Perplex City Academy Games

Website: http://www.perplexcityacademygames.com/

General

• The Games are perhaps the most highly watched public sporting event in Perplex City
• As an extension of the Perplex City Academy, the Academy Games encourage public mental competitions
• It is a largely student-run organization
• The organization has a staunch drug-free policy
• The first PCAG events have been hosted on Earth, in New York and London
• The Games are a gruelling 21-day contest of skill and intelligence
• The final event is the culmination of a year-round selection and competition process
• The Champion excels in seven different events, six of which are chosen annually from a pool, while the seventh event, Clash, recurs every year

Location

• The headquarters of the PCAG is at the Games Plaza, which is:
  • Close to the harbour.
  • Near Key Square Station
  • Across the street from the Maitland Museum

• Most competitions take place elsewhere in the City, but the final 16 competitions are always held at the Plaza.

• Qualifying events run at least once a day somewhere in the city or the surrounding area.

• The award ceremony takes place on the roof of the building in summer.

Schedule

• Exhibition matches take place most days of the year

Exhibition matches in the Park and Mercator Square	throughout June and July
First round of knockout competitions	1st - 31st August 2005
Second round of knockout competitions	1st - 30th September 2005
Third round of knockout competitions	1st - 31st October 2005
Fourth round of knockout competitions	1st - 30th November 2005
One-on-one Matches	26th - 31st December 2005
Multi-player Games	1st - 7th January 2006
All-Player Team Event	7th January 2006
One-on-one Knockout Matches	8th - 13th January 2006
Championship Final	14th January 2006
Founder's Ball Celebration	15th January 2006

The last 21 days of competition are described as "intense and gruelling". 1,000 finalists are narrowed down to a single champion. For more on this, see: http://www.perplexcityacademygames.com/takepart_finaldays.html

In brief:

• At the end of the first week, 125 competitors will remain.
• The last day of the second week is generally reserved for a team game in which all the competitors participate.
• The third week is an intensive series of one-on-one games, with half the remaining competitors being knocked out every day.
• The final contest of the games is a day-long set of Clash games played between the two remaining competitors.
• On the day after the final, 15 January, the Academy by tradition holds a ball to celebrate the end of the games and to award the trophy to the champion.

Prizes

• PCAG Prizes include:
  • Overall Champion
  • The Scribe Prize
• Historically, "Weaver’s Guild Board of Excellence in the Game of Piramid" was used to track winners, in the pre-modern era.

Games Year

• Essentially, a Games Year involves spending one extra year at the Academy, taking part in devising and setting puzzles.

• A study by the Perplex City Academy shows that students who take a Games Year tend to excel in the work place
  • Making 8% more salary at their first jobs
  • Making a stunning 22% more after ten years

The 268AC Season

See PCAG 268 Season

The 269AC Season

Exhibition Matches

• 18-JUN-06 - Myra Champaign defeats Oliver Pohele; Champaign aims to improve her performance over last year.

Knockout Matches

• Quietly began with very little public notice.
• Week of 15-NOV-06 -
  • Alma Finnegan makes "brilliantly executed win over Oliver Pohele", placing her at the top of the board. link
  • Gabriella Petel has been slowly sinking through the ranks and has become dangerously close to being knocked out despite last year's stellar performance;
  • Ethan Roanoke bested Ryan Cahill in their Tuesday match, though Cahill has since recovered the points;
  • Klaus Johnson has bowed out of the tournament, citing health reasons.
• Week of 15-DEC-06 -
  • End of the Knockout matches!
  • Serena Duncan overtakes the lead, having beaten out Klaus Johnson.
  • Ryan Cahill gracefully embraces second place.
  • Alma Finnegan impresses audiences in third.
• Finals! 08-Jan-07 - 14-Jan-07
  • Child Prodigy Myra Champaign beats out Ryan Cahill in a Saturday Match
  • Myra Champaign makes surprise victory, beating Serena Duncan in the grand final match, becoming the second youngest player ever to win the PCAG.

Scandal!

• 05-SEP-06 - Insiders inform the Sentinel "a serious investigation is underway regarding the illicit use of cognitive enhancement during the final three weeks of championship play over the last four years."
  • Observers and players in the games, including Gabriella Petel, have stated this may be nothing more than a publicity stunt.
• 15-DEC-06 - After no apparent action for months on end, Paula Ching, director of the Substance Compliance Program at the PCAG, reportedly approaches completion on an in depth investigation of drug use among athletes. No word yet as to who may be indicated, though she did state great caution is being taken to ensure the integrity of the games.
  • It appears to be not a publicity stunt at all, and those who have something to worry about should probably start worrying.
• 05-JAN-07 - Rumor has it the Academy Oversight Committee had gained information implicating none other than Sente Kiteway in a coverup of Ryan Cahill's enhancer usage in the 267 and 269 championship finals.
  • It is very possible Kiteway may soon face criminal fraud charges, among other things.
  • No word on Cahill's theoretical fate.
• 15-JAN-07 - Sente Kiteway Arrested!! Ryan Cahill Arrested!! Violet almost arrested!! Scarlett broken!! Rocks falling from the sky!!

People Involved

PCAG Winners

• 215AC - Mimasan Maze Gardener Ornella Zaid
• 223AC - Professor Sanjean Adamek - Overall Winner
• 232AC - Monday Garrett, youngest ever Overall Winner
• 248AC - Professor Astrid Lindstrom - Overall Winner
• 256AC - Roberto Solitano - Languages Section Winner
• 267AC - Ryan Cahill
• 268AC - Serena Duncan
• 269AC - Ryan Cahill
• 270AC - Myra Champaign

PCAG Record Holders

• Professor Estelle Sedgewick holds the record in the linguistic category

PCAG Officials

• Robert Zhi-hui, Chairman
• Paula Ching, Director of Substance Compliance
• Samara Jones, Official Statistician

PCAG Puzzle Setters

• Sienna Greenlawn, a puzzle-setter in 268AC.
• Ornella Zaid, a puzzle-setter from 218, until her death in 269.

Noteworthy Players

An average of 100,000 people enter the Games each year. Listed below are those few who make a bit of a splash on the gaming scene.

Superstars

• Myra Champaign - 270 Champion; 9th youngest player ever admitted; 2nd youngest PCAG Champion.
• Ryan Cahill - 267 Champion; 269 Champion
• Serena Duncan - 268 Champion
• Alma Finnegan - doing quite well in third place at the start of the 2006 finals.
• Oliver Pohele - Defeated Serena Duncan in a surprise crucial match
• Gabriella Petel - Described early on as a "Championship favourite" in 2005; has seemingly flailed ever since.
• Ryman Gardner - Appeared weekly on 'The Lab' in 2005

Noteables

• Bryce Goran
• Kay Bedling
• Jack Fleury
• Kevin Hamlet
• Klaus Johnson
• Lucius Jorgensen
• Franz Lambert
• Jeannie Murrow
• Ethan Roanoke
• Georgi Shepherd
• Janice Termigant
• Mikhail Terpening

Ejected players

• Viktor Helm - ejected after testing positive for mental enhancers
• Gina Laskey - ejected after testing positive for mental enhancers
• Jackson Nuru - ejected after testing positive for mental enhancers; has petitioned to rejoin the games.

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References

Website: http://www.perplexcityacademygames.com/findus.html

• Perplex City Sentinel
  • article, 21-MAR-05 "PCAG Ejects Nuru" link
  • feature, 23-APR-05 "The Perplex City Tour Guide" link
  • article, 09-MAY-05 "Study Shows Games Year Aids Careers" link
  • article, 31-MAY-05 "Champaign Accepted into Competition" link
  • News in Brief, 01-JUN-05 "Holiday Exhibition moved"
  • article, 17-JUN-05 "Champaign Leaves Match in Tears" link
  • article, 22-JUN-05 "Names of Six 'The Lab' Contestants Leaked" link
  • article, 14-JUL-05 "Goran Out of Games" link
  • article, 03-AUG-05 "PCAG Championship Season Opens" link
  • article, 08-AUG-05"Serena Takes Lead in Beginning Rounds of Championship Play" link
  • article, 12-SEP-05 "Champaign Falls, Cahill Climbs" link
  • article, 29-SEP-05 "Iona Interviews... Ryan Cahill" link
  • article, 18-OCT-05 "Duncan Defeated By Upstart Pohele" link
  • article, 28-NOV-05 "Duncan Determined to Reclaim Prize Despite Defeats" link
  • article, 09-JAN-06 "Duncan Shines During Week of Team Play" link
  • article, 09-JAN-06 "PCAG, Mind Candy Plan Earth Events" link
  • letters, 12-JAN-05 "PCAG Judging Bias"
  • article, 02-FEB-06 "Former Champion Zaid Passes Away at 99" link
  • article, 27-FEB-06, Blafard in NY Crowned First Earth PCAG Winner
  • article, 06-APR-06 "Nuru Petitions PCAG for Requalification" link
  • more news in brief, 19-JUN-06 "Champaign Sparkles"
  • article, 05-SEP-06 "PCAG Investigating Championship Substance Abuse" link
  • article, 18-SEP-06 "PCAG Season Warms Up, Albeit Slowly" link
  • article, 15-DEC-06 "Cahill, Duncan Resume Battle for PCAG Lead" link
  • article, 05-JAN-07 "Kiteway Implicated in PCAG Drug Fraud Investigation" link
  • article, 15-JAN-07 "Champaign Takes the PCAG Championship" link
  • article, 16-JAN-07 "Kiteway Arrested at PCAG Victor's Ball" link

• http://www.perplexcityacademy.com/departments.html - Many, if not all, members of the Academy Staff played in the games.

• Pietro Salk's Eulogy link

• Post-board, back cover of The Perplex City Board Game Rules.