More updates to the Bingo Card Generator

[magibrain]

Hallo, all! I'm the one who's been coding the Bingo Card Generator over at http://an.owomoyela.net/fun/bingo_generator , and I thought I'd drop in and let you know of some new features.

• A longstanding bug with the Aarne-Thompson Fairytale Classifications list has been resolved, meaning that now you can use that list in conjunction with other lists, and it will select values from the whole Aarne-Thompson list and not just the first 852 or so.
• Background color, text color, and border color are now all customizable, with a popup color picker. You should be able to specify any color you'd like for any of these values, and if all the JavaScript is working correctly, you'll be able to see how it looks in an example square before selecting it.
• You can now generate 3x3 and 7x7 cards.

I'm hoping to add in an option to toggle the free space on and off soon, as well as adding 2x2, 4x4, and 6x6 generators. (The even square generators, for reasons having to do with code architecture, need the free space toggle to be implemented before they can be added in.)

Anyway, let me know if you see anything going wildly wrong! And if there are features you'd really like to see, let me know. I can't promise to implement them all, but I know that people may begin using this in ways I didn't anticipate, and it's be cool to support those uses as much as is practical. :)

–magi

[Update] Just added in some center-space customization!

Comments

Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I love the "wild card" space, which is how this is usually treated in creative bingo. You can put anything in that square, or according to some fests, pick any prompt from their list. It's not typically a square that doesn't have to be filled, the way it's sometimes played in gambling or educational bingo games.

On that note, a three-way option among "free space," "wild card," or "normal prompt" as the center square would be helpful.

Re: Hmm...

[clare_dragonfly]

Well, call it a free space or a wild card, I don't care for it ;) I don't want to have to pick my own prompt, especially since there is very rarely a prompt I like more than others. If a prompt doesn't come externally, it is not really a prompt for me. (Much like deadlines. I have to find some way to externalize them or I won't hit them--but if they're external, I'm pretty good at hitting them.)

So far in my bingo card use, I think the only time I've used a wild card was for kink_bingo, and I'm not sure I posted it. I like the challenge of prompts. If they're not a challenge, I tend to look for something else. That's also why I've had my current origfic_bingo card for more than two years--the prompts don't grab me with a challenge. Actually, most of my bingo cards don't grab me with challenges, but once I'm finished with my current novel project, I'm planning on requesting prompts to go with bingo cards the way aldersprig has.

Re: Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Well, call it a free space or a wild card, I don't care for it ;) I don't want to have to pick my own prompt, especially since there is very rarely a prompt I like more than others. <<

That's fine, and it's why I suggested "normal prompt" as an option.

Me, I like the wild card square because it lets me either A) pick a prompt I love, or B) showcase a poem I love by choosing a prompt to match it.

>> I like the challenge of prompts. If they're not a challenge, I tend to look for something else. <<

I like prompts of different challenge levels. cottoncandy_bingo, genprompt_bingo, and origfic_bingo are favorites because they're easy to write. I can rack up lots of activity quickly there, and practice is good. Conversely I love hc_bingo for its plotty prompts. ladiesbingo has been the most challenging, because I have to fit the prompts with a dual-female-lead series or else make something new, so that pushes the envelope for me. There's not a lot that does anymore, so that's valuable. Plus it makes more woman-centered literature, which is much needed.

>> Actually, most of my bingo cards don't grab me with challenges, but once I'm finished with my current novel project, I'm planning on requesting prompts to go with bingo cards the way aldersprig has. <<

Good idea. I've had my author bingo card for a while and it's fun to do.

You might also want to check out the "death," "desperate situations," and "end of the world" prompt lists on the Bingo Card Generator. Those have some grittier, plottier prompts compared to the lighter ones of the general prompt lists.

Re: Hmm...

[magibrain]

[On that note, a three-way option among "free space," "wild card," or "normal prompt" as the center square would be helpful.]

Done one better! There's now a four-way choice, which allows you to go with "FREE SPACE", "WILD CARD", a normal prompt, or user-specified text.

Re: Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith]

This is so awesome!

By the way, I sent you a donation via our household PayPal account.

Re: Hmm...

[magibrain]

Yes! I received it! Thank you very much :).