WHAT travels in packs, fumbles with maps and often looks confused? Hint: We’re not talking about tourists.
These befuddled searchers are actually natives – and they’re on scavenger hunts.
Once the province of 10-year-olds at birthday parties, these organized games are now – like dodgeball, spelling bees and mac ‘n’cheese – yet another addition to the sophisticated grown-up New Yorker’s wink-wink-nudge-nudge ironic lifestyle.
Now you can channel your inner Carrie Bradshaw on a “Sex and the City” hunt, scour the Metropolitan Museum of Art searching for clues a la “Da Vinci Code,” or get in touch with your gritty side fighting gangsters in Chinatown and Little Italy – all before dinner.
In the industry they’re called public games, and the longest lasts six hours, though most are over in three. Teams of six to eight people meet up at random street corners throughout the city (in some cases you won’t know where until a mysterious person calls you the night before) and begin searching for clues to solve a mystery.
According to Bret Watson, creator of Watson Adventures, which he claims is the nation’s fastest-growing company of scavenger hunts, the growing popularity has something to do with shows like “The Amazing Race” and “Treasure Hunters.” “There is a paradox there in sitting back and relaxing and watching other people have adventures,” he says. “It makes you want to get up off your couch and explore your own back yard.”
Or, in this case, city.
Watson hit on the idea for adult scavenger hunts in 1999, after he realized he’d have to trick his friends if he ever wanted to get them to a museum. “I needed to do it in a way that made it friendly and fun and accessible,” he says.
The formula worked – he has since created hunts like Murder and the Met and Naked at the Met among more than 20 others – and it’s working for his competitors, too. Metro Metro, which produces a series of scavenger hunts in the West Village, anticipates its best year yet. The company, which was started in 2002 by three friends in Brooklyn, offers an after party at the end of each hunt. Accomplice: New York, a cloak-and-dagger chase throughout Lower Manhattan, started by a brother-and-sister team, is also expanding. This spring they introduced, Accomplice: The Village and are looking to expand to London. And Meet Market Adventures specializes in scavenger hunts for singles looking for their soulmates.
As with anything in this town, for a price, hunts can be customized. In fact, Watson says he makes his best money running private hunts for corporations such as AT&T and American Express, looking to pump up morale.
“Companies would bus employees four hours outside of the city to climb ropes and jump walls. They thought they had to drive to the wilds of New Jersey and play paintball to boost teamwork,” Watson says. “We made them realize they can have their adventure right here.”
Not a corporate drone? Congratulations – now check out these upcoming hunts.
N.Y.C. Amazing Pub Crawl
Who knows what you’ll find at this tavern-themed scavenger hunt, but there sure is a lot to lose – your keys, your dignity, your lunch. Meet at the Village Pourhouse, 64 Third Ave. Next hunt: Today, noon to 7 p.m. For info, go to pourhousenyc.com, (212) 979-2337.
Sex and the Village
“Sex and the City” fans can live out their Carrie-tastic, he’s-just-not-that-into-you fantasy. Players will (hopefully) find their way to the restaurant where Samantha threw a drink in Richard’s face, the pet shop where Charlotte learned that Elizabeth Taylor was pregnant, and the West Village nook that doubled as Paris in the finale. Next hunt: Today, 3 to 5:30 p.m.; $24, advance payment required. For info, go to watsonadventures.com, (877) 946-4868.
Accomplice: New York
Prepare to be thrust into a well-crafted criminal plan you never thought you’d be involved in. Your job is to help a criminal outsmart the feds. Note: The meeting place is secret. You will receive a phone call one day before the performance with information on location. Next hunt: Sunday; $55. For info, go to accomplicenewyork.com or call (817) 535-999.
Gangsters’ New York
Little Italy and Chinatown used to be battlegrounds, see. And if you play your cards – and your clues – right, you’ll find out about the time Joey Gallo ordered clams and got slugs instead, or what place associated with Lucky Luciano and Jimmy Hoffa has traded mobsters for lobsters. Next hunt: Sunday, 2 to 4:30 p.m; $24. Info:watsonadventures.com, (877) 946-4868.
Ghosts of Greenwich Village
Sudden chills, apparitions and morbid rustlings put the haunt in this nighttime hunt. Follow clues through ghost-plagued buildings and secret cemeteries in search of restless souls such as Mark Twain, Aaron Burr and Edgar Allen Poe. Next hunt: April 28, 7 to 9:30 p.m.; $24, advance purchase required. Info: watsonadventures.com, (877) 946-4868.
Murder at the Met
A curator has been murdered, and an artful trail of clues lead to whodunit. Next hunt: May 12, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.; $39, includes museum admission – tickets must be purchased in advance and sell out quickly. Info: watsonadventures.com, (877) 946-4868.
Metropolitan Odyssey: It Takes a West Village
This daylong hunt for trinkets includes maps, but the rented-out bar with three free drinks and free ziti (usually), prizes for best costume and after-party make us think it’s more of a search for spirits – the liquid kind. Next hunt: May 12, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; $25. For info, visit metrometroland.com.
New York Singles Urban Scavenger Hunt
Look for the most elusive treasure of all, love – or at least a good hookup. Teams have four hours to collect as much of the scavenger-hunt list as possible before returning to the starting point, Twelve Bar, 206 East 34th St. Next hunt: May 27, 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.; $19.99. For info, go to meetmarketadventures.com or call (800) 239-0542.