2024 Photo Scavenger Hunt – Rules and Alternate Words

2024 Photo Scavenger Hunt – Rules and Alternate Words

Alternate Words

1/6/2024   STONE

1/13/2024      PIANO

2/6/2024    WITCH

We are very excited to host the 2024 Photo Scavenger Hunt Pointless Prize. We welcome back our seasoned veterans and extend a special welcome to our newbies.

Because Freezing Saddles players are the smartest cyclists in the region, this year the Scavenger Hunt is leveling up with a twist. You’ll have to solve the daily Wordle game in order to discover the photo clue.

Wordle is a logic guessing game, hosted by the NY Times (no subscription or log-in required to play). Each answer is a five letter word. All the rules for Wordle are at the site provided. If you’re not familiar with it, we encourage you to practice playing a couple of times before the scavenger hunt begins. Here is the link: https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html

<b>Rules:
</b>
Like in previous years, we have two competitions this year: the main competition and participation prizes! You can compete in both simultaneously or just one.

To compete for a participation prize, you must (1) upload one or more photos of the item to your Strava ride for that day AND (2) title your Strava ride with the hashtag #scavhunt. Please only hashtag ONE ride per day with #scavhunt. This hashtag will ensure you automatically show up and get ranked on our scavhunt leaderboard (https://freezingsaddles.org/pointless/hashtag/scavhunt). This is simply a numbers game – do it each day, and you’ll have the maximum number of entries. If you use the tag more than once in a 24-hour period, one of them will be disqualified.

To compete in the main competition (with one or more points awarded daily based on photo creativity, beauty, and/or the capricious whims of Serdar and Kelley), your entries must be posted HERE on the Forum in this thread. To view the MAIN competition Leader Board, this is the link:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eaqadtiSwKlWYHUox3yrEexTudfUls2c/edit#gid=1392046455    Please note that this is an active document – don’t rest on your laurels until the competition ends.

<b>Detailed rules:
</b>

1. You should be a participant in Freezing Saddles ’24. Friends of Freezing Saddles can post, but only actual participants can win prizes.
2. It has to be on a bike ride on the day it was requested
3. For the main competition, it has to be posted in the Forum on the day for which it was requested, i.e., 12:01 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST for the day it was requested. Sorry, we won’t count the ones that aren’t posted for the day it was requested. That is part of the challenge.
4. We are embracing the random nature of games and life by using Wordle as the clue generator.
   Each day, you will go to https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html and play the provided. The solution word is the clue. You do not have to have a subscription to NYT or log in to their site. Wordle is provided free with the link above. If the Wordle game is too difficult or frustrating, there are two options – keep going until you run out of clues and the solution will be revealed. Or visit https://tryhardguides.com/wordle-solver/ which will help you figure it out. The new Wordle drops at midnight.
5. Sometimes Wordle answers are abstract words – if one seems particularly difficult to illustrate AND it’s a really sucky weather day, we will post an alternate you can use for that 24-hour period. We will post it on the forum by 8am of the day for which the Wordle clue is awful. If you want to wait to see if the alternate word is better, this gives you options. It is your decision – if you ride before 8am, you get the Wordle word. Roll the dice and wait . . . or not. <b>On any day, do not wait for us if you’re ready to roll! This game is about finding the item, not about being first to solve the Wordle. If you don’t want to see the Wordle before you’ve solved it, don’t come to the forum before you solve it yourself. Someone may have gotten out there at midnight +1 minute (Hello cvcalhoun) </b> Posting an alternative is entirely within our discretion. If this occurs, the alternate clue will be on the very first page of the forum with the date. It is your responsibility to see if there’s one there. (And you can always post the hard word photo, go out again and find the alternate word photo and post it – but make sure you DELETE the first post).
6. The word for the day will be posted on the forum as a new post, and will be added to the list on the first page (this one) of the scavenger hunt forum. Go to that page if you don’t want to search through the recent posts. Hint: Use “wordle“, “scavenger”, or “photo” to search if you can’t find it.
7. Just as in past years, when you post your photo, use the format mm/dd/year – word. (Example 12/13/2023 – SPENT)
8. Extra points for doing hard words, doing hard words in sucky weather, and being generally entertaining are within the discretion of the judges – but they MAY happen!
9. Description, short backstory, or location are optional (but nice).
10. It has to be a picture you took. You don’t need to be in the photo, but if you are in it, it either has to be a selfie or done with a self-timer
11. Only one picture per day should be posted in the Forum. More than one, no matter how cute or engaging, will disqualify the player for that day. One photo means one photo – not two squished into one or any permutation thereof.
12. You can include as many photos as you wish on your Strava ride but each Strava ride with the hashtag #scavhunt will be worth exactly 1 point.
13. It has to be a picture, not a video.
14. Let’s stick to things you find out there during your ride, not things you bring or make yourself (unless otherwise specified). Example 1: Don’t build a pile of dirt, snow, or rocks if the Wordle clue is “MOUND”; Example 2: if the Wordle clue is “FRUIT” don’t bring a piece of fruit with you on your ride, and take a photo of that. This takes the fun out of looking for things, which is the whole point.
15. Your bike does not have to be in the photo, but we do love seeing them used creatively in context.
16. Found item needs to be clear and discernible (or legible if text) in the picture.
17. The Ricky Rule: Filters are OK, but no obvious/blatant photoshopping…. and no AI-generated images, please. Not that we would know anything about such things.
18. 2024 Rule for Forum Access Challenges: We have set up an alternate place to post your photos if you prefer to not jump through the current hoops and headaches with the Forum. It is on Strava, a club appropriately named, 2024 Photo Scavenger Hunt .  If you decide to post there instead of here, all other rules apply. In other words, one photo only, before midnight the day the Wordle drops. Be sure to use the correct format, date followed by word. Be sure to post only one photo. And do not post both places for the same entry. We realize that from day to day your forum access might change, so it’s okay to go back and forth for posting. But don’t post on the forum and in the Strava club for the same day/word.

<b>Scoring</b>

Scoring will be similar to FS23, and there are two different prizes you are competing for simultaneously:

Main Competition: To compete in this prize you must post in this thread complying with the rules above. Scoring will be arbitrary and capricious, and only one person per day is guaranteed to get the point each day. How will you be the lucky point winner for the day? Impress us with your creativity. The rider with the most Main Competition points at the end of the competition is the… winner of the Main Competition.

Participation Winner: There will also be one or more participation award(s) for the top daily participant(s). Tag one ride each day with #scavhunt, add your photo(s) of the item, and watch this leaderboard https://freezingsaddles.org/pointless/hashtag/scavhunt. If you tag your ride with the hashtag, make sure you upload a photo. The leaderboard will score this automatically (one point per daily #scavhunt ride) and is honor-based. Please do not tag more than one ride per day with the hashtag and please do not use the tag without a photo. The top rider(s) (based on the number of rides, not mileage!!) will get a special prize at the end of Freezing Saddles!

And last, but not least. Remember to be respectful of private property and obtain any necessary permissions when taking photos, especially in private areas. Additionally, try to capture unique angles and perspectives to make your scavenger hunt photos more interesting and creative. Have fun exploring your town and interpreting the theme in creative ways!

Good Luck!
Kelley and Serdar