Go mad in the country

Outline:
Countryside Mayhem is five events in one featuring full participation from the group. You can expect a treasure and scavenger hunt, a photojournalistic mission, solving a mystery and other adventures. The key to these events is to build essential team building characteristics such as leadership, delegation of responsibilities, communication, brainstorming, teamwork and more. Everyone in your group - young and old and various physical abilities - can actively participate and contribute to a viable solution.

10:00 a.m. - Murder Conference
Teams are formed during morning tea time and Lead Detective Dudley will come in to break the news of a recent murder that needs solving. You will receive a debriefing on the suspects and murder victim and you must take pertinent notes that will help you and your team solves the murder. Each formed team will receive tools of the murder solving trade such as a cache of clues, secret documents that might shed light on the case and a Polaroid camera for capturing photographic evidence.

10:15 a.m. - On the Hunt for Clues and Murder Scene Inspection
Each team receives a briefcase of evidence but will have to complete a series of challenges in order to crack the code on it to retrieve it. You can expect scavenger hunts around the countryside, looking for more clues and collecting additional evidence and even completing some photo challenges to get closer to the truth behind the murder in addition to these activities:

Photo Finish - Each team will have a selection of challenges to do that can only be completed with the use of the Polaroid camera. Get your creative juices buzzing!

Safe Cracking - Can your team crack the safe combination before other teams to get to the important murder evidence inside?

Scavenger Hunt - Show off your detecting skills and hunt up all the odd items on your scavenger list! You’ll have to be creative to find them all as the Lead Detective Dudley needs them to help solve the murder case.

CSI the Murder Scene - After collecting evidence through the other activities, you may have an idea where the murder victim is. If so, you can present your evidence to gain entry to the scene. You cannot be faint of heart and you only have five minutes to examine the body, the scene, write notes and take photographs.

11:00 a.m. - Refreshments and Another Conference
Teams will break from gathering evidence and meet for refreshments and a debriefing from Lead Detective Dudley.

11:15 a.m. - Q & A of the Suspects
Your sleuthing skills will be put to the test as you interrogate the suspects. Using the information your team has gathered, you must travel around the countryside to visit each of the suspects. You only get 5 minutes with each one and hope they drop some hints that will help you solve the murder.

Cracking the Code - Before the next phase, all the teams are put to the test to see if you all have the brainpower to crack a series of puzzling brain challenges that might help you discover the how’s, why’s, when’s and where’s of the victim’s murder.

12:15 p.m. - Debriefing Room
Each team visits the debriefing room to create a storyboard using the evidence collected so far as an illustrative guide.

12:45 p.m. - Sustenance … Everyone’s got to eat!

1:45 p.m. - Fraud, Proof and the Payoff
Teams will come together to have a chance at winning more clues to help them solve the murder case. You all must complete a series of team building tasks. Each team will receive “money” that can be used in a variety of ways such as paying off a suspect for testimony or bribing another team to share their evidence about suspects they interviewed but you did not. Exercises completed may include:

Memory Game - Fifty cards are laid out face down and the goal is to put them in a certain order. This is a timed event and each person on the team has to take turns flipping the cards over. Will you remember where the matching cards are?

Operation Web Spinning - You must rely on your team mates to get you through a series of booby trapped obstacles fashioned out of string and rope resembling a spider web. Oh, did you know you must be blindfolded and get through without the spider getting you first?

Minefield Mania - Was this the exact route the killer could have taken? You must find out how long it takes to navigate your way through this minefield blindfolded, depending on your team mates to guide you through.

Steeltrap Mind - Is your mind like a steel trap? Can you remember the minutest details, a talent the best of detectives need to solve a case? You are challenged in a trivia test and teams must accurately identify various historical events to earn rewards.

Serpent’s Paradise - What do you do if you are faced with crossing a snake pit and it’s the only way off an island you are trapped on? You have some equipment and contact with your team mates. Can these things save you and help you find a way out of this serpent’s paradise?

Chain of Evidence - Your team has been entrusted with the transportation of top secret murder evidence from an undisclosed location to a testing lab facility. The problem is your team has only a few basic pieces of gear to make it happen. Your team is put to the test figuring out this dilemma.

3:15 p.m. - The Murderer Revealed
Each team presents their evidence and conclusions as to who the murderer is during refreshments. Lead Detective Dudley then makes an appearance to reveal the real murderer and answers all the questions of who, what, when, where, why and how. How close did your team come to cracking the case?

4:00 p.m. - The Wrap-Up
During this time, each time will be presented a score based on the evidence collected and conclusions presented. High scorers receive prizes and those who solved the murder case will also receive certificates too.