Christian Fiction Bloggers discussion

Team Two

Hannah
Emily
Bess
Kimberly
Christy

Review: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

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Challenge starts: 1/25/2021
Challenge ends: when a team completes five boards

-Books must be at least 200 pages
-No picture books, graphic novels, cookbooks...basically anything with little words and majority pictures
-Books must be started on or after challenge start date

Countdown to start of challenge: https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...

Hi everyone!!! I'm finishing up another challenge this weekend to clear my reading schedule for this one!!
How is everyone?

Thanks, Mel!!!

I am doing ok. Having health issues but will start posting soon.
HUGS

Praying for you, Kimberly. HUGS :)

Yes, sending prayers! Hugs!

Beginning the challenge with a new series!!

Hey team! I posted a review yesterday and a guess at the board. But I'm posting a second review today and need some serious help trying to decide a guess at the board.

Suggestions? Help?

@Bess, ooh, I’m reading those books! I can’t wait for the last one to release!

I don’t know what to do. Why not pick another random spot some distance from the last one you did? Like random bombs until we find a ship. I just posted a book and did that.

Thanks, Emily!
And the books are fun!

I just wanted to note that I noticed a typo in my board - I missed the E and added K. I don't know how I did that, but it is now fixed. Letters are A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J. So sorry about that. I feel so silly not to have noticed it sooner. :p

Thanks, Mel!!

Adding Christy to your team

Hi all! :)

Hi, Christy!

Hi! Welcome :)

Welcome Christy!

I was thinking. We could go all systematic about it:
For Letters A, C, E, G and so on, choose odd numbered spaces, one after another until we just something and do the opposite for the other letters (even numbers for B, D, F ...). That way, we would be sure we wouldn’t miss even the 2-spot boat as we work our way across the board. The downside of that is that it will take FOREVER, which is why I didn’t even want to suggest it. Does anyone else have ideas?

I have no ideas at all! LOL!
I wish we had a more systematic way of plotting a course. But your idea is just as good/better than any dartboard method I was trying. :D

I think we should read but not post until after Mel has updated on Mondays & Thursdays.

Thoughts?

I like Emily's suggestion as it's very systematic. Whatever we decide, we need a hit soon!

Piggybacking on Emily's suggestion... let's do every other space in each row, but each of us are responsible for two rows each. That way we all have a designated area to focus on. If by any chance someone goes through their two assigned rows, they can help someone else if we haven't found all the ships yet. And by only hitting every other space, maybe we can find these ships quicker. Thoughts?

We can do this method...the only issue that I'm thinking is the big picture. This is only our first board. There are five boards.

But there doesn't seem to be a better suggestion. :D

My goodness, I am so glad to finally see a hit on the board! Thoughts on which direction to go around that hit? I'll have another book finished by the end of the day.

Any of the directions. There’s no way to know until you hit something.

Also, I googled “tips for battleship” and found this:

1. Guess in diagonal lines.

By firing shots along a diagonal line, you guarantee that each of your shots is located in a new row, and a new column, thus maximizing the number of rows and columns into which you are firing.

For example: If your first shot is fired at I-7, consider your next shot at F-4, your next shot at C-1, ...

2. The "checkerboard" method

If you imagine the firing grid as a giant checkerboard (with alternating white and black squares). You can search all opposing ships by firing only on black squares and means that you never need to fire on half the squares (except to finish sinking a ship when you've found it).

3. Don't bunch up your shots early on.

Your initial goal is to cover as much ground as possible. So, never fire at adjacent holes but leave a few spaces between your shots.

After your opening salvo, you can go back and fill in the gaps in your diagonal lines.

4. Once you have fired enough shots, you'll notice that the board is devided now into small chunks. Now, you should systematically take shots in each chunk to eliminate the possibility of your opponent's biggest remaining ship existing in that region.

When you hit a new ship, you should immediately fire the adjacent shots to sink the ship.

https://www.ultraboardgames.com/battl...

Very helpful, Emily!

Do we want to assign rows or just keep going in a pattern across the board with odd numbers?

Christy wrote: "Very helpful, Emily!

Do we want to assign rows or just keep going in a pattern across the board with odd numbers?"

I’m good with assigning rows. I’ve been working down A already and can do another 1-2

Hahahaha...Emily, I was seeing the SAME strategies!

I’m so sorry!!! I completely forgot about this challenge. Life has been a little complicated...

I have several books done:
When Love Blooms by Robin Lee Hatcher 1/26
Active Defense by Lynette Eason 1/31
Set the Stars Alight by Amanda Dykes 1/31
Web of Steel by Cyrus Townsend Brady 1/31
No Clue! by James Hay 2/2
The Pawns Count by E. Phillips Oppenheim 2/2

Current read: Every Bride Needs a Groom by Janice Thompson

Where do y’all want me to place them?

So glad to hear from you, Hannah. Sorry to hear things have been complicated. Hope things get better soon.

No worries, Hannah!
We finally got a hit, so you can continue with that trajectory.
Other than that, feel free to help yourself with the board. :D

Melanie wrote: "So glad to hear from you, Hannah. Sorry to hear things have been complicated. Hope things get better soon."

Thanks. My dog is terminal and he gets a lot of my time petting him. 💔

Hannah wrote: "Melanie wrote: "So glad to hear from you, Hannah. Sorry to hear things have been complicated. Hope things get better soon."

Thanks. My dog is terminal and he gets a lot of my time petting him. 💔"

I'm so sorry to hear that. I recently went through something similar with my late baby (dog) and it was heartbreaking. Take all the time you need. 💕

Hannah wrote: "I have several books done:
When Love Blooms by Robin Lee Hatcher 1/26
Active Defense by Lynette Eason 1/31
Set the Stars Alight by [author:Amanda Dyk..."

Hi Hannah, would you be able to choose some spots on the board before today's update? We have six spots already chosen since the last update on Thursday, and 6 more would surely be helpful! It seems the primary strategy we have so far is doing a checkerboard pattern across the board. Nothing else has really been set in stone, so whatever you think is best. :)

And I'm terribly sorry about your dog. :( We had to say goodbye to one of ours about a year ago, and we still miss her.

I'll try to take a few minutes here! I'm at work...

Thanks!!

Work?! That's terrible! We need more time to read! ;)
Have fun at work...I'm working too. :D

Looks like you got a lot done. Great job. Thanks for the update! I hope work goes well. I’m working too ...

In spite of work, you read like crazy! :D

Melanie will be busy with our board today!

Worker #4 here...

Okay. Posted ten books...I literally have ten minutes left on my audio, so I went ahead and posted it too. We'd better get some hits from that pile!

Hahaha, I think we should get several hits! Great job, Hannah & team!

We’ve found our last ship! We have two slots left to make sure it’s sunk: D9 and E8. Once those are guessed, be sure to hold further reviews until Melanie gives us our next board. :)

Yay!!
My oldest is having 7 teeth removed. I'll get some reading done while he's "preoccupied." Prayers coveted, please!

So happy that we found them all! Bess, prayers that your son's oral surgery goes smoothly...lots of soup in his future!

For the next board, can we plan to do a checkerboard pattern all the way through? Like, start A1, A3.... then come to the next row and do B2, B4 etc? That way everyone will know where to target. If we stumble upon a ship, we can all focus on sinking it then resume the checkerboard. Thoughts?

Hm, the main thing is that we could be really thorough on the top of the board and not get what’s on the bottom. We could each pick a row in different areas to start on?? Then we could try that.

I like the checkerboard plan but at the same time I think the other teams are reading faster than we are. (Actually, when I did that ten-book dump I tried to checkerboard with a number of them.)