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The Head-to-Head/Face Off/Double Battle - Pros? Cons? Suggestions?

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albiegato:
My only points of reference are the US Head-to-Head and the Canada Face Off. In general, I like the idea of pitting teams directly against each other. For a lead? Sure :tup:, in this case it would just be another task with a penalty attached to it. But for elimination? Let's discuss  :jam:


As a game mechanic

TAR has always been a show of "hurry up and wait" moments, so I've never seen the waiting part of H2H as a problem. Plus I actually find teams waiting a good watch when they're doing something (Lyn & Karlyn studying the chariot RB, Dustin & Kandace discussing which team to intersect with, Justin & Diana having a breakdown on the Macau pier) And I would have agreed with the H2H nullifying the tasks before and the departure order after, buuut teams still take a number (so the earlier you are, the more chances you have of not being axed). And more and more the starting times of the legs don't matter because they mostly use pre-arranged flights.

My problem stems more with the seemingly arbitrary penalty for the Face Off. It's an unknown time penalty, and it has always bothered me why they never say the actual time like with the Yield back then (though my guess is that that amount changes depending on the leg, and it's easier to just not say it on air than explain the math of determining this amount).


As a show element

I like the higher stakes - they could really drive the tension at that moment (like the final boule being thrown in the petanque H2H). I like that teams that were ahead could still fall from grace (like Henry & Evan in S30). I like that teams that were far behind can still catch a reprieve (like Janelle & Brittany in S31, that was a great show moment!). Any moment that could give a fair shuffling to teams is  :welcome:  Though I understand that we can't get a "rise from the ashes/defeat the odds" moment like what we nearly had with Zarah & Osang in TARPH2, but other tasks already give (or rather 'should give') that type of drama.

What I don't like is that the tasks used to determine elimination seem so... boring? From the 4 that we've had in the US version (frittes race, petanque, unaired badminton, drum stacks), I only appreciated the petanque one, probably because they showed a relatively unknown sport that I've played before haha :D . The tasks they used for H2H could have been tasks that probably shouldn't have mattered because they seem so tiny and quick. So seeing an elimination come out of them seem like "what the hell?". I think this is the main reason the Head-to-Heads are not working, because the tasks aren't up to par with the stakes.

G.B.:

--- Quote from: Karpov617 on December 23, 2019, 09:55:43 AM ---My problem stems more with the seemingly arbitrary penalty for the Face Off. It's an unknown time penalty, and it has always bothered me why they never say the actual time like with the Yield back then

--- End quote ---

The penalty is elimination. Simple as that. Just a straight "You lose, you're out, sucks to be you."

albiegato:

--- Quote from: G.B. on December 23, 2019, 05:30:23 PM ---
--- Quote from: Karpov617 on December 23, 2019, 09:55:43 AM ---My problem stems more with the seemingly arbitrary penalty for the Face Off. It's an unknown time penalty, and it has always bothered me why they never say the actual time like with the Yield back then

--- End quote ---

The penalty is elimination. Simple as that. Just a straight "You lose, you're out, sucks to be you."

--- End quote ---

That's for the Head-to-Head though, which at least is clear cut. :duno:

Genius:
Perhaps put it as a task on the 1st task of the leg, after a bunching due HoO. The first two teams to tackle it are the first two teams to check in the previous leg, and so forth.

G.B.:

--- Quote from: Genius on February 25, 2020, 12:20:27 AM ---Perhaps put it as a task on the 1st task of the leg, after a bunching due HoO. The first two teams to tackle it are the first two teams to check in the previous leg, and so forth.

--- End quote ---

Or after an "everybody is on the same flight"

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