Club Corner

A Continuing Series by Lawrie Alexander

There arc many varieties of Rallies to provide enjoyable motoring competition for club members, from the simple Poker Rally (follow a prescribed route to five locations, pick up a playing card in a sealed envelope at each location, the best hand wins) to the fast-paced, demanding TSD (Time-Speed-Distancc) Rally which requires sophisticated navigating and timing equipment. One of the more enjoyable varieties is the “Treasure Hunt”. This column will deal with how to put on one of these fun events, which can be run for from 10 to 100 cars with virtually the same preparation.

The basic concept is that the competitors solve a clue to take them to their next location, where they learn which is their next clue, and so on to the finish. The winner completes the route in closest to the organizer’s prescribed “bogey” time by solving all the dues and not opening any of the answer envelopes which are also provided. A scenic route, some clever clues, some careful planning and an enjoyable finish location (a nice restaurant or party at someone’s house) can make a Treasure Hunt very enjoy able indeed. Let’s follow a typical competitor through such an event…

Arriving at the start–the parking lot of a local shopping center that’s not too crowded–he finds the Start Marshal with a registration list. Paying his $5.00 entry fee(to cover awards and operating expenses), he signs up, listing his and his navigator’s name and his car type (there may be classes by type of car). He is given a large envelope to which is taped a sheet of instructions, one of which is his Start Time. Reading the instructions, he learns he has to open the packet at his Start Time, (cars will leave at 2 minute intervals, on official rally time by the Rally master’s prominently displayed clock). Inside the packet are seven large envelopes each marked with a letter, and seven small envelopes similarly marked. The instructions tell him the large envelopes contain clues, the small ones the answers to the corresponding clue. Maybe he’ll find seven clues before the finish, maybe not the instructions say (this to stop him opening all of them at once to learn where the finish is. There’s a 30-point penalty for incorrectly opening an envelope.) Another instruction tells him. he will.be charged 1 point for each minute between his Start Time and his arrival at the finish, but that the”Bogey” is 90 minutes, so the first 90 points won’t count. If he finishes in less than 90 minutes, there’s no penalty so long as he didn’t open any wrong envelopes or any answers. Around the course, he’s told he will find 3″x 5″ cards pinned to trees, fences, etc., at the location determined by solving the previous due. These cards will tell him which is the next large envelope to open. All the locations can be found by using the local map provided in the packet all he has to do is solve the dues and correctly decide where the answer takes him.

At his Start Time, our entrant shows his unopened pac ket to the Starter, who tells him the first letter. Opening his packet, he removes and opens envelope “B”. Inside he finds a sheet of paper which is headed ” BEFORE”, beneath which are several groups of numbers. Having puzzled for a few moments, and alter driving off a brief distance, his navigator suddenly says “B FOUR”; right. B=4, so the number groups are quickly converted to letters by writing out the alphabet making B=4 and all the other letters equal the other numbers between 1 and 26. Translating the number groups to words gives them “GO FIRST WHERE OAKS MEET THE SEA”.

Being in Kansas City, they decide not to drive to California but rather consult their map. Sure enough, OAKS DRIVE intersects with OCEAN WAY. A ten minute drive finds them at the intersection, where they spot a card lettered “N”. They open large envelope N and find a sheet with ten unfinished sentences, numbered l-10, and a group of hash marks below the sentences, numbered as follows: 1-5 3-6 4-2 5-l, and so on. After completing the sentences (No. 1 is: Popeye’s girl was OLIVE OYL), they realise the first letter down below will be “E” (1st sentence, fifth letter they wrote in) and thus to complete their due. This takes them on to the next clue location, again using their map to find out exactly where to go. The next clue. “S” has them completely stumped! Trying for fifteen minutes, they realize they simply have no idea what it means. They decide the30-point penalty for opening the answer will cost them less than sitting and puzzling for who-knows-how-long. They open the answer envelope to “S” and it tells them exactly where the next clue location Is.

This goes on for six envelopes, and the sixth location turns out to be the finish. (Had it not done so, they need not have solved the last but one puzzle; simply not going to that location and opening the last clue to solve that puzzle would find the finish!) Our hero’s time en route was 106 minutes plus a 30-point penalty for opening the answer to “S”,  so his score was 46. (Good enough for third place!)

That’s a fairly typical treasure hunt The dues could be based on anagrams, number puzzles, trivia questions, nursery rhymes, TV shows, almost anything. If you, as an organizer, want to be sure your entrants follow the prescribed route, ask questions at the bottom of each clue sheet for entrants to answer from things they see enroute. Award bonus points for getting them right. On a 90-minute bogey rally, you’ll find three or four people manage to come dose, another dozen or so will be in the 2-2V4 hour range, while there’s always someone who manages to stay out for hours! The best way to avoid this is to add an instruction ” If you’re not at the finish by 430, when the rally ends, call this number to find out where to go.” A good treasure hunt organizer asks an intelligent friend or relative to “proof the rally before finalising it He may have decided “OAKS at OCEAN” was a good location for a clue and been so intent on it that he didn’t realize there was also a cross street called PACIFICon OAKS BLVD! Nothing ruins a rally faster than two logical solutions to one due.

Hopefully, this will give some of you an idea for a fun local event. Here in Santa Barbara, the local MG Club has now run eleven annual treasure hunts, each more popular than the one before! If you’re not perfectly clear on any of the organizational details, give me a call and I’ll try and explain.