04/15/10 11:45pm

Thanks to y’all of you for sending the Neighborhood Guessing Game out in style! Bolstered by all of your encouragement, NGG will likely spend its retirement tanning by the pool . . . and plotting a comeback. In the meantime, if you have any grand ideas for making an eventual NGG 2.0 better, stronger, and more fun-filled, please send them this way!

Nobody nailed the neighborhood in this final round, but the single-word entry from Susan was judged close enough for the win. Her prize: a one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance. Congratulations!

Our runners-up this week are flake and wilf. And where is this place?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

04/13/10 7:28pm

This will be the last round of Swamplot’s long-running Neighborhood Guessing Game — for a good long time at least. NGG has been around for a while — we’re playing round number 99 this week. If and when the game returns, we’ll have a nice round-number anniversary to celebrate, no?

As NGG contemplates retirement, let’s send it out with one more prize from the Rice Design Alliance: Win this round and you’ll get a one-year individual membership in the RDA.

If you’ve ever wanted to play the Neighborhood Guessing Game but found yourself holding back for one reason or another, now’s your chance. Just look at the photos and tell us the location of the pictured home. If more than one of you identify the correct neighborhood, we’ll award the prize to the player who provided the best explanation for the guess.

If you’re not guessing — because you know this home already, or because you came across the listing while we’re playing the game — please don’t mess up the game for other players by blurting out the answer. Instead, mess up the game this way: First, send Swamplot a link to the listing, so we understand what you’re doing. Then enter an incorrect guess, but make it sound convincing. If you do this well enough to sway a few impressionable competitors, you’ll get special recognition when the winner is announced. And if nobody guesses the actual neighborhood, that winner could be you!

Want to see the photos? Look carefully, it’s a special game this time!

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

04/08/10 11:35pm

There were no winners in this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game. We’ll save the prize — that one-year individual Rice Design Alliance membership — for the winner of next week’s game.

Want to see what none of you guessed?

Sure ya do!

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

04/06/10 5:34pm

This week marks the 98th round of Swamplot’s Neighborhood Guessing Game. And it’s the same game as ever: Guess the location of the pictured home and you’ll win a prize!

The prize this week: A one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance!

What happens if more than one of you happen upon the right neighborhood? We’ll award the prize to the player who provided the best explanation for the guess.

As always, this is a game for guessers. If you already know this property, or if you come across it while we’re playing the game, please don’t blurt out the answer and spoil the fun for everyone else. Instead, make the game even more fun by playing by these special rules: First, send Swamplot an email with a link to the listing — so we know what you’re doing. Then submit an incorrect guess, but make it sound extremely plausible — just to throw the other players off. If you do this well, you’ll earn special recognition when the winner is announced. And if nobody guesses the actual neighborhood, that winner could be you!

Ready to see more photos?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

03/30/10 4:14pm

What time is it? It’s time for the Neighborhood Guessing Game! And since nobody won last week‘s prize, we’ve still got it to give away this time. If you win, you’ll get a one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance!

Just tell us what neighborhood the pictured home is in. If more than one of you guess the correct location, the prize will go to the player who provided the best explanation with the guess.

Of course, this is a game for guessers. If you aren’t guessing — in other words, if you know this place already, or if you come across the listing while we’re playing — please don’t mess it up for everyone else by blurting out the answer. Instead, send Swamplot a link to the listing, so we know what you’re up to. Then enter a well-reasoned but incorrect guess, just to throw the other players off. If you do this well, you’ll get special recognition when the prize is awarded. And if nobody guesses the actual neighborhood, you could be that prize winner!

Shall we poke around the interior a bit?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

03/25/10 11:05pm

Which Houston houseguesser walks away from this week’s contest with the grand prize — a shiny new one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance?

Well . . . none of you, actually.

Too bad. Nobody was even close. Here’s where the place is:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

03/23/10 8:30pm

The property featured in this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game was suggested by a reader. Can you guess where it is?

If you can, the Rice Design Alliance has been kind enough to offer you a prize: a one-year individual RDA membership. How nice!

What happens if more than one of you guess the correct neighborhood? We’ll award the prize to the player who padded his or her guess with a better explanation.

If you aren’t guessing — in other words, if you know this home already, or if you come across it while we’re playing the game, please don’t post the answer and ruin the competition for everyone else. Instead, send Swamplot an email with a link to the listing — so we know what you’re doing — and then add a clever, well-argued, but incorrect guess. If you do a good job with this, you’ll get special recognition when the winner is announced. And if nobody guesses the actual neighborhood correctly, that winner could be you!

Let’s have a look around, shall we?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

03/18/10 11:44pm

So who gets a pair of tickets to the Rice Design Alliance’s annual home tour this weekend? Why, the winner of this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game, of course! And that would be the player our judges deemed “close enough” for the win: Congratulations, JKL! You’re going to . . . Southgate!

A very close second place goes to Brian, and an honorable mention to movocelot, who just ended up on the wrong side of I-45.

How far off were you?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

03/16/10 4:57pm

So just what is the fantabulous prize for the Neighborhood Guessing Game this week? Well, it comes again from our friends at the Rice Design Alliance. It’s a pair of tickets to this weekend’s 34th annual RDA Home Tour. This year, they’re calling it Southgate: An Urban Oasis. You can read more about the tour — and see snapshots of the 8 snazzy homes on it — on the RDA website.

How can you win those tix? By guessing the location of the home pictured here! If more than one of you guess the correct location, we’ll award the prize to the player who provided the best explanation for the guess.

If you’re not guessing — in other words, if you know the pictured home already, or come across the listing while we’re playing the game — don’t blurt out the answer, or you’ll make a lot of other players very angry. Instead, there’s a special way for you to play: First, send Swamplot an email with a link to the listing (so we’ll know what you’re doing). Then submit an incorrect guess, to throw the other players off track. Be sure to include some brilliant explanation to make your entry believable or convincing. If you do this well, you’ll get special recognition when the winner is announced. And if nobody guesses the actual neighborhood, that winner could be you!

On with the tour! Or, at least, this little photo tour:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

03/11/10 4:18pm

Determining the winner of this week’s game was tough! But the judges have awarded first prize to Sara — and a very close second place to KimmerTX. Congratulations to you both!

We also acknowledge the solid head-fake thrown by kimberlee ann, who knew exactly where this home was, wrote in to say so, then sent gullible readers a-wondering if it might be somewhere along . . . Navigation?

Nope!

So where might it be?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

03/09/10 3:59pm

It’s time for yet another Neighborhood Guessing Game, in which Swamplotters compete for fabulous prizes — or, as is the case this sponsor-free week — for uh, fame and glory.

How can you win your moment in the sun? By going inside this home, poking around, then telling us all where it’s located. If more than one of you pinpoint the correct neighborhood, we’ll declare the player who provided the best explanation for the guess the winner.

This is, of course, a guessing game. If you’re not guessing — if you know this house already, or if you come across it searching online — please don’t blurt out the answer and ruin the game for everyone else. Instead, how about having a little fun with it? Send Swamplot an email with a link to the listing, then submit an incorrect guess — the kind that’s likely to throw other players off track. If you do this well, you’ll get special recognition when the winner is announced. And if nobody guesses the actual neighborhood, that winner could be you!

And now, the rest of the photos:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

03/04/10 11:49pm

So many pretty close guesses in this week’s game, but we’re awarding the prize to the player who came the closest of all. Flake, congratulations! You’ve just won a one-year individual membership in the NGG’s longtime sponsor, the Rice Design Alliance!

Is this place really (as commenter Phil put it) the “MOST. INNOCUOUS. HOME. EVER.”?

Have a look and judge for yourself. There’s no harm in that.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

03/02/10 10:13pm

More photos of unknown homes — and you get to guess the location! That’s how we play the Neighborhood Guessing Game: Guess right and you’ll win a one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance! Guess wrong and . . . well, hey — it won’t hurt you!

We’ll resolve any ties in this game by awarding the prize to the player who guesses the correct neighborhood and provides the best explanation for the guess. And if you already know this property, please don’t mess with us by blurting out the answer. Instead, mess with the other players — by sending us an email with a link to the listing (so we know what you’re up to) and then submitting a valiant but incorrect guess. If you do this well enough to sway or fake out a reader or two, you’ll be awarded special recognition when the winner is announced. And if nobody comes up with the correct neighborhood, that winner could be you!

Let’s poke around a bit and see if anyone’s home, shall we?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

02/23/10 7:20pm

We’ve got 13 interior photos of a home to show you. Can you tell us where it is? If you can guess it, there’s a one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance in it for you!

What happens if more than one of you guess the correct neighborhood? The RDA prize will go to the player who gave the best explanation with the guess.

What if you already know this home — or if you come across the answer while we’re playing the game? Well then, please don’t just blurt out the answer and ruin the fun for all the other players. Instead, play this screwy version of the game: Send us an email with a link to the listing; then post an incorrect guess — but make it sound plausible, just to throw other players off! If you do this well, you’ll get special recognition when the winner is announced. And if nobody guesses the actual location, that winner could be you!

A dozen more pix, coming up!

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY