Kamineko's Comments
Design #1: betheactress [Ennedi Plateau, Chad]Show content
I see you picked Chad. An interesting country, indeed. Wonder what this country could bring.
Teams are starting in Istanbul, Turkey. First, they have to fly to N’Djamena, the capital city of Chad. You have the teams flying on the same flight arriving in early morning, but they will be separated into two flights leaving 30 minutes apart. I would prefer if they have to run to find a sign-up list on the airport anyway, so all teams are in a same chance of making it into the first charter flight.
Arriving in Fada, they will be driven by a local driver to the Sahara Desert to the Ennedi Plateau. On their first stop, they find a Fast Forward. To be honest, I don’t really like the placement of the Fast Forward, since teams are already separated by charter flights and being driven by a local driver would mean that whoever leaves first from the airport is the one that’s gonna do the Fast Forward. The Fast Forward task is an interesting one since it involves camels in a unique way. But, isn’t it kinda dangerous for them to look at the camel prints from the assigned camel? Like there’s a chance of them being hurt by the camel, right? Also, matching a camel track is not really fun. I find it more fun to make them follow the camel track, and if they pick the correct track, the Fast Forward clue will be available at the end of the track.
For those who don’t take the Fast Forward, they have to follow an ant track to find the ant hill. Actually this task looks better as the Fast Forward for me since it’s tougher. But maybe it’s just my opinion. Is there only one ant track? Also, how far is the ant hill?
After that, they have to find the Guelta d’Archei where they find a Roadblock. I like the Roadblock idea, since it’s not only just setting up camp, but it involves packing the camp, handing the camel, and resetting the camp. Also, the fact that they have to set the camp exactly as like what they saw before can be really hard since they might not see it coming and there’s no more example to recheck.
After the Roadblock, comes a Detour. I like the water filling task since it involves a labor task combined with handling donkeys. I can see teams struggling in this task and it can be good on television. For the building shelter task, it’s not that new to see, but the task is solid. I don’t really get the connection of the “Slower than the Sands” phrase to the task anyway. Finally, they go to the Pit Stop, the D’Oyo Labyrinth. The Pit Stop location is really nice, I like it. I can see some teams get lost in the rock formations, so there’s a possibility of placement changing. Way to go!
For my final comments, I really like some of your tasks. You really highlight the locations, since it’s rare to see a country like this being featured on a show. I don’t like that they are separated into charter flights based on their previous placement in the previous leg, since the second group has almost no chance to attempt the Fast Forward. Other than that, this is another pretty solid leg from you.
Design #2: Declive [Cidade Velha, Cape Verde]Show content
So, you pick Cape Verde as your destination. I wonder what this country can bring.
First, teams are starting in Portugal, but their starting location is in a small village. It’s rare to see a leg in Portugal, even in such a small village. The previous Pit Stop location is also nice. Their first clue directs them to fly to Praia, Cape Verde, where they have to find a church on arriving in Praia. I see that you’re trying to show a GIF of the location, but it’s pretty confusing for me and it’s only showing the country, not specifically to the place they’re going to.
Arriving at the São Pedro Salineiro Church, teams find another Route Info, which is another cryptic clue. I think that this cryptic clue is too random and too complicated. Maybe it’s not really necessary to put up the cryptic clue as well, in my opinion.
When teams arrive at the Pelourinho in Cidade Velha, they find a Fast Forward. The Fast Forward task is pretty bland. Making a cooking task as a Fast Forward is not fun to watch because it takes a long time of waiting. Eating a 2kg dish can be not that nice to watch as well, especially if the team may puke when eating a national dish can leave a bad impression on my watch. Maybe reduce the amount of food that they have to eat later.
For teams who are not taking the Fast Forward, they have to go fishing. Your GIF image is making me dizzy. Watching a fishing task can be boring if it takes too long, but it can cause some drama. After they’re done, they have to deliver the fish to the same restaurant where the Fast Forward is in?
Then, they have to make their way to a market for their next clue, which is a Detour. In Play & Sing, they have to learn and perform a local song. I find this task unexciting tbh. Performing a local song is not that unique since this type of task can be done anywhere, also the song that they have to perform is really slow.. In Sew & Bring, they have to replicate scarves. How big the pattern that they have to replicate, since making one scarf can take pretty long itself. We’ve seen sewing tasks several times in TAR, so it’s not that new anymore. Also, I don’t know the cultural relevance of the sewing task as well.
After that, they have to make their way on foot to a local school, which is actually a famous one. The Roadblock that they face is learning a new language, which is Cape Verdean Creole. They have to pronounce the alphabet then a random phrase. The phrase that they have to say is also too random, in my opinion. Perhaps you can give some justification on why you’re choosing that phrase? Finally, they are going to the Pit Stop in a lighthouse, which is a pretty nice location.
For my final comments, I’m not really impressed with this leg. Many of your tasks are generic ones. Most of them can be done anywhere else as well. If you’re safe in this round, hopefully you can show us more than this.
Design #3: NELs [Asmara, Eritrea]Show content
You pick Eritrea, another interesting country. Let’s see if this leg brings you justice.
Starting in Dubai, teams are flying to the city of Asmara, Eritrea. It’s interesting that a modern city is labeled as an UNESCO World Heritage Site anyway. Arriving there, they have to go to the Fiat Tagliero Building where they find both a Detour or Fast Forward.
For the Fast Forward, you pick a coffee ceremony. I think it’s culturally relevant, but it’s not that interesting to watch with basically there’s a lot of waiting and I think there’s no room for error to this task. Also, I think this task is better as a Roadblock since it seems from the video you provided that only one person will actually act as the server.
For the Detour, the choices names are not that unique. The bike task is basically just roaming around the city using bikes, not really interesting. It’s not that hard to complete if they can pedal fast enough, although maybe teams may have to attempt this several times. But cycling through a 20-minute long route seems pretty hard to reattempt if they fail on the first try. Also, is the route and directions kinda clear to see or teams have to search for the landmarks by themselves? For the piano task, it’s not really good. It’s basically just performing a song while accompanied by piano. Teams who cannot play piano well may struggle in this, though. Basically, both tasks are not really “culturally relevant” since I think this can be done anywhere else.
Then they have to go to a university for a Roadblock. The task is just another language related task, with nothing else really impressive. I don’t know exactly how teams will find out the translation and the writing. Are the 10 words taught to them before, or they can ask the locals to help them with the translation? Finally, they have to go to the Pit Stop, in a Tank Graveyard. The Pit Stop is nice since it has a background story to it, not some random place being thrown.
For my final comments, I don’t find this leg really interesting to watch. Some tasks are too generic for me. Maybe there are some relations between the task and the culture or the location, but they can be done anywhere else. Your notes really help to make me understand more about your decision for some tasks, so I hope that’s enough to save you this time.
Design #4: MrDS [Nouadhibou, Mauritania]Show content
I see that pick Mauritania, another less known country. I wonder what you can show us from this location.
Teams are starting in Nouakchott, the capital city of Mauritania. So there’s another leg actually happening in this country, which is nice. Teams are starting in a mosque, where they have to find marked jeeps and drive to the Banc d’Arguin National Park. Arriving in the park, teams find an Hours of Operation, which is nice since they arrive after sundown.
The next morning, they find a Route Info and a Fast Forward. For the Fast Forward, actually cleaning fish is not that exciting to watch. This task can also be done anywhere else, although you say that this is relevant to the national park. Having to prepare 100 fishes is kinda interesting since it’s so many and can take a pretty long time, especially with the smells that they have to endure. But honestly, I expect more than this from you. I know that you particularly don’t like Fast Forward tasks, so that’s why I think that this task is not something that you’re really highlighting and focusing on.
For the others, they have to find Nouadhibou Berber Camp and find a Detour. For the art Detour, I really like it. How many art pieces teams have to make though? If only one, will it balance with the other Detour task, since it seems the other can take longer time. For the music Detour, it’s nice that you find another way to highlight the culture. Other than making teams just perform the music, but making them pay attention to a new style of music is really nice.
Then, they have to go to Nouadhibou Market for a Roadblock. The Roadblock itself is just mainly a buying task, with a twist that the ingredients list is written in Arabic. Having teams ask the locals can be tough since I don’t know if anyone there knows English. Probably it’s better to make the locals help them buy all the things. This task is also not really new to see, it’s kinda common to see happening in African legs. Finally, they have to find the Pit Stop, which is in a ship graveyard. This location is really picturesque, I really like it!
For my final comments, I’m not really impressed by some of the aspects of your legs. I know that you don’t like Fast Forward, and it’s shown on what you designed, which is pretty underwhelming. If no one’s taking the Fast Forward, the heritage site won’t be featured much on TV. I like both Detour tasks since it really captures the local culture. The Roadblock is not really new to the franchise, but having teams struggle in finding out the things they have to buy can be frustrating to some. Overall, I believe you can do so much better than this.
