Board Thread:Season 14 - Madagascar/@comment-17748013-20140504021900/@comment-24215409-20140504102024

Hey Spencer. My answer is really long because you asked a lot of questions so thanks for having the patience to read through all of this!



I do admit, I could have tried harder to get to know you, but you didn't make it easy for me to get in contact with you. On the first day, I initiated a conversation with you, and we had a really nice talk and I think we got to know each other a bit. After the first day I did try talking to you but it was extremely difficult to catch you online. There were a few other times where we spoke but our schedules just never seemed to allow us to be online at the same time. It wasn't that I didn't want to get to know you, I would have loved to have had the opportunity to get to know you better, but the opportunity was unfortunately rarely there.



Here are some things that I've learnt about you from talking to you:

 (This is all information that I got from talking to you during the game, I didn't visit your wiki profile so if any of the information coincides it's purely coincidental)
 * Unlike me, you're not super active on tumblr, but you used to use tumblr to reblog random things that made you laugh.
 * You're from Pennsylvania.
 * You're a junior in high school
 * Your favorite season of Survivor is season 6, Amazon.
 * For Christmas, you got Africa on DVD and the reason you like the older seasons of Survivor is because you're not the biggest fan of all the strategy that has been happening in the more recent seasons, you liked how it was more social based in the earlier seasons; which explains why this is your question :)
 * You're a procrastinator when it comes to homework.
 * Your favorite final two in the show were Chris and Twila.
 * The reason you were inactive was because you were part of a school musical that took up a lot of your time.





I actually had a ton of fun playing this game and made some great friends! And a lot of people were a lot of fun throughout the game. Even the people who I didn't get the chance to connect with during the game, I think that if we talk after the game we could get along really well!



Overall, I just enjoy the whole strategy element of playing Survivor. Yes, at times it was super stressful but I love planning things out, thinking through votes, orchestrating moves and making new friends. I'm a very competitive person and this game gave me an opportunity to test myself and see what I was capable of doing. So overall, the experience was very fun and rewarding.



As for how I made the game fun for other people, I think that overall I was warm and friendly when I was talking to people. I had a lot of fun moments with a lot of the people in the game. Eddie and I had some great times in the game. We Skype all the time and trust me, Skyping with Eddie is NEVER dull; especially when we sneak up on Val to listen to her sing. There was one night where Trace introduced Eddie and I to his dog. It was an interesting night to say the least but we had a lot of fun! One of my favorite moments in the game that always makes me smile is thinking about the time I used the black widow to summon Craig. I was trying to get Craig to respond to me on Skype chat, so I sent him the awesome emoticon of the black widow (from the avengers) and said "will the black widow get you here?" and literally 5 minutes later he responded and said "yes" I don't know why I just really enjoyed that moment.



(There were obviously a lot more people who made this experience great for me and a lot of moments that I enjoyed but I don't wanna drag on too much)

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<p lang="en-US" style="margin:0in;font-family:Arial;font-size:11.0pt">Okay now onto strategy…

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<p lang="en-US" style="margin:0in;font-family:Arial;font-size:11.0pt">You’re right. I was a very crucial player in this game and I do realize that and I am proud of that. When I was talking about being shy and waiting for other people to come to me that was pre-merge. I should have made that more clear in my opening statement. I felt that was an important part of my game because not putting a target on my back pre-merge, is what made it possible for me to make the bold moves post-merge. I was fully aware that the moves that I was making were game changing but I couldn't go around flaunting my gameplay. I needed to remain modest in order to maintain the respect of the other players left in the game; but I will absolutely take credit for everything I did. I could have easily ridden coattails until the final 5 or 6 but I wanted to put my faith in my own hands and I did that.

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<p lang="en-US" style="margin:0in;font-family:Arial;font-size:11.0pt">I actually did try to flip at final 7. When it was final 9, I knew that had Craig and I stuck with Trace, Charley, Taylor and Eddie we would have most likely been out 5th and 6th but I also knew that if we went with Jay, Sergiu and Lincoln that we would be 4th and 5th. The reason Craig and I voted off Taylor and Charley was to advance our placement and then go ahead and work with Eddie and Trace which would leave Jay, Sergiu and Lincoln on the bottom of the tribe. Unfortunately, due to circumstances I could not predict, the vote didn't work out and Trace left the game. I didn't feel that I could break the 3 person alliance between Jay, Sergiu and Lincoln at that point; that's why I tried to flip over to Trace and Eddie where I was confident I would be in the final 3. So unfortunately that move did not work out in my favor but I was making the move to further myself because I was aware of where I stood with both alliances.

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<p lang="en-US" style="margin:0in;font-family:Arial;font-size:11.0pt">Going into the game, Jay and Lincoln did know other players which was an advantage for them. They didn't have to work as hard to work their way into a group because they already knew a lot of the players and had a good idea of how they play the game. They also had an easier time integrating into a group of fans because they said "Hey we're together so join us or we can get other people to join us" (not in those exact words but you get the point) I definitely had to work a lot harder than them when it came to forming relationships with both the fans and the favorites.

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<p lang="en-US" style="margin:0in;font-family:Arial;font-size:11.0pt">At the same time as it was a disadvantage for me, I also viewed it as an advantage. I decided to look at it in a glass half full kind of way. I didn't have friends going into the game. No one here knew me or anything about how my approach to the game; I had a blank slate coming into this game. I was able to shape the way I was perceived by everyone here. No one had any preconceived notions of me and I used that to my advantage.

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<p lang="en-US" style="margin:0in;font-family:Arial;font-size:11.0pt">I think it all depends on how you look at things and rather than sulking about the fact that there were already alliances in the game, I made the best of it. I think that's a testament to my gameplay and how I, as a player, approach the game. I also think that being the last fan standing is quite an accomplishment and I'm really proud of myself.

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<p lang="en-US" style="margin:0in;font-family:Arial;font-size:11.0pt">I hope that I answered everything, it was a little difficult to address every point you made because it wasn't written; so if I missed anything or you'd like further explanation on something let me know and I'd be happy to elaborate!