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Alright so I was told to redo this thread in a better accepted way, so here we go.

Please pick a number in the poll above, any number you wish.

EDIT: Just wanted to thank everyone for participating, keep going though, I want to hit at least 50 or preferably 100 votes before I present this.

Please Do NOT Read Below until you have voted above. I was asked to include the reasoning for this thread in my OP so it will not get locked again but if you all read it before you make your decision that breaks the point of it. Please just go up and pick a number really quick, then read below if you want.
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Ok, so a few people at my FLGS and I are in a blood bowl league, and in this game after every match you must completely randomly determine an MVP who gets an exp bonus. This is not 100% easy as most teams start with 11 players.

They decided to do that by going up to a random person in the store and asking them to pick a number between 1-11. I commented on how just psychologically, some people are more inclined to pick certain numbers.

For example, without even knowing it, or maybe with knowing it, some people will NEVER pick the boundry numbers of 1 or 11, just because they momentarily, before they even think about it, feel that because of the free range of 1-11 they should pick something inbetween.

Tabletop gamers might either mostly pick, never pick, or very rarely pick the number 7, as 7 is such a common number for us (the average roll on 2D6, which comes up alot)

Some might have stranger tendencies, for example because 7 is so common, they will never choose 7, nor 6 nor 8. Just subcontiously.

Others will try to avoid the main numbers in between (like the 4-8 range) entirely and try to pick something close to the border numbers, but not the borders themselves.

I suggested that we use the tiles (provided in the starter set... even in the rulebook it suggested using this meathod) that are numbered 1-16, and just put 1-11 in a cup and pick one at random without looking, but they think that that's too much work.

Thanks for complying. The Machine Spirit is appeased.

I realized when you posted this in the other thread that without thinking about it I have never picked either "border number" when asked a question like this.

In any case, you could just roll a d12 and count 12 as a re-roll. Still not truly random but a lot closer.

Also, I'm not sure how you will be able to interpret the results of this poll . . .

This ain't random, it's pseudo-random.

zeekill wrote:...you must completely randomly determine an MVP...

What's the point of picking an MVP if you're not going to pick the player that was most valuable?

Manchu wrote:In any case, you could just roll a d12 and count 12 as a re-roll. Still not truly random but a lot closer.

A compulsary re-roll does not make the roll any less random. Rolling a D100 and re-rolling everything 7 and above would be just as random as rolling a D6 and not rerolling anything.

@lAlex: The re-roll is because OP wants a number between 1 and 11 not because it would be more random. :/


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AlexHolker wrote:

zeekill wrote:...you must completely randomly determine an MVP...

What's the point of picking an MVP if you're not going to pick the player that was most valuable?

Mercs and Stars can win MVP when it's randomly determined. When they do, the value is lost to the team.

Yeah, there is absolutely nothing random about asking someone for a number. Depending on cultural background, certain numbers are considered lucky/unlucky: just look at how many people have picked 7 above. Hell, I use randomly generated numbers for doing sensory studies at school, and "The Book" even warns you to remove numbers that LOOK non-random or that may influence results (in sensory analysis, random numbers are used to identify a product/sample without telling your subject what it is) as people may choose/avoid certain numbers rather than just judging their assigned product.

If anybody has a smartphone, most of them have some form of free app that generates random numbers (or random enough) from a designated range (or can access a webpage that does the same thing). Failing that, the d12-reroll-a-12 bit is perfectly suitable and is sufficiently random.

AlexHolker wrote:What's the point of picking an MVP if you're not going to pick the player that was most valuable?

MVPs are determined randomly in the game, if you could pick them yourself then you could advance key players REALLY fast.

In the fluff they're picked by Spike! magazine. The randomness is a reflection of the politics and stupidity that seems to infest professional sports.

From the previous thread, I saw "Pick a number between 1 and 10." so I stayed away from 1 and 10 because it doesn't say "inclusive" anywhere.

Either way, why not use a d12 or d20 and avoid any options that don't make sense?

I picked 7, as it is the favored number of Nurgle, the great god of rot and decay!

I picked 4 as it's my favorite number in that range. 4 is actually one of my favorite numbers of all time!

Not quite as cool as 22 or 93 though.

Picked my second facvote, if the option is there, chances are I'll go for it. If 13 isn't on the list of course.

I picked 10 because it's what random.org gave me.

Interesting spike at 7

I find it amusing that you said most people wouldn't pick 7 yet, as of now (83 votes), it's the number one pick. I almost chose it myself, before selecting 3.

Also, there may be a problem in what you are asking the random person:

They decided to do that by going up to a random person in the store and asking them to pick a number between 1-11. I commented on how just psychologically, some people are more inclined to pick certain numbers.

For example, without even knowing it, or maybe with knowing it, some people will NEVER pick the boundry numbers of 1 or 11, just because they momentarily, before they even think about it, feel that because of the free range of 1-11 they should pick something inbetween.

If you're asking them to pick a number between 1 and 11, they should never be choosing your boundary numbers, as 1 and 11 are not "between" 1 and 11. If you want them as valid selections, you should be asking them to choose a number *from* one *to* eleven.

Eric

42 wasn't a choice so I went with a multiple which is 8.

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what d'ya mean 8 ain't a multiple of 42?

To me, the spike at 7 and the low endpoints were very predictable. 7 being seen as lucky and all. I almost fell into this predictability myself before I realized how evil 7 was and had to go with 3.

My point being, it wasn't random. People will either attempt to put thought into their selection, or attempt to chose randomly but depend on an unknown bias. Which is the OP's point I believe.

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8 is one of my favorite numbers.

It would seem if you went about this for your Blood Bowl comp your star player should be number 7 =P

Went for 1 myself, just cause it was first and the scale didn't go as high as 42.

Scott-S6 wrote:Interesting spike at 7

I guessed as much because I've heard before that people are attracted to the number 7 when asked to pick a random number between 1 and 10. I can't recall the reasoning though.

I expected 7 too, because we've just covered it in my Stats lecture. People just pick it because of its association with good luck.

If you want to randomly generate an MVP, take some ping pong balls, paint the numbers on and then draw them from a bag.

I picked 3 because it is the complete number.

Look at how things are grouped in 3s
Mom, Dad, and kids
Beginning, middle, and end
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Back to the Future 1, 2, and 3
etc...

UsdiThunder wrote:
Back to the Future 1, 2, and 3

Genius!


I picked 7. I like 7 a lot.

By the way, my favourite number I think is 12, because it's divisible by 2,3,4 and 6, and it's the number of inches in a foot, the number of months in a year and appears in several other places on a day to day basis for me. Though it was my least favourite times-table to learn.

I picked 7, for reasons completely unrelated to wargaming and nurgle and such.

I picked 1.
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Does that make me strange?


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I picked 1.
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Does that make me strange?

Getting someone to give a number between 1 and 11 isn't very random. I'd never be happy with system, and if I had to use I'd make sure my preferred MVP recipients went in the centre, and my least preferred players went on the fringes.

Magc8Ball wrote:Failing that, the d12-reroll-a-12 bit is perfectly suitable and is sufficiently random.

The problem with rolling a D12 is that BB teams can have up to 16 players, and many start with more than 12 and most will get to have more than 12 eventually.

We used to roll a D6 and a D8, the D6 designated was 'up' or 'down' - so rolling 1-3 on the D6 designated the top half of the roster, players 1-8, and a D6 roll of 4-6 designated the bottom half of the roster - players 9-16. If the spot you rolled was empty you rolled the whole thing again.

zeekill wrote:
Tabletop gamers might either mostly pick, never pick, or very rarely pick the number 7, as 7 is such a common number for us (the average roll on 2D6, which comes up alot)

I'm not sure I get this statement, doesn't that pretty much cover all possibilities? Anyway I chose 9, cause its my birthday (falls on 9/9).

rabidaskal wrote:

zeekill wrote:
Tabletop gamers might either mostly pick, never pick, or very rarely pick the number 7, as 7 is such a common number for us (the average roll on 2D6, which comes up alot)

I'm not sure I get this statement, doesn't that pretty much cover all possibilities? Anyway I chose 9, cause its my birthday (falls on 9/9).

What I mean is that

Some people will mostly pick it
Some people will rarely pick it
and
Some people will never pick it.

In general what I am saying is that it can never be 100% random, for example, in this case a large amout of people chose the number 7

I picked 5.

I always pick 5.