Events

Saturday, 8 PM Event, Pirate Party
Saturday 8 PM, come to our pirate party in Sala de Puerto Rico on the second floor of the Student Center! Send two team members as their favorite video game characters dressed as pirates—prizes will be given for best costume! We hear that a fight may break out, so come with one member prepared to duel and a second armed with paper and pen. And because no party is complete without food and drink, teams with names beginning with A-E should also bring two 2-liters of soda. Teams starting with F-P, please bring a large bag of chips. Teams Q-Z, should bring one tub of dip.
Sunday, 10 AM Event, Zombies vs Zombies!
BRAAAAINS! Sunday 10 AM, come join the ravenous undead hordes for a rollicking game of Zombies vs Zombies in Room 407 in the Student Center! Because it's Sunday morning and all the plants are covered in snow, there's only us zombies left for a puzzle-solving showdown of epic proportions! Send two team members with a taste for braaaaaaaains!
Friday, 6 PM, Mario Kart
It's time for Mario Kart! Please send two able-bodied members of your team to race their hearts out in the MAC Court, on the third floor of the Zesiger Center at Friday, 6 PM. You do not need to have registered your name pre-Hunt, but please inform the Z Center staff when you arrive that you are here for the Mystery Hunt event. This event will start promptly at 6 PM, and unfortunately, late comers will not be able to participate.
Saturday, 9 AM Event, Cooking Mama — Iron Chef Edition!
9 AM Saturday, get ready to sharpen your culinary skills in Cooking Mama – Iron Chef Edition! Please send two omnivorous team members with no food restrictions to the West Lounge in the Student Center to learn the secret ingredient and face off to determine whose team's cuisine reigns supreme!
Saturday, 3 PM Event, The Incredible Machine!
The Incredible Machine event aims to challenge the engineers and turn odds and ends into something amazing and inventive. The goal is to show off your ability to create a complex solution to a simple problem.

You have from now until 3 PM Saturday the 15th of January 2011 to design your Incredible Machine and send it along with up to two team members to Room 407 in the Student Center for judging. Your machine can be made out of any materials you wish, and it may be as complex as you can devise, but there is an unusual twist and some limitations of which you should be aware. Naturally, safety is first and foremost, so any rule violations will cause your team to be disqualified. Yes, really, so do pay attention to the details.

Tasks:

So what is this amazing machine supposed to do? You should aim to complete 2 tasks. The first task is to raise a flag. The second task will come from the following list, and it will be announced at the beginning of the event (it will be the same for all teams).

List of possible tasks:

  • Flip on a standard light switch
  • Cut a piece of paper in half
  • Mix a non-alcoholic drink
  • Close a door
  • Hit a target with a rubber band
  • Sharpen a #2 pencil

Your team should provide its own flag. We will provide the secret second item to be interacted with (e.g. the light switch, bottles of water, pencils) and you may incorporate that object in the hour of on-site design that you have.

Prohibitions:

  1. You must pass the 'Slocum Safety Rule' which can be stated thus: You must be willing to be naked in a phone booth with your machine while it is running. If we are concerned that you have spurned this rule, we reserve the right to find a phone booth for you to demo your invention.
  2. No animals may be alive at any juncture while your machine is running (starting dead is okay, but gross.)
  3. No fire. No exceptions. (Sorry, guys, this is the facilities restriction.)
  4. Your machine may not plug into the wall.
  5. No toxic chemicals.

Guidelines:

  1. You must be able to leave the room as you found it. If your machine has the potential for mess, you must either be willing to clean it up *completely* or be able to contain it in a tray that you provide.
  2. Your machine should occupy a space that has a foot print of 1 meter by 1/2 meter and is no more than 2 meters high (although less than 1 is preferable for space and transportation).
  3. You will have up to an hour once you arrive with your machine to make any modifications that you see fit. We will provide some materials and tools for this, but you may want to bring your own to limit contention.
  4. You may interact with your machine only once at the beginning; this interaction must cease before any tasks are performed.
  5. You will have up to three attempts to demonstrate your machine to the judges. You will receive the highest score of the three runs.

Judging criteria:

  1. Showing up with an earnest attempt at a machine: 20 coins
  2. Number of energy transfers (>=5, >=10, >= 15): (5,10,20) coins respectively (not cumulative)
  3. Successful completion of tasks: 10 coins per assigned task completed (up to 20 coins).