These rules are *not* the ones posted to the web site, but rather are the final rules as printed in the Get-a-Clue 2000 OHDaMN (nominal date of publication thus being April 15, 2000) . I must apologize as well -- I am very sorry about the total length. Things sort of got out of hand when I determined that we should try to avoid any ambiguity in the rules, and the only way to do that is to spell things out in excruciating detail. The rules for the very first get a clue, in contrast, consisted of only six plain sentences.
Section 1
Certificate of Authenticity
1.1
These are the official rules for playing Get-a-Clue 2000:
A Briefcase Full of Clues.
1.2
These rules are meant to be comprehensive and complete. That
is not to say that we covered everything, but one can hope.
1.3
These rules are the final version to be given to all Get-a-Clue teams.
These rules replace all the stuff that you may have read in previous handouts
or on the Get-a-Clue web pages.
1.4
In cas of a discrepancy between what is written in the version of the
rules and anything you may have read or been given earlier, these rules
take precedence.
Section 2
Ancilliary Documents
2.1
There are several documents associated with the rules that are not
included in this section of the Game Manual. This is information
you might need to play the game, but which was considered to be either
too lengthy or too trivial to include here. These secondary sources
include the manual Introduction, a Glossary, a list of stuff to bring,
and the Communications Summary Sheet. These secondary sources are
just as important as the rules, but these rules always take precedence.
2.2
A Glossary is included to help you understand any terms used in this
manual (or later during the game itself) that night be new to you or that
might be misconstrued. The Glossary should be referenced, for example,
whenever you have any doubts as to what a "clue" or "team" might be.
2.3
The Communications Summary Sheet has all the important phone numbers
for the game. For ease of reference, it is the very first page
of your Game Manual.
2.4
All other material in the manual and associated media is meant as a
general reference, or is meant to be educational or entertaining in some
way. That is not to say that it will not come in handy, for solving
clues or otherwise, that is just to say that it is not central to actually
playing the game.
Section 3
Fees and Registration
3.1
Get-a-Clue will be held on Saturday, April 15, 2000.
3.2
Registration of Teams was over the web and must have been completed
by April 1, 2000. A fee of $10 per person is also required, and it
should also have already been paid by the same date.
3.3
You must belong to a registered team, and have paid all appropriate
fees, in order to participate in today's game.
3.4
In addition to the advanced team registration, you must also register
with Game Control on the day of the game. You must sign a waiver
form and give Game Control any appropriate personal information before
you will be allowed to participate in today's game.
3.5
Unless you have something in writing from Game Control, there are no
exceptions.
Section 4
There is no section 4
Section 5
Safety
5.1
Get-a-Clue is meant to be a fun experience for all involved. It's no
fun if anyone gets hurt. Remember to be aware of traffic when in your car,
aware of your surroundings when running around town, and generally careful
at all times. Safety comes first.
5.2
One or more players on each team must be licensed to drive a car. There
is, after all, a whole lot of driving involved when playing this game.
5.3
There must be one seat belt for every occupant of the vehicle. We heartily
recommend that you use them.
5.4
All teams must obey all traffic laws at all times. Teams pulled
over for traffic violations will, at Game Control's discretion, be either
penalized or disqualified.
5.5
If you are renting a vehicle for Get-a-Clue, take some time to familiarize
yourself with the controls and performance of the vehicle before racing
around town with it. (but you shouldn't be racing around anyway - see rule
5.4)
5.6
We, as Game Control, are not going to intentionally put someone into
a position or location where they feel endangered or uncomfortable. If
at any point during the game you feel that we may be asking you to risk
life, limb, criminal imprisonment, civil liability, or your chance for
spiritual salvation, please call Game Control and seek a clarification
before proceeding. We may place you in a potentially embarrassing situation,
but not a dangerous one.
Section 6
Teams
6.1
All teams and team members must be properly registered, with all appropriate
fees paid, before they will be allowed to participate. Please see Section
3 for the rules on registration.
6.2
All members of a team must stay together. You may, of course, split
up and run around like idiots upon reaching a clue site to find the clue
packet, but you must travel as a group from clue site to clue site. Splitting
into two groups to go to different sites is not allowed.
6.3
We recommend that all members of a team utilize a single vehicle while
playing Get-a-Clue. It may be necessary to either change the composition
of your team or your choice of vehicle before playing the game.
6.4
Different teams should not share any information with each other. All
clues and help clues (and associated material found in clue packets) are
given to teams as they need the information and all such information is
meant only for that one team. Additionally, any directions, hints, or other
help given out over the telephone is highly specialized and is context
and time specific. That is to say, what we tell people over the phone will
not be helpful to anyone not on that specific team, and may or may not
be helpful to them either.
Section 7
Clues
7.1
Clue packets are not to be tampered with in any way. The clue
packet must be put back into the same place where you found it, exactly.
You are permitted to take out the clue intended for your Team, but that's
about it. Any team tampering with packets will be disqualified.
Here comes the exception to the rule. Please note that we in no way approve of or condone this behavior, but we know it is going to happen.
If you absolutely must add items to the clue packets, please restrict yourself to either small written taunts, calling cards, or pictures which can then be taped, clipped, or stapled to the outside of the clue packet. This way other teams can see them and there should be no confusion about what is actually a clue on the inside of the clue packet. If you must taunt an individual team, such taunts should also be placed outside the packet as stated above. Do not tamper with or modify any clues on the inside of the packet. Any failure to comply with these rules will be considered clue packet tampering and will result in disqualification.
7.2
During the game, all clues and clue sites will be easily accessible.
You are not allowed to climb fences.
7.3
We have had some concerns from the owners and managers who gave us
permission to use their property as clue sites, and I will address those
concerns here.
Do Not Enter a place of business unless you plan to do business, purchase goods, or procure services there. The staff at these locations do not necessarily know anything about the game, and won't be able to help you.
Additionally, Do Not Disturb plantings or landscaping unnecessarily. Whenever possible, we have tried to put the clue packet in areas close to marked paths, roadways, and sidewalks. Do not go tromping through flowerbeds, since we do not want to piss off any of the nice people who let us use their property.
I hate to sound like a hard ass, but like I said, we are trying to accommodate and allay the very reasonable fears of game site owners. Remember, if you have any doubts, you should call Game Control before entering anything that looks like private property.
7.4
After each clue is found, the team must immediately call in to Game
Control. This allows us to verify that your team is still on the right
route, and also helps us in tracking your team's position and progress
during the game. When calling, be sure your give your team name and the
appropriate clue identification to Game Control first, before you start
complaining.
7.5
Each clue comes with one or more help clues. For each help clue used,
your team will be assessed a pre-determined time penalty. The time penalty
incurred will be listed along with the help clue title.
7.6
Save all help clue envelopes. We use these items to determine your
net game time. Missing or open help clue envelopes count as used help clues,
so unless you want to incur a time penalty, keep your help clues safe and
unmolested.
Section 8
Routes
8.1
Solved clues will lead you from clue site to clue site in a specific,
planned order. Each route will be different for each team. Each team will
follow the route which they are given, and not skip ahead or intentionally
follow another team.
8.2
If you have doubts as to where a given clue solution will send your
team (a side trip to Newnan, or to the state line, for example) then by
all means, call Game Control before proceeding. You may have solved the
clue incorrectly, or may need additional information. You will not be penalized
for verifying the route before proceeding to the next clue site.
8.3
Routes for the teams are different, but are considered to be equivalent.
All reasonable efforts have been made to keep the game both fair and reasonably
short. So don't complain.
Section 9
Other Very Important Rules
9.1
The Game Control Building is off limits to all teams at all times.
You must be given permission by a member of Game Control before entering
the building.
9.2
There may be one or more rest periods during the course of the game.
During a rest period, you are considered to be off the clock, and any time
spent during the rest period will not be counted toward your overall time.
Remember to check in with a member of Game Control both at the beginning
and at the end of the rest period, so we can account for this "free" time
accurately.
9.3
Everything that we have given you is vital, in one way or another,
to the successful completion of today's game. Please try to keep track
of what you have been given.
9.4
You may be given verbal instructions before the game begins or during
game play. Any verbal instruction from Game Control has the same weight
and force as these rules. In the event of a discrepancy between these rules
and what you might be told, do what we tell you to do. Any verbal instruction
given to you by Game Control will supercede these rules.
9.5
Keep all clues and help clues safe. We recommend that you keep them
all together in a box or large bag. You will be asked for these at the
end of the game, and all must be accounted for or you will be assessed
a time penalty.
9.6
During the game, you must check in with Game Control at least every
two hours. During the normal course of things, you will solve at least
one clue during any said two hour period, so this rule will hopefully be
redundant. If you are taking additional time with a clue, however (because
you want to eat dinner, see a movie, catch a hockey game, visit Quebec,
etc.) then please check in with Game Control so that we won't worry. Failure
to abide by this WILL result in a time penalty.
9.7
Remember that this is only a game, and you are meant to be having fun.
So have some fun already.
Section 10
Finishing the Game
10.1
Over the course of the day your team will gather clues, solve them
to determine clue sites, drive to the clue sites and search for the clue
packet, from which you will get your next clue. And you will continue in
this manner till you get to the last clue, which will give you the location
of a reception to follow the game. The last clue will be clearly identified
as such, so there should be no doubts.
10.2
Appearing at the end-of-game reception ends the game for your team.
That's it, you're done. We don't care if you made a lucky guess and show
up five minutes after the game begins. At that point you must turn in all
clues and help clues so that we may determine how many were successfully
completed and what penalties (if any) should be assessed.
10.3
A winner will be declared at some point after all teams finish the
game. Game Control will get around to it as soon as possible, so don't
bug us about it. The team which has completed the game in the shortest
time, after rest periods are subtracted and time penalties added, is considered
to be the Winning Team and all other players should give them your condolences.
The team with the second best time will be declared The Real Winners and
should be congratulated.
10.4
The Winning Team is responsible for planning and executing next year's
game. Good Luck.
Copyright 2000
Matthew Blind and
Team Blues: Get-a-Clue 2000 Game Control