Success Rate Competition

[Lily H]

I think it's unfair for those of us who don't score as many points or play as fast as other players. Success rate was the only category that I could be competitive. I wish Stephen would consider bringing it back.

[xlr8r]

I too am dissappointed but the Success Rate trophies were icing on the cake. I'm obsessed with solving the puzzles so my personal goal will continue to be to shoot for 100% success.
I have been burned with some of the "vagaries" and my lifetime score shows 4 games not solved, 2 of those were logged as failures because I had a game open when the month switch occured. It would get counted as a failure for the month even though I completed it in the next month. The other 2 I'm not sure what happened - maybe one of those visits to the Netherland area that you fall into when you click the wrong button too many times. The main thing I'll miss is the Success rate trophy competition at the end of the month trying to keep someone from bumping me out of the top 20.

[admin]

Hi everyone -

I know this is disappointing for some of you and I apologize. The problem boils down to my own limitations - I've tried for years now to fix the problems inherent with this contest and have yet to find a comprehensive solution that will combat phantom loads, double loads, and all the other browser-specific eccentricities and network/ISP/server related issues that frequently cause "hiccups" in the solving statistics specifically for this competition. More than 80% of the support requests I receive are related only to this one issue. Unfortunately I finally just had to throw in the towel and admit defeat.

Puzzle Baron isn't some giant corporation - it's literally just me behind the scenes, trying my best to hold everything together and keep things running smoothly. If I had more resources, money and time to throw at the problem, I'd still be at it - but I don't. Especially since the pandemic has hit and advertising revenue has fallen off a cliff, I've had to divert even more time and effort to offline print projects in order to offset these losses.

I wish I had better news, but that's where things stand.

Apologies again,
Stephen

[Deanna48]

Thanks for your response and for all your hard work! I for one REALLY appreciate this site and the fact that you work so hard to keep things going for us. It's been a couple of fun years for me getting to play here. Thanks again!! --Deanna

[skeeter]

Thank you, Stephen, for all your hard work.

[mmfs83]

Thanks from me too. My back and the pandemic keep me from all the activities I used to do, like cooking, baking, and cleaning. Without cryptograms, I'd be lost to TV, which I no longer enjoy (too much smut for my taste). Sewing and jigsaw puzzles are impossible. Thanks again for all your efforts. MMFS83

[momn8r]

Admin: Thanks for all you do. Have you considered a different membership level for players? Lots of us balk at the cost to join for a year compared to the costs of other games. Perhaps a join up for a new "level of membership" that might entice more of us in? I suspect lots of us would pay in $5 or $10 dollars a year!

[Kylesmom]

I also appreciate this website. The puzzles are amazing and I learn about A lot about new authors too. I would gladly sign up for membership if I could pay with visa but I don’t have a paypal account and that seems to be the only payment type accepted.

[maradnu]

I joined as a premium member and have found the cost quite reasonable, particularly compared to the costs of some paid websites. I grew weary of putting up with the ads and when I play regularly appreciate their absence. Stephen has to pay his bills somehow, and must do it either with ads or paid memberships.

I've been almost obsessive about my success rate and check it regularly. Most of my missed puzzles were the first month the site was back up when I had my only high time placement. Since then, I had one missed due to a glitch and one because I was befuddled by a puzzle. Given how much I play, I don't think that's bad. I had double loads at one time, and when I did, I checked success rate even more often than now.

[gryhnd51]

Stephen, I know from first hand experience how hard you work to respond to ALL of us with our many complaints over the years! I would be lying if I didn't also say that I will miss the "success " scores, but that is a minor loss compared to where all of us cryto lovers would be without your constant care of this site that we all love...especially NOW with a pandemic forcing us to do "indoor" stuff which really just means spending time with the community we find on our computers. I will add my own thanks for all your hard work over the many years you've done your best.

[gryhnd51]

I'd also like to add just one thought about the cost of a premium membership. If you have family members who don't know what the heck to get you for your birthday or Christmas, this would be a no-brainer for them. Every year my daughter asks me what I want for those days, and I'm old enough to have few "needs" ( thank God) but I wouldn't hesitate to ask her to give me the gift of a year on this site if I needed it. I'm not saying that I disagree with a different level of pay for participation, and perhaps Stephen will consider that.

[admin]

I would gladly sign up for membership if I could pay with visa but I don’t have a paypal account and that seems to be the only payment type accepted.

A Paypal account is entirely optional (I will add text on the sign-up page to make this more clear). Even though Paypal processes the payment, the option always exists not to create a Paypal account during the transaction - it can be processed directly via any major credit card. When it gets to the "Log In" screen simply choose the button that says: Pay with Debit or Credit Card

[maradnu]

Less satisfying for me. Only once since May 2018 have I not finished in the top three on success rate.

In contrast I did not finish in the top twenty on speed the last two months are am not likely to do so this month either.

I don't necessarily finish in the top three in points, though I regularly can.

[gryhnd51]

Maradnu, I also find it less satisfying. I guess my personal take on it is that it's still of importance to me that I continue to try to keep my success rate at 100%, so I'll just continue to make it a priority. However, I won't miss that awful "kick in the gut" feeling I got when losing it at the last moment!

[mmfs83]

I was a premium member. The cost was quite low. When my account expired I tried to renew but was unable to find any info to do it.