Boda Borg Columbus - 2021
As a New Years Eve tradition, this year and the past two years (2019, 2020) I’ve been creating Boda Borg Quests that serve as a “year-in-review” game, based on our fun experience at Boda Borg Boston. If you’re unfamiliar with Boda Borg, see the 2019 post for a longer description.
Here were the rooms this year:
1 - Bowling Trivia
Players had to roll balls down a long tube in the stairwell, without ever touching the balls with their hands (tongs were provided at the top of the stairs, but anchored on a string).
At the bottom, players knocked over large tiles corresponding to answers to trivia questions from throughout the year, by directing the end of the tube towards the correct tile.
Each time they entered the room players were given three of the following questions:
2 - The Ever Given
A big cardboard box was stuck diagonally across a narrow hallway, representing the Ever Given getting stuck in the Suez Canal.
Players had to first use a tiny bucket truck to move some Duplos out of the way of one end of the box.
Finally they had to attach five or six clothespins on strings to the box and pull simultaneously to pull the “boat” to the end of the canal. Because the clothespins are not very strong, pulling with just one or two at a time caused them to pop off, instead of moving the “boat”. Players had to coordinate pulling all the strings in unison.
3 - The James Webb Space Telescope
Players were given three “Sun shields” made from cardboard and styrofoam, and 18 gold-foil hexagons with magnets on the back. Players had to take the components of the telescope into the basement (where the lights were off except for a single candle), travel across the floor only stepping in designated spots, assemble the hexagons on a metallic grate that was hanging above the candle, then use the sun shields to protect the telescope.
Stamp
After solving all three puzzles consecutively, players could stamp the 2021 stamp into their Boda Borg passport. Note that I’ve reversed the image of the stamp, so that it can be read more easily.
Trivia Answers
- Brown, tan, black, and white
- Sea shanties
- Amanda Gorman
- GameStop
- “DARE MIGHTY THINGS”
- NFTs
- Meghan & Harry of Sussex
- People named Josh
- 50%
- Juneteenth
- Simone Biles
- Leaded gasoline
- 3-4 minutes
- Spectators
- Squid Game
- $10,000
- A malaria vaccine
- To wield presidential power
- Nu & Xi
- A Starbucks