The Challenge Factory discussion

At any point in the game if you would like to express your likes/dislikes, how we could better improve next time, etc. feel free to let us know :)

I'm having a lot of fun with this game! I hope we do something similar again someday. I know fairytales would be hard to repeat but some other theme with the open ended options for points. It's stress free and you still get to hang out with a team. I love it.

I know it's gotta be a lot of work for you mods having to look over/approve so many books so I just wanted to also say thank you for all your time and patience. You guys make this game (and group) awesome for the rest of us.

Aww thanks :)

I like that every book counts. It's like never running out of team challenge reads lol. I will admit to thinking of a movie theme edition.

Ohhh! Movies would be so fun!

MOVIES !!!!!

I'm in lol

This has been a great challenge Jenne - well thought out and well executed. Thanks for all your hard work, as well as that of the other mods and the team captains. You all rock!! And a movies theme sounds great!!!

I do like that all books count, especially since some of the tasks and mini challenges have been hard to find books for everyone. Don't want to discourage anyone from playing because they can't find something they want to read.
The difficulty doesn't bother me, it just means that I have to hunt a little harder for books to find maximum point value. Kind of like going on a scavenger hunt.

Jenne --

I've been enjoying the challenge and appreciate the enormous effort this must be for you.

My only suggestions:

page counts

large books:
I would like to see the page count points continue to increase incrementally after 500 pages. It doesn't make sense strategy wise to read long books. Even though I personally do not read long books, I'd even be in favor of there being an exponential scale instead of incremental.

Another idea: one point per page.


Small books:
I have tons of "books" under 100 pages, and quite a few 100-150. During challenges, I find it hard to make the time for them. I'd love to find a way to be able to include them -- maybe something like 10 points for 50 -150, 5 points for under 50 - -and neither of these are eligible for any bonus points.


I like the general setup of 2 week task, with weekly mini challenges.

Jenne--

another kudos for the hard work this has been to put together.

a movie genre challenge or nursery rhyme might be fun and I agree with Susan A. that the pages under 150 should be included with fewer points. Maybe 15 for books with 150pgs or less.

40 points isn't a lot of points for 500+ pages. maybe that should be 50 as well. people may be in buddy reads or have something they really want to read. that's a lot of time that may only be worth 40 pts.

Thanks everyone and great ideas :)

I've found a few retellings I wanted to read that didn't cut the mustard with page count. I think we can for sure implement that in the future.

Great challenge, Jenne! Well thought out and organized. Thanks for another great team challenge!

No suggestions just want to say great job on this challenge.

This challenge has been so much fun! Thanks for putting in so much thought/effort and for organizing it.

I had a harder time sneaking in some of the tasks and mini-challenges because I tend to plan my reading in advance (to a degree, & mostly because of other challenges... shhh....). I appreciated the times the tasks/mini were posted several days in advance so I could adjust my plans a bit. I think the timing was a good balance for the spur-of-the-moment and the planning-ahead styles.

Wonderful challenge and doing a movies version would be excellent!

I also love the fact that all books count toward the total even if they don't fit the challenge

Thanks so much, Jenne and the other mods, for all your efforts :0)

I agree this has been a fun challenge.

My two cents...I agree with page counts suggestions. I just finished a book that was over 550 pages which took me most of my week to finish (I'm a slower reader) but strategically it would have been better to read 3 books at 150 pages. I'd have gotten more points per book, even at a lower page count, if factoring in the mini-challenge points plus any other points that 3 books might have accrued. I really wanted to read that book so I'm not disappointed at all but the very few additional points for longer books makes for a quantity vs. quality feel. On the other side of the spectrum, I'm also a lady who has a ton of novellas that sit on my TBR never to be used because they don't meet the page criteria so something added for a future game that could include those would be great. Like a 2fer...where you have to read 2 to get the points or something.

I just want to reiterate everything that's been said -

Great challenge!! Thanks for all the hard work.

Love the fact that all books that meet the page count work.
Allowing for shorter reads would be great. I too have a ton of novellas I never read. And I also agree that books beyond 500 pages should count for more.

My team seemed to have some challenge with the on again off again timing of the mini challenge and team challenge but I personally liked it.

And I would love to do this again as a movie challenge!

Wicked should be a team bonus item

I loved the challenge, but in the end I am kind of tired.
But I loved to do this again. :D
And I am interested whit the movie challenge. :DD

Katherine wrote: "I loved the challenge, but in the end I am kind of tired.
But I loved to do this again. :D
And I am interested whit the movie challenge. :DD"

I think the key to not burning out was reading your own books too. i mean it was really low points for me like 25 points but they were books from my starter plan or Buddy reads

Ezinwanyi~the Impish Angel wrote: "Katherine wrote: "I loved the challenge, but in the end I am kind of tired.
But I loved to do this again. :D
And I am interested whit the movie challenge. :DD"

I think the key to not burning out ..."

I read the books that would give my team about 100 points, some less some more, but now I just read other books for other challenges.

Katherine wrote: "Ezinwanyi~the Impish Angel wrote: "Katherine wrote: "I loved the challenge, but in the end I am kind of tired.
But I loved to do this again. :D
And I am interested whit the movie challenge. :DD"

..."

I just started which is my Dusty bookshelf book (one of them anyway) as well as a meet-n-greet book. It meets nothing but page points for 25 points. But I don't want to neglect my MnG picks because I have bonus picks to account for too. And then I have (buddy reads here on TCF).
I can't give my BR partners the middle finger just for Grimm (LOL!)

Ezinwanyi~the Impish Angel wrote: "Katherine wrote: "Ezinwanyi~the Impish Angel wrote: "Katherine wrote: "I loved the challenge, but in the end I am kind of tired.
But I loved to do this again. :D
And I am interested whit the movie..."

It would be funny if you finished Grimm with , because I started Grimm with this book. Because I wanted to finish this series. :DDD

Katherine wrote: "Ezinwanyi~the Impish Angel wrote: "Katherine wrote: "Ezinwanyi~the Impish Angel wrote: "Katherine wrote: "I loved the challenge, but in the end I am kind of tired.
But I loved to do this again. :D..."

Im actually going to listen to it tomorrow. the publisher sent me the audio, and I should get it by fedex tomorrow. I loved book 1&2 and have been quite impatient for the audio of 3. So nope. I won't wait as soon I get home, I will buy pizza for my kiddos and start listening :D

Like many I agree with the page count suggestion of improvement.
But I'd like to add that in my opinion the mini challenges should earn more points than the retelling/author initials/team name tasks. Since those last kept going through all the challenge it makes more sense to me if they scored 20 points (or some other lower score) while the mini challenges took a "bonus" and higher score.
For me it would have being even more encouraging to find a book that fitted the mini challenge if it wore better scored. And although I like retellings it gets hard to find and just read then in a long challenge timeframe.

Said that I also have to thank you mods for the imaginative challenge and all the work you have done! The challenge was really good and I have a lot of fun trying to find books for the tasks and everything else!

Thanks everyone! All of your feedback will help improve the next round :D

@ Juliana that's why we had the AI and TNB so people could get bonuses without having to read fairy tales. I have to admit I haven't read a bunch prior to this challenge and I did read some I really enjoyed.

For "the first time in forever"....

Seriously, it was really good for a trial run. I am sure it will get better each time.

As I said earlier, I like that all books count. It would be nice if you made it mandatory all team members were required to read one retelling a week that went with the task given and additional bonus points (on top of MC points) if that book also met the mini challenge requirement.
It's easy not to read retellings and just read whatever you want if it's not required for the challenge.

No, I am not with that Ora.
some people only read a book a week, if even that. that would mean they have to read a retelling every week.

Please no. how about at least one retelling per task? I have come to see that I dont care for retellings. But I don't care for the underlying fairy tales except Beauty and the Beast.

Ezinwanyi~the Impish Angel wrote: "No, I am not with that Ora.
some people only read a book a week, if even that. that would mean they have to read a retelling every week.

Please no. how about at least one retelling per task? I hav..."

I agree with Ezi - requiring a retelling a week (or even once a task) could be really restrictive for some. Although this was a challenge based on Fairy Tales, never was it supposed to be a challenge of just fairy tales but one of books that fit themes related to fairy tales. Already trying to find a book to fit the task and/or mini was challenging enough (some weeks more than others) so forcing us to make one of those a retelling would have really turned me off.

I also agree with Juliana that I would have liked the mini challenges worth more than the bonuses, or maybe just worth more than 20. But not at the expense of losing the chance to have those bonuses. That for me was the real key of the challenge - knowing that if I needed to read books for other challenges, doing so wouldn't hurt this one if they didn't meet the task/mini because I could at least earn page or other bonus points.

Really great challenge and I look forward to the movie one too.

I also agree with Ezi. Mandatory reading isn't fun reading for me. I read lots and hated reading so many - but it was my choice to read them and help my team score points. Mandatory would have made this a challenge I would have passed up.

I also agree on the mini challenges and have said before I thought shorter books (max 150 pgs)should have been included for 15 points and longer books (over 500 pgs) should have gotten more points.

Another thought is the tasks lasted two weeks and the mini challenge only one a couple of times I did wish they were the same amount of time.

This was fun and we should play with something else. Movies, Continents, fruit, jewels, the list is long to choose from.

I love the idea of a movie theme. A couple of women who have been doing great at moderating a romance challenge reading group over at Shelfari in my absence (I have grown to really dislike Shelfari and their glitches amongst other things so I kind of abandoned the group) anyway, they just created a quarterly challenge based around an actor. Now I personally wouldn't have chosen Tom Cruise but to each their own. LOL. But it had stuff like well, I'm just going to copy and paste the list but it's really creative...I'm just so pleased with those gals!
1. Rock of Ages - Choose a book where a character is a musician or whose plot centers around music. *The Limelight

2. Mission: Impossible - Read a book where the hero or heroine is a spy. *Spies, PI’s & Warriors

3. Collateral - Choose a book where someone is kidnapped or held captive. *Held Captive

4. The Last Samurai - Read a book set in Asia or a book with a sword or knife on the cover. *Special Settings

5. Jerry Mcguire - Read a sports romance. *Sports Romance

6. Interview with a Vampire - Read a vampire romance. *Alternate Reality

7. The Firm - Choose book where the hero or heroine is an attorney.

8. A Few Good Men - Read a courtroom drama. *Courtroom Dramas

9. Far and Away - Choose a book where the hero or heroine is from the wrong side of the tracks. *Across the Tracks

10. Rain Man - Choose a book where the hero or heroine is disabled or has “rain” in the title. *Disabilities in romance

11. Cocktail - Read a book with a bartender or set in NYC or on an island.

12. The Color of Money - Read a book where the hero or heroine are rich.

13. Valkyrie - Choose a book set during a war. *War

14. Days of Thunder - Choose a book that has a racing theme.

15. Knight and Day - Read a book with “Knight” or “Night” in the title.

I have really enjoyed this challenge - thanks so much for putting it together and moderating, Jenne and Ezi (and sorry if I missed anyone!)

The only thing that was a bit discouraging was that a couple of teams were able to get to big leads early on, so it wasn't really a contest. No offense to those teams!!! You did awesome! I don't know what the answer is, but with a challenge this long, finding a way to keep it competitive would be helpful. Like I said, I still have had a great time and read some books I wouldn't have otherwise that I really liked.

So thanks for all your hard work and I would definitely be up for another challenge like this!!!

Aww y'all are so sweet =]
Sandy the 2 teams that have such a huge point difference read lots and lots of bonus books. Even really really crappy ones lol. I think teams should get together at the start and decide how competitive they want to be maybe?

Sandy wrote: "I have really enjoyed this challenge - thanks so much for putting it together and moderating, Jenne and Ezi (and sorry if I missed anyone!)

The only thing that was a bit discouraging was that a co..."

In my other challenges, the mods ask how many books we read per week. Then they try to balance teams so heavy readers are sprinkled around and mixed with slow readers.
That's an option to address your concern Sandy.

Teams should of been pretty even for the most part. I really tried to keep them as even as possible.

Thanks Jenne & Ezi! I know the other teams outread the heck out of the rest of us!! Kudos to them! I am on an amazing team and am also proud of how we did....I don't want my comments to sound like I was complaining.

=)

Sandy wrote: "Thanks Jenne & Ezi! I know the other teams outread the heck out of the rest of us!! Kudos to them! I am on an amazing team and am also proud of how we did....I don't want my comments to sound lik..."

We want feedback so no problem.

I'm amazed that Jenne was so on top of everything and still being a great mommy and wife. You are just phenomenal Jenne.

I have to agree with Ezi Jenne you rocked with keeping up with all of this and reading and still being a mommy/wife.

Jenne,
I learned some things about myself this challenge both good and bad. It was awesome.

Best FTR I read:
Worst FTR: (the whole series)

My preferred FTR Genre: Beauty & the Beast and Cinderella

Next time, please Add Alice in Wonderland as it's own because there was a good number of those books out there

Is it bad that I am already ready for the next challenge?

Lol no Shy :)

Ezi I liked the Blood and snow books. It wasn't because of the writing or the plot it was because I had to know who her true love was lol.

Also if we do the movie challenge next time. The FTR bonus would be replaced by books that are movies or shows on TV. We could use Alice for sure on that one. I wouldn't mind having Alice as team. I always loved that movie.

Lol Jenne I think I have become a team challenge junkie.

Jenne wrote: "Also if we do the movie challenge next time. The FTR bonus would be replaced by books that are movies or shows on TV. We could use Alice for sure on that one. I wouldn't mind having Alice as team. ..."

Great plan

Ezinwanyi~the Impish Angel wrote: "Jenne,
I learned some things about myself this challenge both good and bad. It was awesome.

Best FTR I read: "



My favorite FTR was the Kingdom series by Marie Hall - I only read 1-3; I plan to read the others
I also enjoyed

The other FTR I read....not so much

Thanks again Jenne!!! This was so much fun and you did an awesome job. Can't wait for the next one!

Just wanted to say thanks to Jenne and Ezi and everyone else who made this such a fantastic challenge and especially to my wonderful team - Go Beauty!

Melissa I read the first 2 in the kingdom books and really liked them too. I'll for sure be continuing it!

Y'all are most welcome =)

We'll be doing a round of SS/SSS next. I need to run the dates and make sure it won't be win time during the holidays.