Filling up 16 players isn't what it used to be...
Maybe it's about time. I'm getting fed up too.

Going into 2-week mode for my ponds.

Vikings: or if it hasn't started yet then go to the pond (on the "ponds" page) and click "leave the run".

or.... give it a try. Who knows? you may find you like it.

Sign up for ponds is becoming sluggish as it does every year. Going into 2-week mode.

Vikings: anything specific? no need for names, but a pond link is permitted

I've gone back to a pond per week.

Let's not forget Mega-mass pond, 100 players : only 4 more players are needed!

WellyWales: It's not a fixed score, it depends on your BKR at the time.
When your BKR is low, even a relatively bad place in a pond can gain you points.
When your BKR is high even a first place may not raise it much higher.
The only way to see who gained what is to store the pond just before and after the last bet and compare. In ponds this is easy since you know in advance when the pond will end. (well, more or less, since there can be multiple falls in a turn and server time freezes)
And by the way, the whole BKR system is of questionable value for ponds.

The links are
http://brainking.com/en/Ratings?tp=1000

http://brainking.com/en/Ratings?tp=1001

http://brainking.com/en/Ratings?tp=1002

I can't find them in Statistics, I went to the main page, under "Your best BKR" and copied what the links point to.

I'm going down to a pond per 2 weeks since, from experience, things slow down during summer and ponds have a hard time filling up.

WellyWales: or 200 player Pond!, only 7 needed

Pedro Martínez: me too. Mega-mass pond, 100 players has been waiting for 6 months for 20 more players to start :)

Pedro Martínez: I had mine start twice weekly, but after a while people stopped signing up. A pond a week seems to be a good compromise.

Bwild: I do, lately every time I move I get this "Splash" message

Resher: bravo lubinek! move 20 was well calculated.

Change your thoughts and you change your world.

At least not with those I've been setting up.

aaru: not unless pawns are allowed in, at least on a limited basis ( again at Fencer)

aaru: That's more than 6 weeks away. Don't worry, they'll fill up :)

Vacations, heat, lost interest... whatever. Ponds have a hard time filling. Unfortunately I've started a lot, so I've rescheduled mine to start once a week, instead of twice a week. 2 are already late starting, one needs only 1 player.

OK, so every 2 days is too much. try twice a week.

alexlee: I'm too lazy even for that. The names are by the courtesy of nonsense-0.6, which does just what it's name indicates :)

alexlee: stop grinning, you signed up for them

rabbitoid: Result:

A bunch of 2-dayers at your disposal

pauloaguia: or Viking's long delayed Another, How About Another Big Pond
The required number has been reached, the pond will start soon.

Vikings: I wish you'd do it more often :)

Vikings: Now that was an interesting way to commit suicide, going from a safe 92 to 91

come on, I haven't got all day!
how about a oneday?

coan.net: Yes, but this player shows a certain touch of class. Personally I like the style :)

I haven't been following the records for 1st turn bets lately. Is this a Guinness candidate? Fast Fast Turtles Beware !!!

Fencer: Don't! you'll be accused of cosmetics again

Fencer: I feel like an amateur

Pond: Ponds Plus Open Large Pond

The pond is finished. Your final position is 47 out of 48 players.

Your BKR change: old BKR = 2438, new BKR = 2151 (-287)

has anyone got a better plunge?

Kunoichi: I'd lift my hat to you if only rabbits wore one. I hope you won't ever be tempted by the dark side of the force...

Czuch: I'm no longer in the list of players

oops, no, the pond is still there, but it seems it's ME who has done a disappearing act from it. Spooky

Czuch: Looks like the chess pond made a poof noise before pulling a disappearing act. Magic...

concerning Kunoichi's Strange Test Pond...
have you noted that the BKR's posted are the ones for chess? aaaargh, I hope mine doesn't suffer too much when I go splash in this thing

Vikings: very funny. I don't know why I even bother

Kunoichi: weird. how did you define a "pond type: chess"? the definition page still offers only the 3 usual types run, dark and rain.

I've just noticed that I've made a slight mistake
all my onedayponds have been defined as 2 days per turn
I tried to edit, but the system won't let me modify this parameter. so I did what I could... the next bunch, until end of September, are now labelled as twodaypond. Oh well

Czuch Czuckers: I signed up, but the way I keep losing them I may not qualify by the time it starts :)

It's been a while, and things may change, with all those bishops rearing for action. So here are a couple of one day ponds, they'll fire off as soon as 16 brave soles muster up :)

no.
it starts at round 12, which is the last where pyssso could bid. he bid 922, which is 1 more than the 2nd best, giving him 500. he's left with 882.
round 13, the system trys to bids for him again 922, which is more than he's got, so it bids the 882 left. it's the best bid, so he gets 500.
round 14 and 15 same story, the system bids 500 which is the best bid. he can't get under 500.

alexlee: interresting game... the last 3 moves were automatic, but not even a coalition of the other players could have prevented the win.

BIG BAD WOLF: I have proposed another idea to Fencer: allow a limited participation of pawns, say a pond or three at a time. He said he'd think about it.

Well, the answer seems to be definitely "yes". Unless something is done soon, the pond system is dead.

I'm suspending the creation of the daily ponds until the backlog goes down a bit. Currently there are 20 ponds that can't be started because of an insufficient number of participants, 8 of them mine. I have started ponds until May 2nd. There's really no point anymore to start new ones.

rod03801: they cost nothing to create, so I'll continue. But my question is , should I continue to create one per day? or is one every 2, 3 days more reasonable?

My dailys are now starting almost a week late, it's more and more difficult to enlist 16 players. I should be talking, I kind of lost interrest myself.

Czuch Chuckers: As I always understood the game it is about winning. Any system that gives anything to a second place goes against the spirit of the game. When you're splashing, it doesn't matter if you fell in on the first round or the last - youu're just as wet!

in the daily series just created there is also "A pond a day keeps the boredom away #365", which means I have now been creating them for a whole year! yi haaaaw!

number 373 starts April 1st, that's why the name is slightly modified...