Herald Hunt
TheHerald Hunt,formerly theTropic Hunt,is an annualpuzzle huntinMiami,Florida.It was co-created byMiami HeraldcolumnistDave Barry,along withTropiceditorsGene WeingartenandTom Shroder.The Tropic Hunt debuted in 1984, and as of 2018 there have been a total of 18 Hunts (plus one played-from-home 'non-hunt'). The winners of the 2011 Herald Hunt were Jeffrey Kobal, Cheryl Kobal, and Adam Horowitz.[1]
Early history and name change
[edit]The hunt got its name from theSunday magazinesupplement to theMiami HeraldcalledTropic,in which Dave Barry had a regular column. For the Hunt, the magazine, and a large section ofSouth Florida,were turned into a largescavenger hunt/puzzle,which has attracted thousands of people from all over theUnited States.The hunt in 1998 was the last Tropic Hunt, because theMiami Heraldceased publishingTropicmagazine shortly thereafter.[2]TheMiami Heraldreinstated the hunt in 2001, now calling it the Herald Hunt. It creates a special magazine section each time for the Hunt.
Format
[edit]The first two years, the Hunt was a car-based chase around South Florida, In 1986, it changed to the still current design, where Hunters gathered in one walkable urban neighborhood. Hunts have been held inDowntown Miami,South Miami,Miami Beach,Coconut Grove,Coral Gables,andHollywood.[3]
The Hunt consists of three parts. Answering the "opening questions" directs Hunters to five puzzle sites scattered through the Hunt area. Solving the five Hunt puzzles—the answer is always a number—indicates the five authentic clues on a list of dozens of numbered bogus clues. Hunters have three hours to solve the puzzles, then at 3 p.m., a sixth and final clue is announced from the main stage. This begins the "endgame", which is by far the most difficult puzzle of the day. Solving the endgame often leads to aphone number,or directs Hunters to go to a certain out-of-the-way location and give apasswordto someone identified in a cryptic way.[4]In 2007, Hunters who solved the endgame knew they needed to find a sandwich. Only when they arrived at a location marked on the Hunt Map with a sandwich, they saw a sign that said "Right idea. Wrong one." In fact, they had to go to a location on thebeach,marked with awitch.In other words, a "sand witch." If they went to that spot on the beach, they saw a Hunt volunteer wearing a witch's hat and holding a broom.[5]
Post Hunt
[edit]Since the Hunt became the Herald Hunt in 2001, it has been designed by Barry and Shroder. In May 2008, theWashington Post Magazineheld a Hunt in downtown Washington DC, attended by about 5,000 people, including dozens who came up from South Florida.[6]The May 17, 2009,Post Hunt[7]attracted an estimated 10,000 participants.
For the first time in 10 years, Gene Weingarten, now a columnist for the Post Magazine, joined Shroder, now editor of the Post Magazine, and Barry in designing the Hunt. The winners of the 2010 Post Hunt were John Sanders, Joe Grossman, Chris Wong, Eric Pilar, Katie Elder, Eana Chung, and Suzanne Schwartz.[8]
External links
[edit]- Official site
- UnofficialHunt Archivesmaintained by Andy Wenzel -- contains puzzles, clues, answers, photos and videos from past Tropic/Herald Hunts 1984-present
- 1986 Tropic HuntArchived2006-03-13 at theWayback Machine
References
[edit]- ^Silman, Jon."Difficult 2011 Herald Hunt stumps thousands".Miami Herald.Retrieved2012-04-30.
- ^Wenzel, Andy."The Tropic Hunt Archives: The 1998 Hunt".Archived fromthe originalon 2008-05-23.Retrieved2008-08-10.
- ^Wenzel, Andy."The Tropic Hunt Archives".Retrieved2008-08-10.
- ^Engelberg, Mark."Winning the Herald Hunt".Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-14.Retrieved2008-08-10.
- ^Smiley, David (2007-10-22)."For Herald Hunt winners, 17th try is the charm".Miami Herald.Retrieved2008-08-10.[dead link]
- ^Weingarten, Gene; Shroder, Tom (2008-05-19)."Post Hunt: The Aftermath".Chat Transcript.Washington Post.Retrieved2008-08-10.
- ^The Washington Post Magazine."2009 Post Hunt".Retrieved2009-05-19.
- ^"For Post Hunt players, more wild mind trips"Washington Post,June 7, 2010. p. C3