Larry Clow

Here at Stately Clow Manor, we’re always looking for ways to keep life interesting and fun, and there are few things more interesting and/or fun than gallavanting around Dover in a quest to solve puzzles and collect random junk. That’s why my associate Mike and I started organizing a semi-annual Scavenger Hunt for our friends and neighbors–after all, the alternatives to a life devoid of interest and fun are simply too chilling to contemplate. And so it was in that spirit that we sent 15 players (divided up into 6 teams) on a mad journey throughout Dover this past weekend as part of a scavenger hunt/puzzle-solving adventure based in part on a certain Parker Bros. board game and a 1985 movie of the same name.

The task: solve a series of 18 puzzles, the solutions to which revealed the location of the murder, the suspect who committed the crime, and the weapon with which the dastardly deed was performed.

A sampling of some of the puzzles.

As if that wasn’t complicated enough, teams were also required to gather as many items from our insanely elaborate list as possible. Solving the puzzles earned every team an automatic 150 points; the items themselves carried varying point values, and the more items collected, the better a team’s score. And, oh yeah–one of the teams (all of which were named after characters in the game) was the “murderer,” a stigma that included an automatic 50-point deduction.

A lucky player returns with a keyboard, an ironing board and a bag of assorted nonsense.

The hunt resulted in a truly impressive haul of items, including a number of plums, a tin of herring in tomato sauce (fulfilling the requirement of a red herring, har har), an omellette (which was promptly transformed into an omellette burger during the ensuing barbecue), a t-bone steak (which was promptly grilled), a bowling pin (for no reason), and a laundry list of items scrounged from Goodwill, the dollar store, people’s homes and other places around town.

The omellette burger, perfect at any time of day.

Teams also received extra points for the weirdest item they could bring back. One team returned with a cute-but-creepy kitten-adorned pot-holder (stolen from the kitchen in Stately Clow Manor), while another team brought back the “Big Trouble in Little China” soundtrack on cassette–and a tape recorder with which to play it. And then there was “Daddy’s New Roommate,” a children’s book explaining the sudden appearance of daddy’s “friend” Frank after daddy and mommy got divorced. A dramatic, enlightening reading ensued, and while it had nothing to do with the aforementioned board game, it was an awesomely random item.

The winning team and their exquisite trophy, the "Champion of Excellence" award.

This was the second Scavenger Hunt–the first one unfolded in September 2007 and was based in part on the infamous Smuttynose Murders. And while we’re resting calmly on our scavenging laurals for the moment, plans have already been made for Scavenger Hunt 3. Stay tuned.