Solution To Barn

By Susan Glass, with lots of help from Jessica Wong

 

Acknowledgements: Many thanks to Jessica Wong for the large amount of work she put into helping construct this puzzle, and to Matt Sakai for testsolving so exhaustively.  Also thanks to caller Rob French for recording the audio sequences.  The checker animations came from Noriko Takahashi’s web site.  The people animations and pictures came from the Japan Square Dance Association.  The call descriptions were assembled based on a variety of sites, all of which based their descriptions on the CALLERLAB syllabus.  Many of the sequences were based on those found on Vic Ceder’s web site .

If you’d like more information about Square Dancing, Tech Squares teaches an amazing Square Dancing course that can count as a PE credit. The next one starts February 4, 2003.

 

Pictures of the pturnip team solving this puzzle can be found on the surveillance page.

            The answer is LAME DUCK.

            Each dancer represents a bit of an 8-bit ASCII letter.  The numbers in the ending formation indicate the positions of the bits in a 64-bit sequence, with each group of 8 bits forming an ASCII letter.  When a dancer holds a single BFT, their bit flips (0 to 1, or 1 to 0).  Two BFTs cancel each other out.

 

            The final answer is as follows:

 

1-8

9-16

17-24

25-32

33-40

41-48

49-56

57-64

0110 1100

0110 0001

0110 1101

0110 0101

0110 0100

0111 0101

0110 0011

0110 1011

L

A

M

E

D

U

C

K

 

NOTE: Digits in the final figure represent numbers before the token function.  Purple dots represent tokens.

 

1) SEQUENCE 1

Step

Token Location after step ends

Formation after step ends

 

Token 1

Token 2

 

START

Man 1 right hand

Lady 4 left hand

Couples enter the square/bows

Lady 1 left

Man 4 right

(Won’t bother with pics because promenade home brings everyone back home)

Swing your partner

Lady 1 left > Man 1 right hand

Man 4 right > Lady 4 left hand

Allemande left

Man 1 right hand

Man 1 left hand

Right and left grand

Lady 1 right hand (first pull by) > Man 3 right hand (third pull by)

Lady 2 left hand (second pull by) > Man 3 left hand (fourth pull by)

Meet your partner and promenade home

Lady 3 left hand

Man 3 left hand

Heads right and left thru

Man 3 left hand (courtesy turn)

Lady 3 left hand (courtesy turn) > Man 3 right (couples)

 

2) SEQUENCE 2

Step

Token Location after step ends

Formation after step ends

 

Token 1

Token 2

 

START

Man 2 left hand

Lady 3 right hand

Couples enter the square/bows

Man 2 left hand

Lady 3 right hand

(Won’t bother with pics because promenade home brings everyone back home)

Swing your partner

Lady 2 right hand

Man 3 left hand

Allemande left

Lady 2 right hand

Lady 2 left hand

Right and left grand

Man 2 right hand (1st pull by) > Lady 4 right hand (third pull by)

Man 1 left hand (second pull by) > Lady 4 left hand (fourth pull by)

Meet your partner and promenade home

Lady 4 right hand

Man 4 right hand

Heads right and left thru

Lady 4 right hand

Man 4 right hand

 

1) SEQUENCE 3

Step

Token Location after step ends

Formation after step ends

 

Token 1

Token 2

Token 3

Token 4

 

START

Man 3 right hand

Lady 3 left hand

Man 4 right hand

Lady 4 left hand

Couples enter the square/bows

Lady 3 left hand

Man 3 right hand

Lady 4 left hand

Man 4 right hand

Four ladies chain

Man 1 left hand

Lady 1 left hand

Man 2 left hand

Lady 2 left hand

Heads promenade ½

Man 1 left hand

Lady 1 left hand

Lady 2 right hand

Lady 2 left hand

Heads come down the middle and Square thru 4

Man 1 left hand

Man 1 right hand

Lady 2 right hand

Lady 2 left hand

All right and left thru

Man 1 right hand

Lady 4 right hand

Man 3 right > Lady 3 left hand

Man 4 left hand

Pass thru

Lady 1 left hand

Lady 4 right hand

Man 3 right hand

Man 4 left hand

 

1) SEQUENCE 4

Step

Token Location after step ends

Formation after step ends

 

Token 1

Token 2

Token 3

Token 4

 

START

Man 3 left hand

Lady 3 right hand

Man 4 left hand

Lady 4 right hand

Couples enter the square/bows

Man 3 left hand

Lady 3 right hand

Man 4 left hand

Lady 4 right hand

Four ladies chain

Man 3 right hand

Lady 1 right hand

Man 4 right hand

Lady 2 right hand

Heads promenade ½

Man 3 right hand

Lady 1 right hand

Man 4 right hand

Man 2 left hand

Heads come down the middle and Square thru 4

Lady 3 left hand

Lady 1 right hand

Man 4 right hand

Man 2 left hand

All right and left thru

Man 3 left hand

Lady 4 left hand

Lady 3 right hand

Man 2 right hand

Pass thru

Man 3 left hand

Man 2 right hand

Lady 3 right hand

Lady 4 left hand

 

5) SEQUENCE 5

Step

Token Location after step ends

Formation after step ends

 

Token 1

Token 2

 

START

Lady 1 left

Man 2 left

Couples enter the square/bows

Man 1 right

Man 2 left

Heads Square thru 4

 

 

Lady 3 left

Man 2 left

All DoSaDo

 

Man 1 right

Man 2 left

Pass thru

 

Lady 3 left

Man 2 left

Trade by

Man 1 right

Man 2 left

All Right and left thru

Lady 2 right (pull by)

Lady 2 left (courtesy turn) > Man 2 right (couples)

Pass thru

Lady 2 right

Lady 2 left

 

6) SEQUENCE 6

Step

Token Location after step ends

Formation after step ends

 

Token 1

Token 2

 

START

Lady 1 right hand

Lady 2 left hand

Couples enter the square/bows

Lady 1 right

Man 2 right hand

Heads Square thru 4

 

 

Lady 1 right

Man 2 right hand

All DoSaDo

 

Lady 1 right

Lady 2 left

Pass thru

 

Lady 1 right

Man 2 right

Trade by

Lady 1 right

Lady 2 left

All Right and left thru

Man 4 right (pull by) > Lady 4 left (couples)

Man 2 left (courtesy turn)

Pass thru

Man 4 right

Man 2 left

 

7) SEQUENCE 7

Step

Token Location after step ends

Formation after step ends

 

Token 1

Token 2

Token 3

Token 4

 

START

Lady 4 right

Lady 2 left

Lady 3 left

Lady 3 right

Couples enter the square/bows

Lady 4 right

Man 2 right

Man 3 right

Lady 3 right

Circle left all the way

Man 1 left

Man 2 right

Man 3 right

Man 4 left

Weave the ring

Man 1 left

Man 2 right hand

Man 3 right hand

Man 4 left

Right and left grand; partners form couples

Lady 2 left > Man 3 left

Lady 4 left

Lady 1 left

Man 2 left

Heads promenade ½ and come down the middle

Man 3 left

Lady 4 left

Lady 1 left

Lady 4 right

Heads Square thru 4

Man 3 left

Lady 4 left

Man 3 right

Lady 4 right

DoSaDo

Man 3 left

Man 4 right

Lady 1 left

Lady 4 right

Square Thru 3

Man 3 right

Lady 4 left

Man 3 left

Lady 4 right

Trade by

Lady 1 left

Man 4 right

Man 3 left

Lady 4 right

 

8) SEQUENCE 8

Step

Token Location after step ends

Formation after step ends

 

Token 1

Token 2

 

START

Man 4 right

Man 2 left

Couples enter the square/bows

Lady 4 left

Man 2 left

Circle left all the way

Lady 4 left

Lady 1 right

Weave the ring

Lady 4 left

Lady 1 right

Right and left grand; partners form couples

Man 2 right

Lady 3 right

Heads promenade ½ and come down the middle

Man 2 right

Lady 3 right

Heads Square thru 4

Man 2 right

Lady 3 right

DoSaDo

Lady 2 left

Lady 3 right

Square Thru 3

Man 2 left (second pull by)

Man 2 right (first pull by) > Lady 3 right (third pull by)

Trade by

Man 2 left

Lady 3 right

 

Images restored in 2010 by the archivists of Beginner's Luck. Thanks to Lance Nathan for providing the images (which were for a slightly different version of the puzzle but were close enough for easy modification). These images do not have the purple dots marking tokens; sorry. Also note that some of the bits generated by sequences 7 and 8 appear to be incorrect.