partially because i wanted to post again in this new format as i work out the kinks, partially because i didn’t want to leave it unrecorded, let me tell you what i did two weekends ago.
through work, one of our vendor companies invited us out to a sunday afternoon scavenger hunt, so a handful of coworkers and i showed up around noon outside the LA public library. but this wasn’t your old-fashioned ‘find as many obscure items on this list as you can’ scavenger hunt. this was a well-orchestrated adventure chase more in the style of the amazing race, with cryptic clues that led to each next step of the game. to get through as many steps (and earn as many points) as possible, we had to crack codes, solve riddles, figure out hidden messages with disappearing ink or blacklights, talk to undercover agents milling around like regular people, all while running like crazy people around a roughly 10-block radius up and down the streets and many, many stairs of downtown. what i was tempted to skip because it sounded lame and was taking up my sunday turned out to be the most fun i’ve had in ages.
of course, the vendor in question also paid for the bar tab afterward, which didn’t hurt, but that part can’t help you. what could is that the company they hired to put on this game, ravenchase, also does public events or can be hired for your own private games. just saying, anyone planning corporate events or themed parties might want to look this up. also, anyone who hears about an event from these guys or any other public scavenger hunt game and thinks it all sounds cheesy may be right, but just accept the cheese and go with it, because it’s a blast.
side note: jessica, who is a huge fan of amazing race, was so jealous she couldn’t come that i had to promise to go to a future public race after gushing about the experience once i returned.
other side note: did i mention my team won and we got $100 each, AND a trophy for our office? seriously, if you’re doing one of these and want a pro on your team, you know who to call. just saying.