At the carnival how should I swing the hammer to ring the bell?

Hello jsimmons,

There's a short chapter on the subject in:

"Carnival Undercover," by Bret Witter [search inside the book for: "High Striker"]
Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0452284287/002-9657072-6838428?v=search-inside&keywords=%22high%20striker%22

You can view these pages if you sign into an Amazon.com account (which
is free to register for if you don't already have one).  When you're
on page 79, click to the next page to see the end of the chapter.

Unfortunately, page 79 is cut off near the top.  But it is apparent
from this page and page 80 that it discusses the possibility of
control by the carny.  The answer to your question is on page 78: "the
overhand swing, where you put your whole body into it. ...."

You might also note this advice:

"hit the block at the very end"

"Makahiki celebrates Scouting," by Will Hoover (April 10, 2005)
[scroll to middle of article]
The Honolulu Advertiser
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Apr/10/ln/ln25p.html

"Try to hit the pad near the front (toward you)-most have a bolt hole
near the end-aim for that.  Do not aim for the pad itself, but aim to
hit the ground under the pad.  And, hit the mallet completely square
on the pallet (usually you tend to hit the side away from you first,
since you're at a height above the target).  And, of course, take a
good, full swing-over the head works well."

"Playing Faire: On Renaissance Faire Games v1.0," by James Sweetland (1999)
faire.net
http://www.faire.net/SCRIBE/faqs/Rengames.Txt

- justaskscott


Search strategy --

Searched on A9 for:

"carnival secrets"

[I used A9 because the title of your question looks like a book title;
A9 is Amazon.com's search engine.  While there is indeed a book called
"Carnival Secrets," it's not viewable on Amazon.com.  However, the
search led me to this similar book.]

Searched on Google for:

"high striker" secret
"test of strength" secret

---

Request for Answer Clarification by jsimmons-ga on 17 May 2005 08:50 PDT

Did you come across any advice based on physics?

---

Clarification of Answer by justaskscott-ga on 17 May 2005 10:57 PDT

I didn't, sorry.  The physics probably depend in large part on the
set-up of the mechanism.  A theoretical mechanism may differ from the
real High Striker.

The sources I quoted are apparently familiar with the set-up of the
High Striker, and "know" the physics through experience.  A person
doesn't need to understand physics in order to run, jump, hit a
baseball, or win a test of strength.  The person just needs to be able
to do it -- and I presume these people have done it.

I used to work at games like this.  I always wanted to created a web
site that showed how to win these games.  It has to be out there
somewhere.