Amusements

At Yerba Buena Gardens, there are some concrete pedestals with mazes carved into them. Candy Land originally included a puzzle that used regular and marshmallow Alpha-Bits in the maze, but we ran into problem after problem:

 

• They don't make marshmallow Alpha-Bits anymore. We tried many stores before we found the only extant variety, which isn't even sweet.
• The condition of the individual Alpha-Bits in our boxes could only be explained in terms of the gory aftermath of some kind of civil war. Hundreds of letters were maimed, deformed to the point of unrecognizability, or flat-out dead, and certain key letters had apparently deserted the cereal en masse. As we dug through a huge bowl for the particular letters we needed, we showed off the worst examples to each other - "This could be an S, on a good day."
• After all that, the puzzle flopped in playtesting. Don't be surprised if you can't come up with the answer.

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Shortly before the game, we got this e-mail from Macy's:

 

Hello Dee and Franklin,

 

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!!!

 

This note is to inform you that I will be your bridal consultant at Macy's Union Square. As such I am available to assist you with your registry needs and wishes prior to your special day, in addition to related matters once you are married. Since your wedding date is October 31, 2006. It is important for you to update and track your list of gifts periodically.

 

We reeeeeally hoped that our personal consultant wouldn't look too closely at the Ceased/Stein registry before game day. Fortunately, it was just a form letter, because we never heard anything more.