Episode 1 Live Discussion Thread

[Bandage Man]

Episode One - Fruit Stand

This story begins with the invitations being sent out. Some players had particular thoughts about the game, themselves, and the opponents they were soon to meet:

Feb 25, 2016 18:25:27 GMT 10 Junghyun said:

There will be excellent players playing who know every Genius game ever played and who have rehearsed each and every one of those games. There will be players who have emailed the producers of The Genius and asked for tips and tricks on how to get ahead in the game... and there will be players who have flown to Korea and slept with previous contestants just to get more info.

Feb 25, 2016 11:02:45 GMT 10 Yuram said:

Generally, I don't find myself being too cynical or cerebral in these types of games. Deception is always an element in online games such as this yet the fact that, for the most part, it will be on a game-by-game basis rather than long-term and with the intent of eliminating others is I hope a positive for me.

Feb 25, 2016 17:48:59 GMT 10 Dongmin said:

With the Genius, only 4 seasons have aired, and there is still a lot about the Genius strategy which is unclear, especially as many of the real life Genius players seem less bloodthirsty and backstabby... This is exciting as it's entirely possible that we'll find an all new way to approach the strategy of this game that hasn't been explored on the show yet.

Feb 25, 2016 3:16:57 GMT 10 Jinho said:

Puzzle solving ability and general competitiveness will be enough but I'm starting to doubt all this... I have a very logical kind of thinking and I tend to get well with people who are similar to myself. But before I realise what working with people means in this game, I'm gonna have to dig for info my way.

Feb 25, 2016 18:02:26 GMT 10 Sangmin said:

The thing with people using garnets to gain an advantage in matches is that I can't really see most of the players using garnets at any one stage. They become more valuable with each passing round and so I think greed will become a major factor. Why spend 3 garnets to earn an advantage at the F9 when you could save them to use at the F8,7,5,4,3 and so on? It's just human nature. I would be extremely surprised to see this game unfold without multiple people holding on to garnets for too long.

Feb 26, 2016 11:39:36 GMT 10 Kyunghoon said:

This game I think will reward people who are rational, but at the same time you have to be sorta likable so that people won't choose you for the deathmatch. Yeah, a balance of sociability and rationality.

Feb 28, 2016 12:28:37 GMT 10 Kyungran said:

Not since I was 12 years old watching Survivor for the first time has a reality television show drawn me in so completely like The Genius did. I knew from the first episode that it was something special. So special, that I ordered the Horror Race board game from Korea as soon as it was released. Thinking about the garnets for a moment... given that there's no real prize besides the glory of winning here, I suspect that garnets will play more of a role in the games than they typically do on the show.

And before the players had a chance to mingle amongst themselves, the first Main Match had begun. They would have to adapt and bond with the stresses of the game in full force, all the while all 13 competing to make sure they weren't the first one to lose.

[The rules would be here but you guys already know them]

The players would be split into the following groups to start:

Ahyoung - Apples and Oranges
Dongmin - Grapes and Oranges
Eunji - Grapes and Strawberries
Honcghul - Watermelons and Lemons
Hyunmin - Lemons and Apples
Jinho - Watermelons and Oranges
Junghyun - Lemons and Watermelon
Kyunghoon - Grapes and Lemons
Kyungran - Grapes and Apples
Sangmin - Watermelons and Watermelons
Sunggyu - Apple and Strawberries
Yoonsun - Strawberries and Strawberries
Yuram - Oranges and Strawberries

Initial discussions gravitated towards their groups and there were very few one on one conversations. People did not have time due to the fast pace. However a few people shared their thoughts amongst each other as to how the game would work.

Feb 28, 2016 19:25:11 GMT 10 hongchul said:

I think early with people new to all this, people will just be happy to get coin on the board.

Feb 28, 2016 19:14:40 GMT 10 jinho said:

Well, there are four rounds. Sooner or later someone will flip and ask for a lower price for fruit. But if that someone does it on round 1, it will disrupt the whole industry for that fruit, people will freak out and soon they will all earn 2$ each.

And before they knew it, Round 1 had begun. And the strategies were starting to form.

Feb 28, 2016 19:49:00 GMT 10 jinho said:

In Group Discussion:
Sangmin suggested we all go for 1$ so we're all certain we earn something and there's no paranoia. If you ask me, that's the worst idea I've heard all day, maybe we're not all geniuses after all

Feb 28, 2016 19:13:04 GMT 10 dongmin said:

In Group Discussion:
Ah Yuram, beauty and brains! Such a winning combination.

I agree that we should endeavour to work together in this game. Offering $5 will surely result in us all profiting and ensuring we avoid the dreaded last position, I trust that you all agree?

Feb 28, 2016 19:25:23 GMT 10 dongmin said:

To Eunji:

I think it would be foolish for someone to turn on us this round, perhaps towards the end... but in the first of 4 rounds? everyone will know who flipped unless they use their secret so I would not be pleased! You and I could certainly work together to ice out whoever betrayed us I believe.

Feb 28, 2016 19:31:29 GMT 10 Yoonsun said:

So essentially if we rig the system and have a unique winner each round with $4:

Yuram - $20
Eunji - $20
Sunggyu - $20
Yoosun - $20

This'll be our end total from strawberries?

Two main strategies formed:

Oranges, Grapes, Watermelons, Lemons and Apples all agreed to bid $5 every round to maximize profits
Strawberries agreed to have one player bid $4 to undercut everyone else bidding $5 every turn, to even out the profits due to Yoonsun having double Strawberries.

However, not all of the results rang true to these promises.

Round 1 resulted in Apples, Oranges and Strawberries all agreeing to their initial plans (With Sunggyu "undercutting" the strawberries) but:

Grapes had Dongmin and Kyungran had worries about Kyunghoon and decided to undercut by bidding $1, while Kyunghoon and Eunji stood true by bidding $5.

Hongchul and Junghyun, who shared Watermelon and Lemons had been plotting from early on:

Feb 28, 2016 19:14:38 GMT 10 hongchul said:

Yeah someone will undercut for sure. Did you wanna do it first round together? Everyone is new to it all, so we can just say it was a bit of fun lol

Feb 28, 2016 19:16:44 GMT 10 junghyun said:

yeah lets do it first round. Do you think go $1, to be safe?

Feb 28, 2016 19:18:07 GMT 10 hongchul said:

I don't think the risk is worth it for $1. Let's both go $3 and split it since I could see group message dude going for $4 trying to take it all.

Feb 28, 2016 19:38:24 GMT 10 junghyun said:

I'm locking in my $3 for lemons now.

Lets see how this plays out...

And Lemons did in fact have deception, but unbeknownst to them Hyunmin had independantly joined in, with all three bidding $3 leaving Kyunghoon high and dry bidding $5

And Watermelons as well was affected by Hongchul bidding $3 and Junghyun undercutting even more to bid $1 while Sangmin and Jinho both bid $5.

However, Sangmin was not deterred by his failing to earn anything

Feb 28, 2016 19:56:09 GMT 10 Sangmin said:

This is glorious. I couldn't be more pleased by the round 1 results

Round 2

Feb 28, 2016 19:55:26 GMT 10 Ahyoung said:

I got SO lucky to have the two loyal fruits Seriously, that sucks for the rest.

Round 2 saw Jinho and Kyunghoon using their Garnets to use the Change item, Jinho moving from Watermelons to Apples and Kyunghoon moving from Lemons to Oranges

Feb 28, 2016 20:07:32 GMT 10 kyunghoon said:

hey yuram. so appaarently hyumin spread some word about me. we all promised to vote $5 but he poisoned my group and my other fruit group so we all got 0. i am willing to pay a garnet to go to oragne if you guys still have the same arrangement....? i wonder if you can ask your group if they are open to that?

Feb 28, 2016 20:15:04 GMT 10 yuram said:

welcome to a safer place

Feb 28, 2016 20:23:21 GMT 10 sunggyu said:

You prefer Apples?
I hope your apple visit is a kind one Jinho, Hyung.

Feb 28, 2016 20:25:05 GMT 10 jinho said:

Well, the watermellons were a mess and I wanted to have a solid team that I can trust to go for the highest price. I'm not here to mess with your karma, I want to work with you guys

Apples, Oranges and Strawberries were all pleased with their results and continued their good fortune with the same plans (with Eunji "undercutting" for Strawberries).

However the damage had been done for the other fruits. Grapes did not trust each other at all

Feb 28, 2016 20:02:02 GMT 10 kyunghoon said:

the only way to restore trust is if you guys bid $5 and we get our $1. otherwise, this won't work out anymore.

Feb 28, 2016 20:16:12 GMT 10 dongmin said:

I understand Kyunghoon but we have to look after our welfare as well. How are things going with your other fruits? are there inroads there? I want to assure you that this was not a deliberate betrayal but rather a defensive measure that turned out to be misjudged.

Feb 28, 2016 20:04:21 GMT 10 kyungran said:

I feel so awful for believing what Hyunmin was saying. I think if you're bidding $1 you don't earn any more if I bid $5 or also bid $1. I think they all sell for the lowest price??

Feb 28, 2016 20:05:50 GMT 10 kyunghoon said:

yes, but you both got a dollar last round at our expense. it would be unfair for me and eunji if both of you get $1 over us for grapes after betraying us last time.

And they ended up all bidding $1.

Lemons also had trust issues, however while Hyunmin and Hongchul bid $1 to guarantee some earnings, Junghyun bet $2.

Watermelons had Sangmin trying to undercut his fellow vendors by bidding $2, however his fellow vendor Hongchul also bid $2, cutting Sangmin's earnings in half and causing his partner Junghyun to be completely without earnings this round.

Round 3:

With the game half over, people were starting to see who they could throw under the bus to ensure they weren't sent to the first Death Match, and Sangmin's lack of funds was making him an early target.

Feb 28, 2016 20:54:05 GMT 10 eunji said:

To Dongmin:

We are trying to get Sangmin last right now.

Feb 28, 2016 21:02:27 GMT 10 hongchul said:

To Junghyun:
Kinda feel sorry for this other melons guy lol.

Feb 28, 2016 21:05:13 GMT 10 junghyun said:

hopefully he leaves us and we can both just put $5 for the final round.

Feb 28, 2016 21:05:47 GMT 10 hongchul said:

He has two spots so he could only leave one. I dunno why he didn't do it straight away. He will come last easy though

Grapes discussions had been slow going due to the mistrust, but Kyunghoon saw to put water under the bridge:

Feb 28, 2016 20:34:32 GMT 10 kyunghoon said:

ok folks, if we keep on voting $1 we will all shoot each other in the foot.

Feb 28, 2016 20:35:57 GMT 10 dongmin said:

Given that you both earned more than Sangmin and Yoonsun, hopefully the pressure is off you a bit? I am happy to try to earn us all a bit more padding rather than just going for $1 each round?

Feb 28, 2016 20:40:02 GMT 10 kyunghoon said:

well i am down to do the original plan again if kyungran is still game. maybe call a truce this round and we can all earn $5 from grapes?

Feb 28, 2016 20:40:51 GMT 10 kyungran said:

Great idea. None of us are in last place anymore so shall we do $5 this round to move ahead as a group?

Feb 28, 2016 20:41:38 GMT 10 kyunghoon said:

yes, i am willing to move past the first round. i am sorry for getting mad but i did not know what was going on.

Feb 28, 2016 20:43:21 GMT 10 eunji said:

yeah we could easily slip to last if we keep bidding $1 and the others get their act together.

Feb 28, 2016 20:46:40 GMT 10 dongmin said:

Hopefully this round can be a show of trust for the grapes!

ONE GRAPE ALONE DOES NOT MAKE A BUNCH

WE DON'T WANT TO END UP AS SULTANAS

But Eunji and Kyunghoon did not stick to the plan and instead did unto Kyungran and Dongmin as they did unto them, by bidding $1 each to undercut the group.

Meanwhile, those from Oranges, Apples and Strawberries continued to sit pretty with their honesty and loyalty to each other. All following through with their initial plans once again (with Yoonsun "undercutting" the Strawberries)

Junghyun and Hongchul were in talks with Sangmin as to how to handle the Watermelon bids:

Feb 28, 2016 20:31:34 GMT 10 hongchul said:

$5 each? I feel like I can trust you two

Feb 28, 2016 20:43:47 GMT 10 sangmin said:

Let's take it to the bank. With $5 here we have a good chance to build some solid cash

Feb 28, 2016 20:44:22 GMT 10 junghyun said:

$5 locking it in

Feb 28, 2016 20:44:36 GMT 10 hongchul said:

Do the $5 now, build trust for the last round where we can go big again and we all will be safe

However, were secretly talking amongst themselves as to how to screw Sangmin over:

Feb 28, 2016 21:12:05 GMT 10 hongchul said:

We could get melons guy to go 5 I reckon

Feb 28, 2016 21:14:02 GMT 10 junghyun said:

nah I think we have to go $1 anyone would be mad to go higher in this round. surely we have enough points to get through.. I should probably add some points up..but I won't.

In the end, both bid $3 to undercut Sangmin who indeed bid $5.

And Junghyun doubled down on the deceiving but bidding $2 on Lemons while Hyunmin and Hongchul both bid $5.

Round 4:

Like clockwork, Apples, Oranges and Strawberries all worked flawlessly with all of their plans (With Yuram "undercutting" strawberries for the final round). Will the bonds of these groups carry forward? Only time will tell.

Grapes also found new success in the final round having considered all slights against them moot by the mutual betrayal, and were finally all able to successfully bid $5 in the final round.

Lemons were beyond help with the three of Hongchul, Hyunmin and Junghyun all beyond the point of considering trust amongst themselves and all bid $1.

Hongchul and Junghyun however, both with very small earnings compared to the rest of the competition ensured their safety by continuing to scheme against Sangmin in earnest

Feb 28, 2016 21:15:25 GMT 10 hongchul said:

He is talking $3, should we go $2?

Feb 28, 2016 21:16:51 GMT 10 junghyun said:

shall we do 2 just in case? I dont think he'll trust us. he'd be mad to. shall we go 1? eeek I dont know.

Feb 28, 2016 21:18:20 GMT 10 hongchul said:

If he goes $1 then he wins $4 so no big loss.

If we go $1 we win $2 each. whatever you wanna do, I've already had enough fun screwing people

Feb 28, 2016 21:19:43 GMT 10 junghyun said:

lets go $1 to be safe.. then we are guarantees something at least. I feel bad... if he goes $3 I will feel terrible. but its just a game lol

Sangmin did indeed go $3. And with a grand total earning of $2.67 over all four rounds, Sangmin was made the elimination candidate.

Having each been apart of two of the three most successful groups, Ahyoung, Sunggyu and Yuram won Tokens of Life.

The full scores:



After some deliberation, Sangmin chose his opponent for the Death Match:

Feb 28, 2016 22:00:05 GMT 10 Sangmin said:

Ok, I've made my choice.

I want to face Junghyun in the death match

Feb 28, 2016 22:03:54 GMT 10 Sangmin said:

Confessional:
Basically, he screwed over the lemons in his undercutting- the same as he did with watermelons.
I assume those with high counts (apples, strawberries and oranges) worked together well and as such would back each other in the death match. By going with Junghyun, I have picked someone who has shown to be untrustworthy and is unlikely to be popular amongst the majority (I never undercut anyone and so I should be more popular amongst the others)

And this was followed by what can only be described as a pessimism spiral by both parties:

Feb 28, 2016 22:20:12 GMT 10 Junghyun said:

Mother Fucker!!

Little do they know that the most fun player EVER is going to leave in the first round.

THIS SUCKS.

Hosts... We all know I have no chance in hell of winning the DM. I will start preparing my farewell speech at work tomorrow. lol

I'll read through the game rules again when I'm on a computer to see if I can make sense of it. 

Feb 28, 2016 22:21:03 GMT 10 Sangmin said:

well ... it was fun while it lasted.

Mar 1, 2016 12:48:22 GMT 10 Junghyun said:

I'm scared, really scared! Sangmin probably picked me because I screwed everyone over the most!

Feb 28, 2016 23:10:05 GMT 10 Sangmin said:

I think of it like this- there's 13 people, 3 cars in the African jungle and a pride of lions.
the car I'm in has 4 people in it and a driver who is very inexperienced, the other cars have 4 and 5 people each.
we can carry everyone, but only if we each throw out our luggages, so that we can drive faster than the lions can run. Jinho and I both agree to do it- the other 2 don't and so the squabbling slows us down. We still have everyone's luggage, but we're in a worse spot than we started as the other cars are beyond us.
So after 1 minute, the lions are getting closer- the other 2 cars are narrowly ahead of us at this point. Jinho jumps out and catches one of the other cars which are travelling faster, but it costs him his designer shoes, which he needed to remove to allow him to catch the other car.
Now our car just has 3 people. We have the lightest load now, but still are carrying 3 heavy luggages. These are noticeably slowing down our car.
Our 3 agree to discard all of our jeans and jackets- we don't really need them since it's hot in Africa. So we throw them out and with the lightening of our load, the car picks up speed. We've made ground on the other cars and are accelerating. Keep this up and we'll be fine.
However, Hongchul and Jungyung are nervous- they can still see the lions in our rear view mirror.
Rather than lighten our load in the typical fashion, they begin to concoct a plan...
I suggest throwing our entire luggage out and they agree- great! This will keep us all safe.
So we each have one final look at our treasured belongings- they bring back fond memories.
The car slows down as we each get ready to throw our luggage. I pick up mine and turn myself towards the window. Tossing the heavy bag into the dust.
The others get ready to do the same. They stand one either side, luggages in hand and begin to count down.
3...2.....1......GO! And with that they unhand their respective belongings and grab hold of me. 'Huh? What's happening?
Guys...?' And with that they push me out the window. I hit the dry grass with a hefty thud. Bemused. Shocked.
The car now picks up speed. With just 2 passengers aboard, it's much lighter. Even though the other 2 cars are way ahead, it rapidly puts some considerable distance on me.
As I realise what just happened, the pride of hungry lions sets upon me....

Some of the other players also shared their thoughts on the Main Match:

Feb 28, 2016 23:00:50 GMT 10 Hyunmin said:

I liked it, i had one group that was a mistrusting mess and another who were just solidly giving points to keep us off the bottom. I had no idea what to expect, at the start i was just going to lie and steal all the points every time but glad i didnt lol that would have been terrible.

Mar 5, 2016 20:16:44 GMT 10 Yoonsun said:

I believe I made the most of everything I was given? Having two strawberries instead of two unique fruits was a disadvantage whether Bondage Man acknowledges it or not. If I wasn't such a famous and glamorous personality the others could have sent me to the Death Match with ease. Instead I left the first game with several adoring fans who will assist me in getting further in this programme 

Feb 29, 2016 6:08:15 GMT 10 Ahyoung said:

Yeah, I guess it did go as expected, for my fruits anyway. I thought most would stay loyal in the first game. It surprised me that so many betrayed their groups straight up. According to Kyunghoon, Hyunmin was behind him bring pushed under the bus, making the grapes go $1 and the lemons have a side deal without him. If true, I think that's so cruel to do to someone right away like that, it doesn't really seem fair. Just picking someone to try to make lose when you don't know anyone yet. 

Mar 6, 2016 19:26:37 GMT 10 Jinho said:

I expected people would be a lot more cutthroats in that and I was ready to join in on that.  But then I realised that a bit of loyalty could be good for long term plans and it was already obvious that if we stick to not betraying each other, we will at least avoid being last. Hell, even if someone betrayed us on round 3 or 4 we would still avoid being last so there was no need for extra drama.

Feb 29, 2016 16:14:59 GMT 10 Kyungran said:

One good thing to come from my move was that I got my HOLY SHIT I'M PLAYING THE GENIUS I MUST BE CLEVER AND DO SOMETHING TRICKY attitude out of my system and calmed down for the remaining rounds.

I didn't interact with either of the Death Match candidates during the Main Match, save for a friendly greeting message to each of them after the final round bids were in. There was enough to try to keep on top of during the game without unnecessary extra conversations being had, but I wanted to at least say hi. I don't have a preference for one of them to win over the other, but part of me would like to see Junghyun be the first boot just for the Bandage Man tears

And so after some light-hearted banter

Feb 28, 2016 23:05:01 GMT 10 Sunggyu said:

Fighting! This is a sad Death match. I am glad I have TiVod this episode.

Mar 1, 2016 18:39:16 GMT 10 Junghyun said:

Sangmin we are currently the only ones online. I'm happy to settle this now with Rock, Paper, Scissors. You can choose first if you like.

Mar 1, 2016 18:58:49 GMT 10 Sangmin said:

I'll go paper

Mar 1, 2016 19:04:02 GMT 10 Junghyun said:

Mar 1, 2016 19:00:29 GMT 10 Bandage Man said:

Gyul! Hap! will start in 30 minutes

I don't think we're going to have to worry about this any more.

Mar 1, 2016 18:58:49 GMT 10 Sangmin said:

I'll go paper

I'll go scissors.


This seems to be all sorted. :-P


(See you in 30min).

The Death Match between Sangmin and Junghyun began:

[The rules would be here but you guys already know them]

Both Sangmin and Junghyun got off to a bad start, both incorrectly calling Gyul! in the first and second round respectively, tying the game at 1 point a piece.

Sangmin then called Gyul! first in the next two rounds, and was incorrect once but correct on the fourth round, once again tying the game at 2 points for both players.

Junghyun then took the lead again by correctly calling Gyul! in Round 5, needing only one more point to win the Death Match and continue to the second Round.

And in Round 6 Junghyun called Gyul! first again...




And was correct! Meaning that:



And Junghyun walked away with a tidy 3 Garnet total to fight another day in Episode 2 - Radio Scramble.

[Kyunghoon]

LEMONS AHHHHHHH

[Yoonsun]

FYI: This version of the episode is a template and not the actual thing. All my scenes are being added as we speak

[Sunggyu]

I had a very UTR edit in the opener for an immunity winner. I don't think I'm winning this.

[Ahyoung]

Not enough instances of my name when I Ctrl F Totally irrelevant in the game.

[Eunji]

Apr 26, 2016 22:27:19 GMT 10 Sunggyu said:

I had a very UTR edit in the opener for an immunity winner. I don't think I'm winning this.

I think we can rule out anyone who didn't get a 'thoughts about the game' confessional at the start

[Bandage Man]

Apr 26, 2016 22:38:07 GMT 10 Eunji said:

Apr 26, 2016 22:27:19 GMT 10 Sunggyu said:

I had a very UTR edit in the opener for an immunity winner. I don't think I'm winning this.

I think we can rule out anyone who didn't get a 'thoughts about the game' confessional at the start

Things are going so well for almost half of them

[Jinho]

Good times That watermellon group was really intense in it's own way

[Eunji]

That was great Bandage Man

Grapes Somehow after all of that we managed to be the last group left in tact

[Hongchul]

Episode one villain, and soon to be episode 2 villain too. My 360 story arc is going to be amazing. Apologies to both Sangmin and Junghyun, I really screwed you both over at the melons.

[Eunji]

~Eunji Edgic~

Ahyoung - UTRP2
Dongmin - CPM4
Eunji - CPP5 MOR2
Hongchul - CPN4
Hyunmin - UTRN1
Jinho - CP4
Junghyun - OTTN5
Kyunghoon - CPP4
Kyungran - MOR3
Sangmin - OTTP4
Sunggyu - UTRP2
Yoonsun - UTR2
Yuram - UTR2

[Sunggyu]

The P tone was for my good looks, yes Nuna?

[Eunji]

Apr 27, 2016 23:44:03 GMT 10 Sunggyu said:

The P tone was for my good looks, yes Nuna?

Just overall cuteness

[Yoonsun]

Then where was my P Eunji?

[Ahyoung]

Apr 28, 2016 0:37:22 GMT 10 Eunji said:

Apr 27, 2016 23:44:03 GMT 10 Sunggyu said:

The P tone was for my good looks, yes Nuna?

Just overall cuteness

I never doubted