|
When is the Game?
Saturday, September 13, 2003. If
you can't make it that day but would still like to experience
the clues, you might consider participating in one of
our playtests,
in which several teams run through the game a few weeks
in advance.
How long does the
game last?
We'll open registration at 10:00
am (for people who haven't paid and/or haven't formed
teams). People who have paid and formed teams should arrive
by 10:30 am. The game will begin promptly at 11:00 am.
The finish/checkin desk will open at 3:00 pm, and close
at 5:00 pm. The party will start when the first team finishes,
and go until about 7:30 pm, or
whenever the last team leaves, whichever is later.
Where does the
game start?
This year
we're starting at the bleachers at Aquatic Park. If you
go to Beach Street between Polk Street and Larkin Street,
on the downhill side of Ghirardelli Square, then walk
across the grass toward the water, you're there!
Where does the
game end?
The game will end at the South
End Rowing Club at Aquatic Park, 500 Jefferson Street
at the foot of Hyde Street.
What are the boundaries
of the sector?
The boundaries
are: Van Ness Avenue to the west, "where you get
your feet wet" to the north and east, and California
to the south, except for a little bit where California
ends at Drumm and Market - then the southern boundary
is Market Street to the Ferry Building.
How's parking in
the area?
In the immediate vicinity of the
club (two or three blocks radius) there is metered parking
with a one or two hour limit. A couple of blocks further
west or south of the club, things ease up. There
is lots of free parking at the foot of Van Ness Avenue
but it is posted four hours
only, on Bay Street or south of it in the residential
area of Russian Hill, or at lower Fort Mason, accessible
from Buchanan Street at Marina Boulevard (if you park
there, walk up the steps on the hill then turn left and
walk along the water's edge to the far end of Aquatic
Park). There is also paid parking at the Ghirardelli
Square Garage, which is somewhat expensive.
In any event, if you drive, your team should definitely
arrange to carpool.
Public transportation to the club
is excellent, as several bus and cable car routes go within
a block or two of the club. The San Francisco Municipal
Railway has an excellent interactive trip planner here.
Enter your starting location and a destination of
"Jefferson & Hyde" to plan your trip on
public transit.
What's different
this year?
YABA5 will resemble YABA3 more
than it will resemble YABA4. In a word, it will be simpler!
The clues last year were tough,
and time consuming. This year's clues will be easier,
but still challenging and fun. The Beginners division
will reallybe a Beginner's division (last year's
Beginners faced clues on the level of this year's Regular
or Masters clues).
Last year there were time penalties
for every half hour teams finished after 4:00 pm (the
game ended at 6:00 pm). We've reconsidered this and are
going back to a simpler scoring system - one point per
clue solved, no time penalties. Finishing time is used
only to break ties.
Last year teams received clues
at each of four clue hubs. This required us
to have staff at each clue hub...and we flubbed it by
closing some clue hubs before the game was over, not realizing
that teams might double back and do the hubs out of order.
This year,
you will get half of your clues at the start, and half
of your clues at the mid-point of the game, at Justin
Herman Plaza. Half of the teams (with even team
numbers) will go clockwise, and half of the teams will
go counter-clockwise (with odd team numbers). This is
in order to lighten the load on any particular clue site,
especially the earlier ones where teams will be bunched
up, and to prevent teams from just tagging along behind
other teams to clue sites without actually solving the
clues!
If your team would like to play
with another team, please make sure you are both assigned
even (or both assigned odd) team numbers!
Note: the Justin Herman clue
hub will NOT be a clue site, but it will be conveniently
located in terms of game flow. It will be open between
12 noon and 4 pm.
There will be no hints or answer
system this year. Either your team solves a clue, or it
doesn't. Clues will be
completely independent of each other. So you'll
never be stumped, or unable to continue in the game.
|
