The DC Traveler

Are you good at solving brain teasers? Do you finish the Sunday crossword puzzle in record time? Are you the next Jeopardy rock star?

Then you might want to participate in the first Washington Post’s 2008 Post Hunt.

The hunt is an urban safari consisting of puzzles built into the DC’s Penn Quarter neighborhood, home to countless restaurants, Madame  Tussauds Wax Museum, the International Spy Museum, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and the National Portrait Gallery.  The hunt should take teams on an interesting neighborhood tour while hunters search for cues and answers to a series of brain challenging questions, all requiring a number as the answer. 

Started by the Miami Herald in 1984, this wacky hunt held annually on the beach in Miami, has drawn teams of trivia players, brainiacks, families and people just looking to exercise their brains and powers of observation on a Sunday afternoon.  And this year, the Hunt kicks off its first year in Washington, DC.

Teams sizes can range from the lone Einstein wanna-be to teams with as many participants as you like; but four participants per team are recommended due to prizes being designed for teams of 4. Each team is provided with a map and clues, with additional hints and clues found along the route.

And the clues aren’t that easy. It takes thinking WAY outside the box and careful examination of your surroundings to come up with correct answers.

Here’s a couple samples of the questions and answers from a past Miami Hunt, to give you an idea.

Hint - Along the Hunt’s route, participants pass four volunteers wearing sandwich boards. One has the image of Mark Twain on their board; the second, a drawing of a waffle ice cream cone, the third is an image of few links of chain; and the last, a key.

Answer - Hunters had to first rearrange the images to arranges them in correct order (not too hard) — link-cone-mark-key, for ‘Lincoln marquee’. And not surprisingly, the Lincoln Theatre was close by.  The theater’s marquee was lit up, but several letters were not.  The answer could be found in the the letters that were lit - ‘inThetre’. Rearranged, the letters spelled ‘Thirteen’, which was the correct answer.

Hint - Hunters were handed a small purple flag with a white flower on it along the route.  The hunt map also had a similar flag, showing a location at the beach. Heading to the beach, hunters witnessed a strange volleyball game in progress. The players were not using a ball, but inflatable animals, each with a number on them. A sign at the net said ‘you need to know why you are here‘.

Answer - It starts with the flag and the surroundings.  Next to the volleyball net, was a lifeguard stand, also flying flags.  A sign on the lifeguard stand indicated that a purple flag, meant dangerous marine life was in the water, near the beach.  The only inflatable animal the volleyball players were using was a shark, with the the number 27 printed on it. So the answer was “27″.

The final clue will be given at approximately 3:00 p.m. at the Main Stage and the first three teams to correctly solve all the questions win. The top three prizes are a four-person 3, 4 or 5-day trips (airfare and hotel) to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Washington Post’s 2008 Post Hunt
City Center Parking Lot
10th & H Streets, NW, at the Old Convention Center site
Washington, DC (map it)

Dates and Times - Sunday, May 18, 2008. Noon until about 3:30 p.m. Rain or shine.

Admission - Free, but to participate, your team must be at the Main Stage located at the City Center Parking Lot by noon. You must apply the noon clue to information found in the Washington Post Magazine special section to begin your play, so bring a copy of the 5/18 Washington Post Magazine.

Nearest Metro Subway Station - Metro Center - Red, Blue and Orange lines or Gallery Place-Chinatown - Red, Yellow and Green lines.

Parking - Street and paid garage parking is available.

Images - Flickr - cube, puzzle, maze, Metro sign

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