SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

cool · Post by **cool** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 12:38 am

IT ALWAYS AMAZES ME THAT A GAME I REGARD AS IMPOSSIBLE IS ANOTHER MANS GOLDMINE. I AM SURPRISED THAT NOBODY HAS COME ACROSS THE GUY THAT ROUTINELY EMPTYS MACHINES THROUGH HIS ABILITY ON STD AROUND THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND. DESCRIPTION BLONDE AND IN HIS 20'S FROM ABINGER HAMMER? DORKING SURREY.REPORTS ABOUT HIM RANGE FROM BRISTOL TO KINGSTON OVER A PERIOD OF 3/4 YEARS.APPARENTLY HAS A MILD FORM OF AUTISM THAT ENABLES HIM TO MILK THE MACHINE.IF U SUSPECT ITS HIM ASK TO SEE THE PHOTO ON HIS MOBILE OF 10'000 POUNDS ON HIS BED!

QuizMaster · Post by **QuizMaster** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 7:48 am

I've heard of him. He's a legend.

SWP · Post by **SWP** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 11:50 am

WAS THIS POSTED A DAY EARLY?

tka · Post by **tka** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 2:05 pm

Is this for real?

£10k is 5000 JPs. If you say 3 minutes for each that is 15000 minutes or over 10 days solid playing. But pubs aren't open 24 hours a day so that makes it 20 days every minute the pubs are open.
Also the hoppers are supposed to only have £70 in them (assuming they are all full) so the £10k would be about 150 machines from scratch and when you consider time travelling and stuff I reckon this is bollocks.

But please feel free to correct my maths.

Even if this is an April Fools gag, it does make me wonder how it can be possible to actually make better money by playing as a pro than in a normal job.

cool · Post by **cool** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 12:05 am

no this is entirely true! This person is not a figment of my imagination. I
have been approached by many publicans and customers over a considerable length of time about this. This guy has been observed emptying a Gamesnet in Camberley. Gamesnet hoppers hold £125 generally speaking, older machines sometimes having a double hopper.
People with autism often have unusual gifts , so its not beyond the realms
of possibility that he can do this.Apparently the differences appear as a different colour to him on the screen,that is what he told an observer at the Camberley pub.

SWP · Post by **SWP** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 5:42 pm

Come on this is a wind up!

Spotting the differences isn't the issue with this game! The point is that somewhere around level 7 you end up with 4 seconds to play the round - that's not even enough time to make 5 picks on the screen with your eyes closed. Gods only know how bad it gets on round 8,9..

foxy · Post by **foxy** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 6:41 pm

I've no idea if this particular claim is for real but as to the earning potential vis-a-vis a 'proper' job there is absolutely no doubt that from time to time there is enough money to make a reasonable living.
I lived solely off such machines as crystal maze and trivial pursuit(original version) for the length of time they were about and as my moniker suggests the good dr.fox is keeping me going at the moment.
I can earn with my mate mr.panik roughly in a day the same as I currently earn in a week in a bar.That doesn't mean I can go out and earn this money EVERY day but once a week is enough time to give the machines a rest.
Additionally if I could play something like STD then the playing potential would virtually be without limit with a little travelling.I'm not a full time pro at the moment but I certainly have been for good chunks of time in the past and it certainly contrasts nicely with 'real'work even if your parents conclude that you must be a drug dealer!
At the moment things look pretty bleak in terms of serious money but I've been in this position many times before and something's always popped up So fingers crossed for the next silver falls(not actually a good example-ANYBODY could empty that!).

Ernest W. Quality · Post by **Ernest W. Quality** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 7:04 pm

I agree with Step 7 on the time front. You are not given enough time to press the answers even if you know where they are in advance. Unless it is an older version of the game.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 11:10 pm

Ernest W. Quality wrote:I agree with Step 7 on the time front. You are not given enough time to press the answers even if you know where they are in advance. Unless it is an older version of the game.

If the answers were actually 'highlighted' for you in the manner Cool suggests, it would take less than a second to tap the screen 5 times - maybe it would be possible.

Ernest W. Quality · Post by **Ernest W. Quality** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 11:21 pm

The closest I ever got on Round 7 was having 3 helps, and spotting another difference, but I didn't even have time to get the machine to acknowledge the four taps, let alone guess a fifth one.

Certainly you can physically tap the screen 5 times in that time, but I claim that the machine doesn't register your taps that fast.

SWP · Post by **SWP** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 11:51 pm

EQW: Certainly you can physically tap the screen 5 times in that time, but I claim that the machine doesn't register your taps that fast.

That's my point: 0.5 second for the machine to "see" you tapping and mess about drawing a ring around the difference. That leaves you 2.5 seconds to direct your finger to 5 locations on the screen with pretty decent accuracy.

Don't get me wrong - if this guy has got this "skill" I hope he's making a few quid. Hang on maybe that's why no-one else can get passed round 7 or make more that £3 on this thing

Nil Satis · Post by **Nil Satis** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 11:48 am

I would normally dismiss this story as urban legend except for three things:

(1) I know it is possible to win lots of money from certain games if the right combination of skill, knowledge, hard work and gameplay come along.

(2) I have personally witnessed people whose skill at one particular game seems superhuman, and I don't think that any cheating was involved. It's a bit like that scene towards the end of The Matrix where the Keanu Reeves character is finally able to 'see' what surrounds them in a way that no one else can. One skill I have is being able to read questions very quickly, which can sometimes seem like witchcraft to innocent bystanders.

(3) I heard that exact story from someone who is completely outside the SWP world - a young barmaid in an out of the way pub in Hampshire. All the details were there - an autistic guy winning huge amounts of money on Spot the Difference who had visited her pub and done the same. She also mentioned the photo of the coins on the bed. This was about 6 months ago.

Now we all know about urban myths and how they are always "a friend of a friend told me" but the corroboration of the details makes me wonder. Where would that 18 year old barmaid have heard the exact same story as 'cool' posted on here? It does make me curious.

As to the ability to win big, if a game that is worth playing ever appears again on the ITBox (I'm not holding my breath!), there are enough of those everywhere to mean a good living would be out there if you had the aptitude and could put the time and travelling in.

Istenem · Post by **Istenem** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 12:00 pm

i have never heard this story but who knows?
autism is peculiar, i went to university with a girl with aspergers (like kim peek). she had few social skills but a phenomenal capacity for knowledge and a real talent for sophisticated punnery but she didn't seem to fully understand why they were funny.
i'd be prepared to believe this.

QuizMaster · Post by **QuizMaster** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 12:00 pm

It's not a wind-up. But you're not in possession of all the facts exactly. There is one crucial thing missing.............

Drpepper · Post by **Drpepper** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 12:32 pm

Not the same guy i don't think... but this makes interesting reading...

http://www.fruitforums.com/vb/showthrea ... t=spot+the

Also the fact it changes his name to "Anon" when he puts it in... Classic