BAPHL 7: Basic American Pseudo-History LessonTop
At the start of the hunt, 29 teams taking Advanced Topics in Revere-Longfellow Studies (hard track) and 9 teams taking Intro to Revere-Longfellow Studies (normal track) were welcomed to the Boston-Area Pseudo-History Lesson field trip, taking place this year on the Freedom Trail. Since all the teachers were at developmental training, the district had brought in Phlogizote to ensure that all students spent the day learning about the historical figures associated with Paul Revere’s ride (rather than just wandering around the city). Each group of students was given a packet of four assignments to complete as part of the field trip and a bag lunch (in strict alignment with the First Lady’s nutritional guidelines for growing students). Once everyone had their buddies and was ready to go, the field trip started and teams were off.
After solving two puzzles, teams could check their answers with two Phlogizote representatives by the Ben Franklin statue on School Street, in front of Old City Hall. Upon doing this, they were informed of the bad news: district standards had changed, and they now had four additional historical figures to learn about.
Once teams had completed 5 total assignments, they could check in with more Phlogizote representatives at the second checkpoint, the Rose Kennedy Greenway (across from Mother Anna’s restaurant). Again, teams were told that the district was requiring them to learn about even more historical figures (with some dubious choices in regards to Paul Revere’s ride — Willy Wonka? Glinda the Good Witch? really?). Once teams had finished 10 (of 13 total) assignments correctly, they could go to the final location.
At the Paul Revere Mall, once it was verified that teams had correctly completed enough assignments, they were given their final exam, tying together everything they had learned.
Final results, with fastest teams first:
| Hard Teams: | Final Time: | |
| The Sons of Tamarkin | 2:22 | |
| plugh | 2:45 | |
| Bigfield Fighting Koobish | 3:10 | |
| Danish House Mafia | 3:39 | |
| The Fourth Horseman | 3:43 | |
| Palintec Astrodome | 3:43 | |
| 111 Mice | 4:35 | |
| ♘♘♘ Galactic Trendsetters ♘♘♘ | 4:38 | |
| Clever Canisters | 4:44 | |
| Do Not Write Below This Line | 5:02 | |
| The Daughters of Davis | 5:10 | |
| Scenic Travelers | 5:54 | |
| Cartographers for Topological Equivalence | 6:02 | |
| Normal Teams: | Final Time: | |
| Mostly Harmless | 5:42 | |
| TBD | 5:47 |
Puzzles & SolutionsTop
| PUZZLE | AUTHOR(S) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puzzle Packet 1: | ||||
| One if by Land: Paul Revere | Jenny Gutbezahl and Kevin Wald | hard | normal | solution |
| Two if by Sea: William Dawes | Kevin Wald | hard | normal | solution |
| Thirteen if by Big Rig: John Hancock | Kevin Wald | hard | normal | solution |
| Seventeen if by Party Bus: Samuel Adams | Eli Barrieau | hard | normal | solution |
| Puzzle Packet 2: | ||||
| Three if by Flagship: Betsy Ross | Eli Barrieau | hard | normal | solution |
| Four if by Sedan Chair: Ethan Allen | Brie Frame, Ben Smith, and Joe Cabrera | hard | solution | |
| Four if by Yankee Clipper: Ethan Allen (3D glasses helpful) |
Joe Cabrera | normal | solution | |
| Seven if by Fire Truck: Ben Franklin* | Katherine Bryant | hard | normal | solution |
| Nine if by UFO: Crispus Attucks* | Kevin Wald | hard | normal | solution |
| Puzzle Packet 3: | ||||
| Five if by Wheelbarrow: Rose Kennedy | Joon Pahk and Katherine Bryant | hard | normal | solution |
| Six if by Sundry: Phileas Fogg | Susan Glass and Jenny Gutbezahl | hard | normal | solution |
| Eight if by School Bus: Georges Seurat (Scantron® form with 5 response choices per line required) |
Ben Smith | hard | normal | solution |
| Twelve if by Broom: Glinda | Kevin Wald | hard | normal | solution |
| Fourteen if by Glass Elevator: Willy Wonka* | Jenny Gutbezahl and Katherine Bryant | hard | normal | solution |
| Final Exam (meta)* | Team Phlogizote | hard | normal | solution |
Or download all the puzzles together in one PDF:
Teams also received these documents just before or at the start of the hunt:
- Introduction: hard normal
- Map
- Crib Sheet
- Answer Sheet
Want to try solving the puzzles yourself but couldn’t make it to BAPHL 7?
These images will help you solve the puzzles requiring something physical or site-specific without requiring peeking at the full solutions:
Additional CreditsTop
- Puzzle Authors, Event Design, and Organization: Eli Barrieau, Katherine Bryant, Joe Cabrera, Brie Frame, Aaron Fuegi, Susan Glass, Jenny Gutbezahl, Joon Pahk, Ben Smith, Kevin Wald
- Additional Testing: Kate Baker, Alex Boisvert, Linda Branagan, Chad Brown, Wes Carroll, Krysta Chauncey-Allen, Lee Chauncey-Allen, Andrew Cohen, Aaron Dinkin, Kate Farb-Johnson, TK Focht, Juliana Froggatt, Mark Gottlieb, Andrew Greene, Robert Harris, Tyler Hinman, Jeremy Horwitz, Seth Kleinerman, Andy Latto, Kate Leiserson, Paul Lujan, Jeff Marman, Christopher Michaud, Catherine Miller, Mark Navarrete, Rob O’Brien, Tanis O’Connor, Todd Page, Stan Park, Brian Perrin, David Poland, Tracy Poland, Jim Sempsrott, Thomas Snyder, Julia Tenney, Andrew Thomas, Fred Upton, Josh Ward, Gaby Weidling, Jimmy Williams
- Cat Herder-in-Chief: Ben Smith
- Graphics, Design, and Typesetting: Joe Cabrera
- Special Thanks: Hubert Hwang, The Big Quiz Thing, Gnomon Copy, Jeffrey S. Lee
And thanks to everyone who participated and made this a great event!
ContactTop
Email baphl7@baphl.org with questions about the BAPHL 7 event.
Email baphl@baphl.org with questions about past or future BAPHL events.