Polling has closed on our Inaugural Niagara’s Watercooler Bracket Vote, and the Enjoyable Eight have been decided!Starting in the Nostalgia Region, where both the top two seeds failed to advance. First, our second number one seed fell as Clue decisively knocked out Candyland by a three-to-one margin. The fifth seeded game will now go up against Battleship, a sixth seed, which trounced No. 2 Chutes and Ladders.
The bottom half of that side of the bracket will see the top two seeds in the Game Night Region go against each other. Our number one seed in the region, The Game of Life, and our number two seed in the region, Uno, both won their regional semifinals by identical margins. It could be argued that both also faced weak competition, as Life went up against a game seeded 12th, while Uno defeated an 11. None of that matters now as, at least on paper, this matchup is quite enticing.
Looking to the other side of the bracket, it’s a chalk final in the Rainy Day Region as both Monopoly and Risk have reached the final there. The first and second seeded games, respectively, won their semifinal matchups handily, knocking out perennial powers Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit in the process.
The final Enjoyable Eight battle, located in our Classics, Cards, and Dice Region, pits No. 8 Rummy against No. 3 Yahtzee. Rummy was the first game in the entire bracket to knock out a number one seed (Chess) and has maintained its impressive streak by demolishing Mastermind in the previous round. Yahtzee has had little trouble thus far, and its win in the previous round was the narrowest victory of any advancing game. It knocked out Euchre, which had to this point received the most notoriety for its poor seeding (15). Its run as a 15th-seed was impressive, however.
The Twitter Polls for the Enjoyable Eight in our Inaugural Bracket Vote are up now, with voting lasting until midday April 2. As of now, barring unforeseen circumstances, we anticipate crowning the best game some time on April 6, although that date is tentative.
To vote for your favorite games, go to https://twitter.com/niagwatercooler where a poll has been set up for each matchup, all on the same twitter thread. Stay tuned to the Twitter page as well as the website to keep track of your favorite game(s). You can also vote by sending your selections to niagaraswatercooler@gmail.com.
Have fun with it!