MIDNIGHT MADNESS
SUMMER 2003
NEW YORK CITY

These are the rules of Midnight Madness. Form a team by designating a team color and a captain for your team. At 8pm on August 23 somewhere in lower Manhattan, the teams will meet and compete in an urban puzzle-solving race to a finish line whose location you won't know until you find it. The game begins when your team is handed a clue. When you solve that clue, it will lead to a location somewhere in the city where you must find the next clue -- which, when you solve it, will lead to another location, until eventually you will reach a finish line. The first team to cross it is the winner. Each time you find a clue, be sure to call the Game HQ hotline -- phone numbers will be distributed at the beginning of the game. This call starts a hint timer; after a certain number of minutes following your discovery of the puzzle, you are entitled to a hint; then, another hint; and finally, the answer to the puzzle. Don't forget to call and update us when you find each puzzle! These are no rules of Midnight Madness except these: The prime directive: no tampering with the clues. The maximum size of a team is 12 people. Team motor vehicles, i.e. a car/motorbike owned, rented or borrowed for the night, are prohibited. All other game-playing strategies are encouraged.

August 27 update The official results are in! The game began at 10:32pm in Chinatown, Manhattan. The stated gameplay area was Chinatown, but after a non-linear round-robin style criss-crossing chase, teams learned they needed to cross the Manhattan Bridge and the gameplay area shifted to Dumbo. From a field of about 37 teams, about 15 teams crossed the finish line at Old Fulton Pier in Brooklyn starting at around 9:30am. The first five were: 1. Team Lava 2. Team Puce 3. Team Clear 4. Team Orange 5. Team Fuschia See the chat board for lots more info. We need your badges back (the electronic devices) and are seeking photos. We'd really appreciate if you email us to cordinate this. August 22 update! The game will begin tomorrow night at 8:30 (not 8:00) in the block bounded by Broome, Delancey, Chrystie and Forsyth. August 20 update Each team should email us as soon as posible to tell us a cellphone number we can use to contact you during the game; and to tell us the approximate number of people on your team. The exact starting location will be announced here and by email later today or tomorrow. Here is the list of items we recommend your team should possess during the game: 1. A good map 2. Flashlights 3. Appropriate gear for prevailing weather conditions 4. Binoculars 5. One pair of walkman-style headphones or earbuds 6. Duct tape 7. Notepads and pens/pencils 8. Snacks? 9. At least one cellphone 10. And at least one camera The field is now closed for new teams. 41 hungry teams will be in the game on Saturday, making this by far the biggest Midnight Madness ever. We hope we don't let you down. To talk among yourselves or with us, or to seek to join an existing team, use the chat board. Team Black (LoPrete) Team Cream (Friedberg) Team 'Charlie' Brown (Rayow) Team Red (Abramson) Team Pink (Fienstein) Team Royal Blue (Wachner) Team Orange (Lindauer) Team White (Durland) Team Lava (Rossi) Team Retro Avocado (Francisco-Tipgos) Team Clear (Purdy) Team Beige (Ross) Team Drab, Fucking, Gray (Ahuja) Team Tie Die (Decker) Team Purple (Wiesel) Team Goldenrod (Doan) Team Kelly Green (Kelly) Team Silver Cloud (Li) Team Lemonade (Campbell) Team Bark Bark Blue (Sokolow) Team Camel (Chandrakunnel) Team Mellow Yellows (Hwang) Team Puce (Gardiner) Team Crimson (Mohtarez) Team Blinding Glare (McProud) Team Neon Magenta (Mallik) Team Revlon Red (Partridge) Team Coal (Kingsley) Team Off-White (Abrams) Team Midnight Blue (Han) Team Honey (Sharma) Team Fuschia (Dorsey) Team Tomato (Cantrell) Team Forest Green (Agyekum) Team Ultraviolet (Moreau) Team Cobalt (Weinberg) Team Vanilla (Ma) Team Kryptonite (Walker) Team Copper (Ryan) Team Sparkly (Friedman) Team Mauve (Reiss) August 8 update The game will begin at 8pm on August 23, somewhere in lower Manhattan. July 16 update Midnight Madness will begin somewhere in New York City on the night of August 23.

TO PLAY MIDNIGHT MADNESS: 1) Email gamecontrol@midnight-madness.org and we will put you on the mailing list. 2) Captains nominate themselves; simply gather a team together and email us. 3) Check this website periodically and post your presence on the chat board. This is also a good place to search for a team. UPDATE: The field is now closed to new teams. See the chatboard or email us to join up with an existing team (up to 12 players are allowed per team).

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