DiA Highland Games Rules

Highland Game Quiz Rules:

• All questions come from "Dragonfly in Amber" by Diana Gabaldon.
• Each quiz is open book.
• Each participant competes individually, but benefits the entire clan.
• Every correct answer earns one point. The participant with the most points wins. One winner will be selected each week. All points participants earn are added to their clan total and used to determine the ultimate winner of the Highland Games.
• In the case of a tie, the winner will be drawn at random. One name per contest will be chosen out of a hand-knit, felted cloche by one of Kellan Mackenzie's 3-year-old twins to break the tie.
• Kellan Mackenzie (knitmo) will work to solve all conflicts regarding the Highland Games with the chieftess or other designated member of the clan that created the game.
• Weekly winners will earn an additional five points for their clan. Those who tie with the most correct answers will earn an additional two points for their clan. They will receive a prize from the clan that developed the challenge.
• Highland Game Quizzes, answers and winners will be posted at http://outlandishswap.blogspot.com/
• Answers must be e-mailed to highlandergames@ymail.com Note: This is a different e-mail address than last time.
• Include Highland Games Round X (X being whichever round it is) in the subject line of your e-mail. Please include your Clan name, your names (both Ravelry and Swap name) and answers in the message. It will make it easier to match e-mails and answers up and tally points.
• Each contest begins at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on the appropriate date and ends at 11:59 p.m. 10 days later. For example: Round 1 begins at 12:01 a.m. Sunday Feb. 15 and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday Feb. 25. Round 2 begins at 12:01 a.m. Thursday Feb. 26.
• One prize will be awarded to the clan that receives the most points at the end of the swap/highland games.
• Games are not mandatory, but do enhance the experience and allow people to get to know each other. Participate at a level you feel comfortable.
• The Highland Games will extend past the deadline for the swap of April 15; this is to keep people interested in the swap while the last few packages arrive.

Specific Dragonfly in Amber Rules

• Dragonfly in Amber is divided into seven parts. Each clan will develop a game, contest, quiz or challenge based on their assigned section of the book. It should be worth 10 points. See the following chart for details for which clan has which sections of the book.
• Each clan is responsible for developing the contest, collecting everyone's answers from the e-mail, correcting them and sending the results to Kellan Mackenzie via Ravelry pm or e-mail [which is accessible to chieftesses] by the deadline.
• Each clan must provide instructions and an example for the challenge that they develop. This hopefully will clear up any confusion in the games and make things run more smoothly.
• Each clan must provide the contest answers, and accepted answers, each participant's score, the winner (and time they submitted answers) of the early bird and sneaker. We would like to continue the tradition of including one or two other creative awards based on each individual contest, and an explanation of why it was awarded.
• Challenges must be submitted to Kellan Mackenzie one day before contest is set to begin; so that she can make sure it is posted and will appear on time.
• If your clan is responsible for developing the game, you will not participate. Everyone is sitting out the same amount.
• The clan writing the game must provide a prize to the winner for that round.
• If a clan writes a challenge so difficult that no one gets a perfect score in the other clans, they will receive five points. For example: If the Murrays write a challenge and no one from Beauchamp gets a 100 percent, then the Murrays get 5 points. The maximum number of points that can be awarded to the clan writing the challenge is 30, and that's if no one in the games gets a 100 percent.
  

Challenge Start Date End Date Results to Kellan Posted to blog
Part 1-Chieftesses Feb. 15 Feb. 25 Feb. 28 March 1
Part 2- Chieftesses Feb. 26 March 6 March 10 March 11
Part 3- Beauchamp March 6 March 18 March 21 March 22
Part 4-Fraser March 18 March 28 March 31 April 1
Part 5-Mackenzie March 28 April 7 April 10 April 11
Part 6-Murray April 7 April 17 April 20 April 21
Part 7-Chieftesses April 17 April 28 May 1 May 2

Edited to add the five point rule for clans writing the challenge at 9:28 a.m. Monday, Feb. 16

DiA Clan Gathering

The Dragonfly in Amber swap is set to begin in less than two weeks. Just a few housekeeping items:

Each clan will have 15 members and one clan leader: Eilis=Vicjorob of Clan Beauchamp, Fiona=Cinnamonamon of Clan Fraser, Kellan=Knitmo of Clan Mackenzie, and Mordag Elsbeth McLean=Abitknottie now of Clan Murray. Assistant clan leaders will be identified within each clan camp. The clans are:

• Clan Beauchamp (Claire’s family): blush pink and tawny rose dusted with tan and lavender.
• Clan Fraser (Jamie’s paternal line): Red, dark blue, hunter green & a touch of white
• Clan MacKenzie (Jamie’s maternal line): Moss green, grey, red, white
• Clan Murray (Jamie’s sister married into this line): royal blue & kelly green with a touch of red

Each clan is represented by colors found in historical clan tartans. However, clan colors will not play a significant role in this particular clan gathering but can be used if so desired. Rather this clan gathering will focus on themes inspired by the second book in the Outlander series – Dragonfly in Amber. Such themes can include dragonflies, amber, wine, King Louis XV’s court, French- inspired things, and herbal-inspired things (re: Mr. Raymond’s shoppe). Individual clans may even get together secretly to come up with a special thematic item to include in their packages.
This is NOT a secret swap, so get your talk on – communicate, communicate, communicate. To help get the chatter going, we will post simple questions that can be fodder for your blog, posts to the message board, and/or communications with your spoiler and spoilee.

So, let the fun begin.

The Final Chieftess Challenge

Good-Sisters of our clan gathering, two of our chieftesses have been able to send in the answers for the last challenge I posted.

I am sharing them with you now:
Chief Eilis of Clan Beauchamp with Early Bird and 13 correct: 26 +1 = 27 pts
Chief Kellan of Clan MacKenzie correctly solved all: 30 + 1 = 31 pts

FINAL CHIEFTESS STANDINGS:
Eilis Beauchamp 97 +27 = 124
Fiona Fraser remains at 110
Kellan MacKenzie 120 + 31 = 151
Jenny Murray remains at 49

Congratulations goes to Kellan MacKenzie for all of her hard work. For anyone who played along at home, answers will be posted later today on the Chieftess Challenge thread at Ravelry.
Thank you to all who participated in this challenge!
~Mordag Elsbeth McLean

Highland Game Final Standings

Sorry for no pictures. My camera and computer aren't on speaking terms at the moment and I'm left as the go-between.

For the final round of the Highland Games we had the fewest participants: 13. Surprisingly, the majority – 10 individuals – were included in the hand-knit felted cloche drawing.

Those in the drawing: Nemetona (tandemsandy), Shaylee (soniacolleen), Morven (BessE) and Murron (lovestoknit) of Clan Beauchamp; Catrionia (Neila), Mrs. FitzGibbons (jules 1960) and Kinley (Rehnbo) of Clan Mackenzie; Marsali (mommaowie) of Clan Murray and Jocasta Walkley (Anne) and Morgana (Cluxewe). The Murrays and Frasers did particularly well. All participants that met the deadline had perfect scores.
Winner: Jocasta Walkley (Anne) of Clan Fraser. She earns an additional 5 points for her clan.

Round 7 Clan Standings:
Beauchamp: 65
Fraser: 29
Mackenzie: 45
Murray: 12

Highland Games Winners:
Beauchamp: 524 (First Place)
Fraser: 314 (Fourth Place)
Mackenzie: 399 (Third Place)
Murray: 429 (Second Place)

Additional awards: (for bragging rights)
Early Bird Award: Mordag E. McLean of Clan Mackenzie. She submitted her answers first. Her e-mail was dated 11:47 a.m. Monday, Oct. 27.
Sneaker Award: Elspeth of Clan Beauchamp.She submitted her answers last and her e-mail was dated 10:52 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4 that means they had 8 minutes to spare.

Statistics:
13 of 36 participated in Highland Games Round 7, that’s 36 percent
10 people got every question right or 77 percent of those who participated.
Clan Beauchamp had 66 percent or 6 of 9 members participate, earning 65 points
Clan Fraser had 22 percent or 2 of 9 members participate, earning 29 points
Clan Mackenzie had 44 percent or 4 of 9 members participate, earning 45 points
Clan Murray had 11 percent or 1 of 9 members participate, earning 12 points

Perfect Participation:
Siusan (knittingalone), Muirne (bwarnergroup), Morven (BesseE) of Clan Beauchamp; Jocasta Walkley (Anne) and Morgana (Cluxewe) of Clan Fraser; Catrionia (Neila), Mrs. FitzGibbons (jules1960), Mordag Elsbeth McLean (abitknottie) and Kinley (Rehnbo) of Clan Mackenzie.

Perfect Scores: (which means they had perfect participation, too)
Marsali (mommaowie) of Clan Murray and Murron (lovestoknit) of Clan Beauchamp.
We had seven other clan members who missed three or fewer questions throughout the entire games.

CORRECTION:
I re-evaluated the Round 6 answers since there was a question about the question of Murtagh’s identity. After reflecting, digging through the book I decided that stating Murtagh is a Fraser and has known Jamie all his life does not correctly answer the question. I based this decision on the fact that every one else who submitted an answer to this question got it correct, by stating that Murtagh was yes a Fraser, and had sworn an oath to Jamie or was his god parent. Knowing someone for your life isn’t enough to trust them with your life – especially during the 18th Century.

I spent a lot of time reviewing my decision on this question and looked at everyone’s answers, which is how I discovered a couple mistakes I made in correcting Clan Frasers answers (sorry ladies). The scores for the Highland Games Winners is accurate. The Frasers earned six extra points, one point each for the mistake made, plus the two additional points for earning a perfect score in the round.

Comments Wanted:
Leave a comment and tell me what you think we did well or what could be improved or changed in the administration of the Highland Games for the next swap.
Did you like the timing?
Do you like the games and answers posted on the blog?
Do want different types of games? If so what type?
Was it too time consuming?
How could we make it easier for everyone to participate?
Should the games be mandatory?
Let us know your thoughts. We won't be able to make changes or improvments if we don't hear from you.
~Kellan

Final Highland Games Answers

Here are the answers to the Highland Games Round 7 questions.

1. Who technically runs or keeps everything in order at Castle Leoch? Mrs. FitzGibbons (A nod to the Mackenzie’s own Jules1960)

2. Who turned Jamie into the Watch after returning to Lallybroch with Claire? Ronnie McNab He’s the father of Rabbie McNab, the boy Jamie makes a stable lad and tells him not to beat his child anymore.

3. How did men of Lallybroch handle the situation? Killed him, burned the croft down. The men took Mrs. McNabb, Rabbie and other children in to the main house to work. He apparently holds a grudge, and the men of Lallybroch had to show him justice.

4. Besides giving Claire the promise of keeping her fed, Jamie also told her she was safe. What specifically examples of how he'd protect Claire? You are safe. You have my name my family, my clan and if necessary the protection of my body.

5. What were the pagan wedding vows Claire and Jamie recite after formally marrying in the church? “Ye are Blood of my Blood, and Bone of my Bone./ I give ye my Body, that we Two might be One./ I give ye my Spirit, 'til our Life shall be Done.” When I first read Outlander, I thought this was a chilling statement of what marriage should be. Then to find out, it's the way Jamie and Clarie's really is.

6. What is the gossip of who Leticia slept with and is Hamish's father? Hint: It isn't Dougal. Geile says the gossip is that Jamie is the father because of the red hair. Everyone seems to forget that Jamie’s mother and grandfather (Hamish’s too) were gingers.

7. Why did Jamie offer to take the punishment for Laoghaire during Hall? Pity. He was concerned that she would be shamed in front of everyone who knew her and it would have taken time to get over.

8. Who is supposed to have information regarding the murder Jamie is accused of? Horrocks, an English deserter. A few people mentioned Hodgepile, who is indeed another informant/secret keeper to the plot of an Outlander novel and English deserter, but he is important in later books.

9. What is the key to tickling trout? Pick a good spot and wait. The theory is if you are still enough and patient enough the trout will be lulled into a sense that your hand is really a piece of the landscape and will be shocked to find themselves launched on the bank and the subject of someone’s breakfast.

10. What happened when Jamie first met the Duke of Sandringham that made him leery of going on an extended hunting expedition with the man? Sandringham made sexual advances at Jamie.

The winner will be posted tomorrow sometime. Just a warning, I had some problems with my camera so no promises of the wee bairns drawing names out of the hand-knit felted cloche.

~Kellan