Every team was sent to a shared location once at different steps during the hunt. At that location were I and my brother (who was assisting in the game). We had the clues for the next challenge for each team with us. Before handing them over, however, the team had to complete an archery challenge.
We had set up a pair of archery targets and had a pair of beginner recurve bows and sets of arrows. (The pair was because we frequently had two teams at the location simultaneously.) The goal of the challenge was that each member of the team (5 years and older) had to get an arrow to stick in the target. The rules were:
- The team started at a line 12 yards away from the target.
- Everyone on the team had to take one shot at the target.
- After each team member had fired an arrow, we moved the line 1 yard closer to the target. Any team members who had not yet succeeded got to fire again.
- We would repeatedly move the line 1 yard closer after each round of shooting.
- After everyone had gotten an arrow to stick in the target, the team had to return all arrows before being given their next clue. (We were forced to relax this rule as arrows were often lost in the field and teams were stuck spending 5 minutes and more searching with no luck. In the end I think we only had 6 of the original 14 arrows.)
Solution
The Gentleman’s Guide included a primer on archery, but in the end it took practice, some welts on the forearm, persistence, and either the skill plant an arrow or enough shots until the line was a yard from the target.
Continue on to Challenge #3: The Puzzle, or see the results of this challenge.