How to Play
Every spring, Scav participants band together into teams. Historically, teams have been based on UChicago houses or dorms, but a team can be any group of people who register and complete items from the list. Lists include around 300 items that can range from trivia and gathering items, to feats of athletic ability and performance, to large ‘showcase’ items that require ingenuity and skillful planning.
There are some rules to follow:
- All items can be obtained and performed legally
- No sabotaging other teams
- Please don’t shout at the judges
- All props must be mad props
Early lists were simply left in students’ campus mailboxes in the Reynolds Club basement, but today list release is an event. Teams head to Ida Noyes Hall, many waving signs and chanting, for the list’s debut at midnight. Teams might also have to solve a challenge to get the list—like digging it up on a beach or piecing together bits of shredded paper.
Teams have from Thursday to Sunday morning to procure or create their items in a chaotic whirlwind of 24/4 activity. On Sunday morning (Judgment Day), judges review the items and assign points based on how successfully an item fulfills the brief. Showcase items are judged first, then the rest of the items, page by page. The team with the most points wins. [1 point for participation]
Photo courtesy of Jason Smith
2010.157 _____ Four standing teammates form the noble steed. Atop them perches your player in his howdah, mallet in hand. You are now ready for a game of Human Elephant Polo at 4 pm on Thursday, on the Midway between University and Woodlawn. [ϕ points]
So Why Play?
For early hunts, the reason to play was to win a 5-gallon bucket of ice cream by getting at least 100 points (and a single crouton, item 1988.172, was worth 100 points). In subsequent Scavs, unlike most competitive endeavors, the reason to play is not victory, but participation. Generally, no one really remembers who wins from year to year, though most have vivid memories of collecting or creating items. Scav also provides opportunities for anyone to participate. As founder Cassie Hallberg said, “Scav is super inclusive. Everyone from the athlete to the nerd has something to contribute.” It doesn’t matter what you might be good at, it will probably appear somewhere on the list, and you too can play and participate in Scav. [5 gallons of inclusive points]
