Bang!

Danielle (the most prevalent none Everett family comment leaver) and I plan to participate in the April 28th 2007 BANG! (Bay Area Night Game). I am looking forward to it!

BANG is the Bay Area Night Game, started in November of 2002 by David Alyea. The first ever BANG race was held in the Presidio in San Francisco, and 10 teams on that night solved 10 puzzles while traversing a 7 mile course in near pitch black conditions. Along the way, they climbed through equipment in children's playgrounds, deciphered perl code, visited the pet cemetery, and even stopped to bowl at the Presidio Bowling Alley.

Since the first BANG race, the event has swelled to include fields of 30 or more teams. And, the puzzles have gotten harder. Still, at the core, BANG is meant to be a night-time only game played outdoors in which teams traverse by foot the entire course, carrying game supplies, flashlights, and plenty of extra clothing to stay warm into the night.

The following are all the BANG races held so far. (You can read more about past BANGs)

* BANG 1: The Presidio
* BANG 2: BANG Harder - Stanford
* ( BANNG - GPS game in Berkeley )
* BANG 3: Eyes Wide Open - UC Berkeley - Walkthrough
* BANG 4: City Lights (Union Square)
* BANG 5: Fisherman's Wharf
* BANG 6: Tall Tree - Downtown Palo Alto
* BANG 7: Nontrivial Pursuit - Google campus
* BANG 8: Bang H8! (as in: "the Haight")
* BANG 9: Sealed with a BANG - Stanford (a Valentine's Day BANG)
* BANG 10: Big Bang - Google campus
* BANG 11: Castro St. (Mountain View)
* BANG 12: What's Your Sign? (Downtown San Mateo)
* BANG 13: Trick or BANG - a Hallowe'en BANG (San Francisco Union Square)
* BANG 14: Hail to the BANG (Downtown San Jose)

By now, some traditions have arisen around BANG. Each team is required to bring a prize valued between $5 and $15 to go into the prize pool, and you can also expect one puzzle per BANG to feature a physical challenge or some sort of game. Past BANGs have included pinball, darts, disc golf, and even exercise ball golf!