Occasionally, when I really want to live on the edge, I count my cash at the petrol station before I commence filling my car with fuel.
For example, if I have £8.57 on me, I will squeeze the petrol pump trigger to start the flow of fuel, and not relinquish my firm hold until the exact point I want to stop the flow, i.e. when the display reads £8.57. No easing up, or anything sissy like that, oh no. Full-on till the end.
Sometimes, it will stop at £8.54, which isn't bad, but certainly no cigar. I wimped.
Sometimes, my reactions aren't up to scratch, and it stops at £8.59. Damn. Time to hunt around in the car for 2p.
Sometimes, I hit the jackpot, and it stops at £8.57 on the nose. "Yes!" I yell, as I punch the air with a jubilant fist.
The third scenario often attracts strange looks from other customers on the forecourt, so we obviously need a solution...
I present to you King of the Fill.
Before you begin your transaction, you have the option of pressing the 'Play' button on the pump. If you choose this option, you are asked to enter the target amount using a numberpad. Let the games commence...
If at any point during the game you ease up on the trigger, the pump shuts down, and 'Tilt' flashes up on the display. Your game is over. The pump comes back to life a few seconds later, and you can finish filling your tank in the normal fashion.
If you release the trigger before the target amount has been reached, an audio recording of a disappointed gameshow audience "Aaahhh!" is played. The nearer the target you get, the more dramatic the audience reaction.
If you go over your target, all you'll hear is a good old fashioned "Waa,waa,waaa,waaaa".
Shut the pump off at exactly the right point, however, and all the lights on the forecourt shut off, except for a spotlight directly over your head (admittedly, this would only be effective at night). "Ride of the Valkyries" begins to play, and the lights on your pump start to flash maniacally. There's no doubt about it - you are a true Road Warrior who knows no fear.
Thanks to [boysparks] for the improved title.-- jtp, Sep 13 2007 Very nice.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Sep 13 2007 Surely the inference that an extra 2p can be unearthed if required is a tad wimpish.-- Texticle, Sep 14 2007 Fair point. Maybe you should be required to lock your car and post your keys into a slot before you start the game. If you go over the target amount, your keys are not returned until you've walked home, got the required cash, and paid up.-- jtp, Sep 14 2007 Love it. You asked for title ideas, but I like yours fine. "Gas pump game" is all I thought of.-- bnip, Sep 14 2007 Excellencometers need to be installed all over the place. I want to live in an environment of continuous excellence improvement (CEI).-- bungston, Sep 14 2007 Bonus points if the number on the pump display is a factor of your car's odometer reading.-- hippo, Sep 14 2007 There's a bomb on the bus...-- Jinbish, Sep 14 2007 Hey [bigsleep] we pay just as much for gas as you europeans do. We just burn three times as much to do so. You have a ten mile commute and get thirty miles per gallon. We have thirty mile commutes and get ten miles per gallon. It all works out in the end.-- Galbinus_Caeli, Sep 14 2007 That's nine times as much. We're three times better at maths than you.-- hippo, Sep 14 2007 <Crowds round> Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! </cr>-- theleopard, Sep 14 2007 Oh yeah?-- theleopard, Sep 14 2007 Yeah [hippo]? You wanna settle this man to man? Or rather, sky phenomenon to water dwelling mammal?-- Galbinus_Caeli, Sep 14 2007 We'll settle it with a game of sky phenomenon, water dwelling mammal, Treon's hat: 1. sky phenomenon rains on water dwelling mammal 2. Treon's hat protects against rain from sky phenomenon 3. water dwelling mammal eats Treon's hat-- hippo, Sep 14 2007 <leans round behind hippo shaking fist>
Yeah!
</lrbhsf>-- theleopard, Sep 14 2007 Treon's hat is large, floppy, full of holes, ragged about the edges, and seems to have been made to be worn by more than one head simultaneously, yet still oddly fascinating. Sky Phenomenon drifts off in defeat.-- Galbinus_Caeli, Sep 14 2007 Times were strange, the roses were hungry so the Thorns ate Treon's hat.-- xenzag, Sep 14 2007 I absolutely love this idea, except here in New Jersey it's against the law to pump your own gas. [+]-- adjective, Sep 14 2007 I don't like carnival games. They're impossible to win.-- croissantz, Sep 14 2007 <tank full and fuel running down the side of the vehicle> ...must...stop...at...£8.57...
(except that £8.57 is probably enough fuel to wet the inside of the hose)-- Ling, Sep 15 2007 [boysparks] - Loving "King of the Fill"! Anyone object if I change it to this?
[Ling] Heh! I've done that many times, but usually by playing the slightly different "Must finish on a round number" game.-- jtp, Sep 15 2007 Kill Fill-- po, Sep 15 2007 [jtp] I am assuming you do this while smoking a cigarette, right?-- Galbinus_Caeli, Sep 15 2007 Only when I *really* want to live on the edge.-- jtp, Sep 15 2007 Woohoo! My first 2.5 bunner! Time to crack open the champagne methinks...
<takes a bow>-- jtp, Sep 15 2007 Back in the pre-digital days I spent some time working in service stations. If you listened closely, you could hear the mechanism tick over as the pump counted off the ten-cent marks.
Being cursed with excellent hearing, I could pump to the exact dollar while carrying on a conversation without looking at the pumps. It used to startle the customers quite nicely.-- normzone, Sep 15 2007 Sweet, just this idea, which is brilliant. Nice title too, good one boysparks.
[+]-- Germanicus, Sep 15 2007 Somehow, this has got me humming Miller Roger - King of the Road-- Ling, Sep 16 2007 We can't play here. There are no pumps anywhere near me where you don't pay a given amount first at the register, then pump the total you've already paid. And if you use a card, there is no game.-- globaltourniquet, Sep 17 2007 random, halfbakery