Site considerations

Choosing a site for BAPHL can be important. Here are some things to consider:

• Has there been a recent BAPHL (or DASH or other puzzle hunt) in the area you're looking at? You can't always pick a brand new location, but it's nice to have variety.
• Is the site accessible by T (or commuter rail)? Many Bostonians don't have cars, and parking is always an annoyance.
• What will the site be like at the time of the hunt? For example, for BAPHL 10, since we were planning on having the event during the summer, we wanted locations that offered shade (the Comm Ave mall, for Seattle) and/or air conditioning (the Prudential Center). If your BAPHL will be in the late fall or early spring, you may also want to have sheltered space available.
  • Will there be other events in the area that will cause logistical issues? This could be something like an art festival in Camberville, or a Red Sox home game in downtown Boston. If something like this is an issue, you may want to pick another date.
• What will the site be like with 40 teams there? Is there adequate solving space? Puzzlers can adapt to just about any space where they will fit, but they'll be happier if there are chairs and tables or at least benches nearby. Again with BAPHL 10, the Comm Ave mall had benches, and the Prudential Center had tables and chairs, but Newbury St didn't have a lot of options.
• Are there any puzzle-centric restrictions? These can include metapuzzles that use site-specific information, such as BAPHL 2 and 7, or something weird like the map overlay used in BAPHL 10.
• Are there interesting features that can be used for site-specific puzzles? Although some solvers will want to just park themselves at a bench and solve on paper, having site-specific puzzles is a key feature of localized hunts like BAPHL.