There were a number of temple games (and other rounds) where the judging, ruling, or scoring was a bit iffy or off. I'd like to use this thread to discuss some of those instances, and how the poor judging ultimately affected the rest of the episode.

One of the rulings I'd like to focus on is the team temple game from Melted Head of Madame Tussaud. That was the game where the teams had to run out and grab 4 busts while avoiding the swinging obstacles. You may also recall it as the game where Screaming Jennifer got obliterated by a giant swinging ball. As far as I can tell, this particular run has never been "called out" for improper judging, but I have always thought that the Purple Parrots got all four busts in their basket before the Orange Iguanas. They scored at 0:54, 0:47, and 0:44. At the 0:44 score, Kirk says, "Purple Parrots only have one left!" but then says that they got two and would have to bring one back. Then the Purple Parrot boy scored their third at 0:23 and fourth at 0:06, but Kirk said that the score after their third score was 3-2 Orange. In the end, the Orange Iguanas won the full pendant of life, making the final score 1.5-0.5 pendants and allowing the Orange Iguanas to go to the temple. If the pendants were awarded "correctly" (as I see it), then the Purple Parrots would have gone to the temple.

Do you think the ruling for that temple game was correct?

I'd like to dedicate this thread to calculations and statistics about different temple rooms... stuff like how often guards were in particular rooms, which objectives got completed how often, etc.



I'm going to start with the Room of the Ancient Warriors. I think it's safe to say that the Room of the Ancient Warriors was one of the most enjoyable rooms of the series (or at least, I think so). Although it may have felt cramped, the room was put to good use. Its objective was very simple, but the fact that there were multiple potential temple guard locations made it much more suspenseful.

I was interested in collecting some statistics about the room, and I thought I would present them here if you were interested. Here is a start of what I have found:

• There were five artifacts located in the room: Snow Cone of Mount Kilimanjaro, Dried Apple Half of William Tell, Bullet-Riddled Handbag of Belle Boyd, Jeweled Scabbard of Sforza, and Jewel-Encrusted Egg of Catherine the Great.
• There were nine episodes where the contestants entered from the Chamber of the Sacred Markers. There were 13 episodes where the team entered from the King's Storeroom. Six teams entered from the Shrine of the Silver Monkey.
• There were seven episodes in which the team did not attempt the objective. This count does not include those five episodes previously listed.
• There were two episodes in which time ran out with a contestant in the Room of the Ancient Warriors: Discarded Seal of Ivan the Terrible and Lost Whale Bone of Pytheas. Both are clockwise central shaft runs. In both runs, the second runner had tried the leftmost and middle runs (in that order) before time ran out. The next door failed to activate in time.
• The rightmost armor was tried 22 times. In nine episodes, it activated the next door. Five times a temple guard was behind that armor.
• The middle armor was tried 24 times. It activated the next door 15 times. Eight guards were behind the middle armor.
• The leftmost armor was tried 12 times. It activated the next door twice. There were only ever two guards in that armor: Bifocal Monocle and Discarded Seal. In both cases, the guard was avoidable. During Bifocal Monocle, the Ancient Warriors was part of a dead end, so the whole room (not only the guard) was avoidable. In Discarded Seal, the rightmost armor was going to be the one to activate the next door.

The Room of the Secret Password was featured during the final episodes of Season 2 and all of Season 3. Despite it being in 53 episodes, there were only 12 contestants (over the course of 11 episodes) in which a contestant read a password aloud. Below is a list of all of those contestants.

Chandra, Leopard-Skin Cloak of Annie Oakley
Andrea, Lion-Headed Bracelet of Chandragupta
Zac, Secret Map of the Bandit Queen
Kelli, Thornwood Gavel of Judge Roy Bean
Jeremy, Golden Spider Web of Robert the Bruce
Keith, Missing Portrait of Hans Holbein
Quentin, Red Sash of Tokugawa Ieyasu
Brandi, Red Sash of Tokugawa Ieyasu
Kimberly, Broken Trident of Poseidon
Randy, Metal Beard of the Egyptian Queen
Dawn, Pearl Necklace of Gwalior
Matthew, Bullet-Riddled Handbag of Belle Boyd

Kelli has taken some heat on this site in the past for not speaking intelligibly when she read the passwords aloud. But when you look at that list, it should become apparent that she was not the only one on that list who failed to remove her mouthpiece before saying the passwords. Zac, Jeremy, Randy, and Matthew all kept their mouthpieces in as well.

The biggest difference between Kelli and the other contestants is that instead of reading the password toward the spotter with a microphone who stood in the Shrine of the Silver Monkey (see image below from "Lion-Headed Bracelet of Chandragupta, courtesy video posted on youtube.com by ChargerTheWolf), she placed the tablets on the pedestals at the front of the room and spoke looking out directly in front of her.




Why do you think the Room of the Secret Password was completed so infrequently? And what about Kelli's performance in that room (please note, I am asking about her performance, not the outcome) makes her get so much flack?

Identifying the temple guard locations in each episode has been brought up previously in the Heart Room topic "Where were the temple guards?", but not every episode was completed. Hopefully we can do that here. Feel free to use the other topic for reference.

Ideally, I'd like to go through one episode at a time so that each episode gets undivided attention. If you have any thoughts about where unseen temple guards were, please comment!


RUNNING TALLY: Below is the list of where the guards were or were thought to have been in each episode. Rooms in parentheses are rooms in which a guard was spotted but did not capture a contestant. Episodes preceded by a "~" note that those episodes featured fewer than three guards encountered, but everyone was in consensus about where the remaining guards were. Those rooms are listed in bold. Episodes preceded by a "**" are still unfinished, but the suggested/potential guards are listed with the episode in italics.

** Blackbeard’s Treasure Map: Cave of Sighs, Room of Harmonic Convergence, Tomb of Ancient Kings
** Golden Cup of Belshazzar: Cave of Sighs, Treasure Room, Swamp
~ Galileo’s Cannonball: Throne Room, Shrine, Gargoyle Room
Wild Bill Hickok and the Dead Man’s Hand: Cave of Sighs, Heart Room, Swamp
John Henry’s Lost Hammer: Heart Room, Throne Room, (Cave of Sighs)
** Golden Cricket Cage of Khan: Throne Room, Heart Room, ?
Elizabeth I’s Golden Ship: Cave of Sighs, Heart Room, Room of the Golden Idols
John Sutter and the Map to the Lost Goldmine: Cave of Sighs, Throne Room, Room of the Golden Idols
~ Star of Sultan Saladin: Tomb of Ancient Kings, (Cave of Sighs), Heart Room
** Keys to the Alhambra: Throne Room, Tomb of Ancient Kings, either the Gargoyle Room or the Shrine
~ Helmet of Genghis Khan: Cave of Sighs, Shrine, Heart Room
Trojan Horseshoe: Heart Room, Shrine, (Spider’s Lair)
Pendant of Kamehameha: Throne Room, Heart Room, Dungeon
Lost Logbooks of Magellan: Room of Harmonic Convergence, Heart Room, Pirate's Cove
** Moccasins of Geronimo:  Observatory, Rooms of the Three Gargoyles, Heart Room
Henry VIII’s Great Seal: Cave of Sighs, Heart Room, Tomb of Ancient Kings
~ Lucky Pig of Amelia Earhart: Observatory, Swamp, Heart Room
Ponce de Leon and the Lost Fountain of Youth: Observatory, Room of Harmonic Convergence, (Cave of Sighs)
** Treasure Map of Jean Lafitte: Room of Harmonic Convergence, Heart Room, Tomb of Ancient Kings
** Oracle Bowl of Delphi: Gargoyle Room, Swamp, Treasure Room
** Paintbrush of Leonardo da Vinci: Swamp, Observatory, Shrine
** Golden Chains of Zenobia: Cave of Sighs, Treasure Room, either the Well or Room of Three Torches
** Belly Button of Buddha: Treasure Room, Heart Room, Well
** Stolen Arm of Shiva: Cave of Sighs, Observatory, Tomb of Ancient Kings
** Stone Marker of Leif Erikson: Bamboo Forest, Observatory, either the Shrine or Torch Room
** Helmet of Joan of Arc: Gargoyle Room, Room of Harmonic Convergence, Treasure Room
Medal of Sir Edmund Hillary: Gargoyle Room, Heart Room, Shrine
** Mask of Shaka Zulu: Cave of Sighs, either the Treasure Room/Torch Room or Heart Room/Shrine
** Golden Jaguar of Atahualpa: Heart Room, Shrine, Gargoyle Room
** Silver Saddle Horn of Hannibal: Treasure Room, Holes of Python, Well
~ Alexander and the Gordian Knot: Throne Room, Tomb of Ancient Kings, Treasure Room
 King Tut's Cobra Staff: Heart Room, Shrine, (Cave of Sighs)
Dragon Lady and the Blue Pearl: Treasure Room, Tomb of Ancient Kings, (Cave of Sighs)
** Codebook of Mata Hari: Holes of Python, Treasure Room, Room of the Royal Gongs
~ Pecos Bill's Lost Lariat: Heart Room, Treasure Room, Throne Room
~ Robin Hood and Marian's Ladder: Throne Room, Heart Room, Observatory
Lawrence of Arabia's Headdress: Cave of Sighs, Room of the Fallen Columns, Treasury of Golden Orbs
~ Collar of Davy Crockett: Throne Room, Observatory, Room of the Royal Gongs
Snake Bracelet of Cleopatra: Room of the Fallen Columns, Treasury of Golden Orbs, (Cave of Sighs)
Treasure of Anne Bonny: Room of the Royal Gongs, Throne Room, Room of Fallen Columns

** Silver Horseshoe of Butch Cassidy: Dark Forest (left tree), Crypt, Observatory
Secret Battle Plans of Nathan Hale: Crypt, Observatory, King's Storeroom
Golden Stallion of Ali Baba: Heart Room, Throne Room, Dark Forest (left tree)
Silver Cannonball of Grandy Nanny: Ledges, King's Storeroom, Shrine
Walking Stick of Harriet Tubman: Crypt, Throne Room, Shrine
Lost Love Letter of Captain John Smith: Throne Room, Medusa's Lair, Shrine
** Diary of Dr. Livingstone: Throne Room, Dark Forest (left tree), either Ledges or Heart Room
~ Bone Necklace of the Blackfeet Chief: Swamp, Dark Forest (left tree), Crypt
~ Mush Pot Hat of Johnny Appleseed: Crypt, King's Storeroom, Medusa’s Lair
Cracked Crown of the Spanish King: Ledges, Throne Room, Dark Forest (left tree)
** Imperial Purple Robe of Empress Theodora: Dark Forest (right tree), Shrine, Ledges
Stone Head of the Evil King: Throne Room, Medusa's Lair, King's Storeroom
** Lucky Medallion of Atocha: Ledges, two of the bottom floor rooms
~ Applewood Amulet of Emiliano Zapata: Medusa's Lair, King's Storeroom, Crypt
~ Electrified Key of Benjamin Franklin: Medusa's Lair, King's Storeroom, Crypt
~ Lucky Pillow of Annie Taylor: Throne Room, Crypt, Mineshaft
Missing Eye of David: Medusa's Lair, Laser Light Room, Swamp
** Enormous Iron Nose Ring of Babe: Dark Forest (left tree), Crypt, Medusa’s Lair
** Very Tall Turban of Ahmed Baba: Swamp, Crypt, Dark Forest
Ivory Elephant of Scheherazade: Ledges, King's Storeroom, Dark Forest (right tree)
Sacred Ring of Sultan Suleiman: Ledges, Observatory, Medusa's Lair
** Plumed Headdress of Cosa Rara: Laser Light Room, King's Storeroom, Crypt
Jeweled Necklace of Montezuma: Crypt, Medusa's Lair, Dark Forest (left tree)
Lost Lion Tail of Little John: Ledges, Swamp, Dark Forest (left tree)
** Shriveled Hand of Efoua: Observatory, Medusa's Lair, Ledges
~ Mask of the Man in the Iron Mask: Medusa's Lair, Swamp, Crypt
Crown of Queen Nzinga: Laser Light Room, Swamp, Dark Forest (right tree)
Two-Cornered Hat of Napoleon: Crypt, Laser Light Room, Swamp
Silk Sash of Mulan: Crypt, Observatory, Laser Light Room
~ Golden Goblet of Attila the Hun: Medusa's Lair, Ledges, Secret Password
~ Leopard-Skin Cloak of Annie Oakley: Laser Light Room, King's Storeroom, Ledges
** Snakeskin Boots of Billy the Kid: Crypt, Laser Light Room, Secret Password
Golden Pepperoni of Catherine de Medici: Crypt, Laser Light Room, King's Storeroom
** Golden Earring of Henry Morgan: Laser Light Room, Mineshaft, Ledges
** Milk Bucket of Freydis: Laser Light Room and two of the following: Crypt, Mandarin Hand, or Mineshaft
Missing Weather Maps of Charles Lindbergh: Ledges, King's Storeroom, Shrine
~ Levitating Dog Leash of Nostradamus: Laser Light Room, Mandarin Hand, Ledges
** Broken Wing of Icarus: Mandarin Hand, Ledges, Laser Light Room
~ Bonnet of Dolley Madison: Ledges, King's Storeroom, Mandarin Hand
Priceless Portrait of the Polynesian Girl: Crypt, Mandarin Hand, Observatory

** Bifocal Monocle of One-Eyed Jack: Ancient Warriors (armor 3), King's Storeroom, Quicksand Bog
Comet-Embroidered Battle Flag of William the Conqueror: Crypt, Ancient Warriors (armor 2), Tomb of the Headless Kings
~ War Fan of the Forty-Seven Ronin: Crypt, Secret Password, Dark Forest
** Much-Heralded Helmet of Sir Gawain: Ledges, Chamber, Secret Password
** Lion-Headed Bracelet of Chandragupta: Ancient Warriors (armor 1), Crypt, Dark Forest
** Lion-Slashed Jacket of Sacajawea: Tomb of the Headless Kings, King's Storeroom, Ledges
~ Secret Map of the Bandit Queen: Tomb of the Headless Kings, Dark Forest (left tree), Chamber
Thornwood Gavel of Judge Roy Bean: King's Storeroom, Chamber, Secret Password
** Snow Cone of Mount Kilimanjaro: Tomb of the Headless Kings, Dark Forest (right tree), either the King’s Storeroom or Chamber
Upside-Down Compass of Henry Hudson: Chamber, King's Storeroom, Ancient Warriors (armor 1)
** Bent Shaving Pan of Jedidiah Smith: Tomb of the Headless Kings, Ancient Warriors (armor 2), Ledges
** Marble Armrest of Xerxes: Tomb of the Headless Kings, Quicksand Bog, either the Shrine or Ancient Warriors
** Smashed Printing Plate of Frederick Douglass: Ancient Warriors (armor 1), Dark Forest (left tree), either Crypt or King’s Storeroom
~ Mystical Spellbook of the Imperial Wizard: Ancient Warriors (armor 1), Quicksand Bog, Chamber
Useless Map of the Chibcha Chieftain: Crypt, Tomb of the Headless Kings, King's Storeroom
Golden Spider Web of Robert the Bruce: King's Storeroom, Ancient Warriors (armor 1), Quicksand Bog
Discarded Seal of Ivan the Terrible: Chamber, Shrine, Ancient Warriors (armor 3)
** Mysterious Manuscript of Mary Shelley: Chamber, Shrine (should have been Ancient Warriors Armor 2), perhaps either the Ledges or Secret Password
** Dried Apple Half of William Tell: Ledges, Tomb of the Headless Kings, perhaps either the Dark Forest or Quicksand Bog
Missing Portrait of Hans Holbein: Crypt, Ancient Warriors (armor 2), Secret Password
** Ivory Hunting Horn of Roland: Tomb of the Headless Kings, King’s Storeroom, Quicksand Bog
Royal Torque of Queen Boadicea: Crypt, Chamber, Shrine
~ Lost Hornpipe of the Pirate Captain: Chamber, Ancient Warriors (armor 2), Ledges
~ Enormous Feather of the Me Linh: Tomb of the Headless Kings, Dark Forest (left tree), Ledges
Red Sash of Tokugawa Ieyasu: King's Storeroom, Secret Password, Quicksand Bog
** Broken Trident of Poseidon: perhaps the Dark Forest, Ancient Warriors, and King’s Storeroom?
** Lily-Crested Crown of Clovis I: Chamber, Shrine, either the Ledges or Secret Password
Mussel Shell Armor of Apanuugpak: Tomb of the Headless Kings, Dark Forest (left tree), Shrine
~ Metal Beard of the Egyptian Queen: Tomb of the Headless Kings, Dark Forest (right tree), Ledges
Mummified Hand of the Egyptian King: Tomb of the Headless Kings, Ancient Warriors (armor 2), Secret Password
Lost Taj Mahal Turban of Aurangzeb: Chamber, Shrine, Quicksand Bog
** Melted Head of Madame Tussaud: Chamber, Ancient Warriors (armor 2), either the Ledges or Secret Password
** Pearl Necklace of Gwalior: Chamber, Shrine, Ancient Warriors
Bullet-Riddled Handbag of Belle Boyd: Tomb of the Headless Kings, Dark Forest (right tree), Quicksand Bog
** Lost Whale Bone of Pytheas: Tomb of the Headless Kings, Shrine, Dark Forest (right tree)
Dried Ear of Corn of Sojourner Truth: Chamber, Ancient Warriors (armor 2), Dark Forest (left tree)
~ Jeweled Scabbard of Sforza: Crypt, Chamber, Ledges
~ Good-Luck Watch of Empress Eugenie: King's Storeroom, Shrine, Ledges
** Ruby Earring of Benzibab: Crypt, Tomb of the Headless Kings, King’s Storeroom
** Jewel-Encrusted Egg of Catherine the Great: Crypt, Tomb of the Headless Kings, Secret Password

I thought I'd take some inspiration from TRJ and try to make a "Rate by Poll" thread. This poll is about Temple Guard Encounters, and hopefully we'll end up finding which episodes featured the runs with the best temple guard encounters. I hope that people are interested in participating and that all goes well.

For this poll, we'll go episode by episode, ranking the temple guard encounters of each run. All polls will be on a 1-5 scale, with 5 being very funny/memorable (or whatever other factors influence your perception of a "good temple guard encounter") and 1 being not funny/memorable at all. The poll will (hopefully) be updated every day with a new episode. I'll average each day's poll when the poll ends, and I'll post a running tally of the results below.

PREVIOUS EPISODE RATINGS
Blackbeard's Treasure Map: 2.75
Golden Cup of Belshazzar: 2.00
Galileo's Cannonball: 3.25
Wild Bill Hickok and the Dead Man's Hand: 2.67
John Henry's Lost Hammer: 4.00
Golden Cricket Cage of Khan: 3.50
Elizabeth I's Golden Ship: 2.25
John Sutter and the Map to the Lost Gold Mine: 3.20
Star of Sultan Saladin: 4.25
Keys to the Alhambra: 2.25
Helmet of Genghis Khan: 3.00

TODAY'S EPISODE TO RATE
The Trojan Horseshoe
Temple Guard Locations: Heart Room, Shrine of the Silver Monkey

Which runs were you completely surprised to see the contestants reach the artifact and/or bring it out?

For me, the first episode that comes to mind for "surprisingly successful" is "Enormous Feather of the Me Linh." Karisa spent quite a long time in the Quicksand Bog- among other rooms- yet she was able to get all the way to the King's Storeroom. The team completed 8 room objectives en route to the Feather. Overall, this is one run where I did not expect the team to be as successful as they actually were in the temple.

A number of rooms of the temple changed from one season to the next, as well as between different layouts of the same season. Going from Season 1 to Season 2, the Shrine of the Silver Monkey and Heart Room (briefly) stayed the same, they kept the Troubled Bridge around, they reused the Mineshaft, and the Observatory kept its name. In transitioning from Season 2 to Season 3, the King's Storeroom was moved to a new location but kept its name and objective, and the Shrine of the Silver Monkey, Secret Password, Dark Forest, Jesters' Court, Crypt, and Ledges stayed as they were.

If a fourth season of LOTHT happened, which rooms do you think would have been changed, and which ones do you think would have appeared again? (And just to clarify, I mean a fourth season directly after the third; not nowadays, since the entire design and style of the show may have been changed if a remake of the show came about.)