Lessons from the Treasure Hunt, My Mini Project.

The world has no dearth of ideas. My mentor James told me that if you can write 10 ideas a day, you will soon have a repository to work with. He gave me one more piece of advice, if you can’t find a novel idea, take up a current one and improvise on it to a great extent that it looks fresh.  So, net, net I need to develop my execution muscle and to strengthen it I have recently started executing some mini projects which fits into my criteria:

1.     Should be selfless

2.     Should not cost me more money

3.     Should not cost me time

4.     Should not be connected to my work

5.     Should make someone happy, really happy

My latest mini project is a treasure hunt I conducted in our apartment with 30 kids. It went really well. Apart from being entertaining and exciting, this mini project taught me some lessons.

You need to tell a story

We all love stories. We grew up listening to them. The game is about finding the treasure using the clues but I added a bit of Tadka to this. The story goes as follows:

“Hundreds of years ago, in a distant land, there was a treasure hidden deep in the castle. The treasures are guarded by some great souls including the guardians, the queen, the wizard and the king for centuries. As years passed, the royal souls and protectors guarded the treasure with great passion. The souls can move to the next life only once the treasures are unearthed. Now, the responsibility of finding the treasures is on you guys. The angels will help you find the treasure to help the souls, but ask too many questions, they will fly away.”

Establish the role and goals clearly in the beginning

I had 30 kids so I made 5 teams. Each clearly demarcated with colors. The game rules, expectations and the area they have to function is clearly communicated with the hunters. Game plan is as follows:

·       Hunters will get the first clue, which will guide them to the next clue

·       They have to find a weapon, the queen, the king, the wizard, the commander and the guardians.  

·       Every time they crack a clue they will get a piece of the bigger puzzle which they have to fix at the end to win the treasure.

My learning as a project lead is to keep it simple to the audience and communicate it effectively so that all the stake holders are aligned on it from the beginning.

Provide a support system

I have also provided a support system, angels who will guide them when they struggle with clues so kids were calm and composed as they knew help is available all along. The angels were provided clear instructions as well. Angel’s instruction for the 1st clue is as follows:

What should my hunters do?

The guardians are always alert and roam around the castle as human beings. Red Hunters should tackle the weapons first to prevent them in using it against them. In the journey there is a golden nugget to be picked. Only one. They will lose their hand when they touch other color. They should stay together always till the hunt ends else will be eaten by the hungry dragons.

What is the clue?

The castle has a Sahara, Far away from the tracks of KR Pura, Deep in the dunes, Lays a secret weapon, Only one should step in, Else the curse will kick in.

One of the best decision is to add angels to the project, who helped when crisis/chaos or confusion happened.

Things will fail, prepare and be patient and take help

We started well initially as we thought it will be just one treasure hunt. Then the task changed to 5 games with 5 teams. We lost time and we were cramming in the end. We kept the theme constant but added an extra guardian and modified the game a bit, which means everything has to be reinvented in 1 day. We lost hope but we pushed on as the kids wanted this to happen. We took help from the support staff to plant the clues and added 5 volunteers as angels to help. To our surprise several moms pitched in. Looking back I would have completed the story a day earlier so that my volunteers had a complete understanding of the game. I regret that, but It was a learning. I was not prepared and was not willing to add more help into the project initially. So learning is to understand that projects can go wrong in spite of planning so just ask and reach out for help to people with similar interests.

Be creative

All along I had a story, characters and what is expected and I was much focused. I wanted to add an element of fun and complexity to the game. Players have to sweat it out in the last clue so this was the clue to the red hunter:

What you should do?

You have unlocked the king’s code and liberated his soul. This has liberated hundreds and thousands of guardians protecting the treasure. However they are waiting for the instructions of the Commander “Jeramaya”Your job is to find him and find him soon before the guardians unleash the wrath.

The clue

Watch, analyse and enquire, cos he is just like you and me. A peanut might help, but the words have to flow…Say it “Are you the Wizard with the red treasure?” …….It ends where it all began.

The job for them is to ask everyone taking the evening stroll if they are the Wizard with the red treasure. All of a sudden I saw even the shy one coming forward and asking the residents a weird question. The game has brought the best out of every one and made them connect to those around them. Overall, I had an amazing time with the kids. They had a good time and my execution muscle has grown a bit, more confident than yesterday. I got a request from the parents to conduct a game for them as well, now that i take as a compliment for all my efforts. I recommend you start your own project beyond work to fill your cup.

Want to get a copy of the complete game, mail me on [email protected]

What next?

I am looking to clean up a dead lake in front of my apartment. It does not fit my criteria of cost, time and resources but it will be great if you can give me a nudge or send some inspiration. It is a mega project, but I can start with a mini one.