8
$\begingroup$

I have an ancient mayan friend who emailed me the other day:

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Subject: Hey!

Hey how are you!

I was wondering if you were feeling a little bored, living in 2017, and wanted a little change. If you do, try out my magic baktun wheel! If you've forgotten about what a baktun is, then just look here. Look at the attatchments for more info.

From Balaj.

Attatchments:

MagicBaktun.exe

Rules.txt

Wheel.png

Isn't that nice of him! I opened the image first:

Baktun Wheel

Rules.txt:

Welcome to the magical time-traveling baktun wheel from azsoft corp!

Here's how to get started:

You can choose any time period to travel to to live your life! All you have to do, is simply type in the name of the baktun eg. "thirteen" and you will be instantly transported! Of course there is more to the baktun wheel; it has the power to change your life-span. The number of the letters a, i, o, and u in the word determines how many baktuns you will live for (e is the only vowel that does not count towards your lifespan). For instance "four" has two life-letters ("o", and "u"), so you will be transported to the fourth baktun, and you will live for two baktuns, so untill the very end of the fifth baktun, having lived through baktuns four and five. You will live clockwise around the baktun wheel in numerical order, but when you get to baktun 19, something quite remarkable happens, you are transported all the way back to the original baktun 1.

Our software has cross-language support for all languages that use Latin characters so "one", "un", "uno", "eine" and many more are all accepted. Also alternate forms of the words eg. "zero", "nought" etc. So you can use phrases (with multiple words), and natural numbers, but actual numerals are disallowed. However, you must use denary numbers only, and you must use an actual phrase that people use to refer to the number be it "thirteen", "bakers dozen" etc. and you can not use phrases that identify to the number like "days in a week" to refer to 7.

Have fun!

That sounds like some pretty amazing technology! Now all I have to do is choose what Baktun to live in... Now I'm very into sci-fi and futuristic things so the later in time the better. In fact, I want to live through as many of the latest possible Baktuns. To make things easier, I will use a points system, the higher the better. The baktun's point score will be the same as the baktun. For instance, if I lived in Baktun 14 for a life-span of 3, the score would be 14+15+16 = 45 points.

I have opened up the program.

MagicBaktun.exe:

Baktun Program

What should I type in for the highest point score I can find? Whoever can find the highest scoring answer wins!

Include in your answer the NO points and language outside of the spoilers.

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
13
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ @Marchhill Note that this site frowns on puzzles that don't have a clear definition and a clear "best answer". Your puzzle criteria need to be well-defined enough that you can clearly say whether any answer qualifies and whether it is "better" than another answer. There should be no need for people to ask whether a certain word/phrase is allowed, because it should be spelled out in the question. Failure to sufficiently define puzzle parameters will likely result in the question being closed as "too broad". $\endgroup$
    – GentlePurpleRain
    Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 18:55
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Is there a tag for a puzzle meant for light-hearted fun? I think some of us are enjoying this one, in spite of its broadness. $\endgroup$
    – wildBillMunson
    Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 19:01
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @wildBillMunson: No, there is not. Just because you're enjoying a question doesn't mean it's appropriate for the site. $\endgroup$
    – Deusovi ♦
    Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 19:12
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ @Deusovi touchee $\endgroup$
    – wildBillMunson
    Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 19:12
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ @Marchhill Please edit all of your rule clarifications into the question itself, so that people don't need to read through the comments in order to determine what the rules are. $\endgroup$
    – GentlePurpleRain
    Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 19:18

11 Answers 11

Reset to default
9
$\begingroup$

How about:

"marang-aynjaabugij marang-aynjaabugij wulal-wulal", which is 14 in Nunggubuyu language, contains 18 life-letters.

and scores:

14+15+16+17+18+19+1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12 =

177 points

Source:

https://mpi-lingweb.shh.mpg.de/numeral/Nunggubuyu.htm

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
5
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ This is a valid answer and will be very tough to beat! $\endgroup$
    – wildBillMunson
    Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 19:32
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ @wildBillMunson, thanks. It is a fun puzzle. :) $\endgroup$
    – Maria Ivanova
    Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 19:40
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ Math class must be tedious for Nunggubuyu speakers. $\endgroup$
    – johannes
    Commented Jan 13, 2017 at 14:27
  • $\begingroup$ According to Wikipedia the word for nine is "maralibalinala mari wulawulal"—which actually has one more life-letter. $\endgroup$
    – Nick Matteo
    Commented Jan 13, 2017 at 19:01
  • $\begingroup$ @kundor Well, I guess Wikipedia is not the most reliable source. My source is another Wikipedia page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…. I found another source. $\endgroup$
    – Maria Ivanova
    Commented Jan 13, 2017 at 20:13
8
$\begingroup$

I would type (in French)

Douzaine de boulanger (French translation of "baker's dozen", or thirteen)

which would given me

13 + 14 + 15 + 16 + 17 + 18 + 19

or 112 points.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
2
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ The Italian would be "dozzina del fornaio" which would net the same score. $\endgroup$
    – wildBillMunson
    Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 18:50
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ I will confess that this doesn't feel 100% kosher to me, since it's an idiomatic expression that doesn't necessarily translate literally. But hey, if the software accepts it... $\endgroup$
    – Michael Seifert
    Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 18:54
6
$\begingroup$

For 124 points:

"Twelve" in Maori is kotahi tekau ma rua, and contains 8 "life-letters".

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
0
4
$\begingroup$

I propose a rule change. Let's accept answers in Italian. I accept the rule change. Here's my answer under these new rules:

quattordicesimo (Italian for 14th)

which gives me

6 Baktuns (14+15+16+17+18+19) = 99

99 Points

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
4
  • $\begingroup$ beating you by 26 points :P $\endgroup$
    – Beastly Gerbil
    Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 18:26
  • $\begingroup$ italian isn't supported unfortunately $\endgroup$
    – Beastly Gerbil
    Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 18:36
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ I edited the question to allow all languages using latin characters, I think this will allow for even more imaginative and varied answers! $\endgroup$
    – Melkor
    Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 18:43
  • $\begingroup$ HAHA yes! I knew you would go for that!!!! :D $\endgroup$
    – wildBillMunson
    Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 18:43
3
$\begingroup$

I would type

Decimocuarto (ordinal form of fourteen in spanish)

this will give me

5 baktuns - decimocuarto - meaning I will live in the fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth baktuns. 14+15+16+17+18 =

80 points

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ I think you meant the ordinal form. $\endgroup$
    – wildBillMunson
    Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 18:27
  • $\begingroup$ @wildBillMunson that one. Thanks :P $\endgroup$
    – Beastly Gerbil
    Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 18:27
3
$\begingroup$

How about

diecicuatro - Spanish for Fourteen - 5 life letters.
14+15+16+17+18 = 80

80 Points Spanish

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ just edited to give that. ninja'd you :P $\endgroup$
    – Beastly Gerbil
    Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 18:26
3
$\begingroup$

How about

143

A Central Algonquian language from "Miami-Illinois" gives -

paraare palaani niišomeneehki for number 8

So..

Total life letters = 11 Hence we get $8+9+10+11+12+13+14+15+16+17+18 = 143$

Credit - Wikipedia

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ I counted several times, I still get 11 life-letters. $\endgroup$
    – Maria Ivanova
    Commented Jan 13, 2017 at 11:10
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Oops..Can I cheat and add an extra "a" somewhere? :D Thanks.. Let me edit.. $\endgroup$
    – Techidiot
    Commented Jan 13, 2017 at 11:17
1
$\begingroup$

In English, my score can be very large (arbitrarily so if you allow unusual names). For example:

zero quadrillion, zero trillion, zero billion, zero million, zero thousand, sixteen.

This has 23 life-letters, so gives total $$16+17+18+19+(1+\cdots+19)=260$$

This gives 260 points.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ Although this could be argued to be correct, it doesn't really fit with 'you must use an actual phrase that people use to refer to the number' $\endgroup$
    – Melkor
    Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 22:38
0
$\begingroup$

In Brazil, the numbers for Bingo are usually not called out as numbers, instead they are called by a phrase (usually a question) whose answer is that number. Bingo is a common game in the catholic Quermesse, most of the questions are catholic in nature; So we have:

"A Nossa Bíblia Sagrada está dividida em quantas partes?" Is a phrase for the number 2, and has 17 life letters. (the answer is two: new and old testament)

Scoring:

A[1] no[2]ssa[3] Bí[4]bli[5]a[6] Sa[7]gra[8]da[9] está[10] di[11]vi[12]di[13]da[14] em qua[15]nta[16]s pa[11]rtes? So the sum of 2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12+13+14+15+16+17+18+19 = 170

170 points.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
0
$\begingroup$

This is quite borderline about the "you must use an actual phrase that people use to refer to the number" rule, so I'll let you judge

"soltanto una singola, normalissima, noiosa unità" (Italian for "just a single, extremely plain, boring unit")

Scores 190 by starting at Baktun 1 and living all 19 Baktuns in order.

Note:

I said this is borderline because while obviously this sentence won't be used in all normal day conversations, you could still imagine it being uttered by someone wanting to be all theatrical while showing how small and plain a single 1 is. ("I asked you to write a number as big and weird as you wanted and you give me just this single, extremely plain and boring unit?")

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ If this was allowed then something like "only one? just one really?" would also be allowed, so sorry but no. $\endgroup$
    – Melkor
    Commented Jan 13, 2017 at 17:06
0
$\begingroup$

If I use one of the (apparently many) alternate forms of Roman numerals then I can write

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

thus giving me a score of

19 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 + 11 + 12 + 13 + 14 + 15 + 16 + 17 + 18

190 points

(I don't know how in keeping with "an actual phrase that people use" this can be considered; it's an actual numbering system though that people have used)

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ Sorry but this isn't allowed. I have slightly modified the question to make this rule more clear "So you can use phrases (with multiple words), and natural numbers, but actual numerals are disallowed" $\endgroup$
    – Melkor
    Commented Jan 13, 2017 at 17:19

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.