standing by in case we need some replacement contestants

Awesome. I've been there a few times when my friend was at university there and I loved it!

I think we get similar weather to Brittany during winter but we don't get summer at all Galway! Lovely city

Haha, very good thinking on their part . Woohoo, hope you enjoy your stay here. I wish I could promise you decent weather but you know how it is

Blasphemy! One must never miss the darts

The evening session is unmissable

Reyes! What a match!

Unbelievable! I will have to hide those keys harder for the final in case he finds them all in his first few turns

New Zealand still are against the odds as there is still only 20% chance of winning the Golden Ticket (5 contestants will contest the final for 1 ticket).

I wanted to create a game that could be short but man was that way quicker than expected @Gianlu33 hit a 1 in 19 chance after finding a lucky key! You should do the lottery this week The final will probably have the same format as last year's key game where the game doesn't finish until all keys are revealed. But this format is better for heats I think so we don't have 4 days of very long games (though today's game could have been long if not for Gianlu having other ideas )

Here is the solution set for this very short game! GRIDLOCK Have another go x x x x x x Miss your next turn x x Miss your next turn x x Have another go x x x x x x Have another go x x x Have another go x x x x Miss your next turn Miss your next turn x x x x 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 x x x x x x x x x x 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 x x x x x x x x x

Commiserations to @mrv86 and @DaniSRB. Sorry you did not get more time to find that ticket and thanks so much for taking the time to participate

Incredible choice from @Gianlu33 finds the Silver Ticket and sends New Zealand to the Final Congratulations!! @Wanderer will be delighted!

So New Zealand have their first opportunity to find the Silver Ticket. Please unlock one of the treasure chests to see if you can find the Ticket GRIDLOCK 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Miss your next turn 19 20 21 22 x 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 Miss your next turn 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 x 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Miss your next turn Unlucky Serbia, you too have to sit the next round out. Back again to @Gianlu33 now! GRIDLOCK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Miss your next turn 19 20 21 22 x 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 Miss your next turn 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 x 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

@DaniSRB it's your go now

Sorry buddy, you sit this round out remember

x No luck this time. Mexico misses their next turn so now it's back to Serbia! GRIDLOCK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Miss your next turn 19 20 21 22 x 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 x 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

x Unlucky. So the other contestants can breathe a sigh of relief as we continue now with New Zealand GRIDLOCK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Miss your next turn 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 x 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

And so the first opportunity to find the Silver Ticket has presented itself to Serbia at this early stage. So I'd now like to ask @DaniSRB to open one of the 20 treasure chests GRIDLOCK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Miss your next turn 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Miss your next turn Unlucky, Mexico misses their next turn. On now to Serbia! GRIDLOCK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Miss your next turn 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Hello and welcome everyone to Heat 1 of the battle to become the host of TISC Open 2017. Three contestants representing and will do battle in the first heat in a race to find the one and only Silver Ticket on offer for a place in the Final. Here is a reminder of the rules.... Rules: Players will compete against each other in a game called Gridlock. The aim of the game is to uncover keys in order to open the treasure chests and find the one and only available Silver Ticket for the Final in this heat. Players take turns revealing tiles from the grid. There are 20 keys hidden in the 64-square grid. After a player has revealed a key, they immediately get to use the key to open one of the 20 treasure chests. One of these chests contain the Silver Ticket which ensures that player's passage to the Final. However, to complicate matters a little, the grid system has been infiltrated by those pesky penguins. There are 8 penguins in total lurking in the grid. Players need to be very cautious when selecting tiles because the penguins are set on causing mayhem. Collecting three penguins during the game results in instant elimination for that player and their dreams of hosting TISC Open 2017 will be over. If two players are eliminated by the penguins, the one and only surviving contestant will automatically be awarded the Silver Ticket and advance to the Final. One final piece of information to know - Séamus the lucky leprechaun has hidden himself away in the grid. For the lucky contestant who uncovers him, Séamus will wipe away all those pesky penguins that the player has collected thus far and he will also grant that player a free go at opening one of the treasure chests. Good luck to all contestants and choose wisely . So without further ado, let's play Gridlock!! @mrv86 you are up first, choose a square please GRIDLOCK 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 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Ok, you and Gianlu can take turns representing Wanderer

Excellent.... as Italy have no interest in the bidding contest it would be great if you would play on behalf of Wanderer

No worries. We'll see if a neutral user nominates to play in the next few minutes but if not then you can play for him