Editing How to Host a BANG

'''You don't have to be a puzzle expert to write a puzzle'''.  It will take a little practice to write good ones, though.  [[How to Write a BANG Puzzle]] may help guide you.  A smooth-working fun puzzle is usually preferred to an elegant puzzle, though elegant puzzles are a pleasure in and of themselves.  The number of puzzles usually is between 6 and 12, but this is not a hard and fast rule.  [[BANG 16]] had 14 puzzle and ran fine.  [[BANG 22]] had 19 puzzles and more than half the teams didn't finish.

Want to know what makes a good puzzle? Testing. Test each puzzle at each step of the way:  Conception, proof-of-concept, first draft, each iteration, and then the dry-run.  Dry-run is where the (hopefully) final copy is tested by a team in a practice run of the BANG.

A helpful tip:  '''Find an ending location first'''.  Many restaurants have a back room that you can rent out, or will let you use for free if you promise a certain number of people will actually order food.  Community centers, lodges (Odd Fellows for example), churches, dance halls, etc., also may have a room to rent.  Ending in a park or just wishing teams well after they finish the final puzzle is always an option, but many players like to sit down and talk about their experiences with food and drink.

You'll want teams to sign-up in advance, so you know how many copies of everything to make.  There are multiple ways to do this, the simplest being taking emails or using Google Forms.  Once accepted, teams could then send you the money for participation in whatever way works best for you.  It's generally not a good idea to take payments at the time of the event (see [https://plus.google.com/117382702051927222970/posts/Wh3keKSwgQ9 discussion]).  Many teams are now taking advantage of websites such as Eventbrite to handle sign-ups and payments together, though those websites often add a surcharge onto every ticket.

Custom hints - where a member of GC examines the work a team has done so far and gives them the best nudge to get them to the next step - are great, but can lead to tricky logistics. Teams need a way to talk to GC at each clue site. For the first few puzzles, before teams spread out, probably several teams will want hints at the same time. For these first few puzzles, you'll want to make easy for GC to hint quickly: easy to see what players have done so far, quick to explain the "Aha".  Having volunteers who are have solved the puzzle themselves or at least know the steps is required.

Although many BANGs have run under the radar and have skipped this step, it's probably best to get a permit if you are using a park for your starting location.  Visit the website for the local parks department for more information.  For some parks, it's as easy as filling out an online form; others may require more steps.

Rarely, a park may require [http://lmgtfy.com/?q=sports+insurance sports insurance].  If your event has activities or locations that might result in injuries, you may want to consider sports insurance anyway.  If you are unsure, check with teams who have hosted hunts before or post a question to the [[Mailing List]].  Most BANGs, however, will not need it.

Adds links where possible to digital versions of the puzzle.  Obviously, the puzzle involving spaghetti and silly putty may be hard to recreate in digital form, but do your best.  Also, include a link to the solution or, if you're feeling especially generous, an answer submission/hint form.  Easiest way is to actually take care of this before running your event, put them up on a private webpage, and then change it to public afterwards.  The more permanent the website, the better:  Some BANG puzzles have been lost when websites have gone down.