London PCAG event

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Please add links to your photo galleries below! If you need a login, ask in #syzygy and someone will create one for you. Also...we will be co-opting players' images for this page, so keep an eye out for your photos!


General

  • On Saturday, Feb. 25, players gathered in London for the much-anticipated PCAG competition, the follow-up to the New York PCAG event
  • Starting at 10 AM, 25-35 people turned up for "Brunchfast", a pre-event social at JD Weatherspoon's pub (though no one brought a pink balloon, the pre-determined identification symbol)
  • Meanwhile, nine players and representatives crammed themselves into a phone booth at Trafalgar Square for publicity shots with a professional photographer (by the way, the world record is 14)
  • Doors opened at 12 PM for signing in 200 individuals, broken into groups of six (38 teams total)
  • After an introduction by Adrian, the games began at 1 PM
  • Goods including t-shirts, starter packs, mugs and posters were available for sale
  • Each team received one special, light blue PCAG bag, and every participant received a PCAG Leitmark
  • Throughout the day, people at base camp chatted and traded puzzle cards
  • The members of the winning team received clear cubes as prizes
  • After the games concluded, the top 8 teams were taken to the London Eye, where they intercepted a conversation (?) in morse code, flashed with torches on either side of the river; this has not yet been translated
  • Later, everyone retired to the Horse and Groom pub on Great Portland Street for social interaction lubricated by alcohol


  • 9 people in a booth

    9 people in a booth

  • Cameras interview players at base camp

    Cameras interview players at base camp

  • Merchandise for sale

    Merchandise for sale

  • Volunteers signed in participants and gave out nametags

    Volunteers signed in participants and gave out nametags

  • Volunteers

    Volunteers

  • Just as the event starts

    Just as the event starts

  • Sock puppets

    Sock puppets

  • End screen

    End screen

  • Puzzle Monkeys take first place!

    Puzzle Monkeys take first place!

  • Hanging out at the pub

    Hanging out at the pub

  • Beer and PXC puzzle cards

    Beer and PXC puzzle cards

  • Card trading at the pub

    Card trading at the pub

  • Group shot at the end of the night

    Group shot at the end of the night


The Games

  • Players received on Perplex City bag per team, containing a folder with challenge and information sheets
  • Teams had until 4:00 PM to complete as many challenges on the sheet as possible. This included:
    • Taking phone camera pictures of the task as evidence and sending them in via MMS
    • Having helpers visually verify tasks
    • And texting base camp if the challenge could be answered in words
  • Teams would also receive trivia texts throughout the day, with points for each correct answer
  • Other texts would be sent out if a new challenge was happening close by


  • The instruction sheet

    The instruction sheet


Challenge sheets

  • 16 questions requiring observation from walking round an area of central London (a triangle between Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square and Picadilly Circus) that we had to text back to HQ for varying amounts of points (10-40). With hindsight the questions were in a good walking order, although those that did it backwards didn't get waylaid by the anti terrorism march and demonstration. (340 points)


  • Pages of questions

    Pages of questions

  • Pages of questions

    Pages of questions

  • Home of chavs

    Home of chavs

  • Chinatown

    Chinatown

  • Cubes on top of Switzerland

    Cubes on top of Switzerland


Photo evidence

  • Six photo questions that required you to MMS photos of your team in various locations (260 plus open-ended 5 points per letter photo)
  • These consisted of:
    • 1) Photos of the whole team at the following Tube stations:
      • Chancery Lane
      • Picadilly Circus
      • Charing Cross
      • Leicester Square
      • Each of these was worth 20 points with an extra bonus 20 if you got them all.
    • 2) Fit up to 6 people in a phone box. (5 Points per person)
    • 3) Sit up to 6 people on a Trafalgar Square Lion. (5 Points per person)
    • 4) Form a human chain between two diagonal Trafalgar Square Lions, with each end touching the Lion. (40 Points)
    • 5) Form a human chain on the ground around Nelson's Column. (60 Points)
    • 6) Spell out a real word using people, either standing up or lying down. (5 Points per letter)


  • Sitting on Lions at Trafalgar Square

    Sitting on Lions at Trafalgar Square

  • Lions

    Lions

  • Connecting two lions

    Connecting two lions

  • A chain that stretched all the way around Nelson's Column

    A chain that stretched all the way around Nelson's Column

  • More chain

    More chain

  • Leicester Square

    Leicester Square

  • Team Viridian

    Team Viridian

  • Teams at Chancery Lane

    Teams at Chancery Lane

  • Teams at Charing Cross

    Teams at Charing Cross

  • "PERPLEXITY"

    "PERPLEXITY"

  • Six people in a phone booth

    Six people in a phone booth


SMS trivia questions

  • Eight trivia questions texted through the day (7x20 + 1x10 = 150)


13:22:11, "Trivia - What year is it in Perplex City? Code: 601 Points: 20"

Answer: 269 AC


14:53:47, "Trivia - What surname is shared by Sente, Violet and Scarlett? Code: 602 Points: 20"

Answer: Kiteway


14:54:14, "Trivia - What's the tallest building in Perplex City? Code: 603 Points: 20"

Answer: Ascendancy Point


14:54:31, "Trivia - Which river runs through Perplex City? Code: 604 Points: 20"

Answer: The Mazy River


15:06:15, "Trivia - What is the leading newspaper in Perplex City called? Code: 605 Points: 20"

Answer: The Perplex City Sentinel


15:17:20, "Trivia - What is Scarlett's blog called? Code: 606 Points: 20"

Answer: The Scarlett Kite


15:28:25, "Trivia - Which Perplex City artist released an album on Earth? Code: 607 Points: 20"

Answer: Viard


15:43:38, "Trivia .-- .... .- - / .. ... / .--. . .-. .--. .-.. . -..- / -.-. .. - -.-- ... / -.-. ..- .-. .-. . -. -.-. -.-- Code: 608 Points: 10"

Answer: "What is Perplex City's currency?" Lecks


  • Entering codes

    Entering codes


National Gallery trail

  • A special National Gallery section that gave cryptic clues for a trail through the gallery with a bumper 250-point question at the end to tempt us. Also to be texted. (370 points)


Ranger verification

  • Two questions requiring you to be witnessed either singing as part of a 6 team choir for 90 seconds in Leicester Square or playing various video games against other teams at the Trocadero Arcade. For free, too! (100 Points per team for the choir, 80/50/30 Points at the arcade, depending on how well you did)


  • Choir singing "Happy Birthday"

    Choir singing "Happy Birthday"

  • Doing the Hokey Pokey in Leicester Square

    Doing the Hokey Pokey in Leicester Square

  • DDR at the Trocadero

    DDR at the Trocadero

  • Guitar Hero competition

    Guitar Hero competition


Base camp

  • Two questions that required you to compete against other teams building a biscuit tower or spelling backwords (60 plus open-ended 10 points per letter spelling).


  • Stacking custard creams

    Stacking custard creams

  • Measuring biscuit stacks

    Measuring biscuit stacks

  • Kaleximoto's winning tower

    Kaleximoto's winning tower

  • Spelling bee

    Spelling bee


Spot challenges

  • Three or four other tasks texted through the day:


A race is to take place starting from the steps of the National Gallery at 2.15pm and 3pm. It's worth 150 points.


Get down and Conga! Form the longest conga line in Trafalgar Square at 2.50pm. The longer it is the more points you get!


What is the largest item you can buy and bring back to base at the end of the games for a single pound? You must have the receipt!


  • The National Gallery: Players gathered in front of the National Gallery, only to be told that they needed to race over to Leicester Square, where they received a riddle instructing them to buy a piece of fruit. Then they had to run back to Trafalgar Square with the correct fruit (many people tried to substitute kiwis for peaches, and strawberries for apples). Then, as teams, they had to eat each piece in its entirety.


2:15 - Go find and eat three fruit for us: The first has skin with gentle fuzz; The second, pomme d'amour is branded; The third the shape of things cack-handed.

Answers: Peach, tomato, pear


3:00 - You must find fruit to beat your fellows: The first made Eric Wimp so yellow; The second says the future's bright; The third picked up the Beatles' might.

Answers: Banana, orange, apple


  • Eating bananas

    Eating bananas

  • Teams cooperating

    Teams cooperating

  • Some individuals arrived well before the rest of their teams, and had to eat fruit all by themselvess

    Some individuals arrived well before the rest of their teams, and had to eat fruit all by themselvess

  • Buying fruit

    Buying fruit


Final challenge

  • The final task was to purchase the largest object possible for £1, with receipt
    • The undisputed* winner of the biggest item for £1 was the toilet roll bought by the CRT (Cube ReCoventry Team). With two 2-ply rolls for the bargain price of £0.95, and weighing in at an amazing 119.04 metres long, or 13.09 square metres in area, it truly was value for money! Toilet roll runs from left to right through the far doors in the photo and then some way up the stairs.
      • (*may not have actually won!)


  • Spreading the newspaper on the floor

    Spreading the newspaper on the floor

  • Line of a loo roll

    Line of a loo roll

  • Out the door

    Out the door


Results

Rank Team name Points scored
1 The Puzzle Monkeys 1200
2 Perplex Monkeys 1072
3 Logic, Intelligence and excellance 1062
4 The Cube ReCoventry Team 1017
5 Team Jazz Hands 1002
6 Serpentine Road 962
7 Good Guys, Bad guys 'n' explosions 957
8 Reservoir Frogs 937
9 Chic Geeks 892
10 Random Genius 880
11 Anglo Irish Contingent 827
12 Simba's Waffles 772
13 NorfolkFour 762
14 The Klatchian Foreign Legion 752
15 The Red Folks 752
16 The Argonauts 745
17 Muddled to the power of 5 727
18 The Sharkheads 720
19 The Minkies 707
20 The Wildcards 702
21 The Roofers 672
22 Viridian 665
23 Team Cambridge 637
24 Exit, pursued by a bear 617
25 thekipsclubb 615
26 The Goodies 612
27 lippy yank 590
28 kalimotxo 527
29 Smarties 492
30 The IT Crowd 465
31 Hunters with attitude 455
32 Sigma Chi 450
33 Noumenon9 435
34 Violet-Harlow 425
35 Lill Baz 390
36 The Bells 305
37 The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad 300
38 And so it begins 290


Facts

  • Biggest event of its kind
  • 127 people in the conga line
  • 3830 texts sent out
  • 1153 texts recieved
  • 27276 points earned
  • 2 things going completely wrong
    • The first was that culture wardens in Trafalgar Square wouldn't allow any "professional" filming of the events around Nelson's Column, and objected to large groups that drew lots of attention for the purpose of promoting something
    • The second was the huge angry protest march which gathered in Trafalgar Square, *on* Nelson's Column...about 30 seconds before the Conga Challenge started right in front of them
  • 0 arrests
  • £1 challenge:
    • 5 people sold for £1
    • 3 countries
    • 3 newspapers
    • 1 toilet paper roll
  • pcaglondon and perplexcity were listed as hot tags on Flickr for several days

Hottags.jpg


  • Culture wardens

    Culture wardens

  • The protest begins

    The protest begins

  • Protest in Trafalgar Square

    Protest in Trafalgar Square


The London Eye and Morse Code

  • A "mysterious benefactor" arranged a trip to the London Eye for the top 8 teams
  • While at the top, teams witnessed two messages being flashed in morse code
  • The messages are turning out to be very difficult to translate, and thus the solve has not yet emerged
  • Videos can be seen here (slightly truncated)
  • One message has been translated as:


-. / --- / - / ... / .- / ..-. / . / .-.-.- / .-- / . /

N o t s a f e . w e


-- / .-- / ... / - -- / --- / ...- / . / - / --- / /.- /

m u s t m o v e t o a


... / .- / ..-. / . / -.. / .. / --- / - / .- / -. / -.-. / . / ,-,-,- /

s a f e d i s t a n c e .


  • Londoneye.jpg


Photographs

Please add a link to your photo galleries here. When adding images on flickr, be sure to tag them pcaglondon


Video


References

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