Initials Game

The Initials Game is played each Friday on the PowerTrip during the 8:20 segment. It was created by Cory Cove and originally called the "A.J. Game" since the first game was played to honor A.J. Mansour when he was leaving to take a new job. The game debuted May 23, 2014.

## Initials Game rules

Contestants are given clues to 12 items which can be people, places, things, etc. Each item has the same set of initials. Contestants are given up to 6 clues for each item. The first person to ring in with their name is allowed up to 5 seconds to answer, and they can ring in at any time during the progression of clues. If they are correct, they get 1 point, and if they are incorrect, the clues continue and other players are allowed to ring in.

The winner of the initials game is whoever gets the most points. If there is a tie, a 3-clue tiebreaker is used with the tied contestants. The tiebreakers will also have the same initials as the original 12 items.

### Rule Change History

**Game 4: June 13, 2014**
– Tiebreaker system was added due to listener complaints about 2 winners in
Game 3. Tiebreaker will be one clue. Game 3 is the only game with co-winners.

**Game 24: October 31,**
**2014** – First game that started the trend of movies, place, and things. Up
until this game most of the items were people, fictional and nonfictional.
Blazing Saddles sparked this rule change.

**Game 26: November 14,**
**2014** – First time for listeners to guess on Twitter who will win, the
number of points, and with #PowerTrip. The first prize was a $50 Applebee’s gift
card.

**Game 39: February 27,**
**2015** – The first time where listeners were attached to the players to win a
prize. The first prize given away was a Trip to Las Vegas for 2 people.

**Game 65: September 4,**
**2015 –** The first player to ring in gets to answer next. Players used to
have to wait until the 5-second timer ran out before ringing in similar to
Jeopardy rules. Mark Parrish on the Ewan McGregor item sparked this rule
change. Parrish was clearly the second person to ring in and knew the answer. AJ
waited the 5 second timer before ringing in, but Mark shouted the answer after
Hawk got the buzzer.

**Game 66: September**
**11, 2015 –** Tiebreakers now have 3 clues instead of 1 clue.

**Game 77: December 4,**
**2015 -** Moving forward, players need to be right up to the microphone and
say their name with some gusto. There was controversy of who rang in first,
Mark or Sauce. Mark said his name louder than Sauce.

**Game 87: February 26,**
**2016 -** Any mispronunciation of an item is a buzzer, period. You have to say
the item correctly.

**Game 113: August 26,**
**2016** - Controversial Tiebreaker, AJ
said "Mr. Krab" but it is "Mr. Krabs". Cory was quick on
the yes trigger but wasn’t able to give Meatsauce and Hawk a fair chance to
answer. Solution was to have AJ sit out for the 2nd tiebreaker
question but could get back in on the 3rd tiebreaker if Sauce and
Hawk did not get the 2nd one. If Cory makes a mistake in a similar
situation moving forward, the other 2 people do not get punished. The next tie
breaker question will only include the 2 other people.

**Game 119: October 7,**
**2016** - Cory hated admitting Chad Abbott was right, they are now running an
instant replay program. If there is a dispute, they are capable of instantly
replaying the audio and dissecting it.

**Game 184: January 5,**
**2018** – Announcement of Initials Major. They will happen about 4 times a
year. They will have 3 Rounds 10 Items, take place at live audience, and a rube
will be drawn to play all three rounds. There will be trophies and a green
jacket.

**Game 242: February 8,**
**2019** - First game with new voting rules for listeners. Points don’t matter
anymore, just predict who wins Initials Game correctly & use the hashtag
#PowerTrip.

## Initials Game Majors

Starting in 2018, the PowerTrip began holding Initials Game Majors multiple times per year. The Majors take place at a live appearance of the show. The primary differences between the regular Initials Game and a Major are:

1. A rube is picked at random to participate in the Major
2. The Major consists of 3 rounds of 10 questions each, for a total of 30 questions. One round is played each hour.
3. Each round has a different set of initials.
4. The winner of the Major is awarded a green jacket, which is later given to the winner of the next major.

### Initials Major Winners

1. Paul "Meatsauce" Lambert - Game 192, March 2, 2018 at Treasure Island Resort and Casino
2. Paul "Meatsauce" Lambert - Game 211, July 6, 2018 at Detroit Lakes
3. A.J. Mansour - Game 246, March 8, 2019 at Treasure Island Resort and Casino
4. A.J. Mansour - Game 263, July 12, 2019 at Detroit Lakes
5. A.J. Mansour - Game 272, September 13, 2019 in Studio.
6. A.J. Mansour - Game 297, March 6, 2020 at Treasure Island Resort and Casino

## Initials Game hosts

Cory Cove is the creator and regular host of Initials. On occasions where Cory either plays or is absent, he will typically have Paul Charchian host. Brandon Mileski, Ryan Donaldson, Lee Valsvik, Ben Leber, Eric Nordquist, Doctor Zack, and Carly Zucker have also hosted Initials.

## Initials Jackpot

The Initials Jackpot started in 2020 with $500. One listener who calls in gets a chance to guess the initials combo for the day. If they are correct, they win the jackpot.

On July 30th, 2021, Carl Rottman became the first ever listener to win the jackpot when he correctly guessed CR as the initials combo. Carl won the jackpot, which was $31,500.