CORDIAL MINUET ENSEMBLE

The problem of "getting stuck with an amulet" when the player population is low is dramatically reduced by the new limit on the number of amulets released based on player population.  Yes, you could be that one amulet holder who can't find a game right when the player population started to dwindle, but that will be much more rare than it used to be when amulets were handed out with no regard to current player population.  So, I think that simply removing the DROP function will probably work.

Storeroom, you're addressing the general problem of colluding quick players having more chance of picking up amulets.

If fewer amulets were being dropped (with no DROP button), half of the problem is already solved (most amulets will NOT be picked up while free-floating, but will instead be won from someone else).

Regarding the other half of the problem---where colluding fast-players are more likely to be picked as an amulet game partner (and KNOW IT, because they won't pair with their colluder)---that's a tough one.  Your Amulet Challenger solution could potentially keep the amulet holder waiting for a long time for the next Amulet Challenger to be ready.  You suggest that one AC is selected each time an amulet game starts (effectively selecting the next challenger), so there would be a small pool of these ACs (one per active amulet).

But I do see what you're getting at here.  If you are picked to play an amulet game based on the "start of the game" moment, you are motivated to have as many "start of the game moments" per minute as possible (through collusion, or just through non-colluding fast play).  You're trying to reward "simply being in an active game" instead.

Hmm...

Yeah, handing them out in random order is easy to do and fixes a bunch of problems beyond just collusion, so I will do that.

HOWEVER...

It still seems like a colluder can get an advantage.  Perhaps not through the drop-repeatedly trick, but simply through coordinating pairs of colluding opponents to ensure that a colluder is pulled.  And even drop-repeatedly would help them rack up points evenly across all amulets, especially if they did it all week long.

Though it sounds like trying to pair with a colluder while holding the amulet is too scary with too much to lose if the pairing doesn't work out.  If a stranger gets pulled instead of your colluder, and the stranger wins the amulet from you, it could be a long time before it ever gets dropped again.  So the drop-and-repeat trick is more of a safe bet

The drop-repeatedly trick will be partly fixed by never setting 0 as the "number of users to skip" before the dropped amulet is given to someone.  When there are too few active games, that number can get stuck at 0 currently, which means the colluding pair will get the amulet back next game.

Still, if it had a bottom of 5 game, the colluding pair would just play/quit five games repeatedly until they got the amulet.

The problem is that colluders can play as fast as they want and effectively bypass any kind of count-based delay scheme.  Similarly, if the hand-out-delay is based on time, colluders playing repeated quick games will also be more likely to end a game at the right time.

Wait... why did we add a DROP AMULET button?

If you can't find an opponent and drop it after two hours, you still picked up 80 points on it (200 - 120).

Seems like removing the ability to drop simplifies the problem, because after the initial pickup, most amulets will be held and passed forever, so there will be no controlled way for a player to rack points through drop timing, etc.

Combined with the new limit on how many are handed out (based on active player pop), it should be okay not to have a DROP button.

Right, that can happen because the flush only happens every two minutes, and the deadline is maintained separately from the flush.  I'll fix it to cap it at 0.

Re:  active user count shown in game:

Wow, that's a good idea!

Why didn't someone think of that back in v10?

I think folding the amulet leaderboards into the game involves too many big changes for a temporary contest like this.  But active user count makes sense even when no contest is running.

Supposed to end at 8pm US PST tomorrow night.  The remaining time looks right to me...

Right... if there are N=2 amulets out, there need to be 7 active players (2 * N + 3) before another one is dropped.

Yes, working on this right now and will release v20 shortly.

It was one thing that I didn't notice while testing because I was alway sitting there actively testing it, not playing for real!

Yeah, should fix this.  Sorry about that!

Yeah, just fixed this so that the holder is only listed once even if they lead.  Oops!

Yeah, thanks for noticing that.  I fixed the wording.

Also, there's currently a bug where the presence of the old amulet records in the table is preventing the new amulets from being handed out.  Fixing that asap.

Ahem... write down the symbol.

C'mon, Jere, how long have you known me? 

I'll work on a better "who's holding what" report page.