Micron

Ah, it's nice to have a gig-free three-day weekend. Maybe I can catch up on some stuff I've been neglecting.

I bought the 37 key 2 ft wide beepy boopy Alesis Micron I've seen bands use a few times off of craigslist a few days ago. I'm hoping I can use it instead of my 55 pound 88 key Fusion for the ZZ Top set gigs. The Fusion is overkill for this band, and carrying it up two flights of stairs to my apartment all the time is getting old (as am I).

TPIR Report

Good Race Game today. She didn't take long to put the first try up, and didn't spend too long consulting the audience (unlike Bonkers the other day which was just frustrating to watch). She was obviously thinking about the prizes and the prices as she got it on the second try.

I'm afraid I may start liking Cover Up less since it's been forever since I've seen anyone play it correctly. When the choice for the first number is 1 or 3, you know 1 is the correct choice. So get the second number wrong on purpose already! Pick the 0! Pick the 4!

More Gigs

I have been busy with gigs lately--an average of one a week since the beginning of July, and they are often outside of Austin. Tomorrow I have a gig in town, and on Saturday I have a gig in New Mexico which will pay at least four times more than I've ever made on a gig--so it will cover gas money and then some. I'm starting to feel guilty for not being as good a guitar player as I should be. The guilt is finally motivating me to practice more, which is good. It looks like I'll get a little bit of a break after a four day fair near the beginning of September, which will be nice since it'll give me the chance to see some more music again rather than play it.

Don't fret, I have more TPIR updates coming. I missed a few more car games!

Sorry

I'm so sorry, I missed another car game.

Pass the Buck - I like how you guess the prices on this one. Two items are shown and one price is a dollar less than actual price. So you have to "pass the buck" to that item to win a chance at the car. Its original and I like how the game name is used literally.

I would put this one in between #8 and #9 below.

TPIR Car Games Ranked - UPDATE!!!

Whoops! Thanks to everyone who noticed I missed some car games on my list. I'm a bit surprised at some of the games I've missed, especially since I've realized that two of them are my favorites! I've made an update below--new games since last entry are underlined.

FYI, if you can't remember the game, visit the COMPLETE Pricing Game Directory for more info.

Here's my ranking of TPIR car games, from favorite to least favorite. Did I miss any? What is your favorite and least favorite?

1. Switcheroo - This one has a couple of aspects I really like: it's timed, and you can win stupid little prizes instead of the car if you get it wrong. It's got wacky music, and a lot of numbers to switch around so there's potential to look really smart or really stupid.

2. Cover Up - What I really like about this one is that there's a strategy you can use to improve your chances of winning, but it's not always obvious to tell that the contestant is using the strategy. The strategy is to purposely get one of the first two numbers wrong to get another round of covering up.

3. One Away - I like the involved process of having to ask the sound effects lady how many number you've got right

4. Money Game - it's fun how they occasionally go "el cheapo" with the last two numbers of the car being relatively low like the first two numbers. I like the reveal on this one, and I always like it when it's possible to win a paltry sum, in this case probably less than $300.

5. Golden Road - the game is really simple (not easy, but simple) still I have to love this one since the car is always super expensive and they rarely play it

6. Any Number - I love how you can end up winning the piggy bank (less than $10!)

7. Spelling Bee - nice design with the hexagon shapes and bee colors. Nice temptation option with $500 per card

8. Ten Chances - the way people can screw up writing the numbers down makes this one fun and difficult to watch at the same time

9. Pocket Change - This is a pretty new game. I like how the price of the car goes up with each wrong guess, but you get a new price card after each right guess. It can get suspenseful adding up the change at the end to see if you've one.

10. Let 'em Roll - good dramatic ending as the dice go down the slide and hopefully land on CAR. Also nice option to take the $

11. 5 Price Tags - the set on this one is so big, it makes the game feel big

12. Hole in One (or Two) - nice that it involves the actual physical skill of putting, but I think the hole is too big and it's too easy now that you get two chances

13. Pathfinder - fun to try and figure out the whole path from the first square before they start

14. More or Less - This game is so new that the verdict is still out. But much like the next entry, nothing about it excites me much.

15. Stack the Deck - this one is pretty new and it's not too long, but nothing about it excites me yet

16. Temptation - either the temptation prizes are too nice or the car isn't nice enough, because I usually think it's crazy to go for the car

17. Dice Game - all numbers in the price of the car are 1-6? boring

18. Three Strikes - used to like this one but it's too hard and can go on for too long

19. Lucky $even - way too hard

20. That's Too Much - too long and too difficult--shouting out "that's too much!" seems like it should be fun, but it's stupid. I fast forward through this one

21. Card Game - this game is so boring and it takes forever. I fast forward through this one