The 2022 Masquerade Tribute of Hunts for Charity was released on 3/20/22. As of this writing (4/21/22), five of the six hunts have been solved with over $3500 being given to charity (near $8,000 if you include 2021). Anyone can still join the adventures of the 2022 Masquerade Tribute by donating a minimum of $19.79 to gain access to the remaining Hunt’s clues and documents. Treasures valued at over $500 wait to be claimed. Who will solve the last hunt? Will it be YOU!?

This yearly event could not happen without those willing to donate their time and skills. Domino Ireland of @DominoAdventure created The HareBrainedPlan. This clever hunt challenged searchers and offered generous treasure prizes. It was a truly successful hunt! (Learn more about @DominoAdventure)

Congrats to the winners – Forestblight, Stercox, Jigsaw, and DOOMer77! who solved the clues and found the proxy item to claim the treasures. Let’s learn more about it all from the creator, and the finders!

Six Questions on THE HAREBRAINED PLAN:

  • 1Q) It’s always great to have a successful ending to a treasure hunt! Congrats to both the Creator and the Finders! First, a question for Domino, the creator: What did you enjoy most about creating THE HAREBRAINED PLAN and what did you wish most for the finders? Did the hunt go as you imagined?

I enjoyed simply being asked to contribute. You, Sixer, are doing great things and it’s fantastic to be a part of it.

What I enjoyed most about the actual creation was the discovery of a pond that looked like a hare/rabbit with a cool peninsula as a proxy destination hiding spot that was fairly accessible for me. I had taken some pictures of the wire hare art exhibit a year or so ago and started looking them over to see how I could use them to thematically relate back to Masquerade. That’s when I noticed the shadow on one piece that could match up to the pond and POW! – I was able to have my own ‘ahhhhhHA’ moment.

I really wanted folks to need to use each side of their brain for this and it not be too much of one thing to figure it out. And a team of treasure hunters using each person’s skill-set to get to that is an even better outcome because these particular hunts are really and truly about the armchair treasure hunting community.

In this way, it certainly went better than I imagined. I was able to see some of the “old school” armchair treasure hunters from tweleve in action. And, it has been cool connecting with some of the people that have come around since then that I have never gotten the chance to interact with for one reason or another- mostly because I am traditionally a private and on-my-own treasure hunter.

Thanks again and cheers! – Domino

Now, a few Questions with the Finders:

  • 2Q) What do you enjoy most about the hobby of armchair treasure hunting? What was your first treasure hunt?

forestblight: My first hunt was A Treasure’s Trove, by Michael Stadther (2004). That was it – instant addiction. I love the idea of pitting my intellect against someone else’s, combined with the challenge of solving something before anyone else can. Those moments when you know you’ve figured something out correctly are rare and wonderful.

stercox + jigsaw: Our first hunt was The Secret. We got pulled in after reading The Cleveland Plain Dealer shortly after the Cleveland casque was found. The idea that you can solve a mystery that was purposefully hidden from the world is intoxicating. We love the adventures that treasure hunting takes us on, the sense of anticipation, the thrill of finding a treasure, getting there first. In an otherwise very buttoned-up adult world, we’re kids again on a very fun adventure! We love that!!

  • 3Q) Can you share the clues, any ‘aha’ moments, and other things within the puzzle of The Harebrained Plan that led you to the treasure location?

forestblight: There were several ‘aha’ moments along the way. For example, it certainly opened some doors to realize that the PDF file was a layer cake of clues that could be picked apart and examined individually; some of them were difficult or impossible to discern with the naked eye. We also noticed the outline of North Carolina cleverly hidden in the grass. But the biggest ‘aha’ was locating the two tiny white Xs, one on the rabbit’s forehead and another on the same spot in the rabbit’s shadow. The shadow’s head was a different color, and looked like the outline of a lake. What better way to hide a precise location than “X marks the spot”? It also explains the title.

  • 4Q) What did you enjoy most about The Harebrained Plan?

stercox + jigsaw:We liked the whimsical nature of the hunt. The BOTG part is always a thrill. Is it going to be there? Will we find it?? Did someone beat us to it??? The site for this hunt was really quite beautiful. And there is nothing quite like the feeling of finding a treasure–the culmination of someone’s imagination with your own intellectual quest–there’s definitely a connection there!

forestblight: I liked the variety of puzzles in it. The Harebrained Plan consisted of several mini-puzzles. If you can’t solve one, you can set it aside to work on something else, then return later. Most of these puzzles were not very meaningful on their own, but when combined properly led directly to the proxy. We did not solve all of the puzzles, and it was theoretically possible to locate the proxy using some different clues.

  • 5Q) For those unfamiliar with the hobby of armchair treasure hunts, or a bit intimidated by the puzzles upon first glance, can you share some of how you go about finding a solution for a hunt (any hunt)?

forestblight: A few tips: Look for patterns. Become familiar with common ciphers and codes (like Morse code, Braille, pigpen ciphers, Polybius squares, column transposition ciphers…) so that you will recognize them when you see them. Try to put yourself in the mind of the maker; there is no better way to do this than to dig up past hunts, attempt them yourself, and then study how they were solved. This practice not only builds your repertoire of puzzle-solving skills, but also shines a light on where and how your own thinking has been hindered. Finally, understand that there is rarely such a thing as irrelevant detail in art-based puzzles. What would look like an artistic flourish in other art is often a clue in this genre.

  • 6Q) What advice would you have for newcomers to the hobby?

stercox + jigsaw:If you think you know, go! Sure we’ve failed to uncover treasures in the past because we were wrong or someone else got there first, it happens, but we never failed to have a great adventure!

forestblight: Work puzzles with others as a team. The best part of working on this hunt was definitely working with my crew, stercox, jigsaw, and DOOMer77. We have collaborated on several hunts over the years and they are awesome to work with. Find your tribe.

Below is TheHareBrainedPlan by Domino Ireland @DominoAdventure for you to enjoy. A full solution will be posted on 5/21.

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