We're going for the record! Small World for 55+ hours. 1-3 August

[KuReshtin]

BIG NEWS:
I'm excited to announce that on the 1st to 3rd of August, BM, DC, SM (all United Kingdom) and CO (Sweden)* will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for Longest Marathon Playing a Boardgame, at Bus Stop Toy Shop, Largs, Scotland. The current World Record stands at a smidgen under 54 hours but we're all gunning to go past that mark.

Of course, we're doing it all for a good cause - more news on that in the coming days. (There's lots of bits to tie up because you're not allowed to publicise a record attempt until Guinness approve it.) In the meantime though, I hope you'll all support us in our efforts.


At the moment, the game of choice for the record attempt is Small World.


*that would be me

[Killer Angel]

At the moment, the game of choice for the record attempt is Small World.

A lot of matches, then... you'll probably end trying almost all the possible variations of powers/races.
It will include the underground expansion?

[KuReshtin]

A lot of matches, then... you'll probably end trying all the possible variations of powers/races.
It will include the underground expansion?

yeah, there will be a lot of matches played. That would always be the case, and Small World was chosen because of the fact that every match is different since the power/race combinations change each match.
Stops it from being too repetitive.
However, i have a feeling we'll all hate Small World after this marathon session.

We haven't decided on whether to use underground as well, but we might well do. Gives a few more options with the races and powers.

[The Succubus]

Play a FULL game of Order of the Stick....without the Shortening.

That's an easy week's worth there.

[factotum]

Does it have to be the same game played constantly over the time period? You'd think they'd let you swap out now and again to relieve the monotony!

[KuReshtin]

Nope, it has to be the same game throughout the attempt.
It's a marathon attempt, basically. they don't let marathon runners switch to bicycles in the middle of the race to break the monotony of running, so we don't get to change games during the attempt.

[grimbold]

Play a FULL game of Order of the Stick....without the Shortening.

That's an easy week's worth there.

is that even possible?

[Elemental]

Do they at least let you sleep sometime in the middle of your attempt?
Or, are they going to videotape it so people can laugh as you start to slowly go insane from sleep deprivation?

[KuReshtin]

Do they at least let you sleep sometime in the middle of your attempt?
Or, are they going to videotape it so people can laugh as you start to slowly go insane from sleep deprivation?

According to the rules, we will accrue a 5 minute break for each completed hour of play.
So, if we start playing at 09:00, we can go for a 5 minute break at 10:00 and be back at 10:05. After that, our next break accrued would be at 10:05 after that completed hour and so on.

We can, however, add up those 5 minute breaks to make it a longer break, so if we play non-stop for 4 hours, we can take a 20 minute break, and so on.

We're still trying to figure out how exactly we are going to collect video evidence from the attempt, and if we can set up some sort of live feed or something so that people can tune in.

[Elemental]

According to the rules, we will accrue a 5 minute break for each completed hour of play.
So, if we start playing at 09:00, we can go for a 5 minute break at 10:00 and be back at 10:05. After that, our next break accrued would be at 10:05 after that completed hour and so on.

We can, however, add up those 5 minute breaks to make it a longer break, so if we play non-stop for 4 hours, we can take a 20 minute break, and so on.

We're still trying to figure out how exactly we are going to collect video evidence from the attempt, and if we can set up some sort of live feed or something so that people can tune in.

So you can't... I don't know... Bring in a reserve while one of you sleeps?
Otherwise... It might be a little hard to do...

My suggestion is you look up tactics to keep awake for long periods of time that don't involve dosing yourself on caffeine and sugar.
I think I read somewhere about foods rich in protein or carbohydrates or something...

[KuReshtin]

So you can't... I don't know... Bring in a reserve while one of you sleeps?

No, that would defeat the purpose.

Otherwise... It might be a little hard to do...

Again, that's the point of a world record for the longest session of playing a single board game.

My suggestion is you look up tactics to keep awake for long periods of time that don't involve dosing yourself on caffeine and sugar.
I think I read somewhere about foods rich in protein or carbohydrates or something...

We will be doing extensive studies on the subject before the try, I'm sure. :)

[Tyndmyr]

So you can't... I don't know... Bring in a reserve while one of you sleeps?
Otherwise... It might be a little hard to do...

My suggestion is you look up tactics to keep awake for long periods of time that don't involve dosing yourself on caffeine and sugar.
I think I read somewhere about foods rich in protein or carbohydrates or something...

I have previously played video games for 70 hours at a stretch, back when LAN parties were cool. It gets...wonky.

The first sixteen hours or so is easy. Get tons of rest beforehand. Get a comfortable setup. Arrange for food to nibble on, but beware of the sleepiness that comes with heavy eating.

For maximum effectiveness, give up caffeine a couple weeks prior to the event. You build up a tolerance, so giving it up for a while sheds that. Keep giant stockpiles of caffeinated beverages around for the gaming session. Start slow, no need to dip into them for at least the first normal day. Assuming you start at like 8amish, you'll feel dog tired in the early morning of the first night. If you make it through that, you get kind of a second wind, though.

Keep bottled water around, too. Balancing the soda is a good idea.

After around two days of being awake, kind of a mental fog sets in. People act a bit dumber...sometimes to the point of appearing almost drunk. Having someone videotape this part could be hilarious later.

Also, set aside a couple days afterward for recovery. You will seriously need them.

[KuReshtin]

I have previously played video games for 70 hours at a stretch, back when LAN parties were cool. It gets...wonky.

The first sixteen hours or so is easy. Get tons of rest beforehand. Get a comfortable setup. Arrange for food to nibble on, but beware of the sleepiness that comes with heavy eating.

For maximum effectiveness, give up caffeine a couple weeks prior to the event. You build up a tolerance, so giving it up for a while sheds that. Keep giant stockpiles of caffeinated beverages around for the gaming session. Start slow, no need to dip into them for at least the first normal day. Assuming you start at like 8amish, you'll feel dog tired in the early morning of the first night. If you make it through that, you get kind of a second wind, though.

Keep bottled water around, too. Balancing the soda is a good idea.

After around two days of being awake, kind of a mental fog sets in. People act a bit dumber...sometimes to the point of appearing almost drunk. Having someone videotape this part could be hilarious later.

Also, set aside a couple days afterward for recovery. You will seriously need them.

very good tips and suggestions..
we had a bit of a talk about things last night, and we all agreed that caffeinated drinks is not your friend during an event like this, until you reach the very final stretch, since the caffeine and sugar in those drinks usually give you a temporary high, but then a very hard crash after a while, which will be counter productive.

We will make sure there's plenty of water around for hydration and not a whole lot of heavy food.

All of us are gamers, so we have all done marathon gaming sessions before, only not in an official capacity, so I'm sure we'll get through at least the first day and a half or so without too much problem.
Hopefully.

I know I've done some 30-36 hour stints of being awake and haven't had much problem with that, however that's still a whole day less than what we're aiming for.

I will likely be getting the Saturday to recover to start with, and then possibly have an American football game to officiate on the Sunday, but I think that it can still be good to have that, as it requires me to get back into a proper sleep rhythm after being zonked out on the Saturday. Still expect an early evening on the Sunday.

[Tyndmyr]

IIRC, I slept for 22 hours straight after my longest gaming stint. After that, I felt pretty decent, though. I think my clock was still a bit off from a normal day though, but that went back after a coupla days of adjusting...

Best of luck on your attempt!

Also, I can't help but wonder if there's a record for longest roleplaying session.

[factotum]

I know I've done some 30-36 hour stints of being awake and haven't had much problem with that, however that's still a whole day less than what we're aiming for.

I think 38 hours or thereabouts is the most I've ever managed (after an All Night Film Show at University I chose to stay awake until as close to my normal bedtime as I could so I wouldn't disrupt my sleep pattern too much)...I really can't imagine doing 24 hours longer than that!

[AtlanteanTroll]

It's a marathon attempt, basically. they don't let marathon runners switch to bicycles in the middle of the race to break the monotony of running, so we don't get to change games during the attempt.

Yes they do. It's called a triathlon. *is smacked*

[KuReshtin]

Yes they do. It's called a triathlon. *is smacked*

*SMACK*

Then it's not a marathon anymore, silly troll.

[Tvtyrant]

Have you considered Twilight Imperium, and then have everyone turtle? You could easily get 30 hours a game that way, since it easily turns into WWI and you can waste endless time doing things like look at technology sheets on your turn.

If you remove Victory Points, that is. Otherwise the game is only a few hours each run.

[Elemental]

You've got a point there... With the right game and the right manipulations, a game can easily last indefinitely.
Or would the people recording this record not award it if you manipulate things like that?

[Killer Angel]

Have you considered Twilight Imperium, and then have everyone turtle? You could easily get 30 hours a game that way, since it easily turns into WWI and you can waste endless time doing things like look at technology sheets on your turn.

Alternatively, I would suggest something different.

Option 1: Small World.
What's good: you can have various combo of powers/races, so you'll avoid boring repetitions.
Bad: in the end it's the same basic scenario and every match won't waste so much time... you'll be in full mode immersion almost always, and playing 40 or 50 matches of the same game, can be pretty devastating.

Option 2: Twilight Imp.
What's good: you'll need lot of hours for a single game, and so you'll avoid a too much quick pacing.
Bad: a game too much long and very complex, can be mentally tiring. Very tiring.

Option 3 (my new suggestion): Starcraft (or something with similar characteristics).
Each game will last 2-3 hours: you'll avoid the bad part of games too much short and too much long (Civilization, I'm looking at you).
Developing different tech, you can have everytime different strategies.
The set-up will take some time, randomly choosing planets and placing them... this will have the bonuses of variety in the setting (no fixed map) AND it will give you some time to relax before beginning effectively to play.
When your race isn't directly involved in combat, you can enjoy some mental rest.

[Castaras]

We haven't decided on whether to use underground as well, but we might well do. Gives a few more options with the races and powers.

If you're going to be doing that many hours, play with Underworld to keep the races varied enough to keep you interested. You can also switch out underworld every now and again to get just the vanilla.

[Venser]

So...all you have to do is play a boardgame for more than 56 hours?
And you can play as many matches as you want?
Seems easy, but good luck.

[KuReshtin]

Alternatively, I would suggest something different.

Option 1: Small World.
What's good: you can have various combo of powers/races, so you'll avoid boring repetitions.
Bad: in the end it's the same basic scenario and every match won't waste so much time... you'll be in full mode immersion almost always, and playing 40 or 50 matches of the same game, can be pretty devastating.

This is true that it'll be brutal to play 45-50 games one after the other of the same game. We're hoping that the variation of the powers and races will help out with the monotony.

It also has the added bonus of all players knowing the rules and that means we can get started without getting bogged down with weird rules.


As i said, Small World is the game we are going to go for, and Duncan, who runs the shop we'll be attempting the record has contacted Days of Wonder to see if they'd be interesting to promote the event and maybe donate a bit of money to charity.

Option 2: Twilight Imp.
What's good: you'll need lot of hours for a single game, and so you'll avoid a too much quick pacing.
Bad: a game too much long and very complex, can be mentally tiring. Very tiring.

Never player it, and I'm not sure anyone else in the group has either. This would potentially cause silly game stoppages for checking rules if we're not used to it, and if you say that it's overly complicated to start with, then Small World would be the easier choice.

Option 3 (my new suggestion): Starcraft (or something with similar characteristics).
Each game will last 2-3 hours: you'll avoid the bad part of games too much short and too much long (Civilization, I'm looking at you).
Developing different tech, you can have everytime different strategies.
The set-up will take some time, randomly choosing planets and placing them... this will have the bonuses of variety in the setting (no fixed map) AND it will give you some time to relax before beginning effectively to play.
When your race isn't directly involved in combat, you can enjoy some mental
rest.

The StarCraft board game is one that I have tried playing once, and after 2½ hours of setting up and trying to figure stuff out, we decided to scrap it since it was too broken to figure out.
A few others in the group have made it through a bit, so they should know it, but I think the reset between games could be preventative in the case of StarCraft.

If you're going to be doing that many hours, play with Underworld to keep the races varied enough to keep you interested. You can also switch out underworld every now and again to get just the vanilla.

I'm pretty sure we'll run with Underground and Tunnels, to give us the extra variation of the games.
Also, once we make the selection, we won't be able to mix and match which expansions we play, but must stick to the same one throughout.

So...all you have to do is play a boardgame for more than 56 hours?
And you can play as many matches as you want?
Seems easy, but good luck.

Considering that the 55 hours we're aiming for will take us from Wednesday morning at 9AM until about 4PM Friday afternoon, and that's not taking into account that the rules state that any breaks we take does not count towards our total time (we earn 5 minutes of break after every completed full hour of playing), we're more likely looking at about finishing at around 9-10PM on Friday night.
If you think that'll be easy, please, go right ahead and contact Guinness World Records to try and beat us when we set the record.


According to the information we were sent regarding the attempt, the current record is held by a group of Americans who played 'Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game' for 53 hours 59 minutes.

[Killer Angel]

This is true that it'll be brutal to play 45-50 games one after the other of the same game. We're hoping that the variation of the powers and races will help out with the monotony.

It also has the added bonus of all players knowing the rules and that means we can get started without getting bogged down with weird rules.


As i said, Small World is the game we are going to go for, and Duncan, who runs the shop we'll be attempting the record has contacted Days of Wonder to see if they'd be interesting to promote the event and maybe donate a bit of money to charity.

Then, the issue is resolved; and an official involvement of DoW would be great!

[grimbold]

wait
can you sleep in this time?

[Avaris]

Can't help but feel Risk Legacy would have been another good choice for this (I think I showed you a copy at the UK meetup?), given that the entire premise of the game is to have the board evolving over the course of a load of games... ah well, good luck!

[KuReshtin]

wait
can you sleep in this time?

If it's part of a break. Yes.
At the table, playing the game? No.

Can't help but feel Risk Legacy would have been another good choice for this (I think I showed you a copy at the UK meetup?), given that the entire premise of the game is to have the board evolving over the course of a load of games... ah well, good luck!

Yeah, I thought that would have been a very good idea for a game for the record attempt.
We'd already settled on Small World before you showed me it, though. This has been in the works since early June, we just hadn't got the official reply from Guinness before last week, and then we needed to iron some stuff out this week, and that's why the announcement only came this week.

[Archonic Energy]

Can't help but feel Risk Legacy would have been another good choice for this (I think I showed you a copy at the UK meetup?), given that the entire premise of the game is to have the board evolving over the course of a load of games... ah well, good luck!

I open the "do not open. ever." envelope!

Also Good Luck Ku.
i'll raid the hopstial's neuroscience lab for that expermental no sleep drug they are working on...

[Asta Kask]

I'd go with classic - chess. You can sit for hours and contemplate a single move.

[factotum]

I'd go with classic - chess. You can sit for hours and contemplate a single move.

Sitting for hours and contemplating a move after you've been awake for 50+ hours straight, though? Not so much.