City Scavenger Hunt and Urban Adventure
Discover the best of your city with an interactive tour, all by text messages from Stray Boots. Embark on an urban adventure, solve fun clues, discover cool spots, learn a thing or two. Enjoy a competitive scavenger hunt with your family or turn it into a fun tween party activity. Half scavenger hunt, half tour, all from your own cell phone. Playable by purchasing the app, and available in New York City, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, and New Orleans.
NEW YORK CITY
The Game by Stray Boots is an innovative, fun, and interactive way to explore various parts of NYC. To play the game, one signs up online and picks a section of Manhattan or a museum they would like to explore. There are different game zones, for example, Wall St., Slice of Midtown, Times Square, Flatiron District, and SOHO. Each zone takes between 3 to 4 hours (including breaks), and you will learn a lot.
The texts that guide you through the tour/scavenger hunt were concise and filled with historic information. The Game is self-paced, so if a chocolate shop, ice cream truck, or street fair catches your eye you can easily make a pitstop. The Game is also perfect for those with a competitive streak. Each clue is worth anywhere from 5-20 points (wrong answers and asking for hints causes deductions), so as you play you accumulate points.
Another great feature of The Game are the recommended eateries. About halfway through each zone one of the clues will be to find a nearby cafe or bar. It’s great for a break, but can also easily be skipped if you happened to have just detoured for lunch. Customer service is extremely efficient and friendly. You can contact them during the game and receive help immediately so that you can get back to playing. They have many game options including an Express 3-hour game, a one-day game, and a 3-day game.
TIPS FOR PLAYING:
- The game can be played at anytime of day, on any day, and by any number of players. The players receive text messages on their phone with a riddle or instructions to take a photo at a certain location. The answer to the riddle is usually located somewhere near the players. Choose a day/time when places are not closed because some of the riddles require you to go inside stores for the answer.
- Fully charge your phones and have each player bring their own cell phone. You can switch who becomes pilot during the game so other players can turn off their phones to save battery. This way, the group will always have a working phone.
- Bring a camera or camera phone since you will likely pass by something you want to take a picture of.
- Wear comfortable shoes since you will walk a lot.
- Water, especially in this summer heat and with all the walking, you don’t want to get dehydrated.
- MetroCard – so you can get to the “Start” of each game zone
- Cell Phone + UNLIMITED texting plan (their website has clear instructions on how to switch to unlimited texting for just one month with your carrier).
