I'm the Architect! I'm an experience designer who travels the world building wildly elaborate treasure/scavenger hunts. Let me teach you how! AMA!

Your website is kinda vague with regards to how much your stuff costs. I understand that but can you give a (ficticious?) example on an adventure and the rough costs? How much is the flat rate?

You bet your ass I can!

my flat rate varies depending on how far booked I am (supply and demand!)

Right now it's $4,000 and then it's the rest of the Adventure on top.

Most of the time, the minimum total budget I can work with is about $8,000 HOWEVER there are so many things that can be done to keep costs down.

A big part is my travel and transportation. Sometimes I'm able to stay with friends or the client has hotel/flight points and that can keep costs down.

On top of that, clients give me the max budget and I just Stay under the budget and bill them the cost of whatever the Adventure is.

Adventures don't necessarily have to be expensive to be fun, however, it's really nice to have a big budget to play with. It allows me to book a car/boat or even helicopter to take them around! or hire more people!

Happy to expand on my answer if you like!

Edit: its also worth noting that I keep it vague because I don't want to scare people away from reaching out. I have plenty of calls with potential clients where they don't have the budget or it's not a good fit. However I can still connect them with someone in the area or point them in the direction of a cheaper option!

I want people to have Adventures whether I'm involved or not!

So, is 4 grand the retainer, or is that how much it would cost if you did the event where you are from and didn't have to travel?

$4,000 is what I'm making. It doesn't matter if the total budget is $8,000 or $20,000. I'm making the same thing.

I really like it because it allows for an honest conversation about budget. I've worked with event planners before who say "This will cost $10,000" and then I ask for a breakdown of the budget and they just respond with "$10,000" and then I know they're just going to try to cut as many corners to pocket as much money as they can.

I like being HYPER transparent and very open about everything. I have a detailed excel spreadsheet that I give to clients after the event with every cost broken down.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

That's awesome. Thank you for the reply. I do have another question: Do you need any special permits or permission?

Aisde from business insurance and a contract/waiver, It's all about communicating with everyone involved. Including businesses.

Leading up to every Adventure, I'll go to the locations and speak with the manager. In terms of restaurants, I always want to make a reservation and put a credit card down to cover the cost of everything.

On top of that, I carry cash so I can tip EVERYONE! Right before the players arrive, I'll run through everything with a host/hostess, tip them $10-$20, show them a picture of the players, and duck out the back. It helps make everything go smoothly.

having cash is nice because it allows for spur of the moment extras! One time I was doing a magical themed Adventure for a woman. In my last minute morning walkthrough, I ran into a street musican who was playing on the sidewalk in the route the players would be walking down.

I tipped him $40 and asked if he could play the harry potter theme song when i passed by, he agreed. 30 minutes later, the woman gets intercepted at the farmer's market and is sent to a nearby location. I walked about 20 feet in front of her and nodded to the musician. Right when she passed him, he satrted playing the song and her reaction was priceless!

So you say you're making $4,000. Does that number change based on the length of time it takes you to do your part of the job? For example, if your part takes 5 months compared to 3 (just throwing numbers out there, that's all), does that number change to account for the amount of time you spent?

Great question. Pretty much every Adventure takes place in one day. Sometimes there's little drip feeds or teasers prior, but the meat of it is all in one day.

Most days take similar prep. Similar conversations, similar scouting, etc.

There was a time when I tried to do a sliding scale based on total budget, but all it did was incentivize people pick the lowest possible budget. Then it becomes a bigger pain to put the event together because I'm on a shoestring.

Since I primarily work with people who don't have experience with event planners, I like to make things as simple and clean as possible.

Occasionally I'll consult on a project and in that case I just charge hourly.

Hope that clarifies!

This type of pricing is called Cost Plus or Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) and is commonly used by defense contractors for massive projects with the government.

My suggestion based on how they tend to do it is that you should consider using the $4,000 as a floor and make your fee XX% of cost. This allows you to easily take on a huge project for a company event or someone wanting a multi-day adventure without needing to work up a new structure.

Thank you so much! I always say that I’m an artist masquerading as a businessman. But I’m always learning.

That is a great idea for larger companies. They don’t care about the budget nearly as much as someone proposing to the love of their life!

I appreciate you!!

No problem! I've started, mentored, and worked at a number of small businesses so if you have any questions, feel free to reach out!

You know it! I absolutely LOVE what I do, but doing the business-y side can be really tough. I appreciate the offer!

Do live adventures ever go wrong - like completely off the rails? How did you recover and get back on track?

My GOD yes!

Luckily it happened early in my career. Nowadays I play it a little bit safer than I used to.

A little info before the story: These days are planned out on a big spreadsheet. I'm often guessing how long it'll take someone to solve something or using google maps to calculate travel time, etc.

In the beginning, I often rely on the client to make sure the player is in the proper place and set to go. 10am rolls around, knock at the door, drop the "starting treasure chest" and run to my car (Ding dong ditch plays a surprisingly large role in Adventures) and I wait.

And wait.

Aaaaaaaaaand wait.

Text the client. He's still asleep.

He ended up getting started an HOUR AND A HALF LATE. I had to rip out a bunch of the stops to get him to his surprise party.

Nowadays, I always make sure players are set (sometimes sending a little teaser envelope) and I have pieces in the day that can be altered

So, your other side business is convincing people they've secretly been recruited as spies for a super secret government agency?

Absolutely. It's actually one of my favorite purposes!

From a game design standpoint, one of the biggest issues is finding a purpose to the whole day. like, why the hell am i solving these puzzles if I'm trying to solve a murder mystery?! That's dumb.

But how do you fix it?

INITIATION, BABYYYYYYYY

I can literally give you any challenge as part of an initiation:

• Why do i have to decode this message? Initiation.
• Why do i have to pickpocket a key from that actor? Initiation?
• Why do i have to scoop your cat's litter box? INITIATION

I so look forward to the day I have a bunch of rugrats of my own for that litter box initiation... daily... until they move out.

wouldn't the rugrats create a whole different level of "litter box situation" for the first few years?

I hope they're better house trained than that.

Agreed! But once you get past the potty training stage, I'm sure it gets easier!

(Can you tell I don't have kids?)

EDIT: Sidenote, this whole thread reminds me of the greatest George Clooney story ever.

It's like anything in life.

It just gets different.

Ooo profound! I like it!

How do you go about making puzzles so they are not too hard or easy?

This is the ultimate question:

It starts with the player. I send a survey to the client and one of the questions is a 1-10 "How challenging would you like the Adventure to be." Inevitably everyone puts 8/10.

No idea why.

Once we hop on a call, we have a conversation about what difficulty means to them.

Do they place top three in the MIT Mystery hunt every year (Brutally hard) or are "they just smart." From there is sus out the correct difficulty by trying to learn about their expeirences. Have they done 1000 escape rooms? do they play puzzle games? Do they do the wordle and crossword puzzles?

After that I build. Harder puzzles happen when they're stationary. Like at lunch, a bar, or in tranist (If they're not driving)

Easier puzzler happen while they're on the move. Often discovery-based.

Finally, PLAYTEST PLAYTEST PLAYTEST. We have a great discord channel where I can toss a puzzle up and people will give their answer, time taken to solve, and how they got there.

Hope that helps!

Inevitably everyone puts 8/10. No idea why.

They don't want it to be too hard and they don't want to seem dumb or weak. So they can't do anything lower than 6, and 9 and 10 seem scary. That leaves 7 or 8.

Magicians use that kind of forcing function in some of their tricks. It's not 100% reliable but you can work around that.

Oh that's a cool point with Magicians!

Yeah I used to work in youth sports and we'd have something similar:

from 1-10 How good is your kid at soccer? Everyone put an 8 there too.

We'd spread the 8's out on different teams and of course only one kid was an 8 and the rest could barely kick the ball and those teams would get crushed.

The survey is a great starting point but the ensuing conversation asking "what challenge means to them" is way more helpful.

In the end, my golden rule: It's better to make it too easy than too hard. You can come back from too easy, but if you build an Adventure for someone and its frustratingly, brutally, difficult, you run the risk of them never wanting anything like that again.

Awesome thanks

You bet!

Are you working on something yourself?

Do you have a hard time shifting for age (or intelligence)? I want to plan a small treasure hunt for my nephews, but I'm worried they are too young to solve the puzzles and stay focused. How do you go about balancing the experience and what do you do if the target gets stumped?

Got any amusing stories about idiots not getting obvious clues?

THIS IS THE ULTIMATE QUESTION!

It's interesting. Sometimes kids are smarter than adults! Their brains are still hardwired to problem solve, while we just send emails.

Regarding your problem, here's what I suggest: Build your first hunt using a simple mechanic. Here's two of my favorites:

• Build a hunt using photos - Take pictures of locations around your home/area. Start easy, then use interesting close ups. Don't hesitate to draw on them or alter them. Then have different photos lead to others! it's simple but still really fun for anyone!
• Misplaced things - take household items that belong in certain locations. (like a spoon or toothbrush). Put the toothbrush on the kitchen table with a little note that says "I'm lost! Return me to my home". When they return the toothbrush, there's a spoon in the bathroom brushcup with the same note. You can continue to make it more elaborate.

Once you've finished your first hunt, gauge how they did. If they complain that it's too easy, you can drop the hammer next time and hit them with your best shot!

I'd rathe have the first hunt be too easy. If you make it too hard, you risk losing them forever!

Do you require one point of contact within the group you are working with?

Great question.

I don't but it's REALLY NICE when I get it. probably about 80% of my Adventures include the person who hired me (Even if it's a surprise for their significant other or friend)

I use a GPS tracker and figure out a way to lowjack the player so I can make sure they're progressing how it's intended. Sometimes it's as simple as putting it in a black car that's taking them around. Other times I put it in a treasure chest they're carrying all day.

Other times I have the client who hired me place it for me.

Past that, I try to keep eyes on them as much as possible so i can help steer if needed!

Do you ever worry about that being a crime? Or moreover, someone hiring you who has bad intentions for the player?

There is a TON of vetting before any Adventure happens. Not only do I vet the client. We have multiple conversations before any contract is sent out.

After that, I'm talking to friends and family to really ensure that the player would want a day like this! It's not for everyone! It doesn't happen often, but every once in a while I get someone that wants to hire me to do something for their significant other. I realize that they S.O really wouldn't want something like this. Maybe they have really bad anxiety and this would stress them out.

By the time the Adventure is over, I'm usually friends with them! I keep in touch with about 50% of past clients. One of them is even in my fantasy football league!

I did get one guy who wanted to have an Adventure to confess his love to a celebrity (who had zero idea he existed). He was certain they were meant to be together. Needless to say that one did not happen.

Wait a minute... are you secretly Hitch from the hit (perfect 5/7 stars) Will Smith movie, Hitch? Cause thats the plot of Hitch...

Definitely not the plot of Hitch, but Maybe....

What is the smallest budget you would actually do a design for and what would that job look like?

Great question!

I answered another question about budget. I have a flat rate that I charge. Right now it's $4,000 but it fluctuates based on how booked out I am.

Past that, the Adventure budget varies wildly on what they player wants, where they are, ect. The smallest total budget I could probably work with is $5,000-$6,000 but Players would need to come to me.

It's interesting. You don't need a massive budget to make a fun Advdnture! You could buy a hollow book on amazon for $10 and then place it in a library with a $1.50 map you printed at Staples and made from snazzymaps.com and Canva.com and that makes for an AMAZING moment.

However, having a bigger budget really helps. One of my favorite Adventure purchases is hiring a black car driver for the day. It's super helpful for me because I can put the GPS tracker in the trunk, I have a dedicated driver who can help with time management ("Drive slow please") and on they player side, they feel like royalty, they don't have to battle for parking (It came in so clutch when I did a proposal Adventure Last month in Washington D.C/Georgetown) and the players can have drinks at their leisure! However, a driver usually costs $500-$1,000! That's a lot of money!

Sorry for the super roundabout question.

In short, a smaller budget would involve players driving themselves, or on foot, I would love to have their friends/family involved/helping so I wouldn't have to hire helpers. Even with that, you could still do something really fun!

Let me know if you have any more questions or would like me to expand!

Have you ever done one yourself made by other people?

I have! I have a group called "The Agency" (They're the people who I hire to help design puzzles and events) who built a fun little hunt for my birthday.

I also had someone build a "secret agent" hunt for me which involved driving a really fancy Jaguar (you bet your ass I stole that idea)

But it all started with my mom. She used to build little hunts for me and my brother when we were kids for birthdays, christmas morning, and easter. She's the inspiration behind it all!

That's so cool. And that bit about your mom is so wholesome.

She's the BEST

What does she think about your business? Does she ever help you with ideas? :)

Oh she's extremely supportive! Never offered any ideas though. She's currently scrolling through upvoting the nice comments and downvoting the mean ones.

Hi there, what's the hiring process for your agency staff? I have a friend with significant treasure hunt experience and I was wondering if it is possible to "apply" in some way.

It's invite only. The two best ways to get into the agency is to post recaps in the subreddit and then provide helpful constructive comments in the post and then get active in the discord channel.

However, if they are interested in starting something similar, I'm always happy to hop on a call and chat with them.

That sounds really helpful man, good on you. I'll relay the comments and let let my friend know to reach out to you here on Reddit if she's interested. Thanks and I hope everything keeps being smooth sailing for you.

You bet! Hope to see them in the community soon!

What's the coolest prop you've built for a puzzle?

I haven't had a home for over a year (I travel so much for the business that it really isn't necessary) so with that, I don't have a workstation where I could build one.

I hire out for fabrication or purchase.

TBH my all time favorite is a Justin Nevin's Cryptex. They're just plain GORGEOUS and really make for a wonderful centerpiece for an Adventure. Justin is also super nice and produces the yearly cryptex Puzzle hunt. Its coming up!

Another fun little moment: I did an Adventure for a couple in Paris. Very early on, they got a satchel filled with items for the Adventure. They went down in the catacombs and decoded a message on one of the plaques that told them of a secret pocket that had been stitched into the inside of the Bag!

That was a super fun moment!

Justin’s cryptexs are the best.

It’s not even close. They’re so well made. I’ve got one here on my desk!

How do you receive all the things that you buy and have fabricated if you have no fixed base?

I assume you need all the items in one place at some point, so you can group them together, add their notes, distribute them, etc., but things might be arriving at different times, potentially months in advance of the adventures.

I guess you can carry a few smaller items with you, but what about the bigger items?

I have a storage where I keep some of the bigger items, but most of it is shipped to me wherever the event is being run!

What’s the most surprising skill you’ve had to learn or master after starting your business?

Man I'm still always learning. dunning kruger effect is STRONG

I think back to the first AMA where i really through I knew so much. It wasn't until I was able to take a step back with the pandemic and I realized there are some BRILLIANT people doing incredible things.

I took that year to interview and learn. With that said, here are some big ones:

• Communication. I thought i was really good at it. I was NOT! There are so many moving pieces in these days and I have to rely on a lot of people. I have an idea of how i want something to go and it's a task to relay that idea!
• Proper puzzle design. There's a great quote about puzzles. "when two people play chess, they have an even playing field and either can win. But with puzzles, the designer holds all the cards, has all the advantage, but the solver should win every time." I hate when escape rooms say they have a super low solve rate. To me that just screams bad puzzle design. Puzzles are meant to be solved and it took me a bit to realized I was making things too hard.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

Have you considered writing a book? I think it would be fascinating to hear the details and could loop back to general principals like you just described

I did start writing one during the pandemic but then life caught up with me!

It's on the back burner and it'll happen eventually but for now it's easier for me to build Adventures than write a book.

The other problem is in my downtime I love playing video games. The Addiction is real!

Well, what video games? Don't make me solve a puzzle to find out. (Or do. I'm not gonna boss you around)

Right now I’m playing tactics ogre on steam deck. That system has been a COMPLETE GAME CHANGER with my amount of travel

On top of that, been playing through god of war and I have midnight suns queued up next!

i think you make an excellent point here. I haven't done an adventure but I have done a lot of escape rooms. fundamentally they share a lot of DNA with adventure PC games, most early escape rooms used many of the same kinds of clues, ciphers, and hints.

there's been a shift in game design in video games from trying to be hard to telling a sensible story and letting the puzzles flow from that. some escape rooms haven't caught up.

but the moment you find yourself fiddling with soup cans just because they have letters on them, it's very clear "oh this is a game, I'm running on game logic" because it makes no sense otherwise.

anyone can make a puzzle obscure or unfair. The real art, in my opinion, is when the puzzle is a challenge you solve with some effort and then feel both satisfaction and that in retrospect everything was obvious.

Bingo. It's really cool to see the next gen escape rooms and games. With Meowwolf, Level 99, Phantom Peak, and boda Borg, theres now some huge players in the space and I'm all about it.

I'm a huge fan of our industry and I'm always here to help elevate it!

So YOU'RE the guy that keeps killing me in Destiny 2 eh? Bastard. (Lol anytime you're killed in that game by falling or the environment you're "Killed by the Architects")

Every time someone falls off the map, I get a notification.

At first it was nice.

Now it's DEAFENING.

Huzzah! My favorite AMA returns! If you could create an adventure for anyone in the world with an unlimited budget, what would that look like?

HOW DID I MISS THIS QUESTION?!?

I would love to do one for NPH. He's just so fun loving and REALLY good at puzzles. Location would be southeast asia. Just island hopping from one spot to another!

No idea how it would end! What victory do you give to someone who has everything?

Hey Chris, we've talked a few times (I'm the guy looking to buy an island for an adventure in Tahiti one day)

Just wanted to take a minute to say thanks and keep up the awesome work. It's awesome to see an entrepreneur with a unique idea who is living the dream. Your attention to detail is incredible!

If you weren't doing these adventures full time, what would you be doing for work?

Oh nice! Hows the Island purchasing going?

I appreciate the kind words, apparently my attention to detail isn't perfect sinceI forgot to capitalize "The" in the the title.

If I ever close up the business I'll probably work for a big corporate events company. I haven't worked for anyone since 2018 so it might be weird coming back into the world!

Past that, I loved working with kids. That was my job right out of college and had a blast running youth sports and Teen centers. The only problem is that those jobs pay zero money so it might be difficult.

Things are coming along nicely over here. Phase 1 is in full swing, were expanding our VR program for the schools which is bringing in some nice money. Once things are a bit more comfy well take another proper look at land.

Having worked for myself and worked for someone else, I have to agree, its hard imagine going back to "the other side". I'm comfortable being the boss and having my own routine.

Keep it up, my dude!

You too!

Hey there, wife of your 2017 adventure secret Santa. Have you switched to using just cardinal directions? (We're the ones who climbed the mountain cause we looked west not east. Also, bird joke cause we went 'bird' hunting.)

HEY THERE!

I actually had a shirt designed based off your hunt! Can you DM me on instagram? I want to send you one!

Also, I was chatting with another Designer who builds Adventures and he has the SAME PROBLEM!

East and West! WHY ARE THEY SO CONFUSING.

needless to say, whenever i have players use a compass I have the instructions checked by two separate groups. I cannot be trusted

That shirt is dope AF!

Thanks! My brother is a professional designer for Disney and he made it for me!

Just a fun way to celebrate a fun Adventure.

Do you ever include scary or stressful elements in your games? I'm thinking of the movie The Game here...

I personally don't. I really treasure bringing joy. Also, these days can kinda be scary/stressful anyway. I mean. When was the last time you had a stranger approach and hand you something?!

Part of it is a liability thing. The other part is a client thing. Every once in a while, I get someone who hires me who has some WILDLY BAD ideas or they have a complete misunderstanding of what their significant other wants/likes. Here's a funny story:

I once had a guy hire me for his wife's birthday. He said "My wife loves museums and culture and art so I want a MUSEUM HEIST THEMED ADVENTURE"

red flags.

I talked to the friends and family and they said. "No, that's what HE wants. She want mimosas, friends, a limo, and whimsy.

So i came back to him and told him that we're doing it whimsically, not thrilling. He went with it and it was a great time!

All that to say, nothing would be worse that someone hiring me who loves horror but their S.O. does not, and then I just torture this poor person!

What's your mindset/strategy/process when trying to create something like this? It seems so staggering!

When you're staring down the barrel of something like this, it can seem really stressful!

Here's how I like to break it down:

1. Start at the ending. When. Where. Oftentimes its a surprise party, proposal, or present. Usually it's in the evening.
2. Work out the beginning. Usually they start at home.
3. Figure out all the cool places in between. I like to call these "Anchor Points." Think of them as the places your player absolutely HAS TO stop at (Either because it's emotionally significant or just plain awesome)
4. Figure out how you're going to propel the player from stop to stop. Oftentimes I'll use a central mechanic with other things integrated. For example. At home the player gets a map with an X on it and directions. They arrive at a coffee shop and the barista gives them a coffee and another envelope with a vellum paper overlay. They figure out the correct way to lay the paper on the map which sends them to a park. They find a chest at the park with a UV light. They shine the light on the map and that sends them to the next stop!

Hope that helps! Are you hoping to build an Adventure?

Brilliant, thanks for the detailed response! Truly, I ask for 3 reasons:

1. I guess that I'm a nerd for similar reasons and just absolutely love the "how" in the mechanics of this kind of thing. In a similar vein, I did a bit of animation and digital art creation (was never that great) but it was just gratifying to understand how some incredible animations and games are built.

2. I'm a teacher and would love to consider something like this for my kids (obviously pruned WAYYYY down, though).

3. I am married to a woman who would be over the moon if I ever put anything like this together for her. I don't know if I'm mechanically up to it, but I'll keep your inspiration (and your information) in mind for the future!

Thank you again!

You bet! I posted elsewhere, but here is my step by step guide to building Adventures!

Here's a google doc version if that's more your style!.

Past that, if you go over to the r/Constructedadventures subreddit and look at the Recaps, you can see all sorts of amazing Adventures built by all sorts of people!

Can't wait to hear about the Adventure you build!

I've been following you on instagram for a while now and I have one question... Are you friends with Neil Patrick Harris!? And, how the hell did that happen?

Ok I guess that's 2 questions...

Oh man that was a wild story. I'd like to, but definitely wouldn't say "friends" but we've gotten together a few times to do Escape rooms.

He's kind of the celebrity patron saint of our industry. He LOVES games, whimsy, immersion, and escape rooms.

Anyway, I went to the Reality Escape Convention last year and he also attended. We got put on the same team to do an escape room.

After that we did 3 more the next day! Then we teamed up at Level 99 in Boston.

The last time I was in NYC, I joined him and a few others and tackled a few rooms there.

He's really nice and just likes to play games!

What is the coolest thing you have never used in a adventure but you want to?

I've always wanted to do a multi-city Adventure that involves something happening on a flight!

The biggest issue is time and budget. As you could imagine, each city needs to be scouted individually. The travel costs alone would be bananas.

I would need to find someone with a stupid amount of money. Not sure if I even want that! As we all know, rich people are monsters.

[deleted]

I would love to do events for celebrities. I think it could be a cool challenge.

I say that now but there's a chance I'll hate it.

I do quite enjoy designing for normal people who are blown away by fun happenstances. I've done events for crazy rich people before and they're just SO HARD TO IMPRESS

How long did it take for you to create the matrix?

Ergo Vis a vis

Who is the better twin?

I AM!

BOO YA KUH SHA.

For anyone curious. I have a twin brother. We have a lifelong competition for the better twin. We have a 7 page constitution that sets the rules. We also have a trophy for the current better twin and a "Rock of shame" for the current "lesser twin"

I've had the trophy for the last year

If you're ever in Europe may I tag along and be your assistant? 😃

What has been the most difficult puzzle or part of an adventure to transport?

Absolutely! If I'm in Europe, i'll pay you to help!

The most difficult thing to transport is a Cryptex. Seeing as a cryptex is just a metal tube, airport scanners think it's a pipe bomb.

I learned the had way that they best course of action is as follows:

• Bring it on your carryon luggage (in a backpack)
• before you go through, take it out of your backpack, open it, and put it in the tray.

Once time i had an agent who was afraid to open the backpack! Never again!

Holy moly, that sounds like an absolute blast! Assisting you with a Constructed Adventure is now on the official bucket list.

The Cryptex was an unexpected answer, but that makes so much sense. That poor agent!

Thank you for taking the time to reply. This AMA has been great to read.

You bet! Thank you for the wonderful question!

So you're basically the Riddler. Have you ever used your powers for evil?

You're Damn right I am!

I can give you two examples:

First there was this Damning Article written about me. I leave a trail of Treasure hunts destruction wherever I go. I should seek help but I refuse to.

Secondly, for Adventure no. 100. I built an Adventure for the first guy I ever sent on Adventure (My 2015 giftee. You can see the post up top)

Anyway, I coordinated with his wife and friends to make him think he was golfing. He loves golf. He was on the driving range warming up when he got his first envelope. Needles to say, he was pretty vocal/pissed that he wasn't golfing!

this Damning Article written about me

This was a fun read!

Right? I woke up on April fools day and a bunch of people sent me the article! I ended up posting an "apology video" on my instagram. Then i had to clarify because a few international people that spoke English as a second language genuinely thought it was a hit piece!

Turns out April fools day is just big in the States

Are you the deity of Freemasonry?

Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not.

Do you have a finale puzzle written into your will?

I don't even make puzzles for a living, but I definitely plan on having a rat race style contest for anybody who desires a cut of my inevitable fortune.

Funny enough! One of the members of the community is working on it!

I plan on having a worldwide treasure hunt but I'm hesitant to add cash prize into the mix. Money brings out a really ugly side of people! Make sure what you're putting together is IRONCLAD otherwise this fun idea you have could be ruined by infighting and crappy people!

Amazing! I'll have to look into it and maybe get more involved in the community.

But yeah, whenever you involve a large cash price, people get shitty. I'm sure you've heard of Fenn's Treasure, but last I heard they were in a legal battle for someone finding the treasure with someone else's solution.

I would tempt people with my vast fortune but have the final treasure be "the friends you made along the way" and then probably split it mostly evenly among the participants. That way nobody feels cheated. The is unless the winner killed everyone else to ensure victory, but then you have the added goal of making them feel bad.

BINGO!

The goal of these is to be fun, however, you also run the risk of having Team Palindrome (They won the MIT Mystery Hunt, a brutally difficult yearly puzzle hunt) come in and absolutely DUMPSTER the Jones family who's just looking for a fun weekend activity!

It's a wild balance to strike and IMO no one has figured it out yet!

Why will the Vikings not win the Super Bowl in the next 10 years?

Why are you the way that you are?

Are there any general formulas you follow to make the experience effective and memorable? Particularly with the beginning and end -- I imagine bringing someone out of their daily routine and dropping them back in it are parts you really want to get right.

And is there a general academic term for this kind of design thinking, or resources you've found helpful for improving your work? I've been interested in the mechanics of this sort of experience design, but it's difficult to search for without getting tons of stuff about UX or the "experience" of using a physical product, rather than a single experience with a beginning/middle/end.

Love this!

Here is my Basic formula. If you would prefer to read it in a google doc instead, I got you.

And is there a general academic term for this kind of design thinking

Ugh, unfortunately no. Technically it's a treasure hunt, but that term has been co-opted by people who find old hotwheels (super annoying)

Pop culture calls it a scavenger hunt, but technically that's just "Here' a list of 20 things to find, maybe you'll find 15 of them"

I like to use the term Capital A "Adventure" I'll also use "treasure/scavenger hunt"

resources you've found helpful for improving your work?

Tons! I've got a few for you. First I have a Youtube Channel and Blog. Past that, the geocaching community is great. Here's a book about puzzlecaching. Odyssey works is interesting. Apparently they have a course you could sign up for but I talked with someone who took it and they said it was kind of a waste of money.

All in all, i recommend diving into the community. The Reality Escape convention is great (every other year it's live vs digital). It's very much escape room first, but they have a LOT of parallels.

Hope that helps!

Thanks very much! I got here from your newsletter so I definitely appreciate what you personally put out there. It feels strange that the expertise for designing an enjoyable experience falls mostly under "tricks of the trade" and institutional knowledge instead of, like, dozens of textbooks. So many applications, with things like museum exhibits and roller coaster queues on the more passive/general side & magic shows (or general theatrics) and your Adventures on the active/personal side. Really interesting stuff!

You're absolutely right.

A big reason is its just still a fledgling industry. The Escape room boom has been amazing because it's really helped to push the envelope on fabrication.

Regarding puzzle design, I feel like we fall into that trope that artists find themselves in. "It's fun, you should do it for free" is something I'm constantly battling against. People should be paid for their time.

It's getting better though.

One of the members of our community is interviewing for a job as an enigmatologist for a venture capital firm. The importance of experience and new brain pathways has always been there, but it feels like its entering the zeitgeist.

Or I might be biased because I'm part of this world

Hey Chris!

2021 giftee here! It was the coolest experience - having a dog and his awesome owner come up to you with an envelope out of nowhere still blows my mind!

How do you choose where you leave your clues? Has anything ever happened to a clue or marker you left that’s thrown off an adventure?

You’re awesome and wish you the best as always!

THE ARBITER!

It was such a privilege building the final RedditGifts Adventure for you!

How do you choose where you leave your clues? Has anything ever happened to a clue or marker you left that’s thrown off an adventure?

There is a lot of thought that has to go into dead drop placement.

First: Security. What are the chances something gets moved/picked up

Second: concern. Don't leave a locked box in a visible public place. You don't need the bomb squad getting called.

The goal is to make sure that the player finds whatever they're looking for without anything happening to it.

I always make sure I have eyes on any dead drop right up until the player finds it.

Finny enough, it's always kids that find things a pick them up! when that occasionally happens, myself or whomever is there just let's them know it's for a fun treasure hunt and to please leave it alone!

As someone who has created adventures for various occasions, you have likely had the opportunity to interact with a diverse group of people during important moments in their lives. Have you gained any interesting insights about the human experience through these interactions that you may not have had the chance to learn from a more conventional 9-to-5 job?

It's been an absolute pleasure being a part of so many big moments.

One thing I love is witnessing how people react when they realize that their day is not at all what they were expecting. Many get very visibly excited, but others keep very quiet and calm throughout the day. We all react to things differently!

It's been an absolute pleasure being a part of so many big moments.

One thing I love is witnessing how people react when they realize that their day is not at all what they were expecting. Many get very visibly excited, but others keep very quiet and calm throughout the day. We all react to things differently!

It sounds like it would be fascinating to witness how different people react to a unique and unexpected day in their life. I have a follow-up question. With the recent advancements in AI, are you worried about AI stealing your job?

Not even a little bit!

I'm banking on A.I. taking the boring jobs! Making more room for us joy-bringers and entertainers!

take dogs for example. They used to have purpose. Hunt, protect. Now they're mostly just pets. They bring joy.

I welcome our new robot overlords!

What was it like building The Matrix?

Vis a Vis Ergo

Thanks for your great work, I was inspired and did one for my partner during lockdown. I did a write up at your request on the subreddit too.

Have you ever done a mass adventure? E.G. for a wedding?

I remember! So happy to inspire!

I've done a couple wedding reception Adventures. I'll never forget the first one. When the couple reached out they said " We can't tell you how badly we don't want to dance in front of our friends and family"

Instead of the usual affair. The tables teamed up and went on a fun 3 hour Adventure flavored after their favorite videogames. The best part was "The Imposter"

One of my favorite Actresses had a 2 hour zoom call with the bride and came up with a backstory as to why they knew each other. The whole event was about finding the Imposter. The Actresses attended the wedding with her husband, sat at the table and played the whole game!

The best part was that her own team never figured it out. So when she revealed herself, they absolutely lost their minds!

Do people ever hire you to make puzzles/hunts for people who don’t know they are participants? Like they seemingly think it’s all real life?

That's the goal! to completely surprise the player!

It can be really tough to do that. It's not like the movies (Like the game)

Also, sometimes clients have a hard time keeping it together and spill the beans to their significant other!

How many adventures do you usually have in your hands at once?

At the end of last year, i made a goal to drop down to doing 1 Adventure per month. I used to do one every two weeks and it was wearing me down. Right now, I have 5 on the books! The ones in May and June take priority, but there's always something to work on!

On top of that, at any time, I have 15-30 consultation clients. So I'm always working on some kind of Adventure!

Do you have another job/gig/source of income? ~48k/year gross just seems so low for such a unique and interesting skill set.

I don't. But I also make money in other ways.

Events make the bulk of my income, but I also make a good chunk consulting hourly, amazon affiliates, teeeeeeeny tiny bit of ad revenue, income from the shop, and affiliate/finders fees.

On top of that, when large corporations reach out for a bigger game, I'll charge more.

Hey there! I'm currently in the midst of designing a scavenger hunt for my GF's proposal. I've got the initial puzzles all figured out, but I'm really stuck at coming up with a good ending/finish. Everything I can think of is either way to complicated to set up on an low-ish budget, or not really romantic. Do you have good ideas/insights/stories to share on the subject?

Really hard to give you advice without knowing more. In a vacuum, I can tell you this:

Elegant simplicity is often the best bet (Both for you and for her)

Make sure your puzzle are on the easy side

Add in a stop that you can just completely remove in case she falls behind.

Get help because you're going to be super nervous that day. Friends are a huge help.

Whats something special of fun about your relationship? What do you two treasure together?

I remember reading a fiction book as a child about a wealthy man who died, and left a scavenger hunt in his will, and whoever in his family made it through would come to own everything he had! That being said, have you ever organized something with real world implications like that? I think it would be awesome but very hard to do.

I was chatting with someone else about this here!

I’m short, it’s really tricky to do! Unfortunately, whenever you involve a big cash prize in some kind of treasure hunt, I has the tendency to bring out the nasty side in people. Participants get aggressive since there is something big on the line!

The other problem is difficulty. How do you make something difficult enough to challenge the most capable team without completely leaving behind newbies!

I’ve built group games like this but it’s always much lower stakes. I’d love a crack at a high stakes event through!

Are you really an architect? What is your education background? Did you study history?

Oh absolutely not. Just a fun play on words with the business name. We have a group called "The Agency" and when we invite members in, they get to pick a codename!

I was actually a Journalism major. Wouldn't recommend it!

What’s your MBTI personality type?

ENFP!

If you could play any character other than a dwarf paladin/ warlock, what would you play and why?

Definitely a half elf sorcerer.

Maybe if Hew bites the dust, I'll reroll!

I told everyone to have backup characters ready to go...

I KNOW YOU DID! I'm working on it.

Why is Architect capitalized but the is not? If it's a title shouldn't both be capitalized? Or is your title just Architect and you're pointing out that you're that one?

Because I'm dumb and can't type.

I meant to have it be "The Architect" but apparently missed it after I made this post the 3rd time (The automods kept removing the post for some reason)

Fun fact, I end up capitalizing way too many letters. It's my Achilles heel

Haha, I'm just being nit-picky. But I think it looks better that way ;)

Oh I know! But still, I like to lean into my imperfections!

Thanks friend!

Do you regret being the cause of the fifth blight?

I can neither confirm nor deny

How is it that you got into this business?

It's a wild story.

Signed up for the Reddit secret santa. The giftee I got lived 21 minutes away. I was making good money at the time and through "fuck it" I want to build a treasure hunt for this guy. I built it. When he posted it, it hit the front page of reddit and the business was born.

I did it as a side hustle for 2 years. then jumped ship. I got REALLY luck at that time to be featured at the end of a "How I Built This" episode. things blew up and I was off to the races! I bounced around the country (and occasionally to other countries) building Adventures.

Then the pandemic hit and I was sidelined for a year. Now I'm back at it!

I read the original posts that looked really fun, how did you get the workers at the various business to participate in the adventure? Did you just ask them?

I have a big list where anyone can put their information down. I'll reach out to people and hire them to assist (if i can vet them).

After that, I usually have colleagues in the area.

After that I'll reach out to local improv groups

After that I'll use Taskrabbit.

I pay a minimum of $25/Hr plus reimburse for milage plus it's pretty fun! So I usually don't have trouble finding help!

Hi there! You have some fascinating stuff. I am planning a 10th birthday party for my twin boys, but I don't want to be the dull dad and find stocks and stuff.

Any suggestions on how to make it more fun for kids that barely take their faces out of their screens/tablets?

oh man there are so many options!

Firstly, I'm a twin. If my mom is correct (and she always is), you probably have your hands full! Secondly, you're probably doing everything you can to to foster collaboration, not competition. Here's what I would do:

Give them each a walkie talkie (Or you could have them communicate on their phones but walkie talkies are a fun novelty.)

you give them separate initial instructions to go somewhere in the house. then at one location is the instructions for the OTHER twin. The whole thing becomes a communication game. each can only progress once he has helped the other first.

think they'd like that?

Wow thanks for that suggestion!! At 10 they don't have phones, egads!! (Wow this world has changed)

That's a great way to mix it up and make them work together. I will have to remember to use the "work together" method for anywhere

Yeah it’s important! After that, you can look on my blog m, YouTube channel and hop into the communities for ideas about clues and puzzles

I want to make one of my own hunts! Any great ideas you’ve had that just didn’t work they way you thought they would?

My biggest rule: Elegant simplicity! So many people think they need to make a crazy complex day . The surprise and thoughtfulness is the most important part.

Also, if you're going to do a grand romantic gesture, please PLEASE use fake candles. You have no idea how much 100-200 tiny little flames just COOK a room. Plus you're bound to accidentally light something on fire or singe your carpet.

Do you often hear references to George Costanza or make them yourself?

Every day of my life.

Do you have top & bottom 3 cities/locations for adventures you’ve created?

YEAH I DO!

Top three cities:

1. Kauai, Hawaii. It's just gorgeous. you can send people ATVing, hiking, boating, or diving for a chest. Plus the people that live there are all very nice and there's some great little hidden gems.
2. Barcelona, Spain. Massive and sprawling but with beautiful Architecture and buildings. The gothic quarter is just a place you can get lost in. The people are extremely nice and there are two speakeasies there (Dr. Stravinski and Bobby's Free) are two of the best bars in the world)
3. New York City. There is just so much to do there! The subways also allow for cheap (somewhat) quick transportation. I always end up building an NYC Adventure in December and it's a magical time.

Bottom three cities:

1. Houston by a wide margin. I'm not a fan of the roads or drivers. There are no zoning laws apparently, so you'll have a dennys next to an oil change station next to a doctors office next to a sexy bar next to another Dennys. Couple that with the "It's so hot and humid I want to die" vs "Its so cold and the power's out so I might actually die" and it's rough. Plus their baseball team cheats.
2. Weirdly enough, Miami, Florida. Miami is tricky, because it's not a bad city, it's just not conducive for an Adventure very crowded, lots of clubs. Hard to get things done. I much prefer Orlando or St. Augustine.
3. Saskatoon, Canada. In a similar vein as miami in the other direction. Where there just isn't very many options. it's a small town in Canada and once you leave the little downtown area, I had trouble finding places to send the player.

Yay! St. Augustine gets a mention! Lol

I was just there! The Castillo de San Marcos absolutely rules!

I was amazed that there really isnt a kayaking option in that inlet!

If you could only do ONE more adventure. Where/what season would it be? Anything you’ve wanted to include but haven’t been able to yet?

Finally. Single best meal you’ve had while scouting locations? Somewhere you’d fly back to just for lunch or dinner.

If you could only do ONE more adventure. Where/what season would it be? Anything you’ve wanted to include but haven’t been able to yet?

This question is brutal! It's probably my most difficult. I'd probably want it to go all throughout the Maldives. With a little boat taking them around. Going in the water. Diving for treasure chests. It would just be so much fun putting that together

Finally. Single best meal you’ve had while scouting locations? Somewhere you’d fly back to just for lunch or dinner.

Toss up between Porkys Kauai in Hawaii and Alcoba Azul in Barcelona

Late to the party, did you attempt Cicada 3301?

I didn't! It came out before I entered this world, but it's cool as hell.

I love ARGs and wish I'd been more aware of them during the boom back between 2000-2015.

The unfortunate problem with ARGs nowadays is you need money to make a good, big, ARG. The only way that works is if it's an advertising campaign.

Not sure if we'll ever see something like it again.

Have you traveled to Bulgaria? Do you have people from here that are willing to help if you come?

I haven't but I would love to!

I don't have anyone that I know of but hopefully I could find someone.

That sounds fascinating! Could you elaborate on how you use AI or machine learning in the treasure/scavenger hunts you create? I'm really interested in exploring the potential of using AI to create dynamic and interactive experiences.

Nothing yet for me but my community members have been messing around using AI to help build puzzles.

If you head over to r/constructedadventures one of the agency members did a post about using AI when building an Adventure

This is incredibly wholesale and inspirational. You may have answered already, but what's the typical number of hunts you do each year?

Thank you for the kind comment!

I usually end up doing 10-15 a year nowadays. Before the pandemic hit, I was doing 2 (sometimes 3) a month and that was pretty much it.

Once the pandemic hit, I realized that I needed to diversify my income. Coming out of it, I have a bigger focus on consulting. Before 2020 about 95% of my income was events and 5% was consulting. Now it looks more like 60/30/10 (The 10% is other forms of revenue like affiliate, shop, finders fees, etc)

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Thanks for the breakdown! Have you considered putting together a few themed scavenger hunt kits to sell on your site? Perhaps even evolving into a subscription model where someone receives 6-12 small kits each year to have a memorable monthly hunt with their kids for example.

I am hopelessly intrigued by this concept.

I have! right now I'm just working on amassing materials that people could use (Cryptexes, elemental pens, etc) and then also building out little guides that people can purchase.

A full on kit is one of my goals though!

Got no question but I have a matching song for you..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2CFDsG_oxg&ab_channel=dEUSbe

Have fun

That song is a jam! Thank you for sharing it with me!

Don't you think this ama on the front page is off brand? Shouldn't this be in an obscure locked subreddit we have to find the clues to get to?

Judging the reaction from this year's Reddit April Fools game, that might not be the best idea!

I know this is a probably a joke but I'm going to give an honest, real, business-y answer if that's ok.

I work with a lot of very creative and very intelligent people. Way smarter than I am. But sometimes really intelligent people get in their own way!

I'm not super business savvy, but one big rule I learned is to make it as easy as possible for people to give you money. It's why i keep pricing simple and my website clear.

I once had a protegé who wanted to password protect his website and have people figure out a puzzle to get in. It's a fun idea, but the front desk employee looking to hire someone to build a 100 person team builder for their company retreat next summer doesn't want to solve a puzzle!

With that said, I love adding in little easter eggs for people to stumble upon! Reward and delight the people that are into it but don't punish those who just want to hire someone.

Sorry for the WAYYYYYY to real answer to your fun comment!

How much do you make?

Depends on the year but usually somewhere between 50-90k

Does it feel like you've found a cheat code to life, being paid to travel & find out interesting things about your destination & incorporating history into the adventure?

Or is it more piece meal, you have "park events" "downtown events" sort of pieces you mix & match?

It's wild.

I've been doing this full time since 2017 so it's become normal. The Hedonic Treadmill is a THING.

Earlier this year, I was building an Adventure in Paris and I was stressing out and had to remind myself that I used to get yelled at on the phones for a living!

When I'm scouting, I'm always looking for anchor points. They are usually clustered in zones (Thanks, zoning).

Let's take the paris Adventure. I split it up into 3 parts:

Part one took them all throughout the Latin Quarter. There are so many little nooks and crannies and hidden gems. It ended with them finding a driver waiting for them

Part two involved the driver and stops that were further apart: Catacombs, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, finally dropping them at Sacré-Cœur.

Part three was all throughout Montmartre. It made for a great loop where they could hit a bunch of stops, but not have to walk for 3 miles.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

Given your enthusiasm, I'm expecting you're be a fun person to have a drink / milkshake with.

When are you planning to release a "bathroom reader meets travel guide" of all these nooks & cranies you discover? Seems like you couldn't not write it while you build adventures. At least, a idea to stumble across in 30 years when you want to wind down full time adventure making.

In my defense, I'm HEAVILY caffeinated right now.

I do want to write a book that's half wild stories and recaps/ half "here's how you do it"

My problem is that I do not have the attention span or emotional bandwidth to write a book right now! i'll get to it eventually!