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I know that betting reputation is strongly against the aim of this site.

I propose a guessing game on Codegolf (without betting reputation).

It might work in this way: after a challenge has been posted and before the first answer is given each user could try to guess which language will have the shortest code after (say) one week.

Since betting reputation is out of question, there could be a sort of scoring specific for this, with hats, pins, badges or other rewards of this kind for those who guess the language that will score the shortest code.

I noticed that in CodeGolf the ratio of page views/nr of answers is high, so I suppose that many people just lurk (I do not think that users go there looking for answers to "practical" questions). I follow sometimes the golfing to learn algorithms or tricks in Js/C# or other mainstream languages, even if those languages rarely win.

It would be a way to be somewhat active in golf for those users who follow it but for any reason do not actively try to give answers. Moreover, to make a good guess some thinking is required considering the peculiar needs of the challenge and advantages of different languages in meeting those needs.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ While a good idea, the question is "How does the implementation actually work?". I don't see any way to make it feasible. Custom code written for a single site is a really a rare thing. Even then, we also have custom code requests for far more important things (like a challenge scoreboard, and a sandbox) \$\endgroup\$
    – Nathan Merrill
    Commented Apr 5, 2017 at 16:37

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I think this could be a fun game, but there are two major problems:

  • Some users might not enjoy it, or find it distracting from the main purpose of the site. And

  • There is basically no way to officially implement this. We already have a list of features we'd like to have implemented specifically for PPCG, and I doubt this one would be approved if requested.

This leads me to the following idea: Make a chatroom!

Since anyone can create a chatroom, it would be perfectly easy to implement and host your own unofficial game. And another advantage would be that only users who are interested in playing will ever see this game, since you'll have to participate in the room to notice the game.

Obviously, there are a lot of logistical issues you'll have to figure out first, such as badges, scoring, points, leaderboards, etc. but these could be figured out by discussing it in said room. And from there, you could discuss maybe even extending the game, for example:

  • Guess the winning length

  • Guess the length of the shortest program in language <x>

  • Guess the number of answers

  • Whatever else you think could be fun

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Plus, since most challenges are ongoing, how do you determine who won? You'd have to set an end date. \$\endgroup\$
    – mbomb007
    Commented Apr 5, 2017 at 17:54
  • \$\begingroup\$ @mbomb007 Yeah, that's another logistics issue you'd have to figure out in the chatroom itself. I imagine something like a one-week deadline would make sense (which the OP did mention also). \$\endgroup\$
    – DJMcMayhem
    Commented Apr 5, 2017 at 17:56

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