Ready? Set. Go!
Technically the Scavenger Hunt of the WSC only occurs during the Global and TOC rounds, but it is a fun and interesting event that I think is worthy of a guide on this website. So without further ado, let’s lay down some ground rules and tips to help you become a master of racking points on the WSC Facebook page.
Packing List for the Scavenger Hunt:
General Tricks to the Hunt:
Packing List for the Scavenger Hunt:
- Mobile Phone, Tablet, any other electronic that can take photos
- Facebook installed on your electronic and following the Official WSC page linked here
- Power bank for your device (trust me, taking photos and videos for 4-6 hours will drain your battery quickly)
- Filled water bottle (yes they do give out free bottles but a bigger one is best to quench your thirst)
- WSC tag (obviously)
- Writing utensil
- Small snacks (there usually isn’t much in the way of refreshments until the big meal at the end)
- Wallet (incase there’s something you can buy)
General Tricks to the Hunt:
- Get to know your team: As soon as everyone in your team has gathered, socialize with them! The main point of the scavenger hunt is to get you to meet and work with scholars from all around the world. Ask them questions about their lives (school, home, WSC history etc.). Add them on any social media outlet you have. Just get to know all your teammates well so you’re all comfortable with trusting one another on the hunt.
- Complete the first 1 or two categories of the hunt immediately: Usually the first 1 or 2 parts of the scavenger hunt booklet are activities you can easily do as soon as you get the booklet. These include tasks like saying everyone’s names, the tallest person lifting the shortest (or vice versa), saying Pwaa altogether while doing different things etc. There’s usually a couple of minutes before your team actually moves to the main location of the scavenger hunt, so maximize your time by racking up early points!
- Assign categories to certain people: Usually teams in the scavenger hunt are pretty big (10-15 people) and not all the activities require everyone. So split some people into groups and write down their names beside the categories they should be responsible for. That way, your team divides and conquers the tasks and reaps the rewards at the end. For example, last year in Hanoi 2 girls from my scavenger hunt team went around collecting signatures of other scholars during the whole time we were at the theme park. When we gathered at the end they had collected (if I recall correctly) 5000 or so points for the team.
- Split the photo and video taker roles evenly amongst you: A common mistake teams in the Scavenger Hunt do is rely on 1 or 2 people to take all the photos and videos. Never do this. You end up with 1 or 2 people having to spend a lot of time after the hunt uploading all those files to the Facebook page (and that’s if their phone has enough storage and battery for all the photo-taking in the first place). Every category or so, switch roles with other people so everyone eventually has a few pieces of media to upload.
- Save the most points for last: There are always those couple of tasks in the scavenger hunt that give lots of points (anywhere from 20,000 - 200,000). Some of them are completely ludicrous and close to impossible to do (i.e find someone with the same fingerprint as you). Some of them aren’t particularly laborious or time-consuming. However, save these activities for last. Chances are most teams will make a beeline for the locations where you need to do these challenges and frankly a 10 minute queue to do a 15 minute challenge is easily avoided. Wait for the final hour or 30 minutes and then complete all the activities with big points attached to them.
- Do the tasks as they come: This tip is in heavy contrast to the ones before but trust me, it helps. Instead of making an order for which tasks to complete first, second, third etc, just do them whenever the opportunity arises. If your team is walking around the scavenger hunt location and sees a place with challenges attached to it, just do the challenges then and there! Even the WSC Staff challenges can be done in this way, just keep an eye out for them (they usually roam around the crowded areas for a while) and do as many challenges as you can with them.
- Do reconnaissance on other teams: As the scholar who coined the term “physical research”, I cannot stress this tip quite enough. There are dozens of other teams doing the hunt and chances are that they’ve done a few activities your team hasn’t. Talk to them, listen in on their conversations, use any (appropriate) means necessary to get as much information from them as possible. They might tell you to avoid a certain challenge or, by contrast, to complete a few ones first. These teams can also tell you how to complete challenges, any loopholes they found or strategies they used. A smart and cunning method I recommend is to ask the other people from your school (through social media or in person if you meet them) about the challenges. This may be a social event, but there’s no rule that prohibits some spying and information-gathering.
- Assign a timekeeper (or two): Like all the other events in the WSC, the scavenger hunt has deadlines and time boundaries that govern what your team can and can’t do. Even though the WSC isn’t known for sticking to it’s schedule, the scavenger hunt is probably the most punctual activity there is. Therefore, give someone with a watch the role of timekeeper. Ask them for the time every now and then, so your team can decide what to do next or what to leave for later. If they’re dedicated timekeeper(s), they might as well mention the time every hour or so.