Flashlight Clue Hunt

I have received a few emails asking about the upcoming activity, "Flashlight Clue Hunt." I will attempt to explain what we are doing. This is a flexible activity meaning that you can shift it around any way you want.

If you are doing this activity with a mixed group of guys and girls, it is wise to have guys only and girls only teams because the lights will be off and there can be a lot of physical contact.

You will need:
- flashlights
- rope
- duct tape
- blindfolds
- envelopes
- clue cards (3x5 cards work)
- The weirdest looking Goodwill clothes you can find.
   Let's say you have 5 teams, you will need 5 shirts, 5 pants, 5 pairs of shoes,
   5 hats, 5 coats, etc...
   By the end of the game, one player from each team will be dressed totally ridiculous.
- At least 5 volunteer ninjas (dressed in all black and positioned throughout the property)
- A passport page

The object of the game is for the teams to compete for the fastest time of completion. Completion means that every clue has been solved, every station has been visited, and every challenge has been completed.

You begin with all players in a main room with the lights on. Your ninjas are already hidden throughout the building/property. Once you have separated teams, you give the first clue to each team. Each team will have a different clue in their envelope so that the teams do not cross paths too often. Once you say "go," they run off into the darkness carrying only their clue and their flashlights. They must solve the clue in the dark and continue to find new clues. It seems easy enough, but the ninjas are what make it interesting.

The Ninjas:
The ninjas are hidden all over the place. Having them at clue stations helps with the "scare tactic." It's a lot better if you can make the kids jump. But there will not be a ninja at every clue station. There should be at least 10 clue stations. There should be at least 5 ninjas.

The ninja's job is two-fold:
- To report back to the Youth Pastor who cheated.
- To provide the teams with challenges.

Challenges include:
- Tie the entire team together with rope. They must remain tied together for the rest of the game.
- Duct tape 3 team member's mouths shut.
- Blindfold someone in the group. NO PEEKING!
- Make the team sing Happy Birthday.
- Make up your own.

The clues should be a progressive story line. The clues should tell a story and they should find one article of clothing at each clue station to dress one member of their group in. This makes a great picture at the end of the night. You might even want to walk around and record the teams walking around with night vision camera. (Most HD cams have this setting.)

It is funny to watch the difference in the way that the teams start out and the way they finish. They start out running from clue to clue and think its easy. But as the challenges come on them, they get slower and slower. By the last clue, all of the teams are barely moving because they are tied together, muted by duct tape, and trying to talk a blind guy through a maze of hallways and rooms.

The game should take no longer than 45 minutes - 1 hour to play.

ENJOY!
-A Youth Pastor