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The Herald Hunt, formerly the Tropic Hunt, is an annual
puzzle hunt A puzzle hunt (sometimes рuzzlehunt) is an event where teams compete to solve a series of puzzles, many of which are tied together via metapuzzles. Puzzlehunt puzzles are usually not accompanied by direct instructions for how to solve them; f ...
in
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
,
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. It was co-created by ''
Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...
'' columnist
Dave Barry David McAlister Barry (born July 3, 1947) is an American author and columnist who wrote a nationally Print syndication, syndicated humor column for the ''Miami Herald'' from 1983 to 2005. He has written numerous books of humor and parody, as we ...
, along with ''Tropic'' editors
Gene Weingarten Gene Norman Weingarten is an American journalist, and former syndicated humor columnist for ''The Washington Post.'' He is the only two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. Weingarten is known for both his serious and humor ...
and
Tom Shroder Tom Shroder (born 1954 in New York City) is an American journalist, writer and editor who worked for the ''Washington Post'' for many years. Biography Shroder is the author of ''The Most Famous Writer Who Ever Lived: A True Story of My Family'' ...
. The Tropic Hunt debuted in 1984, and as of 2018 there have been a total of 18 Hunts (plus one played-from-home 'non-hunt'). The winners of the 2011 Herald Hunt were Jeffrey Kobal, Cheryl Kobal, and Adam Horowitz.


Early history and name change

The hunt got its name from the
Sunday magazine A Sunday magazine is a publication inserted into a Sunday newspaper. It also has been known as a Sunday supplement (publishing), supplement, Sunday newspaper magazine or Sunday magazine section. Traditionally, the articles in these magazines cover ...
supplement to the ''Miami Herald'' called '' Tropic'', in which Dave Barry had a regular column. For the Hunt, the magazine, and a large section of
South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...
, were turned into a large
scavenger hunt A scavenger hunt is a game in which the organizers prepare a list defining specific items that need to be found, which the participants seek to gather or complete all items on the list, usually without purchasing them. Usually participants work i ...
/
puzzle A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to find the solution of the puzzle. There are differe ...
, which has attracted thousands of people from all over the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. The hunt in 1998 was the last Tropic Hunt, because the ''Miami Herald'' ceased publishing ''Tropic'' magazine shortly thereafter. The ''Miami Herald'' reinstated the hunt in 2001, now calling it the Herald Hunt. It creates a special magazine section each time for the Hunt.


Format

The first two years, the Hunt was a car-based chase around South Florida, In 1986, it changed to the still current design, where Hunters gathered in one walkable urban neighborhood. Hunts have been held in
Downtown Miami Downtown Miami is the urban city center of Miami, Florida, United States. The city's greater downtown region consists of the Central Business District, Brickell, the Historic District, Government Center, the Arts & Entertainment District, and ...
,
South Miami South Miami is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The population was 12,026 as of the 2020 census. History South Florida had been roamed by Native Americans ( ...
,
Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...
,
Coconut Grove Coconut Grove, also known colloquially as "The Grove", is an affluent and the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhoods of Miami, neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The neighborhood is roughly bounded by North Prospect Driv ...
,
Coral Gables Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Cora ...
, and
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
. The Hunt consists of three parts. Answering the "opening questions" directs Hunters to five puzzle sites scattered through the Hunt area. Solving the five Hunt puzzles—the answer is always a number—indicates the five authentic clues on a list of dozens of numbered bogus clues. Hunters have three hours to solve the puzzles, then at 3 p.m., a sixth and final clue is announced from the main stage. This begins the "endgame", which is by far the most difficult puzzle of the day. Solving the endgame often leads to a phone number, or directs Hunters to go to a certain out-of-the-way location and give a
password A password, sometimes called a passcode, is secret data, typically a string of characters, usually used to confirm a user's identity. Traditionally, passwords were expected to be memorized, but the large number of password-protected services t ...
to someone identified in a cryptic way. In 2007, Hunters who solved the endgame knew they needed to find a sandwich. Only when they arrived at a location marked on the Hunt Map with a sandwich, they saw a sign that said "Right idea. Wrong one." In fact, they had to go to a location on the
beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...
, marked with a
witch Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...
. In other words, a "sand witch." If they went to that spot on the beach, they saw a Hunt volunteer wearing a witch's hat and holding a broom.


Post Hunt

Since the Hunt became the Herald Hunt in 2001, it has been designed by Barry and Shroder. In May 2008, the ''Washington Post Magazine'' held a Hunt in downtown Washington DC, attended by about 5,000 people, including dozens who came up from South Florida. The May 17, 2009, Post Hunt attracted an estimated 10,000 participants. For the first time in 10 years, Gene Weingarten, now a columnist for the Post Magazine, joined Shroder, now editor of the Post Magazine, and Barry in designing the Hunt. The winners of the 2010 Post Hunt were John Sanders, Joe Grossman, Chris Wong, Eric Pilar, Katie Elder, Eana Chung, and Suzanne Schwartz."For Post Hunt players, more wild mind trips" ''Washington Post'', June 7, 2010. p. C3


External links


Official site
*Unofficia
Hunt Archives
maintained by Andy Wenzel -- contains puzzles, clues, answers, photos and videos from past Tropic/Herald Hunts 1984-present


References

{{reflist Puzzle hunts Culture of Miami Miami Herald 1984 establishments in Florida Tourist attractions in Miami