Guess is a related word to (same family as) mystery word: correct or not?

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Mathew5000
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Joined: 02 January 2021, 01:41

Guess is a related word to (same family as) mystery word: correct or not?

Post by Mathew5000 »

The mystery word was "magician". One of the players gave the clue "magic" which was excluded as invalid. The three remaining clues were "Houdini", "Merlin", and "illusion". The guesser guessed "magic".

We weren't sure whether to rule it correct or incorrect. Certainly "magic" as a clue is invalid, because it's in the same family as (etymologically related to) "magician". But does that mean that the guesser's guess of "magic" was close enough to the mystery word "magician" to count as correct?
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dhnyny
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Joined: 06 October 2015, 18:20

Re: Guess is a related word to (same family as) mystery word: correct or not?

Post by dhnyny »

I'd say no. They're related but not sufficiently close. It's like doctor and medicine. Well, maybe more like lawyer and law. I think they're too distinct even if they're in the same family.
MrBeardy
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Joined: 28 January 2022, 11:23

Re: Guess is a related word to (same family as) mystery word: correct or not?

Post by MrBeardy »

Illusionist would have been a better clue to help them get there.
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aghagh
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Joined: 22 November 2014, 20:38

Re: Guess is a related word to (same family as) mystery word: correct or not?

Post by aghagh »

I agree that if the mystery word was "magician", "magic" was not a valid guess.

Some examples of not-exact guesses that can be accepted as valid:
- the mystery word mispelled or from a different variation of English (giving "theather" or "theatre" for "theater")
- a country variation for the exact same concept (giving "chips" for "fries")
- the plural of the mystery word (giving "magicians" for "magician")

There might be some other basic examples. Other than that, the guess would be wrong. Getting to know the 550 word pool is part of the game.
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