Midweek’s Super Scavenger Hunters
The newest organized team competition in Honolulu is a scavenger hunt, in which clues are riddles and cryptograms. And MidWeek’s team just took home the golden chicken
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Roberto Ramos, Alex Cruz and Cecilia Alcala look for
answers at the State Capitol
(each worth 20 minutes deducted off our time) our overall finishing time was 43 minutes. In second was Team Aloha, clocking in at 1 hour and 57 minutes with one collected gem, giving them an overall time of 1 hour and 37 minutes. The third place finishers, The WolfePack, clocked in at 2 hours and 10 minutes with no gems collected.
Overall it was a lot of fun, challenging at times and most of all the clues were very well executed. Our team unanimously concluded that we were most impressed with the overall complexity of the clues.
“We do a lot of just touring around the area, trying to find things of cultural and historical significance, or even just fun things that people may generally miss,” says Matt Coke, co-director of Ravenchase Adventures Hawaii branch. “You find that and you try to put it in the context of a clue. I mean you want to lead people to it so they can find it, but you want to be tricky too. There’s a lot of work that goes into it.”
What was equally rewarding was the educational aspect of the whole adventure. A resident of Oahu for the past 10 years myself, many of the stops along the way I had either never seen before or had only seen when passing by in my car. Team MidWeek player Jon Mann (my husband’s friend visiting from Washington, D.C.) thought the concept was great for tourists, and he had a blast taking pictures at the various landmarks throughout town.
“When we did a test race there was a guy who lived in Honolulu his entire life, and when it was over he came up to me and told me ‘I’ve lived here my entire life, but one of the locations that you led me to I had no idea it was there,’” says Coke. “So that is what’s really rewarding, is when people have a good time, but they also learn something. I think that the hunt is a unique way of seeing a very historical part of the city that you otherwise may not delve into.”
And what’s even better is that Ravenchase is really for anyone. You don’t have to be a mastermind at puzzles, a super genius about the city’s history or in tiptop shape to play.
The author and her husband work to decode a
cryptogram puzzle
“Anyone can play. However, this is especially great for people who like to play video games, like to watch reality TV shows, read adventure stories - this gives them the opportunity to live something like that,” says Coke. “It’s also great for people who like to do crossword puzzles, sudoku, mind games, because they would love the challenge of the clues and trying to decode them. And people who love history would enjoy this as well.”
Ravenchase is essentially the brainchild of Coke’s best friend from school in Virginia, Josh Czarda. What started as a fun way for friends to get together and engage in some friendly competition evolved into a business, beginning in May of this year.
“Ravenchase has events taking place in cities up and down the East Coast now,” says Coke. “Josh came to Hawaii a couple months ago and we talked about bringing the event here because Honolulu has so many cultural and historical things that are relatively hidden downtown. For people who aren’t familiar with the city, they can get a great look and appreciation for the culture and history and maybe people who have been here their entire lives can learn something new from it. On top of all, that people just have fun.”
Matt and his wife, Tiffany, already have four public Ravenchase hunts planned for early next year. For the most part, the average time for each race is about two hours, with the exception of the Triple Island Treasure Hunt in July. In addition, they cater and customize hunts for just about any special occasion.
“We can design a hunt that’s as easy or as tough as it needs to be to fit the individual crowd,” says Coke. “We can do birthday parties or we can do corporate team building. So there really are no limits to what we can create. If people want an island experience we can easily do an island-wide hunt.”
In addition to providing residents and visitors the opportunity to become detectives and treasure hunters for a day, Ravenchase also places a high priority on giving back to the city, especially the landmarks, museums and areas that they include in their hunt.
“One thing that’s really important is that we’re a socially responsible company, so we try to give a portion of the proceeds back to the historical and cultural foundations that help make the business successful,” adds Coke.
Giving back to the community while living out your own little reality show challenge (minus the cameras), now that’s a great way to spend a day.
Ravenchase Adventure Hawaii Hunts
The First Annual Quest for Father Time Dec. 31, 8 p.m., $90 per player (Kamaaina discounts)
Come join us for the First Annual Quest for Father Time in Honolulu! The Quest will lead you to Father Time and a New Year’s Eve champagne filled celebration. Cheers!
The Great Honolulu Hunt Part II Jan. 13, 1 p.m., $25 per player (Kamaaina discounts)
See if you have what it takes to crack the code and win the race! This quest will take you through some of Honolulu’s great historic landmarks and institutions.
The Chinatown Heist: Quest for the Missing Masterpiece Jan. 27, 3 p.m., $40 per player (Kamaaina discounts)
Do you have what it takes to catch a criminal mastermind? Can you follow the clues left behind? Stop just watching cop shows on TV and see if you have what it takes.
The Triple Island Treasure Hunt July 27-29, 2007, 10 a.m.
If you are ready for the adventure of a lifetime, we have what you have been looking for. The Triple Island Treasure Hunt, will be a nonstop 48-72 hour race through Oahu, Maui and the Big Island.
To sign up or for more information about any of the races, contact Matt Coke at 203-8963 or visit www.ravenchase.com
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