Champ’s Tips - Brittani Tapley
After reading Barr’s insightful article I wanted to do the same as I’ve definitely found some helpful things that improved my game over the last 4 years. As was with Barr’s article, these tips will not guarantee you a win every time and some of these tips are not for everyone as different things work for different people, but I do hope this helps current and future Fandom players!
Have Fun
This is a simple but very important tip. Unless you are playing in a retirement match, there will always be another match and putting a ton of pressure on yourself is gonna make you tense, 2nd guess yourself and even if you pull off the win the experience is not going to be as enjoyable. I can say from experience that once I lost to Abel, I really tried to just have fun and it correlated directly into my gameplay and I kinda found my love for the game again during this time.
Pick actual strengths, not your opponent’s weaknesses
I cannot stress this tip enough and not to point fingers, but the Kingsmen were notorious for this and I never understood why. They are called strengths for a reason people! Always pick 2 strengths that you feel confident in, who cares if your opponent is also strong in it. You are just making the wheel worse for yourself and it will bite you in the butt. I will say if you do have more than 2 strengths, definitely pick 2 that your opponent is less strong in, but for the love of God make sure you are strong in it first and foremost.
Know your character names
I gotta give credit to David Garcia for this one. When I said in my speech he gave me some helpful tips, this was probably number 1. There’s always 2 or 3 character name questions in round 1 and typically 1 in round 2 and 3 so this will help your game in each round but it goes deeper than that. Knowing character names will also help put context to plot questions, especially in categories you are weaker in. So when I’m watching movies I always drill character names in my brain (even point at the TV sometimes, I’ll admit it), but there’s also another way to do this…
Have separate data flashcards
This is also credited to David and directly links to knowing your character names, because what better way to learn character names than with data flashcards. I tried to go over every single data card before each match and would always focus on the character name on the front of the card as much as the actor on the back. You can also just have cards asking for minor character names if their actors are super obscure. Now these were for title matches so you can probably get away with just studying the wheel and a weakness or two but I cannot stress the importance of these 2 tips and how much they improved my game. I also added planets to my Star Wars data quizlet so you can get creative by adding things like ship names, spells or locations so they don’t get muddled in your notes or plot flashcards.
Use your down time wisely
Obviously do not burn yourself out, but also just because you aren’t scheduled for a match for a while doesn’t mean you shouldn’t study. I had to learn how to balance this as a champ and I think it’s really important you choose a handful of your weakest movies and watch them in your downtime. That way it’s already taken care of when your match is set up. A recent example for me was before the 2 tournaments wrapped up, I rewatched some newer movies that I only saw once and it made prep for those matches a lot easier. Again only pick a handful because burning out sucks and downtime is important!
Don’t be hard on yourself if you cannot prep everything before a match
Kudos to Tyler for this one. With so many new additions the last 2 years you often find yourself wanting to watch more movies than you physically can or should. I often found myself eliminating movies from my watchlist as the match neared. And that’s totally ok, try to prioritize your weaker movies but with over 500 movies you’re never going to watch all you want to before a match. It’s weird too, I often found the matches I felt most prepped for I did worse in and that’s probably because I overdid it. So finding that balance is super important.
No answer is too wacky / trust your gut
Answers often come to us quicker than expected and when they are kinda weird and don’t make sense we typically dismiss it. More times than not that “wacky” answer is right. We’re writing answers for movies, the vast majority of them do not take place in the real world so to speak so those weird answers actually make a lot of sense. I remember when Cody was asked how Freddy tried to kill Dylan near the end of New Nightmare, he kept thinking “eat him” but dismissed it because it was too silly. But silliness is the norm in the Nightmare franchise so his answer actually made a lot of sense and in context with plot even more so. Instead of dismissing that crazy answer, think to yourself, why did that answer come to me? More often than not you will find that the crazy answer fits in with the scene.
Bet Smart, but if you have to, always bet 2
I hate to use my teammate as an example, but Tyler vs. Koho and Scully’s post match speech is perfect for this point. Tyler went 95% in that match and still had to go to sudden death. While there were some weaker categories for him in round 3, he hit every question he bet zero on so had he lost, he 100% would have regretted not taking the shot. On the flip side, Koho just went for it on every question and almost took out the #3 seed. Now if you have a massive lead and mixed bag or your worst category comes up, sure bet zero, especially if it’s the first question. But, if you’re only 1 or 2 up, just go for it! If you miss you’ll be proud that you tried, but if you bet zero, hit it and lose the match it’s gonna sting for a while.
Watch movies multiple times
I cannot stress the importance of 2nd and even 3rd viewings. For your first viewing you are just learning the plot and the characters and will most likely miss details, especially in the first act. On top of that, a lot of us are taking notes or making flashcards on our first viewing, so we’re not really absorbing the film. 2nd viewings allow you to just watch the film while catching stuff you missed the 1st time. It also helps you notice things that happen in multiple films or the first or last time something happens or appears in a franchise (question writers love those ones). A recent example for me was YA against Joe. Aside from rewatching Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, I honestly did not have time to prepare for that category but because I’ve seen every movie in that category 4+ times I was able to take my time and get 9 points.
Filmography flashcards
These next 3 tips are for when you hopefully make it to a title match. Like data flashcards I found making a filmography quizlet super helpful. It not only helps you practice these questions, they allow you to see characters in different ways. Like Chief Brody from Jaws for example, you could call him a father, husband, cop, police chief or a film survivor. Nick is getting more and more creative with these questions so finding new ways to describe characters is super important.
Watch the deepcuts even if you have deepcut them before
No matter how many times you watch a movie, you will never catch 100% of the questions asked in it. That’s just a fact you need to accept because different people see things differently and that’s what makes this game so much fun. So a way to ensure you’ll likely hit that curveball question is to watch every deepcut movie. When I doubled up on movies I watched them twice, even though I had just watched it two weeks ago. A perfect example for why this works is the Into the Spiderverse question against Amaru. I did not note that Peter Porker was eating a hotdog in his universe at the end of the film. But I did rewatch it, even though I had just watched the film for the Wrong Side match several weeks ago. And surely enough, I was able to look up at my ceiling and see him walking with a hotdog in hand because the movie was so fresh in my mind. I personally think round 3 and 4 are the most important rounds in title matches and putting so much focus on that often gave me those extra few points that made round 5 much less stressful.
Have both teammates watch as many deepcuts as possible
I totally understand that deepcutting 10 movies is kinda exhausting and not always feasible, but if you can, have both teammates watch all 10. Tyler and I have always had this strategy and I think it’s safe to say it works. Even for matches where we struggled a bit in round 4, being able to discuss the questions between the two of you is huge. It also doesn’t put all the pressure on one player, which I think is most important of all. Even if one player can’t go crazy with notes and just watches the last few movies it’ll make that round go much smoother.
Rest prior to a match / find a pregame that works for you
This is another tip Barr noted that I completely agree with. Do not cram before the match, you’re just gonna go into it with a bad headspace. I personally would go over deepcuts the day before the match and take the entire day of the match off. Now I do think some people can go over deepcuts earlier in the day and be fine, the important thing is to let your brain rest and chill after that. Cody would often play a round 1 for me prior to the match as a warm up but I think you can sometimes psych yourself out if you don’t play well in said warm up. So again find a pregame that works for you!
Don’t be afraid to share tips with other players
You may have noticed a trend in my tips: I heard this from David or Tyler mentioned this to me, so I do think it’s important, that while yes we are playing against each other, don’t be afraid to share some wisdom! If you find a cool strategy or study technique, tell your teammate or “factionmate” about it, they very well may reciprocate and teach you something in return. I don’t want to speak for David and Tyler but I do think I was able to return the favor. Obviously don’t give a study guide to your next opponent, but I think it’s really neat the different things people have come up with and it’ll make the overall game better. Plus you might make some friends along the way. Corny I know, but my favorite part of prepping for matches is always talking to Tyler about different things we notice or are doing to prepare.
My apologies for this being so long, I have learned so much these last 4 years so I had a lot to say! I really do hope this helps current and new Fandom players. I love this game so much and look forward to watching this next era so to speak.