Clue 11

Sector D - (part of) North Beach / Telegraph Hill / Fisherman's Wharf

Shapes

Authors: Paul Chou and Team Puzzle Fighters

Teams had been given a skip-a-clue-free card, and many used theirs on the following clue. It's unfortunate, because this clue is actually very elegant.

Teams received an envelope with the following two pages, and a note saying to call Game Control for the exact location of the clue when solved:

Hints

Hints 1 and 2 were at Game Control's discretion, depending on what teams had already figured out. See the various steps of the solution, below.

Solution

Step one was to tear or cut the paper with the shapes so that you could shuffle them around as needed.

Step two was to match the names on the shapes with their appropriate collective name, as follows (a great book to read for classification of animal groups is An Exaltation of Larks by James Lipton. Yes, the same James Lipton, host of "Inside the Actors Studio" who has taken sycophantry to a high art):

Crash = rhinoceros

Clutch = chick

Singular = boar

Pod = whale

Pride = lion

Gaggle = goose

Parliament = owl

Litter = pig

Army = caterpillar

Shrewdness = ape

Coven = witch

Finally, Step three was to line up the shapes on the paper in the order the collective nouns appear, and then rotate the paper 90 degrees CCW, and SQUINT :) You should see the following:

By looking at the negative space, you should be able to make out the words "COIT TOWER" in the white space between the shapes. Game Control advised those teams that called with the correct answer that the next clue could be found in a concrete box half-way up the stairs going down to Telegraph Hill Blvd. on the west side Coit Tower.