You will need:
Youth Leaders and/or Parents with cars.
Quickchange Payphone cards ($5.00 max) or a roll of quarters.
Big bags of candy or treats.
Go around your church’s neighbourhood and make a list of all the areas where you find banks of payphones (local malls, shopping centres, movie theatres and other public places).
Choose anywhere from five to ten of these locations. Another location is your church which is to be the final clue for the game. Here you will find a place to hide the bags of candy and treats.
Record only ONE of the phone numbers from each bank of payphones at each location (it would be a good idea to make a call from this phone so you know it works).
Write a clue for each location that every team will have to decode to know which location to go to (ie. Let’s say one of your locations is the furniture store IKEA. You would probably write, “Team SWEDEN didn’t have a lot of COMMON SENSE when they lost to Belarus in the Olympics. But if they shopped here they would…” – because IKEA’s catchphrase is ‘Swedish for Common Sense’).
Once you have all the clues randomize the order so not every team is at the same location at the same time.
Also write on the top of each team’s first clue the church’s phone number and any extensions that the youth will have to call.
The first clue for each team should go in an envelope only to be opened once the game has started.
You keep a copy of their entire list because they will have to call you for the next clue.
Give the first clue and the payphone card or roll of quarters to each team.
Once the teams are given their team’s first clue, the means to make phone calls, are assigned to a car (driven by a leader or a parent) and are sent off they can open their first clue and proceed to their first secret location.
When they arrive at the bank of payphones at the first location they choose one of the phones and dial the number and extension on their first clue and will speak to either yourself or another person helping you answer the phones (it would be wise to have a couple of you stay behind to answers phones with all these teams out at the same time)
They will then have to tell you the phone number on the payphone that they are using to make the call. If this phone number matches the number you chose from the bank of payphones you will give them the next clue.
If the phone number they give you does not match the number you chose you say, “Sorry, wrong number” and hang up. The team then chooses another phone and calls you back until they have chosen the right payphone.
You can then give them the next clue on their list.
You will go through all the clues until you’ve reached the final clue that leads them back to the church.
Once they have gone through all the clues they should be back at the church seeking out the secret location of the prizes. Be sure to identify which bags of treats and goodies are for 1st place, 2nd place, and so on, so every team gets some the prize.
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