Contest rating: MODERATE ENERGY |
| Bloody Erich? |
Scrambles make cattle stampedes look well organized! Competing teams
of scramblers crawl all over Seattle Center's 74-acre campus like it was
one big ant hill. You are surrounded with easily recognizable landmarks like the Space
Needle, Pacific Science Center, Key Arena and EMP (Experience Music
Project). However,
you will find yourself chasing around places where you didn't know there were places such
as the Olympic Iliad, the Guardian Lions and Bloody Erich. |
| Frenzied Fun! |
Your team, the Mission Impossibles, huddles to establish a winning game
plan. Your Team Leader puts everyone on high alert - "be
resourceful and scramble as a team." Some of your teammates are sent dashing off
to solve mysteries lurking about. Others are frantically trying to find
certain items. You are dispatched with your team's remaining players scheming ways to crack
a challenging puzzle. Periodically your team
regroups to exchange roles. By the end of the Hunt you have done so much careening
about Seattle Center that you feel you have played the role of the ball in a pinball
machine! 90 minutes of friendly but frenzied fun! Whew! But wait - for
bonus points we have the Mystery Pix puzzle to solve and then our team's
Best Story contest to prepare for .... and to think that our team's fate
may depend on our team choreographing and performing a skit about our
crazy Scramble encounters. Move over Shakespeare - we have tales to
tell! |
| Team- building
Morale Events |
Scrambles are great
team-building morale events, social mixers, and entertainment for large or small groups.
They are designed to be very challenging
contests. And they are a sneaky
and very fun way to "tour" Seattle Center's most
interesting places. Designed and emceed by the ClueMaster, these events may
be held any day year-round during daytime or evening hours. |
| Who
can play? |
These contests are designed so that Seattle Center buffs
have little, if any, advantage over Seattle Center newbies. They test not one's
prior knowledge of Seattle Center but a team's
ability to formulate a strategy (as in "teamwork") to find out more about
this entertainment center than
their opponents. To get answers, players must "go there." |
|
Where do we go? |
Each team is given a
Search Areas Map of Seattle Center outlined
with 9 search areas: Theaters, McCaw Hall,
Key Arena, International Fountain, Center House Up Floor, Center House
Down Floor, EMP/SFM, Pacific Science Center, Space Needle. It should be noted that even the most energetic
teams rarely get to all of the Search Areas during the 1½ hour
Scramble Hunt. This is deliberate in the contest design. Some Search
Areas have more points than others and some, of course, are closer
than others. It is left as a matter of team strategy as to which ones
they will go to. |
| What
do we do? |
There are 8 ways for teams to get points to win the contest. During
the Scramble they can: solve mysteries, unravel the Mugshots
puzzle, do the Rub 'n Run, try to win the Lock Race,
complete The Great Conequest! and find the ClueMaster. After the
Scramble they can figure out the Mystery Pix puzzle and win the
Best Story contest. |
| Rules.... |
....we don't need no stinking rules! Oh, yes you do, Bucko. The
ClueMaster will set you straight from the get-go with the contest
instructions. Teams will receive some tips on how to win the contest.
Also, how they might get penalty points - there is a hefty late
penalty! Teams may not spend
any money, borrow or steal. They cannot make any phone calls or use any high
tech devices including copiers. |
|
Planning Your Event |
Your event may start
whenever. Here are some popular timelines:
|
10:15 |
1:15 |
4:15 |
Instructions |
|
10:30 |
1:30 |
4:30 |
Hunt begins |
|
12:00 |
3:00 |
6:00 |
Hunt ends
Lunch / Refreshments / Dinner
Mystery Pix puzzle
Prepare for Best Story contest |
|
1:00 |
4:00 |
7:00 |
Best Story Contest |
|
1:15 |
4:15 |
7:15 |
Awards Ceremony |
|
1:30 |
4:30 |
7:30 |
End of event |
|
1:45 |
4:45 |
7:45 |
Finish (as in we ran over) |
This event typically takes 3-4
hours. The number of teams rather than the number of people in the group
normally determines how long your event would take. Accordingly, the
larger the group the larger the team sizes to keep the event from
running too long. |
Team
Sizes |
7/8-player teams are
typical but may be smaller or larger depending on the size of the group.
Teams should be formed by the host organization before the event. |
| Balanced Teams |
Scrambles are designed to give those folks who may "really know" Seattle
Center little, if any, advantage. However, there may be a perception that a team loaded with
Seattle Center buffs has an unfair advantage. Therefore, it is recommend that the host
organization balance those folks as evenly as possible across the teams. |
Team
Leaders |
When the contest instructions are given each team will be asked to
"elect" one member of their team to be their Team Leader.
This individual will have the awesome responsibility of
harnessing the sleuthing talents of each team member into a highly
coordinated winning team strategy. Yikes! For corporate groups
managers are normally not allowed to be Team Leaders. To date this rule
has resulted in no complaints from managers! :) |
Team
Names |
Teams will be assigned detective names such as Dirty Harrys,
Inspector Clouseaus
or Mission Impossibles unless the host organization provides See Seattle with other team names several days before the day of the event. |
Contest
Materials |
Each team is provided one set of contest materials to use during
the Scramble.
- Search Areas
Map.
- Mysteries To Solve.
- Mugshots
Puzzle.
- Rub 'n Run.
- Lock Race
- The Great
Conequest!
- Find The
ClueMaster and say ....
During
Scramble Hunt
- Mystery Pix Puzzle. After Scramble
Hunt
- Best Story
Contest.
|
| Awards |
The ClueMaster awards the following whimsical certificates
(8½" X 11") at the end of the event for all of the
following categories:
- "B S Certification"
- Best Story contest team winners.
- "Team
Leadership Affidavit" - Presented to the courageous Team Leader of
each team and signed by all teammates.
- "Seattle's Best
Sleuthers" - All players on all teams, given in the spirit of "you are all
winners."
- "Believe
It or Not!"
- Last place team, given in the spirit of "being good sports."
- "Seattle's Right Stuffers!" -
Winning
team, given with much fan fare.
- "True
Confessions" - Presented to the winning Team Leader in
a humbling manner.
|
| Prizes Option |
Although optional, See Seattle encourages Host
Organizations to award prizes to each team member for some or all of the categories listed
in "Awards" above. Prizes
often range from items of value (gift certificates are popular) to
novelty store gag items. |
Event
Meeting
Facilities |
Seattle Center has a variety
of event meeting facilities with or without catering for
large or small groups:
-
Northwest Rooms
on the Seattle Center campus.
-
Skyline Banquet Level of the
Space Needle.
Note: Includes passage to the
Observation Deck.
- Learning Labs or Sky Church
of EMP (Experience Music Project).
The event meeting
facility should have tables large enough to accommodate the team sizes for your group (i.e. "team
tables"). These should
be separate
team tables that team players can sit around - not just seating for the whole group at a number of
tables sitting side-by-side or chairs without tables.
Some small groups may be able meet outdoors at the
Mural Amphitheatre (a public
area just south of the Center House).
Click
here for a map of the 74 acre Seattle Center campus with
information about parking and its many venues.
|
|
PowerPoint |
The Contest Instructions and / or
the Awards Ceremony can be conducted with PowerPoint presentations
when the required equipment is made available for See Seattle to use. The minimum requirement is a PC (e.g. a laptop running
Windows) with a CD drive, a projector and a projection screen or
suitable wall surface. A mouse is optional but would be used if
available. Also, a microphone (preferably wireless) would be desirable
for large groups. These presentations can add quality to events for
groups of any size but are especially effective for large groups.
|
How
Much? |
The fee for See Seattle to emcee this event and provide contest
materials is $20.00 per person, $400.00 minimum plus Washington state sales tax of
9.0%.
The host organization would be directly responsible for all expenses and arrangements
relating to meeting facilities, food and refreshments, prizes, team shirts, costumes,
cameras, etc.
Payment: 30 day
invoice or check
at the end of the event - sorry, no credit cards.
|
| How to Make a
Private Group Reservation or Request Additional Information |
- An easy way to make a private group reservation or
request additional information is by completing our online Group Form.
|
