Contests can be really fun, and this is in no way a slight against them (You guys are awesome!!), but when I consider how little money a GOG game costs, I figure that I can just ignore most of the giveaways and make more than that amount in the same time at my job. I can then use the cash to purchase a game here.

That and sometimes I'm tired. ;)

I'd also rather someone who maybe can't buy that one GOG game that they want win the contest, I can buy one if I really want it.

Quite true! There are many people out of work these days. They should take priority.

You could still enter :) the fun frilly ones for grins and giggles and pass on the prize.

I've entered a few, I dont need/want more games but just to play :)

Yep, I still remember your devious tap code / one time pad puzzle I solved only for bragging rights. Which, incidentally, I'm exercising right now.
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Yeah there's that, and for some (like me, but probably others too), I've just given up on the whole contest thing. If it's a riddle, code or other puzzle, then someone smarter or more experienced with that sort of thing than me is sure to get it. There are lots of them around here. If it's about being creative, then I have no faith in the judging process. Looking at the entries in such contests, it's rarely the one I thought should have won that actually does. If it's a straight draw, then I know I'm still not going to win, or rather, I have participated in so many of those and never won anything that I've been disillusioned by now.

So yeah, if the task I need to perform to enter is interesting in and of itself (like some of Akwater's have been for instance), I may participate, or at least attempt to participate, but more for the challenge than anything else. Otherwise, it's mainly a question of what mood I'm in, and whether I can think of anything more interesting to do at the moment. Regardless, I never expect to win, so I'm not all that keen.

You on my friends list on steam? :)
Tis the idea :) I'd use more code threads but... have been told by my bosses not to use some of the more devious codes I could have used because they are still in use :P

Akwater, no! I wasn't trying to garner sympathy, and I don't want any gifts. I know you're generous, but I'm not deserving of your generosity. I have more games than I know what to do with already (which does not stop me from buying more of them), and if there's one I really want, I can buy it myself. Save it for someone who needs it more than me ;-)

I was simply explaining why I don't have a lot of interest in contests, that's all. So thanks, but no thanks ;-)

pffffffffffft! You thought I was gonna buy you games... that's strange, why would you think that?! (Ok point taken I won't..... )

Giving out free games for breaking secret military codes? That would be hilarious. Perhaps your bosses could use this for the recruitment of promising new cryptographers :)

Wasn't there a Bruce Willis movie that had a similar theme to that?

And the US military is actually very generous when it comes to free games. No code breaking required!

Mercury Rising I think. But the autistic kid broke their code, and then the Gov wanted him dead.

I would never use a sensitive code, just the generic ones that anyone with wikipedia could find. :)

I was thinking about using one that isnt really common, however after talking to JAG and my bosses they said, you *could* go run into the city neked. But we would not reccomend that either :)

I have checked a couple of your code breaking threads and i gotta say bafflement is closely followed by confused stupidfication. Which ever part of the brain is used to understand the information you provide is either asleep or just so much grey mush when it comes to mine.

You should start a GOG code breaking 101 thread for all us mouth breathers...well maybe just me then :)

There are so many dead languages to choose from :) That would be a ball. Some of them would be very very hard to even write down, then there are the oral ones. Perhaps... but the problem doing one like those not everyone here is gonna go learn Sandskrit (or other very old hard to follow) for a few gogs :) Plus I'd have to make sure you couldnt use google or other translator page to figure it out. :)

Back in the day, there was this young lady in my bio class that was Yup'ik that I was after. I ended up learning how to say just enough to offend her lol..... Just because some languages should be spoken by people other then those raised around it. Which is odd, /sigh. Most of the women in the class thought that it was a very sweet thing to do. So the moral of the story, just because you loose out on one woman doesnt mean others didnt notice the effort. (Then they get pissed off at you when you do not put forth that much effort when it comes to swooning them lol )

Thai is also kinda like that, they are nice enough around you. I know though that when I leave the room, they are like "mother effing faranag mak mak ting ting..." Granted, my Thai is for crap lol. I know I spelled Farang wrong.

:) Most codes, once you get your head around one of them become very easy. When you get into one time pads and other more elaborate codes you have at least a starting point. It is a built upon type of thing, just learning one way to pass info leads to more ways.

Brailie (sp) was used by Napolean. Ceaser (sp) had his cipher. Tap code was made because it allowed one POW to tell the other things.

Most codes in general are out of a need to get info across. So, the more complicated the code the harder it is for the laymen to pass intel around or break said code. But make a code like Braile and without knowing what exactly it was you could pass info around, and then once too many people know it. If too many have a grasp on it you can not really use it anymore as it isnt really a secret what it is anymore.

Like for instance, if you and your buddy learned tap code you could use that instead of passing notes in class. Untill of course even one person you did not want to know what was being said understood what was going on, then you'd have to figure out a new way to do things. So you invert the tap code . . goes from a to z. which again once they figure out what you did means you would have to change it. Same with any code.

OTP's are indeed uncrackable without the secret phrase/key so you have the pad and phrase or key and then encode said message and then the person you want to get the message knows the phrase or key.

This isnt a real true OTP as it isnt totally random and perhaps with a lot of time and effort the person could figure out the key/phrase. Which if the info you are trying to get is say a game code yqsd-ahah-wryur-2mf9 (not a code btw) then that person who figured it out would then have to figure out what the eff that was even for.

I'm guessing at least one person figured out the code and was all... WTF what is this for?

Um... Crap one person from Poland, uh crap can not recall who explained it better then I could in one of those threads. I think it was the braile one, maybe... dunno... it's late and im sleepy.

So.. in short, I couldn't use tap or braile here anymore because I have used it and now it is known by the bulk of people so it puts newer users who missed them at a disadvantage.