Armchair treasure hunt
From Freepedia
An Armchair treasure hunt is any activity that requires solving puzzles or riddles in some easily portable and widely reproduced format (usually an illustrated children's book), and then using clues hidden either in the story or the graphics of the book to find a real treasure somewhere in the physical world. The first of these was Masquerade by Kit Williams.
History
The first widely popular armchair treasure hunt was Masquerade by Kit Williams, an illustrated children's book which had an elaborate border filled with letters. By deciphering a code hinted at through the story, a reader could find clues within the borders' text that described the location of a bejeweled golden hare, which Williams had buried at a specific location a few months prior to the publication of the book. Readers were told only that the prize was somewhere in the United Kingdom. Readers became obsessed with the hunt, and began even digging up private property. The prize was never legitimately found, and the prize was eventually auctioned off for 31,000 British pounds.
Examples
Other examples include:
- A Treasure's Trove (2004) by Michael Stadther, an illustrated children's book which gives clues on the whereabouts of 12 bejeweled insect brooches.
- Mysterious Stranger by David Blaine and Cliff Johnson
