So yesterday morning Crystal and I took part in the Sachs Diamond Dash here in Worcester. The dash turned out to be a highly competitive scavenger hunt/puzzle solving game on the streets of Worcester with all clues and answers sent and received via text message.
We arrived at Institute Park at 9am to see a crowd much larger than I anticipated, but when the grand prize is a $15,000 diamond ring why would I expect a light turnout. The sun was shining brightly and we were working up a sweat just waiting in the registration line. I did get a kick out of some folks who were casually puffing on cigarettes while waiting to register, nothing like a few more smokes before competing in a race with a $15K grand prize!
Before long Konnie Lukes was announced to issue a proclamation and kick off the event. When her name was called I let out a nice, loud gutteral BOOOOO for all to hear. Very satisfying if I do say so myself.
From there the first text message was sent to everyones cellphones simultaneously, what a cacophony of sound, 400+ cellphones all going off at the same time with the first clue.
Basically the first clue sent via text would lead you to a location in Worcester, you would text back the location and the system would confirm you are correct. They would then send you a second text which would involve answering a question about that location to confirm you were actually there. I'll look back at the texts now and sort of lay out where our stops were over the 3 hours.
Start- WPI
Worcester Common
Union Station
Korean War Memorial
Federal Square
Goddard Hall at WPI
Washington Square
Old Worcester Voke
Worcester Art Museum
Worcester Aud
DCU Center
Turtle Boy Statue
As you can see we were zig-zagging all over the downtown area. We thought we did pretty well, and ended up with 149 points. Unfortunately the grand prize winners had well over 200 points and were awarded the diamond at the afterparty at Maxwell Silverman's. We did not finish in the top 8, but I have a sneaking suspicion that we ended up in the top 20.
All in all a fun event, it was great to see hundreds of people in purple t-shirts riding bikes all over downtown Worcester on a beautiful Saturday morning. I am sure we made some folks scratch their heads. And hopefully a few folks from the suburbs who came out in search of diamonds got to see that Worcester isn't that scary after all.
Sorry for the lack of photo's.... I was not going to waste time snapping pictures with a $15,000 prize on the line!
12 comments:
No....you weren't in the top 20! My best friend had 176 pts. and she was exactly #20! You were well after #70 as I work for Sachs and have the complete score list by points.
So 50 teams got between 150 and 176....seems hard to believe
Up until 45 minutes in we were 3rd and then 5th....
Hey ma, tanks for sharing your experience. This is the first post I found on the Diamond Dash. My wife and I had 201 pts and we came in 6th. Great times!
I participated and was sad to see people cheating..One group had a black truck driving to all the locations for them, and some people were jumping in and out of cars. Breaks the spirit of the game. Hope they didn't win anything, and If they did, they have to live with the guilt.
We got 154...not bad for not splitting up and having one bike for 2 people (I rode on the handlebars.)
See u next year!
I'm going to be doing one of these on Saturday. Are there any tips you would recommend ? Did you go on a bike or on foot ? Could you give an example of one of the clues ? Also, was the final prize awared based on who as the most points at the end, or who answered the final question correctly first ?
Thanks
Scott
I'm also doing on this Saturday...any helpful hints would be great! Do all the teams get the same first clues or are they scrambled so everyone isn't running/biking to the first location? Thanks!
Winner was based on most points total.
Your first question should direct you to a sort of well known landmark in town.
The second question will be something specific about that place, the names on a statue, a specific sign, a riddle based upon a plaque.
Biking is the way to go!
Good luck!
I am participating in a Diamond Dash on March 6, 2010 in Az. Since I signed up and was selected I have been obsessed with trying to win the ring! I am married with a 2yr old and the only ring I have to represent our love is a C.Z. with some stones that have fallen out. I am trying to learn every square inch of the town, the history, stores, art, etc. Can anyone tell me if this will be helpful? We will also be on bikes. Any other tips that would help us? I would really appreciate it!
How do they tally up the points? If you are the first person to answer or check in do you get more points? Do you get more than once chance to answer? Trying to figure out a strategy for my upcoming dash....
How long did it take for you to complete the dash?
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