S and M Solution


The M+Ms spell out R, Y, and B in specific orientations. Treat each candy as a pixel and decompose the image into red, yellow, and blue layers (e.g., purple = present in red and blue layers, absent in yellow layer.)

 

 

We hoped that teams would interpret this as: Go southeast to the bridge; answer word BELFRY. Unfortunately, the legend on our map covered up the picture of the bridge in question and suggested that the area was out of bounds. Also, it was too early for everyone to be used to the location + answer word system, and at least one team thought about going to a belfry that was visible in the distance! Many teams wandered around confusedly while we dealt with issues at Candy Land; finally, one GC member went to sit near the entrance to the bridge to confirm that it was the right destination.

 

The mechanism behind this puzzle is very elegant, but it turned out to be very hard to clue a coherent solution. We didn't want to end up with any white candies, so every pixel had to be "on" in at least one of the three layers, which is why some of the letters look unusually fat or thin. After the final version had been printed, we realized that the word BELFRY was glaringly obvious, especially from a distance, but there really wasn't anything we could have done about it at that point. This was also way too hard for a first BANG puzzle. Oh, well... we hope you at least appreciated the concept!