2010 Mystery Hunt: Opening

Before the hunt, teams received an email giving a link to this mp3. A full script of the opening (with actions) is below.

Script

(Imelda climbs up on a podium, quiets down the hunters, counts down. Airhorn sounds. MP3 starts.)

Greetings, everyone! Welcome to the 2010 MIT Mystery Hunt!

This is a very special year - we're celebrating thirty years of Mystery Hunt! Everybody join me! One, two, three...

(Imelda sings Happy Birthday to the Mystery Hunt)

To celebrate, we're going to do something a little different this year. Instead of round after round of puzzles all weekend, we've put together a single round that should last you about an afternoon. After that, we're spending the rest of the weekend reenacting some of our favorite event puzzles from Hunts past.

So, let's introduce ourselves! I'm Imelda, this year's puzzle editor. I made sure all ten of the puzzles you'll be solving today are absolutely flawless... Hold on a second.

(Imelda notices her nametag is upside down and turns it around.)

There we go. This is Stuart, our eminent Hunt historyologist and brilliant archivist.

5-second pause (Stuart waves, dropping the book he was holding. Embarrassed, he bends down to pick it up.)

Stuart's worked hard this year to fill in the gaps in the Hunt archives. We wouldn't have even known about many of the past events we're running this weekend if it weren't for him. This is Kyle, our Gaming Event Coordinator.

12-second pause (Kyle holds up a sign that reads "I just lost The Game". Pause to allow time for audience reaction.)

Kyle, that wasn't nice. Next, there's Jill, our Live Performance Event Coordinator.

5-second pause (Jill takes an overly dramatic bow.)

And then there's Mike, our Recorded Performance Event Coordinator.

8-second pause (Mike holds up a camera to take a picture of the assembled crowd. He holds the camera backwards and accidentally takes a picture of his own face.)

Here's Joachim, our Teamwork Event Coordinator. Joachim?

5-second pause (Joachim bursts from behind Imelda and Mike, shoving them out of the way, runs out front and waves wildly.)

And last... excuse me, Joachim. And last but not least, there's Patrick, our Trivia Event Coordinator.

5-second pause (Patrick holds his hand up eagerly as if to say "Ooh, ooh, I know this one!" and repeatedly clicks a pen as though it were a game show buzzer.)

And that's the 2010 Hunt Board! Now, without further ado, let's get this Hunt started! The Hunt's URL this year is... Hold it up, Patrick!

(Patrick holds up the URL on a sign.)

Well, that's easy to remember, isn't it? The site will go live at 12:30. Captains, please come up front to confirm your username and password and receive your welcome letter.