Treasure Hunt Formats

[Russell]

Our local tandem club group hold an annual treasure hunt as one of the monthly rides.  Despite our best efforts we won this year (again) and have the privilege of running one for next year.  I'm not keen on the standard format of finding answers to written clues as you ride along - to me it breaks up the ride and I (we) don't enjoy it as much as a standard ride.  Also as the riders start at the same point and roughly at the same time,  there is a bit of a procession around the route with group answer spotting.  Last time we organised a TH, In an effort to ring the changes,  we presented a series of coordinates (map supplied) where the answers could be found and let the combatants find their way around.  There were also objects to find en route - a feather, something red etc.  Others have had observational rides where the observation period is started and stopped with the ringing of a bell.

So I'm looking for ideas for a treasure hunt style format that is a bit different.  Interesting as well as fun hopefully.

Thanks

R

[L CC]

My old club did a team one where there was a weighting- distant clues attracted more points. You also had to time the return exactly- too late or too early back at base and there were penalties. It meant you spent the first 5 mins planning where your team would go, and then some on/ off road fun, too. I remember it being an excellent morning out.

[telstarbox]

If you can rely on the participants having cameraphones (or cameras!) then a Lucky Dip one might work.

Choose some locations - these could be specific (St Anne's Church, the Dog and Partridge, Toad Hall), generic (a phone box, a farm animal, a bus) or more offbeat (something triangular, something gold, something rare) depending on your local area.

Type up the locations on cards (an easy way is to print a grid on A4 paper and cut them up) then sort them into envelopes - maybe 10 per envelope.

Each team gets an envelope at the start and has to find and photograph as many locations as possible in the time allowed. The generic ones add an element of unpredictability so it doesn't just become an orienteering exercise. Ideally you want it to be very hard to get the full set so that all teams don't get 10 points.

[madcow]

My old club did a team one where there was a weighting- distant clues attracted more points. You also had to time the return exactly- too late or too early back at base and there were penalties. It meant you spent the first 5 mins planning where your team would go, and then some on/ off road fun, too. I remember it being an excellent morning out.

That’s like orienteering ,where the controls that are furthest away from the start  or are difficult to reach for other reasons, have the most points allocated to them. You can go for the big ones or collect an accumulation of points from lower scoring ones.
Tactics become just as important as physical ability ,especially if late return is heavily penalised.

[Cudzoziemiec]

How about not telling the riders where the clues are, but giving each pair a different clue to start with. Once they find their first, it will lead to their next and so on, but in a not too obvious, though not too cryptic, way. So each team will be heading in a different direction but will eventually find all the same answers.

[Russell]

Hmm, some interesting ideas there.  Thanks all.

[L CC]

Tactics become just as important as physical ability ,especially if late return is heavily penalised.

And that's exactly what happened. Teams of stronger riders went for big gains but the 'slower' teams still could match them if they played canny.

[mrcharly-YHT]

My old club did a team one where there was a weighting- distant clues attracted more points. You also had to time the return exactly- too late or too early back at base and there were penalties. It meant you spent the first 5 mins planning where your team would go, and then some on/ off road fun, too. I remember it being an excellent morning out.

That’s like orienteering ,where the controls that are furthest away from the start  or are difficult to reach for other reasons, have the most points allocated to them. You can go for the big ones or collect an accumulation of points from lower scoring ones.
Tactics become just as important as physical ability ,especially if late return is heavily penalised.

That is a variant of orienteering called 'rogaining'. Classic orienteering has a fixed course. I used to do well at rogaining by being good at navigation and taking very direct routes over difficult terrain.

I like Cudz' idea of mixing up the clues a bit.