DASH 3 Portland

Today Chris and Annie and I joined Mike and Meredith and Josh to form a team to participate in a daylong puzzle hunt called DASH 3.

A puzzle hunt, a unique type of treasure hunt, is a fun, interactive, outdoor event in which teams of players race to find and solve creative puzzles hidden in different locations.

DASH (Different Area—Same Hunt) is a puzzle hunt event that happens simultaneously across multiple cities across the United States. The inaugural DASH in September 2009 spanned 8 cities. DASH 3 is currently being planned in 12 participating cities.

Creating the hunt is a collaborative effort of puzzle enthusiast volunteers across the country. Each city contributes a clue to the event, and each event uses all the clues from the contributing cities.

The day was fun, challenging, sometimes frustrating, always novel and rewarding. We did very well in some ways, but needed occasional hints and help. All of us were DASH neophytes, so we assume that we'd do better next time around, knowing more about how the puzzles are structured.

The BeeGees Team puzzling in the park

Elephants never forget!

We left home just after 9 a.m. and returned around 7:30, a bit later than we had expected. The weather cooperated quite well, considering that most of the activity was outside, though we ended up at a pub for the final puzzle. Most of the puzzle venues were outdoors in the Pearl District, which is well supplied with parks and public spaces.

We weren't the first team to finish--but we weren't the last either, so we felt satisfied with our efforts.
Another early night! Definitely tired. Happy birthday, Carol!