The Game

The Game is a class of puzzle hunts, which generally focuses on weekend-long trips where teams drive from location to location solving puzzles. Historically, The Game has been played in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as the Seattle area, but has also appeared in other locations such as Boston and Washington DC.

Precursors
In the 1970's Don Luskin ran a series of games in Los Angeles, possibly inspired by the movie  (which in turn may have been inspired by Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins' puzzle parties). Many of the early puzzles were based off cryptic clues, but later games featured more variety. These games required signing up and had a fee to participate. These games ultimately inspired the movie , which was the main inspiration for the next group of games, started by Joe Belfiore and his classmates.

The Game in Florida
Five games were run near Belfiore's high school in the community of Clearwater, Florida. The first game, held in 1985, had four teams participating, all named after colors (Black Team, Blue Team, Brown Team, Red Team). Later games would be run by the previous winners.

Bay Area Race Fantastique
When Joe Belfiore graduated from high school, he brought The Game tradition to his college, Stanford. The games were called the Bay Area Race Fantastique, or BARF for short. As with previously, teams were named after colors.

San Francisco Bay Area Games
At least 14 Games were played at Stanford and the surrounding San Francisco Bay Area between 1991 and 1997, known as the Stanford Games, perhaps as a continuation of BARF VI. Team counts increased to about 15-20 per game; applying to these games were more open.

Games would continue to be hosted regularly in the Bay Area until around 2008. A shorter form of The Game, to be played over a single day (and often without needing vehicular transport), was also created, as the Bay Area Night Game in 2002 by David Alyea. Other traditions inspired by the Bay Area Games include Shinteki, Bay Area Treasure Hunt, and Iron Puzzler.

Seattle Games
Joe Belfiore brought The Game to the Seattle area, where the event was held annually between 1995 and 2002. However, the 2002 event, Shelby Logan's Run, resulted in a serious accident when one of the players entered a mine other than the one indicated, falling down a thirty-foot shaft and becoming a quadriplegic. This led to a lawsuit and the Seattle Games going on a hiatus. The next Seattle-area Game, The Mooncurser's Handbook, would come in 2005, with an emphasis placed on safety.

Several short-form games also were held in Seattle, named Seattle and Nearby Adventures in Puzzling (SNAP). Many of these were simulcasted with the Bay Area Night Games.

Princeton Games
Princeton also held their own version of The Game from 1996 to 2014. Records exist of the themes held from 2001. The event was open to teams of Princeton graduate students, with clues leading them around the campus and beyond. The whole course was intended to be in reasonable walking distances.

Modern Games
Instances of The Game still happen, albeit at a reduced frequency. These include the following games:

Other regional shorter-form game traditions have also sprung up, such as the Boston Area Puzzle Hunt League (BAPHL) and DC Puzzle Hunters (DCPHR).