BANG2: Bang Harder
Game Summary and Clue Explanation
Location: Angell Field
As teams checked in at registration, each team was given a tennis ball with their assigned team number printed on the ball. No other materials or information were given. After all teams were registered, contestants gathered in the bleachers. Here, they were treated to a welcome speech from our fearless captain, Rich Bragg. Rich proceeded to explain the rules of the game and answer any questions from the teams.
After the introduction and explanation of rules, one representative from each team joined Rich on the field to participate in a simple game that was used to determine starting order. A large “target” ball was thrown out onto the field, the team members then threw their team’s tennis ball at the target and the closest team was allowed to start the race. The remaining team representatives retrieved their team ball and the process was repeated until no teams remained.
Once teams successfully completed the starting tennis ball game, they were given a Stanford Campus Directory and told that the directory contained everything they needed to know. These directories were unmodified, official, campus directories, with one addition: a single page of helpful information was tucked inside of the cover. This helpful info page included the Braille alphabet (which would be needed later) as well as the help line phone number. Also, included as part of the official directory, is a very nice fold-out campus map; all clue destinations can be found on this map. After the team received their copy of the Campus Directory, they were directed to the first clue location.
For each of the clues below, if an electronic version of the clue is available it can be obtained by clicking on the clue title. Note: some of these files are rather large and may take a while to download. We apologize for this.
Clue 1: Pencil Rubbing Out (802kB)
Location: Stanford Olympians Monument (at the end of Angell Field)
The furnished clue was simply a pencil rubbing of one of the nameplates on the monument. Of course, we edited the file slightly in photoshop. Once teams located the correct nameplate, it became clear that the full name of the athlete in question is Tony Sandoval. The letters “OVAL” were missing from the rubbing and the correct solution is to head to “The Oval” at the end of Palm Drive.
Clue 2: Look, You’re On Crack! (3.5MB)
Location: The Oval (at the end of Palm Drive)
The clue begins with a crude diagram showing a number of “spokes” coming out around a large circle. Some of the spokes are labeled with letters (specifically, the A, X, and Q spokes are labeled). Following this diagram is a sequence of color photos taken from the oval. To solve this clue, teams needed to realize that the pattern of spokes matched the circular sidewalk at the center of the oval (and if they looked closely, they would have found the A, X, and Q “seams” of the sidewalk labeled in chalk). The photos were each taken from a specific point on the sidewalk by standing on a seam (or “crack”) of the sidewalk and facing straight out from the center. Teams needed to determine which “crack” of the sidewalk each photo was taken from, and thus the corresponding letter for that photo (letters were filled in around the circle in alphabetical order). Once all the photos were identified, the solution spelled out: MEMORIAL CHURCH.
Clue 3: Memorial Cobblestone Braille (391kB)
Location: Main Quad directly in front of Memorial Church
At this location, teams did not find a paper clue, or for that matter anything at all that was labeled as BANG2. Instead, they found that a large number of the Quad’s cobblestones had been colored with chalk. The key to solving this clue was two-fold: first, teams needed to recognize that the cobblestones were colored in a Braille pattern, and second, the teams needed to realize that they had a Braille alphabet tucked inside the cover of their directory. From that point, it was straightforward to translate the chalked cobblestones into: FIND DUCKS BETWEEN MEYER AND GREEN LIBRARIES
Clue 4: Let Your Fingers do the Walking! (64kB)
Location: Fountain in between Meyer and Green Libraries
Upon arrival, teams found a ring of bathtub rubber duckies floating in the middle of a fountain. The paper clues were inside of individual ziplock bags and floating inside of the ring of duckies. So at least one member of each team was forced to get a little wet in order to retrieve the clue. This provided a little entertainment for anyone watching.
The clue itself was simply a sequence of math problems. Teams needed to solve each line of math and obtain the proper number. The “a-ha” moment involved recognizing that the clue title was a reference to the Yellow Pages. To finish solving the clue, the team needed to take each number, turn to that page of their directory, and write down which lettered section of the directory it was in. The final answer spelled out BEHIND BECHTEL I-CENTER
Location: Barbeque Pit behind the Bechtel Inernational Center
When teams arrived, they were handed a Frisbee, a scorecard, and a description of the first hole. Teams had to play three holes of disc golf: Hole #1 went from the bbq pit behind Bechtel to the bbq pit overlooking Lake Lagunita; Hole #2 started where #1 finished and ended at the top of a set of stairs leading down to Roble Hall; Hole #3 began at the bottom of those stairs and went around Roble hall to the volleyball court out front (the volleyball Net was the actual “pin” for the hole). Instructions were to alternate disc throws among all team members, keep score on the scorecard, and then turn in the scorecard and disc at the end of the third hole. Teams were told they would receive the next clue once they successfully completed the third hole. Teams were not aware of this until the end, but they were penalized one minute for each “throw” over par or given a bonus minute for each throw below par.
Clue 6: New Guinea’s Tallest (443kB)
Location: Volleyball Court in front of Roble Hall
Once teams hit the volleyball net with their disc, this clue was thrown out of one of the windows of Roble Hall. Most teams never realized this, they simply discovered the clue lying on the court and wondered why they hadn’t seen it when they first arrived. The file linked above is setup for printing, so you’ll have to use your imagination for how it actually prints out. As received, the clue was a stack of cards in random order. On one side of each card is a picture of a portion of a totem pole and on the other side one single word is printed. Again, the key is in the title of the clue. About a hundred yards from the volleyball court is the New Guinea Garden—which is a sculpture garden full of totem poles.
To solve the clue, the cards need to be pieced together to form four totem poles (each being 4 cards tall). Once the totem poles are correctly formed, the words on the back of the cards describe locations on campus—4 different locations. The correct location is the one described on the back of the tallest totem pole (which could be determined either by finding and examining the totem poles, or by reading the informational plaque in the garden). The correct solution was thus: WEST SIDE DURAND BUILDING.
Location: Durand Building—West Side Stairwell
When teams arrived at the West side of Durand, they found a sign taped to the door of the west stairwell. The sign read “BANG Here”. When teams knocked on the door, a member of GC waiting inside of the stairwell instructed them to “BANG Harder” (small joke). After teams banged harder, they were allowed into the stairwell and told to head to the balcony on the top floor. Once on the balcony, another sign awaited with the message “X Marks the Spot”. No, the X was not on the floor or the railing, and it definitely was not on the roof (one team climbed up to look around!). When teams looked off into the distance they spotted a large “X” covering a parked car on top of Parking Structure 2 (at the corner of Panama and Via Ortega).
Clue 8: Coupon Mix-Up (7.7MB)
Location: top of Parking Structure 2
Here, teams received three printed sheets of coupons, almost identical to three of the pages of coupons at the back of the directory. On careful inspection, one will notice that some of the original words have been replaced with ordinal numbers (e.g. First, Second, Third, etc.). To solve the clue, teams needed to find each replaced word on a given page of coupons. Then, they needed to take the first letter of the word that had been replaced (found by consulting the original coupons in the directory) and order those letters according to the ordinal number (i.e. the first letter of the word which was replaced by “first” was the first letter of the solution for that page). The final solution is RODIN SCULPTURE GARDEN.
Clue 9: Art Appreciation (110kB)
Location: Rodin Sculpture Garden
Teams received a single sheet of paper with a sequence of photos and letters. The photos are of various sculptures found in the Rodin Sculpture Garden. For each photo, teams needed to determine the first letter of the name of the pictured sculpture. Once all sculpture names have been determined, the solution spells out: MAUSOLEUM
Clue 10: Mausoleum Bowling Center (439kB)
Location: The Mausoleum
This was a particularly creepy nighttime location. So naturally, we decided to dress a member of GC as the grim reaper! The grim reaper stood motionless and silent with his arms folded across his chest. The clues were tucked into his folded arms and teams simply needed to take one. Of course, the reaper didn’t always take too kindly to that (much to the excitement of some participants). The clue is a bowling scorecard with the pin counts already filled in. To solve the clue, teams needed to fill in the appropriate scores for each frame, and then MOD-26 the number (divide the number by 26 and then use the remainder). The result corresponded to a letter in the alphabet (e.g. A=1, B=2, etc.) Once the frame scores are correctly calculated and translated to letters, the answer spells out: GO BACK TO START
Location: Angell Field
As teams crossed the finish line a cheering crowd met them. The finish time was recorded, the directory reclaimed, and one final task handed out: the End-Game Game. This was actually just a fun way to disguise a survey, and gave teams something more to work on while they waited at the finish line and enjoyed refreshments. The final times, adjusted for disc golf score and hint penalties can be found here.
Congratulations to 13th Avenue for winning BANG2: Bang Harder!!
As the winners of BANG2, 13th Avenue has accepted the responsibility of hosting BANG3. For details please visit their website.
We would like to thank everyone who participated in BANG2—we had a great time putting the game together and hope that all of you enjoyed playing.
Sincerely,