Link: Ravenchase Great America Race writeup

A team of west-coast puzzlehuntists played through the whole Ravenchase Great America Race last week, solving in cities from Washington DC to Boston. They blogged the race, mostly posting a writeup the night after each leg. It's pretty interesting: Ravenchase style is not like the style we're used to. There are other puzzle types. You have to figure out where you're supposed to go based on riddle-y poems; it sounds like it could be a Jayson Wechter-ish pile of stank, but instead it's done well. Also, the write-up is pretty funny; when the team had down time, they didn't have much else to do besides 'shop together some silly photos.

You might begin at the beginning (pro tip: use the "Newer Post" link at the bottom of each post to read the posts in chronological order instead of confusing blog-style reverse-chronological order). If you're dreading reading the whole thing, you might just read Egnor's Musings which concentrates on pointing out cool stuff in the Ravenchase milieu.

And there is cool stuff. This write-up made me wish I'd played in this game. (Brief pause as I visit Ravenchase's own site to sign up on their mailing list... OK, I'm back.) It sounds like Ravenchase has gotten a lot better. Invisible ink, ransacking a hotel room, and me playing a banjo—this hunt had everything. Check it out.